I’ve been listening to a LOT of Bob Dylan lately, and in today’s Video Fridays installment I’d like to feature one of the greatest Dylan covers of all time.

This version of the classic Like A Rolling Stone, performed by Jimi Hendrix at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, is remarkable in a number of ways.

Hendrix, as he’s introducing the song, tongue firmly in cheek says, “I’d like to bore you a little bit for about six or seven minutes…” I don’t have any evidence for this, but I think there’s a good chance that he might be referring to the fact that there are so many words in the song. Some Dylan detractors thought his wordiness bordered on tedium, and let’s face it, most people at Monterey were there to hear Hendrix’s virtuoso guitar playing.

Jimi, himself, seems a little conflicted. He can’t even make it through the introduction, and unexpectedly says, “Excuse me for a minute and just let me play my guitar, alright?” It’s a funny moment, but it’s also a moment of complete abandon to the music. He literally has to stop talking because the guitar is begging him to play it.

Then he steps on the breaks long enough to finish the intro, before launching into an unbelievable, commanding performance, his lush, layered guitar licks mixing resonating chords and melodic fills that drip with honey, honey so sweet that you don’t even notice that he uncharacteristically does not do any extended soloing.

Anyway, enough words.

Happy Friday, everyone! Enjoy!

On Wednesday, I wrote about how much I love a new retro Soul Rock band called Alabama Shakes.

Then, this morning, a friend of mine sent me a clip of a performance by someone whose music isn’t ostensibly thought of as Soul music, and yet he was one of the many great British artists of the 1960s and 1970s who, inspired by American Soul music, infused their own music with the kind of deep feeling and passionate vocal delivery that had been largely missing in pop music up to that point.

While Elton John suffered a long, slow decline into mediocrity starting around 1974, his catalog prior to that decline is some of the most beautiful, deeply felt, funky, and oh so soulful music ever.

With a simple trio — Elton on piano and vocals of course, Dee Murray on bass, Nigel Olsson on drums — and lyrics from fellow Brit and songwriting partner Bernie Taupin, there’s a series of performances from 1970 and 1971 BBC broadcasts on YouTube that are nothing short of spectacular. It’s just incredible how lush and powerful the music is with such a small ensemble. But John, seemingly with little effort, coaxes so much sound out of the massive grand piano that dwarfs him, Murray’s melodic bass lines hold down the bottom end, Olsson’s drums, loaded with subtle syncopation, hold down the rhythm, and their occasional three-part harmonies bring it all together.

Since I couldn’t pick just one, here are some of my favorites, with the last one featuring a 1972 addition to the band, guitarist Davey Johnstone on mandolin.

Happy Friday, everyone!