As you might imagine, quite a few Bob Dylan covers come across our desk. So many that I often don’t get to listen to them all. So when I had the opportunity to press play on “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” by Tom Russell with Lucinda Williams and Calexico, I was surprised to find myself listening over and over. With his catchy tex-mex country sound, Russell is no stranger to covering Dylan. Back in April, when we brought you 33 discs of live Dylan covers, we included his performance of “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” as a standout.
Written by Bob Dylan and released in 1963 on his second album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, “A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” has been covered dozens of times, including a notable version by Edie Brickell and the New Bohemians for the Born on the Fourth of July soundtrack. Back in May when Dylan turned 70 we did a Dylan Covers A-Z series featuring the Jason Mraz version. Have a listen (or two) and download the preview track off Tom Russell’s upcoming September release Mesabi.
MP3: Tom Russell w/ Lucinda Williams and Calexico – A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall (Bob Dylan cover)
[audio: News0811/30AHardRain.mp3]
You can get more information on Tom Russell on his website.