Various Artists: From Another World—A Tribute to Bob Dylan

Jeff Tamarkin on May 30, 2014

If the universality of Bob Dylan’s compositions was still in question, then this 13-song collection provides the definitive answer. Here are artists from locales as far-flung as Iran, India, Bhutan and Hungary interpreting Dylan’s words and music—their approaches as diverse as their native cultures, their song choices and arrangements quite surprising. Cuban singer and guitarist Eliades Ochoa leads the set with a take on “All Along the Watchtower” that breaks as sharply from Dylan’s original as Hendrix’s did. The Musicians of Nile strip “Tangled Up in Blue” to its essence, all chant, drum and drone, and “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35,” in the hands of Macedonia’s Kocani Orkestar, is a surreal march. “I Want You” is offered twice, by groups from Taiwan and Myanmar—each is minimalist yet they aren’t anything alike. The artists sing in their native tongues, wisely bringing Dylan to their homes rather than attempting to hover around his.

Artist: Various Artists
Album: From Another World—A Tribute to Bob Dylan
Label: Buda Musique