musicthatrocksmyworld:

Masters Of War - Eddie Vedder & Mike McCready

Here is my 5:06 for 5/06. I know I’m a bit late, but whatever.

This is from the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert which took place on October 16/1992 (but the album was released in 1993). Pearl Jam was still a relativity new band. I love the intensity of this version. It was the definite highlight of that evening.

Another one of my favorite Pearl Jam moments.

bringitondown:

Bob Dylan | Masters Of War

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I’m young
You might say I’m unlearned
But there’s one thing I know
Though I’m younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Yeah, one of my favorite Dylan songs. His greatest gift is getting to the heart of a situation and expressing it in a way that keeps his songs relevant forever.

(via loveisadeserter)

musicthatrocksmyworld:

Masters Of War - Eddie Vedder & Mike McCready

I rebogged the original earlier, but I really wanted to post this live rendition from the lead singer & lead guitarist of Pearl Jam. This live version is from the Bob Dylan 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration which took place back on October 16, 1992 at Madison Square Garden. I remember watching this when it was televised on PBS. At this point I was in my mid-teens and I was just starting to get into Bob Dylan (because many of my musical heroes cited him as an influence).

The entire set was solid but this performance was the absolute highlight of the evening. I was already a huge Pearl Jam fan, but this was a departure from Ten (this performance predates the release of their 2nd album Vs.). If you search You Tube you can find no shortage of footage of either Pearl Jam or Eddie Vedder solo (or with Ben Harper) performing this song (but sadly I couldn’t find any footage of this particular performance, and I only ever owned the CD not the video). This is by far the most intense & powerful performance of this song.  

Same here. I was only able to find the Letterman post that I found and the ones you said. It is a great performance of the song (one of my favorite covers) and they’ve done a great job adapting it over the years. 

“Masters of War” by Bob Dylan
(Words/Music: Bob Dylan, Album: The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, Columbia Records 1963)

If there’s one truth that I’ve recognized over the years it’s that when there’s something that needs to be said (about politics, society, love, etc.), Bob Dylan has already said it. And he’s said it in a way which is unique and usually better than anyone else could. So with the situation in Libya right now, I just leave you this song and these words (I was going to choose the most applicable lyrics, but there are too many):

Come you masters of war
You that build all the guns
You that build the death planes
You that build the big bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin’
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it’s your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
When the death count gets higher
You hide in your mansion
As young people’s blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You’ve thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain’t worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I’m young
You might say I’m unlearned
But there’s one thing I know
Though I’m younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death’ll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I’ll watch while you’re lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I’ll stand o’er your grave
’Til I’m sure that you’re dead

“Masters of War” by Eddie Vedder/Mike McCready (with G.E. Smith)

(Words/Music: Bob Dylan, Album: The 30^th Anniversary Concert Celebration, Columbia 1993)

Originally recorded and released on Bob Dylan’s Freewheelin’ Boy Dylan alongside timeless protest/folk songs “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “Masters of War” helped announce Bob Dylan as not only a folk singer but as someone with something to say. Although it was released a few years before the major era of Vietnam protest, it resonates with the same sentiments because Dylan was singing about all wars. This ability to write lyrics which apply to universal situations and times is one of the major reasons why Dylan’s songs continue to remain relevant today. The “big three” from this album can apply just as easily to the events surrounding the Vietnam War as they can to Desert Storm or the current war in Iraq. The basic truth remains the same but the faces and specific details have changed.

When Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready from Pearl Jam performed this song at the 30^th Anniversary Celebration of Bob Dylan’s first album release, the United States was embroiled in conflicts in the Middle East (collectively referred to as Desert Storm) and the protests were becoming more heated. Their inspired and spirited version by these integral members of the then up-and-coming band mirrored Dylan’s evolution in that it announced them as more than just part of the grunge movement: they had a political conscience as well. Face it, they could have done something innocuous and less overtly political like “Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat” or “Highway 61 Revisited,” both of which were performed at the concert, but they chose “Masters of War.” Respect for Vedder and McCready was evident as long-time session player, Saturday Night Live bandleader, and the concert’s musical director G.E. Smith joined them on mandolin. As David Wild explains in the liner notes for the album, this performance was “the evening’s most pleasant surprise” but the real surprise came when, after this performance, Dylan began playing the song more often in his own shows. It seems that not only did Eddie Vedder and Mike McCready give this classic song new life, they may have also revitalized Dylan himself.

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