Corporate, Mraz Do Dylan

Something Corporate, Jason Mraz and former Catatonia singer Cerys Matthews are among the artists who have recorded tracks for the Bob Dylan tribute double album, Listen to Bob Dylan, due August 16th from California indie punk label Drive-Thru Records. Fourteen of the twenty-one tracks are available now through iTunes as an exclusive preview.

"No matter how many Bob Dylan songs you listen to, you're always like, 'Gosh, that's another great song,'" says Something Corporate guitarist Josh Partington. "It's really hard to pick a Dylan song and think that you can do it justice."

Joining the Orange County alt-rockers -- who deliver a powerful, soaring rendition of "Just Like a Woman" -- are Drive-Thru labelmates I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business with a bluegrass-tinged "Positively 4th Street," RX Bandits with a dreamy take on "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" and Socratic with a bouncy "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You."

Originally intended to coincide with the iconic folk singer's sixty-fourth birthday in May, Listen to Bob Dylan is one of several upcoming releases celebrating over four decades of his music. Bob Dylan: Live at the Gaslight 1962, featuring his early performances at the Gaslight Cafe in New York's Greenwich Village, will be released on August 30th exclusively through Starbucks. Also hitting shelves that day is the double-disc soundtrack to the Martin Scorsese-directed biopic No Direction Home: Bob Dylan. No Direction will be released on DVD on September 20th, followed by its television premiere September 26th on PBS.

While those releases are more likely to be picked up by hardcore fans, Listen to Bob Dylan encourages the uninitiated to hear their favorite indie bands playing Dylan songs that have impacted their own music.

"When [Dylan's 2004 memoir] Chronicles, Vol. One came out, it made me remember how much I love his music and how significant his music was in my life," says Drive-Thru Records owner Stefanie Reines. "He's the most significant artist to have ever lived."

The rejuvenation Reines felt drove her to organize the compilation, including faithful renditions by the energetic Rock 'N' Roll Soldiers ("Rainy Day Women #12 & 35"), pop music duo the Format ("Simple Twist of Fate"), southern rockers House of Fools ("Blowin' in the Wind"), reedy-voiced Matthews ("I Believe In You") and singer-songwriter Mraz ("A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall").

"A hard part of doing covers is that you want to put your own spin on the song because nobody wants to hear a cover band," Partington said of toeing the line between doing a traditional cover and revamping a classic. "But it's a lot easier to nail a song that's amazingly written. It's kind of like going bumper bowling -- it's easier than bowling."

Listen to Bob Dylan track list:

Disc One:

"Don't Think Twice (It's Alright)," Steel Train
"Like a Rolling Stone," Anberlin
"Mr. Tambourine Man," Roark
"Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You," Socratic
"Blowin' in the Wind," House of Fools
"Girl of the North Country," As Tall as Lions
"Man in Me," Jenoah
"I Believe in You," Cerys Matthews
"Simple Twist of Fate," The Format
"A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," Jason Mraz

Disc Two:

"Rainy Day Women #12 & 35," Rock 'N' Roll Soldiers
"It Ain't Me Babe," Dave Melillo
"Positively 4th Street," I Can Make a Mess Like Nobody's Business
"Just Like a Woman," Something Corporate
"She Belongs to Me," Kisschasy
"To Ramona," Days Away
"Boots of Spanish Leather," Julia Haltigan
"I Want You," James Blunt
"I Shall Be Released," Steel Train
"The Times They Are A-Changin'," The Stay at Home Joneses
"The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll," RX Bandits