Sufjan Stevens - Ring Them Bells (Bob Dylan cover)

[seriour]

Love dylan but this version is just...celestial

[BellPeppersAndBeef]

Is it so bad to like both versions? They each do their own thing. Be cool mah babies.

[lombmusic07]

Thankfully though, I heard this first and so could love it for its own merits, full stop.

[lombmusic07]

has more musicality and inventivenss.

[battlecow1]

Yech. I heard "Casimir Pulaski Day" and loved it, and figured that- Yippee!- This guy doing a Dylan song couldn't be anything but good. Boy, was I wrong. Someone should upload a remix that's just him saying "Martha!" in that annoying, perky, girlish voice two hundred or so times. That would make the point I'm trying to make here. This is garbage; I'm insulted that he even tried it if he didn't have anything better than this to do with it.

[JIPALIG]

Man those tastey guitar licks have some of the best phrasing i have ever heard. Makes that guitar come alive with soul.

[TotzthePlaid]

To anyone considering responding to my earlier comment: thank you, but a couple dozen people have already told me about the "I'm Not There" soundtrack and I own a copy now.

[Marloesloek]

coolXD

[maryblackchurch]

Well done..bravo!

[kellylizzz]

7 People are clearly unwise/deaf. 

[ThisIsDecay]

blew my mind. wow

[joekirklin]

This song is now on iTunes and Amazon - only available from the film soundtrack "I'm Not There". I'm a huge Sufjan fan and had never heard it until it popped up on Pandora one day. I love listening to Sufjan's music.

[tobyrat23]

Bob Dylan sings it with more emotion in my opinion. I love his live version on the Tell Tale Signs CD. Stevens has a good voice but... I don't know, it's not the same...

[chemicaladicta]

alaaaaaaaaaaaaa!

no maaaaa!

he's a genius!

he's amazing!

he's as great as Dylan is!

wow!

I loved it!

[rdeckelman415]

loved the movie, bought the soundtrack, and actually found out about most of my current favorite artists from it. it's incredible if you don't own it. it has the black keys, calexico, yo la tengo, sufjan stevens, mason jennings, stephen malkmus, and tons of other fantastic groups.

[MrsRockBelle]

Is this man Sufian stevens?

[AndrewtFerris]

This version is pleasant, but really doesn't work compared to Dylan's. It lacks gravity.

[eikogo]

great song

[oneAndrewshort]

musically I like the song, but the music really doesn't seem to do the lyrical tone any justice. I'd be curious to see what Sufjan would do with "I Shall Be Released" though

[JIPALIG]

Really? I find that the music matches the lyrical tone perfectly, a cheery yet somehow sorrowful melody and then a very triumphant built up, which to me parallels the lyrical themes quite spot on, but hey thats just my opinion. cheers.

[Gimic300]

People need to learn to cut the video down to the length of the song.

[Bk1kaissi]

he defines multi talented

[GordonsGriffin]

This man is a genius. I don't know how he did it, but this song became a masterpiece when he covered it. Dylan's original has its perks, but nothing compares when Sufjan puts his hand to something. I found this guy through the Indie/Rock Playlist, but had never heard of him before. Is he big in the States?

[stoopidxemilie]

Ooh I heard of him from that playlist too! Haha I couldn't find the song anywhere else which is why I uploaded it. Honestly I've never heard of the original =x so yeah. Mm he's not that big but yeahhh.

[kingcanti]

He's not too main stream. He's big amongst the outward circle of the counter culture.

[Chezfreak94]

I think he's more popular in the mid-west, seeing as he has two CDs based on states from there, am I right? {Michigan and Illinoise}

[tbone8390]

illinois...i could see how you spelled it wrong though

[cdbarnes4387]

Nope. The album art says: "Sufjan Stevens invites you to: Come on feel the Illinoise"

[roxymysock]

which is why tbone could see how chezfreak spelled it wrong.. though the state is spelled Illinois.

[elliotbosveldiznotme]

illinoise is the name of his album dedicated to illinois

[Devilslittleimp]

Yeah he is from Michigan, were I am from (:

[highway61gambler]

Better then dylans come on dude, no doubt great version and great artist,but overall uncomparable

[blueballsredhair]

@GordonsGriffin Are you insane?  Dylan's version on Tell Tale Signs is the definitive. There's something about this song, while it is pleasant enough, that lacks weight. It really doesn't do the lyrics justice.

[drongovids]

@blueballsredhair i agree. this version makes no sense as a cover of Ring Them Bells. Musically it's impressive but Sufjan doesn't seem to understand the original song. Sounds like he composed this first and then decided on what lyrics to sing to it later.

[bananaliver]

@drongovids Being a folk singer, I think Sufjan understood the song perfectly. What I like most about a cover is how different it is. Sufjan saw this song in a completely different way, therefore it was expressed as such. It's so unoriginal to just sing the song. That's so easy. This, well obviously is brilliance at it's best.

[ForeverAnalog]

@GordonsGriffin i disagree. The original is better. Idon't either one of them as singers. I feel that he is pretentious and fool of himself. His voice is plastic.

[johnsonyourfired]

@ForeverAnalog

This mans voice is gold! Its just more delicate and falsetto-y

[drongovids]

@GordonsGriffin this is not a masterpiece, sorry. the arrangement is impressive on its own merits, but as a rendition of Ring Them Bells it's clueless. Not to single out Sufjan Stevens on this point though, because most people who cover this song seem to turn into a christian nursery rhyme.

[soupinator13]

@drongovids Weird, I've never heard of people turning into nursery rhymes lol :)

[pjzeppelin]

@GordonsGriffin BOB DYLAN's is the definitive version. Especially the live version on the Bootleg Series Volume 8.

You can't compare this dude to Bob Dylan. I mean it's Bob fucking Dylan.

[drewbert83]

@GordonsGriffin Not nearly as big as he should be.

[jellybellybean93]

aw...he really does^^

cute song...

where can i buy his album?

[Dertel]

doesnt he somehow look like a less buff clive owen?

[ID3rfid]

holy bajesus ure right

[squazz]

Ive never noticed that before!! Could be twins!

[Bucc45]

noticed what?

[squazz]

It was a reply to someone, dont know why it didnt go under their comment, someone said he looks like Clive Owen

[Chezfreak94]

-dies-

That. Was. AMAZING.

It had me in a trance in the first three seconds.

[jarjar9001]

kill it with fire

[TheSunshinelove14]

I love Sufjan Stevens. Stop listening if you really don't like it. It's that simple :3

[chax1971]

I think you have to give a little credit to Bob Dylan for writing this song!

[birdstuckinchimney]

I love Sufjan Stevens and I often think that people do better covers of Bob Dylan songs than Bob himself. This is not one of those times. Sufjan in *in my opinion* wrecks this song. This version turns a song with an almost ancient depth, into a boppy modern little ditty.

[TotzthePlaid]

Where was this released?

[stoopidxemilie]

Idk exactly, but I first heard of this song from a playlist I downloaded. To be honest, I had no idea that there was an original version. I uploaded this because I couldn't find the song anywhere else online.

[dannyhuh]

@stoopidxemilie i'm pretty sure this was done for that bob dylan movie: i'm not there...

[fugitivealien]

It's from the I'm Not There soundtrack which is Dylan Covers

[jacktubeaccount]

Part of the soundtrack to the movie "I'm Not There" - a tribute to Bob Dylan.

[dbltary]

@TotzthePlaid It's on the I'm Not There soundtrack...along with several other amazing dylan covers.

[TotzthePlaid]

@dbltary Thank you. I'm going to have to track that down since I've heard a couple other covers from there that I really enjoy (though the only one I can think of off the top of my head is Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova's version of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere").

[madcaplaughs111]

@TotzthePlaid It was for the "I'm Not There" soundtrack

[automatichannah]

@TotzthePlaid

I don't know if anyone already told you, but it was on the soundtrack for I'm Not There

[TotzthePlaid]

@automatichannah People have. Thank you, though.

[mirairma]

@TotzthePlaid

This song is a part of the soundtrack to the movie "I'm not there". It's a film about Bob Dylan who made the original song (it's great btw, you should see it). The soundtrack was available on Spotify a while back, but for some reason they recently removed it.

[TotzthePlaid]

@mirairma Thank you. I have a copy now.

[littletman2012]

@TotzthePlaid It was on the soundtrack for "I'm Not There".

[CracklezCPE]

he looks like jim from the office!

amazing song so beautiful

[IHaveMyBullets]

hahahaha!

you're so right!

[k213389]

love this guy, can't get enough of him. he's a prolific talent. i love how he takes a bob dylan song and infuses it with his own joyous touch.

[kellyferndale]

Who plays the guitar solo? The phrasing is the tastiest stuff I've ever heard.

[beauceron]

Great cover...

[AsherSax]

I usually don't appreciate covers of Dylan, but I do admit that this young man is very creative with the arrangement, therefore I give him his praise.

[HalfManHalfAwkward]

Seriously? Dylan covers are the best covers around. I love Dylan but lets be honest, his strong suit is not singing. That being said, he is one of the best songwriters ever.

[AsherSax]

Yeah, I think the he is the best songwriter, no doubt about it, but I also think that he sings his songs better than anyone else could sing his songs because his voice fits the songs he writes. And after listening to Dylan for so long, I've actually come to favor his voice.

[HalfManHalfAwkward]

im not saying i dont like his voice, its just theres some songs where its like "are you even trying?"

dont be mistaken, i love dylan. i hesitated to say best because you still got simon & g-funk, and of course paul and john.

[AsherSax]

Ha, when you wrote "are you even trying" I immediately thought of Dylan's cover of Paul and John's "Yesterday". If you check that one out you wonder if he was forced to do the cover or something and didn't really want to.

[birdstuckinchimney]

I agree it sucks, someone should have put him outta his misery on that one.

[chaia84]

I actually have to agree...I think Dylan is a great songwriter, but sometimes his voice gets annoying for me....that's just my opinion..

[shazam15]

oh. i feel the same way. he did this fantastic poetry/ photography book with some guy. and i was just blown away by how beautifully he puts words together. then yesterday i heard him sing for the first time....... eh.

[chaia84]

haha ;)

[birdstuckinchimney]

My advise is, listen to more than one or two songs. Explore his earlier works. Try the album Desire as a starting point. You see I agree with you about how bad he sounds on lots of songs, and for years I pretty much disqualified myself experiencing the full Dylan anthology because the initial stuff I heard was just horrible. But remember this, if one dismisses an artist with the the track record of Bob Dylan one does so at the peril of never having some of lifes greatest musical experiences.

[shazam15]

Listening to stuff you dont like more doesn't make you like it suddenly. it actaully kind it of makes you not like it more.

[birdstuckinchimney]

I'm not suggesting that you listen to stuff you don't like. I'm suggesting you dig a bit deeper into the Dylan catalogue and see if there's anything there that you find accessable. You need to understand that Dylan has been at it for about 45 years and during that time there have been about 6 different voices that he has sung with. However, if you really are determined on missing out on experiencing someone as special as Bob, so-be-it. It's your loss dude.

[shazam15]

i totally understand what you're talking about. with Joini Mitchel its the same thing. either something is your speed, or its not. Dylan is an amazing poet, but i am not a fan of his voice. all six of them. i'm not dismissing him because of lack of experience with his work. i'm not dismissing him at all. i'm saying that i'm not a fan of his singing voice. eh.

[birdstuckinchimney]

Hmmm....your first post says, "yesterday I heard him sing for the first time" and now you're saying that you are familiar with all his voices. Those diverse voices span 45 years and are distributed throughout that period. It seems you spent a awful lot of time listening to Bob yesterday :-) ?

[shazam15]

my friend who loves him made me a mix CD of all her favorite songs from him it has like 26 songs on it. and i just got it yesterday. people have been trying to convince me to like him forever. so i figure he must have some merit. he's just not my cup of soup, aye?

[birdstuckinchimney]

Fair nuff.

[WoodenMosquito]

Thank you for writing this. I'm glad to read it. Sometimes he sings horrible, that's true. But he could sing very well, I always five "nashville skyline" album as an example. There was a Polish poet, Miron Bialoszewski who was singing his poems too. Horrible voice (and I mean it) but great lyrics. So don't deny people easy, you anti-Dylan ones ;)

Cheers

Raph

[ZestyItalian2]

Oh, and Sufjan Stevens is one of the most delightful and innovative artist working today. Nobody does quite what he does-- and I could listen to it seemingly forever.

[ZestyItalian2]

This is an incredibly rich and moving cover of a great song. Better than the original, in my mind-- which is simply a testament to what a genius songwriter Bob Dylan was and is. His material, like Shakespeare or the Beatles, can not only withstand but is enriched and improved by reinterpretation by other artists.

[timmybro10]

This is a great song, and I really do love Sufjan. He is really innovative and amazing.

[boxopoems]

I enjoyed it.  I could understand the words more clearly than Dylan's original, on the YouTube versions I heard/saw.

One thing, the music lasted for just over 6 minutes, so there's a couple of minutes of silenced at the end.

[davopolis]

this sux!!! badly

[Shalomp]

the video or the cover song?

[davopolis]

both...but especially the cover. Sorry, but that's my opinion. He truly captured the spirit of Dylan huh?

[Reapent]

Yea I agree with ur sarcasm, this is so not dylan.

[EmilySmoot]

Why does it have to be like the original, though?

[Reapent]

It doesnt have to be like the original. it just has to not suck in order to honour the great legend who wrote it. This sadly sucks.

[captainadam1]

What a terrible beginning . . . complete crap.

[dylanlive66]

what a brilliant cover!!

[trvsimpson]

I love this cover. This is the only cover I've heard I enjoy as much as Bob's version.

[StevenJosephChrist]

the Shepherd is awake.

[homgprdgn]

Great cover. Imagine if Bob sang this song when he was in his prime.

[opart68]

Fantastic song and a definitive version!