Friday, November 10, 2006

Stars strike a chord to pull off Dylan songfest

Rosanne Cash sings License to Kill


Stars strike a chord to
pull off Dylan songfest

Roseanne Cash puts fire behind politics of 'License to Kill' as she united with other big-name performers to rework Bob Dylan songbook at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center.
The times, they are a tryin' for Bob Dylan.

The great bard's catalogue recently achieved the perverse distinction of providing the score for the worst jukebox musical in history, thanks to Twyla Tharp's clueless staging and her cast's over-enunciated singing.

Mercifully, that show, "The Times They Are a Changin'," closes this month. But given the bruising, Dylan's songs could use a healthy counterbalance just about now.

Last night, they received a fascinating one at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center, where a clutch of singers had their quirky way with the Dylan songbook.

Roseanne Cash, Cyndi Lauper, Patti Smith, Allen Toussaint, Ryan Adams, Cat Power and more than 20 others took part in the show to benefit Music for Youth, a city group that provides music education for kids who otherwise might wander down a bad path.

Given the range of stars last night - and the breadth of genres they represent - the results were mixed.

But almost no one stooped to the literal in their interpretations. And the highlights had freshness and a sense of risk on their side.

Some fiddled with the songs' original genre. Joan Osbourne tweaked "To Make You Feel My Love" in a country direction, nailing the lyric's need.

The Jamie Saft Trio morphed "Ballad of a Thin Man" into a jazz instrumental, communicating all its vitriol without need of a vocal. New Orleans legend Allen Toussaint fused boogie-woogie riffs with classical ones on "Mama, You Been on My Mind," melding the funky with the erudite.

Other artists played with both the music and the message. Jill Sobule and Cyndi Lauper moved "Ring Them Bells" from a reverent ode to a celebratory one. Roseanne Cash stressed the feminist subtext of "License to Kill," while putting real fire behind its politics.

But the show-stealer was the hip-hop band the Roots, whose singer started out crooning "Masters of War" to the tune of "The Star-Spangled Banner."

Then the group turned it into a military ballad, culminating in a psychedelic rock jam led by a drum beat so furious it threatened to punch a hole right through the back wall.

Dylan, the subversive, would have been proud.

Originally published on November 10, 2006