Earlier today, country rock guitarist Dave Alvin released a brand new single, a cover of Bob Dylan’s legendary hit song “Highway 61.” The track, which was released with a brand new music video, comes off Alvin’s forthcoming album release, From An Old Guitar: Rare and Unreleased Recordings which is due to release officially on November 20.
You can stream Alvin’s version of “Highway 61” along with its new music video below at the bottom of the article.
According to the official press release sent out today with the new cover track, An Old Guitar will consist of sixteen previously unreleased tracks from Alvin and be “a mix of acoustic blues and ballads to electric bar room blues to folk and country/rock.” Some of the album’s songs will be originals while others will be tunes from artists like Dylan, Marty Robbins, Willie Dixon, and others.
Alvin also offered some personal thoughts about the recording process for his “Highway 61” cover:
“When UNCUT magazine asked me to record “Highway 61” for their Bob Dylan tribute CD insert, I was scared to death,” says Alvin. “Not only is it impossible to do a better version of this song than Dylan had already done, but it would be pretty damn hard to come anywhere close to doing a version as good as Johnny Winters’ classic cover. Knowing this, I still figured, ‘what the hell.’ I called the musicians, figured out an arrangement somewhere between Mose Allison and Little Milton, plugged in my guitar, and went for it. The guys and I had an absolute blast reimagining this version of Mr. Dylan’s classic, and I sincerely hope you enjoy listening to it as much as we did playing it.”
Stream Dave Alvin’s cover of Bob Dylan “Highway 61” and its new music video below, and for more information, head to his personal website here.