|
|||||
| concert reviews | basement tapes | cd reviews | interviews | features | |
 |
 |
 |
|
Review and photos by Frances Sealy Osborne is touring these days to promote her amazing new album Songs of Bob Dylan. Three years ago, Osborne opened the show for Mavis Staples during their "Solid Soul" tour. This tour is strictly Osborne with accompaniment by Jack Petruzzelli on guitar and Keith Cotton on keyboards. This was a striped-down, no-nonsense delivery of some of Bob Dylan's most iconic music.Osborne seems to have avoided the spotlight after her huge breakthrough in the 1990s with the Eric Bazilian song, "One of Us" and her album Relish. The record went three times Platinum in record sales in the U.S. and achieved more sales worldwide. She has proven herself a master vocalist of rock, Americana, R & B, blues, and country styles of music. The singer has a history of touring with the jam-rockers, The Dead as well as the rock band, Trigger Hippy. She has performed with The Holms Brothers and The Waybacks. Osborne has since released covers of many Motown classic songs and was featured in the 2002 film, "Standing in the Shadows of Motown." Osborne has worked on the projects Dolly Parton's tribute album, Vivian Campbell's solo album, Cheap Trick's DVD, and "Sgt. Pepper Live." She has avoided the spotlight since her initial explosive album in 1995. In a recent interview, she recalled, "The instant fame was both incredible and horrible." She was grateful that her music had found a wide audience but "didn't love the feeling of being under the microscope." Osborne used the Bob Dylan penned song, "Man in the Long Black Coat" in her first album. It's safe to assume that she has admired the writer and poet for a very long time. It had to be very daunting to pick only 13 songs for an album to represent Dylan's deep well of his life long work. However, she does an admirable job selecting songs throughout the years of Dylan's most famous as well as some lesser-known gems. Osborne introduced each song as if she had written the song. It was obvious that she knew the origin of each song in relationship to Dylan's career. Osborne made a point to include songs that did not make the album in the show. Examples of the songs not on the album included "Gotta Serve Somebody," "All Along the Watchtower," "Don't Think Twice," and "Dark Eyes." Her accompanying musicians are as well seasoned as they get. Petruzzelli displayed his virtuosity by fusing several styles producing a myriad of sounds from his guitar that escalated Osborne's set. He plays with Fab Faux, a Beatles tribute band when he is not performing with Osborne, Patti Smith, or Rufus Wainwright. Cotton started playing in Osborne's band 11 years ago. He had several solo opportunities during that show that gave texture, grit and bluesy licks with his keyboards. Osborne made a point to introduce Petruzzilli and Cotton as the producers of the Dylan album. Both musicians sang backup vocals. She added some more pointed Dylan songs, including "Masters of War." While putting together the set list, she even got a recommendation from Patti Smith: "Dark Eyes," from the 1985 album "Empire Burlesque. Osborne delivered songs like "Highway 61 Revisited" and "High Water (For Charley Patton)" with a gospel fervor and passion that the songs so deserved. These songs were some of the best interpretations of the night. She has found a sweet spot in arranging the Dylan songs that does not imitate the original and yet still pays homage to the original material. The most successful redo of the night was one in which she introduced as Dylan's highest charting single record, "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35." "Since everyone was so familiar with it, we thought it was incumbent upon us to do something different with it. We changed it a lot. Depending on your point of view, it is either a fresh, radical interpretation or we have butchered the song." She gave the songs new life and new meaning. Osborne has a mezzo-soprano voice with an easy command of vocal shadings that finds the vulnerability behind a song. She has a confident, good-humored stage presence. Catch the show if you can. |
| Osborne Set list: | |
|
1. Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
(Bob Dylan cover) 2. High Water (For Charley Patton) (Bob Dylan cover) 3. Spanish Harlem Incident (Bob Dylan cover) 4. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (Bob Dylan cover) 5. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (Bob Dylan cover) 6. You Ain't Goin' Nowhere (Bob Dylan & The Band cover) 7. Tryin' to Get to Heaven (Bob Dylan cover) 8. Masters of War (Bob Dylan cover) |
9. Buckets of Rain
(Bob Dylan cover) 10. Highway 61 Revisited (Bob Dylan cover) 11. Tangled Up in Blue (Bob Dylan cover) 12. Gotta Serve Somebody (Bob Dylan cover) Encore: 13. All Along the Watchtower (Bob Dylan cover) (with Howe Gelb) 14. Knockin' on Heaven's Door (Bob Dylan cover) 15. One of Us |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Return to Reviews
Return to Livewire