"Born in Time" | |
---|---|
Song by Bob Dylan | |
from the album Under the Red Sky | |
Released | September 10, 1990 |
Recorded | March–May 1990 |
Genre | Rock |
Length | 3:39 |
Label | Columbia |
Songwriter(s) | Bob Dylan |
Producer(s) | |
Audio | |
"Born in Time" (album version) by Bob Dylan on YouTube |
"Born in Time" is a rock song written by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, who first released the track on September 10, 1990, on his twenty-seventh studio album Under the Red Sky . It is a reworking of a song originally recorded at the previous year's Oh Mercy sessions. [1] The British recording artist Eric Clapton covered the song for his 1998 studio effort Pilgrim and released his take on the tune as a single. [2] The song has been praised by critics for its catchy melody and romantic, dreamlike lyrics. [3] [4]
Dylan has officially released four different versions of the song: In addition to the version released on Under the Red Sky , he subsequently released two outtakes from the Oh Mercy sessions, recorded in 1989 and produced by Daniel Lanois, on The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989–2006 in 2008, [5] and a live version from 1998 as the b-side to his single "Love Sick" from Time Out of Mind. [6]
Spectrum Culture included the Under the Red Sky version on a list of "Bob Dylan's 20 Best Songs of the 1990s". In an article accompanying the list, critic Tyler Dunston calls it "particularly urgent" and notes that it is a track where, "as with many of Dylan’s greatest songs, his romanticism and his realism intersect". [7] The Big Issue placed The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 version at #15 on a 2021 list of the "80 best Bob Dylan songs - that aren't the greatest hits" and noted that it signaled "a return to form after a rum decade" for the singer/songwriter. [8]
A 2021 Guardian article included it on a list of "80 Bob Dylan songs everyone should know". [9]
Dylan performed the song 56 times on the Never Ending Tour between 1993 and 2003. [10] One of these performances was a duet with Eric Clapton in New York City in 1999. [11]
"Born in Time" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Eric Clapton | ||||
from the album Pilgrim | ||||
Released | July 10, 1998 | |||
Genre | Soft rock | |||
Length | 4:42 | |||
Label | Reprise | |||
Songwriter(s) | Bob Dylan | |||
Producer(s) |
| |||
Eric Clapton singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
Audio | ||||
"Born in Time" by Eric Clapton on YouTube | ||||
Audio sample | ||||
The British rock musician Eric Clapton covered Dylan's original release,adding his Pilgrim-style arrangements to the track. Clapton plays the song in the key of E major. [12] The British recording artist adds a Distortion effect while playing the rhythm guitar pattern with his signature Fender Stratocaster. In between some lyrical lines and for his guitar solo,Clapton uses a Dobro,playing with the slide guitar technique. The background vocals and synthesizers on the recording create a string orchestra sound and feel. [13] The recording was produced by Clapton himself along with his long-time collaborator record producer Simon Climie. [14]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Born in Time" (Album Version) | Bob Dylan | Eric Clapton · Simon Climie | 4:42 |
2. | "Born in Time" (Remix Edit) | Bob Dylan | Eric Clapton · Simon Climie | 3:59 |
3. | "Wonderful Tonight" (Live) | Eric Clapton | Russ Titelman | 5:25 |
4. | "Tears in Heaven" | Eric Clapton · Will Jennings | Russ Titelman | 4:32 |
Total length: | 18:38 |
Entertainment Weekly critic David Browne notes pop record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds humming the backing vocals to the tune on the Pilgrim studio album, giving it a R&B feel. [16] Journalist David Wild from Rolling Stone likes Clapton's interpretation of this "overlooked Dylan tune". [17] The compact disc single was not that successful in the charts, reaching only number 88 in Germany, where the single release stayed for eight weeks on the official German single charts. [18] In the Czech Republic, the CD single was purchased more than one thousand times in the first week, making it Clapton's only single in the Republic, gaining a silver disc for outstanding sales figures. [19]
Chart (1998) | Peak position |
---|---|
Germany (Official German Charts) [20] | 88 |
Region | Certification |
---|---|
Czech Republic (ČNS IFPI) [19] | Silver |
No Reason to Cry is the fourth solo studio album by Eric Clapton, released by RSO Records on 27 August 1976. The album was recorded in Malibu and Los Angeles between December 1975 to May 1976. The record went silver in the U.K.
Pilgrim is the thirteenth solo studio album by the British rock musician Eric Clapton, released on 10 March 1998 for Reprise Records. The album features all-new studio-recorded material, the first to do so since Clapton's 1989 hit album Journeyman and was nominated for several music awards. Although most of the critics responded negatively to the 1998 studio effort, it was one of Clapton's most commercially successful albums, reaching the Top 10 in twenty-two countries.
"Layla" is a song written by Eric Clapton and Jim Gordon, originally recorded with their band Derek and the Dominos, as the thirteenth track from their only studio album, Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs (1970). Its contrasting movements were composed separately by Clapton and Gordon. The piano part has also been controversially credited to Rita Coolidge, Gordon's girlfriend at the time.
Desire is the seventeenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on January 5, 1976, through Columbia Records. It is one of Dylan's most collaborative efforts, featuring the same caravan of musicians as the acclaimed Rolling Thunder Revue tours the previous year. Many of the songs also featured backing vocals by Emmylou Harris and Ronee Blakley. Most of the album was co-written by Jacques Levy, and is composed of lengthy story-songs, two of which quickly generated controversy: the 11-minute-long "Joey", which is seen as glorifying the violent gangster "Crazy Joey" Gallo, and "Hurricane", the opening track that tells a passionate account of the murder case against boxer Rubin Carter, who the song asserts was framed. Carter was released in 1985, after a judge overturned his conviction on appeal.
Robyn Rowan Hitchcock is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the influential Underwater Moonlight, Hitchcock launched a prolific solo career.
"Tangled Up in Blue" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, which was released as the opening track of his 15th studio album Blood on the Tracks (1975). The song was written by Dylan and produced by David Zimmerman, Dylan's brother. Released as a single, it reached No. 31 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song concerns relationships and contains different narrative perspectives. Dylan has altered the lyrics in subsequent performances, changing the point of view and details in the song.
"Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, written for the soundtrack of the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Released as a single two months after the film's premiere, it became a worldwide hit, reaching the Top 10 in several countries. The song became one of Dylan's most popular and most covered post-1960s compositions, spawning covers from Eric Clapton, Guns N' Roses, Randy Crawford, and more.
"People Get Ready" is a 1965 single by The Impressions, and the title track from the People Get Ready album. The single is the group's best-known hit, reaching number three on the Billboard R&B chart and number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100. The gospel-influenced track was a Curtis Mayfield composition that displayed the growing sense of social and political awareness in his writing.
"Just Like a Woman" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan from his seventh studio album, Blonde on Blonde (1966). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. Dylan allegedly wrote it on Thanksgiving Day in 1965, though some biographers doubt this, concluding that he most likely improvised the lyrics in the studio. Dylan recorded the song at Columbia Studio A in Nashville, Tennessee in March 1966. The song has been criticized for sexism or misogyny in its lyrics, and has received a mixed critical reaction. Some critics have suggested that the song was inspired by Edie Sedgwick, while other consider that it refers to Dylan's relationship with fellow folk singer Joan Baez. Retrospectively, the song has received renewed praise, and in 2011, Rolling Stone magazine ranked Dylan's version at number 232 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. A shorter edit was released as a single in the United States during August 1966 and peaked at number 33 on the Billboard Hot 100. The single also reached 8th place in the Australian charts, 12th place on the Belgium Ultratop Wallonia listing, 30th in the Dutch Top 40, and 38th on the RPM listing in Canada.
"Change the World" is a song written by Tommy Sims, Gordon Kennedy, and Wayne Kirkpatrick and recorded by country music artist Wynonna Judd. A later version was recorded by English singer Eric Clapton for the soundtrack of the 1996 film Phenomenon. Clapton's version was produced by R&B record producer Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds.
"Not Dark Yet" is a song by Bob Dylan, recorded in January 1997 and released in September that year as the seventh track on his album Time Out of Mind. It was also released as a single on August 25, 1997 and later anthologized on the compilation albums The Essential Bob Dylan in 2000, The Best of Bob Dylan in 2005 and Dylan in 2007. The song was produced by Daniel Lanois.
"My Father's Eyes" is a song written and performed by British musician Eric Clapton and produced by Clapton and Simon Climie. It was released as a single in 1998 and was featured on Clapton's thirteenth solo studio album, Pilgrim (1998). The song reached the top 40 on the US Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, peaking at number 16, which remains his last top-40 hit in said country as of 2024. It also spent five weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart. It became a top-five hit in Canada, where it peaked at number two, and reached the top 20 in Austria, Iceland, and Norway. In 1999, it won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
"Gotta Serve Somebody" is a song written and performed by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released as the opening track on his 1979 studio album Slow Train Coming. It won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Male in 1980. It was later anthologized on the compilation albums Biograph (1985), Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3 (1994), The Essential Bob Dylan (2000), The Best of Bob Dylan and Dylan (2007).
"Dignity" is a song by Bob Dylan, first released on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3 on November 15, 1994, and also released as a CD single a month later. It was originally recorded in the spring of 1989 during the Oh Mercy studio sessions, but was not included on the album. It was also later anthologized on Dylan (2007).
"Meet Me in the Morning" is a blues song written by Bob Dylan, recorded in New York City on September 16, 1974, and released on his 15th studio album, Blood on the Tracks, in 1975.
"Tryin' to Get to Heaven" is a song written and performed by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, recorded in January 1997 and released in September that year as the fifth track on his album Time Out of Mind. The recording was produced by Daniel Lanois.
"Watching the River Flow" is a song by American singer Bob Dylan. Produced by Leon Russell, it was written and recorded during a session in March 1971 at the Blue Rock Studio in New York City. The collaboration with Russell formed in part through Dylan's desire for a new sound—after a period of immersion in country rock music—and for a change from his previous producer.
"Rita May" is a song by Bob Dylan, originally recorded during the sessions for the album Desire, but released only as the B-side of a single and on the compilation album, Masterpieces. The song is based on the 1957 rockabilly song "Bertha Lou". Some listeners believe that the lyrics of the song refer to writer Rita Mae Brown, who had complained of the lack of opportunities for casual lesbian sex.
"(I) Get Lost" is a pop song written and recorded by the British rock musician Eric Clapton. The title was released as both a single on 23 November 1999 for Reprise Records and is featured as part of the compilation album Clapton Chronicles: The Best of Eric Clapton, which was released on 12 October 1999. It was written for the movie The Story of Us.
"Circus Left Town", also known as "Circus" is a ballad written by the British recording artist Eric Clapton. The rock musician wrote the song about the last night he spent with his then four-year-old son Conor. Although Clapton played and recorded the song for his 1992 million seller live album Unplugged, he decided to release the title six years later as a re-recording for both his 1998 effort Pilgrim and as a single release. However, Clapton played the song live for his 1992 Eric Clapton World Tour, before it came out on any recording formats.