The Charlie Daniels Band
Off The Grid – Doin’ It Dylan
Blue Hat 9716

www.charliedaniels.com
 

The Charlie Daniels Band serves up ten Bob Dylan songs here. I’ll bet the germ of this project was planted with covers of “Like a Rolling Stone” and “Maggie’s Farm” on their 2007 release Deuces. It might seem an odd and unlikely project for Charlie Daniels, but consider this: Daniels played on Dylan’s Nashville Skyline including on “Country Pie” which is covered here. And this: Daniels produced the Youngbloods’ Elephant Mountain and played fiddle on “Darkness Darkness” then played for several years in Leonard Cohen’s Army alongside record producer Bob Johnston.

The song choices are mostly from the list of usual suspects, but the vigor and verve CDB brings to the songs find new wrinkles in them. The first clue to what a fun ride this will be is when first Bruce Brown’s dobro then Daniels’ fiddle chime in during the intro to the opener “Tangled Up in Blue.” Shannon Wickline’s piano gets in some tasty lead licks in this one, too. Charlie sings the Whitman-esque travelogue lyric and the next one “The Times They Are A-Changin’” with exuberant gusto. An upbeat “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” is positively rollicking while “Gotta Serve Somebody” simmers and sizzles. “I Shall Be Released” is revenant and “Country Pie” a randy rocker. “Mr. Tambourine Man” uses the Byrds arrangement and again the fiddle adds sweetness.

“A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” is an edited version, but CDB gives it a roiling treatment, and it is clear Daniels relishes singing these lyrics. Wish he’d have done a complete version! “Just Like a Woman” is almost crooned, and I can hear Charlie grinning as he sings it. “Quinn The Eskimo,” the finale, is pure fun, a playful romp.

Really the whole album is rich, hooting fun, an unexpected turn from the Charlie Daniels Band and way better than I expected. Solid production by Charlie and engineer Casey Wood. Put it on and let it rip!

— Michael Tearson