January’s Apple Music Replay has been released, so let’s look at my top two songs from the past month.
“It Ain’t Me, Babe (Live at Newport)” – Bob Dylan & Joan Baez
With my right hand over my heart, I solemnly swear that I was a fan of Bob Dylan and Joan Baez long before the release of A Complete Unknown. In fact, I am hugely offended that anyone would accuse me of jumping on this mainstream pop culture bandwagon when my vintage vinyl collection includes more than one wildly expensive first pressing from both musicians. It’s not like my love for the song “It Ain’t Me, Babe” took root after the Timothée Chalamet version went viral on TikTok, right?
Recorded on June 9, 1964, “It Ain’t Me, Babe” was released on Bob Dylan’s fourth album Another Side of Bob Dylan. While undoubtedly an impressive display of Dylan’s lyrical prowess, the track took on a new life when the singer’s contemporaries started covering the track on their own LPs. One popular rendition was recorded by Johnny Cash and his future wife, June Carter, and released on Cash’s 1965 album Orange Blossom. Another version appeared on The Turtles’ debut record, reaching #8 on the U.S. charts and becoming the album’s breakthrough hit single. Yet, my favourite version is by far the live recording of Dylan singing the track with Joan Baez at the Newport Folk Festival on July 26, 1964.
The performance, while iconic, is far from perfect. The arrangement was clearly unrehearsed prior to their appearance on stage, with neither singer knowing when to come in or how long to hold a note. Dylan, desperately trying to hold back fits of laughter, sings over Baez throughout much of the track and Baez, whose vocal tone is brightly coloured by a contagious grin, is often off-key. By all means, it should be sonically grating and desperately painful to listen to. Yet in the span of four weeks, I played the track over 60 times, and I still haven’t been able to stop.
My love for “It Ain’t Me, Babe (Live at Newport)” stems from how accurately the recording captures Dylan and Baez’s humanity. Their vocals haven’t been touched up in the studio, the guitar Dylan is playing is slightly out of tune, and they’ve only got one chance to get this performance right. Sure, it’s not perfect, but it’s reflective of their hearts and their souls, and to me, that is way more important, making it one of my top songs this January.
“Bonehead’s Bank Holiday (Remastered)” – Oasis
As the members of Oasis continue with their “will they, won’t they” routine in the lead-up to their first live concert in 16 years, the band’s second studio album (What’s The Story) Morning Glory? is about to turn 30 years old. While “Bonehead’s Bank Holiday” wasn’t a part of the original record, released as a vinyl-only track and later issued as part of an NME Brat Pack ’96 compilation cassette, it finally appeared on streaming services in the remastered version of the album released on Sept. 29, 2014.
The title of the track refers to Bonehead, or Paul Arthurs, one of the co-founders of the band. The guitarist was originally meant to provide the vocals for the track, but the story goes that in a fit of nervousness, he and Liam Gallagher went to a pub, got extremely drunk and attempted, rather unsuccessfully, to record his part again. While the final track features Noel Gallagher’s vocals and not Bonehead’s, the background murmur of nonsensical pub chaos still managed to make its way into the recording, grounding the song in its grimy British rock roots.
Simply put, “Bonehead’s Bank Holiday” is way too much fun. It lacks any kind of inhibition and it’s easy to get the sense that the track came together without much effort. These factors make listening to it much more amusing. Chock full of ridiculousness, “Bonehead’s Bank Holiday” is too silly not to enjoy, making it one of my top songs this January.