Since Bob Dylan is arguably the best and most important songwriter of the entire rock era, it’s not surprising that his tunes show up on countless albums by other artists, including many that consist entirely of his compositions. This writer’s collection includes more than 800 Dylan covers, and while not all of them hit their marks, they virtually all start with a built-in advantage: great material.
That’s certainly the case with the new I Shall Be Released: Covers of Bob Dylan 1963–1970, a three-CD set that embraces songs Dylan wrote during the fertile period mentioned in the title. (Some of the tracks were recorded or released later, however.) The collection features 63 numbers, including seven each from Bringing It All Back Home and John Wesley Harding; six from The Basement Tapes; five each from The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61 Revisited and New Morning; four from Another Side of Bob Dylan and Nashville Skyline; and two from The Times They Are A-Changin’. An additional 13 covers consist mostly of tunes that first appeared on singles and anthologies.
The 3-CD set, released on July 25, 2025, via the Strawberry imprint of Cherry Red Records, is available in the U.S. here, in Canada here and in the U.K. here.
Given the richness of Dylan’s catalog, it was inevitable that, even with 63 tracks and a focus on a mere eight-year period, many classic compositions didn’t make the cut. Nor does this box fit in many of the best-known covers of his material. This is not the place to look, for example, for Peter, Paul & Mary’s “Blowin’ in the Wind,” Manfred Mann’s “The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)” or the Byrds’ “Mr. Tambourine Man” (though two covers by that latter group are on the program).
There are a few relatively well-known performances, such as Johnny Winter’s kinetic rendition of “Highway 61 Revisited” and Mike Bloomfield, Steve Stills, and Al Kooper’s reading of “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry.” But what we largely have here are obscure recordings, some by well-known artists and some by performers who have attracted much less attention than the songs they’re covering.
The good news is that the quality of most of these tracks is high. You will find the occasional clunker, such as an ill-conceived “I Am a Lonesome Hobo” by Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & the Trinity and a lackluster “The Mighty Quinn” by (believe it or not) the 1910 Fruitgum Company. But a short-lived British group called Canticle delivers a fine, infectious take on “Like a Rolling Stone,” while folksinger Glenn Yarbrough’s tenor proves an excellent match for “Tomorrow Is a Long Time.” The Orange Bicycle, another ephemeral band, successfully transforms “Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You” from country into soul-tinged psychedelia while the Hollies add their trademark harmonies to “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” And those are just a few of the many highlights.
If you’re a Dylan fan, this eclectic box is a great place to go treasure hunting.
Related: The same label is issuing a 4-CD set of U.S. folk music from 1963-1969
Burger wrote one of the first interview-based profiles of Bruce Springsteen to be published in a national magazine. He has interviewed many other music-world luminaries as well, including Steve Van Zandt, Roger McGuinn, John Sebastian, Wolfman Jack, Tom Waits, Foreigner’s Mick Jones, Billy Joel, Steve Forbert, Tommy James, the Righteous Brothers, Gordon Lightfoot, Deep Purple’s Tommy Bolin, and members of Steely Dan and the Marshall Tucker Band. He has also interviewed many other public figures, such as Suze Orman, Daymond John, James Carville, Donald Trump, Sir Richard Branson, F. Lee Bailey, and Cliff Robertson.
His books include Dylan on Dylan: Interviews and Encounters, Lennon on Lennon: Conversations with John Lennon, Leonard Cohen on Leonard Cohen: Interviews and Encounters, and Springsteen on Springsteen: Interviews, Speeches, and Encounters, all of which are published in the U.S. and Canada by Chicago Review Press. The books have been republished in numerous other countries.
Burger has been the editor of several periodicals, including Business Jet Traveler, from which he retired in 2024. During his 20 years at that
publication, it received more than 120 major editorial awards, including multiple wins for the world’s Best Consumer Travel Magazine in the annual Folio:Eddie competition.
Burger lives in Ridgewood, New Jersey. His wife, Madeleine Beresford, is a puppeteer and former preschool director and teacher. The couple have two grown children.
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