Entertainment | Music
Poetic Justice
Stars young and old cover Bob Dylan's songs for Amnesty International's latest collection, Chimes of Freedom
- AP
- Published: 00:00 January 29, 2012
- Image Credit: AP
- Bob Dylan
Anyone who ever doubted the transformative power of Bob Dylan's music need only look to Ke$ha.
Yes, Ke$ha.
The irreverent pop star known for singing about brushing her teeth with "a bottle of Jack" turns poignant while covering a song from one of music's great lyricists on the new four-disc Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International. The project features 75 newly recorded Dylan songs by 80 artists, including Adele, Sting, Sugarland, Elvis Costello, hip-hop artist K'naan and others to support the human rights organisation.
Ke$ha is one of the more unlikely stars to contribute to the compilation. The pop star defined by party anthems like Tik Tok took on Dylan's Don't Think Twice, It's Alright. As she found herself alone in her bedroom for the first time in months, the words of the song — about a person bidding goodbye to a lover — took on a new, deeply personal meaning. She broke down as she began singing, and the emotion is captured on the record.
"Everything has changed. It's amazing, but there are moments that are incredibly lonely. This caught me at one of those incredibly lonely moments, and it really struck home. It's tragically relevant," said Ke$ha.
Ke$ha isn't the only eye-popping name on the compilation: Miley Cyrus does a rendition of You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go. The project has a wide range of acts, from Maroon 5 to 92-year-old folk legend Pete Seeger, who sings Forever Young with a children's chorus. Dylan waived the publishing rights to his entire catalogue, and all of the artists, musicians, engineers and others involved in the recording process did everything pro bono.
Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, who recorded Man of Peace, describes it as "thin ice" to cover an artist as iconic as Dylan, because not only are his songs brilliant, but his performances of those songs have become so revered themselves.
Legendary country artist and actor Kris Kristofferson considers Dylan a personal friend but says he's been an inspiration and a hero a lot longer than that. At 75, Kristofferson says he has been around long enough to understand and appreciate Dylan's impact on music.
"If you look at pop songs before Dylan, none of them were poetry like his are. He opened up the doors for creative writers and made songwriting to me what it is today," said Kristofferson, who covers Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn).
Natasha Bedingfield recorded Ring Them Bells. She said she used to listen to it as a kid with her brother and sister. "To me the song is about freedom, ‘Ring them bells for the blind and the deaf, for the innocent,'" she said. "For me it felt quite poignant, particularly for this album, where Amnesty is all about people who are being unjustly treated."
Chimes of Freedom is a follow-up to Amnesty International's 2007 collection of John Lennon songs performed by major artists, called Instant Karma.
"Music has been at the heart of so many movements for change," said Julie Yannatta, who served as the album's executive producer with Jeff Ayeroff. "Music has a way of reminding us who we are at our essence and what we need to do to live together in a better world, and Amnesty is very much a part of that."
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