Tangled Up In Blue

To even contemplate exploring the deep abyss of cover versions of Bob Dylan songs is a daunting task. It's a lot like someone asking you "I'd like to listen to some Jazz, but I don't know where to start. Any suggestions?" Instant brain overload. There's so much great stuff to choose from.

But then I remembered that wonderful day when our eldest daughter, then about 15, asked me, just out of the blue, "Do you have any Bob Dylan I can listen to?" After picking myself off of the floor due to being asked this astoundingly cool question, I ambled over to the collection and pulled out my well-worn copy of "Blood On The Tracks", explaining that if she started here, she could then go forward or backward in Dylan's music career with equal ease. So while it seemed like the best starting point for her, it also remains to this day, my very favorite Dylan album.

"Blood On The Tracks", released in 1975, opens with the song "Tangled Up In Blue", the first of a few lengthy but engaging tales. I feel it still stands as one of Dylan's very best story songs, although this entire album is a masterwork. Here's the bard himself.

Back in the late 70's, when I was naive enough to believe that I could be a working musician simply because I liked music so much, I would go out to see certain local bands in an effort to 'learn the craft', but mostly to drink a lot & have a good time. Local cover bands were certainly more accessible than the arena-filling rockers of the day, so it was much easier to hang out and talk with the sound & lighting crew while they did their thing and to watch the musicians play so I could try to figure the songs out by the chord positions and what the different equipment would sound like. One of these local bands went by the name of Squeeze. 

Squeeze, circa 1977. The Jersey Edition.

Now, this was not the British pop band that made some great records in the 80's. This particular Squeeze played the Philly/Jersey/Delaware bar circuit and specialized in note-perfect renditions of Led Zeppelin songs. They had some original songs that were rather good and played lots of other cover tunes but the Zeppelin material was the draw. Any band of that time worth their gear could play "Rock 'n Roll" passably enough but Squeeze did deep cuts like "The Song Remains The Same", "The Rain Song" and even "Kashmir" with jaw-dropping authenticity. They were impressive, to say the least.

So let's get back to Dylan, shall we? One of the covers that Squeeze would do occasionally was a reworking of "Tangled Up In Blue". It was a good choice to break up the set a bit and work in a 'slow grope' dance before things started rocking again. Squeeze shortened the song by at least 3 verses and threw a 1/2 verse guitar solo back in, yet somehow managed to keep the story line intact.

This recording is as much of an exclusive as it is possible for me to present, due to the fact that I recorded it myself at a Squeeze gig in April of 1978. With the permission of the crew & band, I plugged a cassette deck into the mixing board, so what I got was live to 2 track, mixed on the fly. It's rough but real. I still have the cassettes and have attempted to contact the band members via Facebook, but have not yet received a response. This music has never been released. It seems like the appropriate forum to do so here. Enjoy!

As far as 'where are they now' goes, regarding Squeeze, vocalist Steve Richter & guitarist Steve Sheppard are alive & well & living in New Jersey. I understand their drummer, Jack Daley, passed away several years ago. The doings & whereabouts of guitarist Rick Caldwell & bassist Mike Mazzone are unknown. I wish them all well & thank them very belatedly for my using their band as my 'Rock School'.

In case you are curious, like my daughter was all those years ago, you'll be happy to know that there is more Bob Dylan music available at Amazon than anyone would ever know what to do with.

Have a great weekend!