Artist	Song
Bob Dylan	Simple Twist of Fate
from Blood On the Tracks (1984)
The Band	It Makes No Difference
from The Band: Greatest Hits (2000)
Rod Stewart	Mandolin Wind
from Every Picture Tells a Story (1998)
Elvis Costello	Blame It On Cain
from My Aim Is True (2007)
Linda Thompson & Richard Thompson	Dimming of the Day
from The Best of Richard and Linda Thompson: The Island Record Years (2000)
John Martyn	Solid Air
from Solid Air (1990)
Nick Drake	Hazey Jane 2
from Way to Blue: An Introduction to Nick Drake (2003)
Tim Buckley	Once I Was
from The Best of Tim Buckley (2006)
Leonard Cohen	Bird On the Wire
from The Best of Leonard Cohen (1987)
Faces	Debris
from The Best of Faces: Good Boys When They're Asleep (2005)
Boz Scaggs	Lido Shuffle
from Hits! (2006)
Dr. John	Just the Same
from In the Right Place (2005)
Terry Callier	Ride Suite Ride (Intro)
from Timepeace (1998)
Meic Stevens	Left Over Time
from Outlander (2006)

Comment:

What do a harp-blowing poet from Minnesota, a one-time First Couple of British Folk, and a gravel-throated former Face have in common? They each, in their own way, share a slice of Van’s very essence. In "Simple Twist of Fate," Bob Dylan mixes desire and regret with a devil-may-[i]not[/i]-care shrug; broken up, perhaps — but, like his Irish friend, never broken [i]down[/i]. Linda Thompson, on the other hand, picks through her love life's debris in "Dimming of the Day," while then-husband Richard cushions her shattered psyche in acoustic guitar riffs sweet enough to alarm your dentist. And Rod Stewart's "Mandolin Wind," a buckskin-fringed prairie love letter to a woman whose devotion could thaw not only ice, but also stone, seems to have been delivered straight from the cream-puff center of his heart, à la Morrison's "Have I Told You Lately." As you'll discover, assembling Van's musical mosaic requires pieces spread out over five countries, from Bruce Springsteen to Nick Drake, from Joan Armatrading to Leonard Cohen, and more — but we'll help you put it all together.

Feedback: