All Along the Watchtower

I have been assigned to listen to Bob Dylan's version of All Along the Watchtower. And, I must admit, it was good. And I know my professor would say, "Of course it was good! It was more than good!" But, this must have been the first song of Bob Bylan's music that I can actually picture what he's saying. I heard he voice clearly and his harmonica did a good number on me.

But I took it a step further and I took a listen to Jimi Hendrix's version of this song. Now, one thing that I quickly noticed was that Hendrix's version was 4 minutes and Bob Dylan's was 2 minutes and a 1/2. A question came to mind: "Does it take a 1 and a 1/2 minute difference to make a equally great song?" Well, the only way to find out was listen to both about 3 times.

And so I did, and I came to a conclusion. Bob Dylan's version was much more effective. Unlike Hendrix, he didn't have a 30 to 40 second solo piece with his guitar. Any space that was filled between verses were mostly harmonica and some background guitarist. I also noticed that Hendrix took out some words and added some words. I guess that he wanted the song to match with his style of vocals.

In any case, I think Bob Dylan did a better job with All Along the Watchtower. And to fully respond to that, later in my blog, I will eventually write an identical poem to All Along the Watchtower. :) So stay tuned.