Cover Me, Jacob and Drinkwater: Dry Lightning

I thought we might take a break from the “I’m on Fire” and “Dancing in the Dark” covers for a bit and shine the spotlight for a while on artists covering deeper cuts in Bruce’s catalog.

Let’s start with this fine acoustic performance of “Dry Lightning.”

“Dry Lightning” was one of the more melodic tracks on The Ghost of Tom Joad, and if not for the state of radio in the mid-nineties, it might have found the audience it deserved. It certainly attracted a couple of notable covers, and a few under-the-radar ones as well.

This one by Oslo-based singer-songwriter Tobias ben Jacob with Lukas Drinkwater on the double bass is one of my favorites. Jacob and Drinkwater performed it during their appearance on The Big Comfy Sessions, an erstwhile acoustic series filmed at The Big Comfy Bookshop in Coventry.

“Dry Lightning” is a post-breakup, where-is-she-now song that foretold Western Stars from a quarter-century away. On the album it’s lilting and deceptively carefree-sounding. Jacob and Drinkwater found a way to expose the song’s sadness without losing any of its gentle musical beauty, stratifying it with a high, wistful vocal and a low, mournful bass. Even a casual listener couldn’t walk away unaffected after a first listen.

If you like what you hear check out more of Jacob and Drinkwater’s music here, and if you’re in the U.K. this spring, catch them on tour.