Dave Stewart Revisits a Lifetime of Bob Dylan Songs on Reflective New Tribute Album…read more…
Dave Stewart, best known as one-half of the iconic pop duo Eurythmics, has never shied away from experimentation. Over the decades, the British musician has explored rock, pop, electronic, blues, and even orchestral music. But with his latest project — a heartfelt tribute album titled Dylan Reimagined — Stewart turns his attention to the legendary Bob Dylan, offering a reinterpretation of the Nobel laureate’s timeless songwriting through his own deeply personal lens.
The 14-track album, released under Stewart’s own Bay Street Records, features covers spanning Dylan’s expansive career, from early protest songs like “Blowin’ in the Wind” to later spiritual and philosophical pieces such as “Not Dark Yet.” Stewart describes the album as both an homage and a reflection — a journey through songs that have influenced his own life as an artist, producer, and storyteller.
> “Bob Dylan’s music has been the background to everything,” Stewart said in a recent interview. “From the first time I picked up a guitar to navigating the ups and downs of this crazy industry, Dylan’s words have always spoken to me.”
This isn’t Stewart’s first encounter with Dylan’s work. Throughout his career, he has cited Dylan as a central figure in his musical development. In fact, Stewart and Dylan even shared studio space in the 1980s, and Stewart has long kept notes and demo recordings that reflect Dylan’s impact on his artistic sensibility. But this album is the first time Stewart has devoted an entire body of work exclusively to reinterpreting Dylan’s songs — and he approaches it with equal parts reverence and reinvention.
One of the standout tracks is “Tangled Up in Blue,” transformed from its original stripped-down folk-rock arrangement into a moody, synth-driven ballad, evoking Eurythmics’ signature textures. Stewart’s deep, raspy vocals — matured with age and experience — bring a new kind of weariness to Dylan’s already poignant lyrics. Another highlight is “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right,” rendered in a minimalist acoustic style with string embellishments and a quiet, meditative tone.
While Stewart takes creative liberties with arrangements, he’s careful not to overshadow the lyrics — the core of Dylan’s brilliance. “The words do the heavy lifting,” he said. “All I had to do was get out of the way and let the poetry breathe.”
Critics have largely praised Dylan Reimagined, calling it a “thoughtful reinterpretation” and a “master class in respectful musical transformation.” Rolling Stone UK called the album “a reminder of Dylan’s enduring power and Stewart’s unmatched ability to filter genius through his own artistic identity.” Meanwhile, NPR noted that Stewart “lets the songs speak, while painting them in the colors of his own journey.”
The album’s production was equally introspective. Stewart recorded much of the project in his home studio in the Bahamas, surrounded by analog gear, vintage guitars, and notebooks filled with decades-old ideas. Several tracks feature long-time collaborators, including drummer Blair Sinta, bassist Glen Matlock (of Sex Pistols fame), and vocalist Vanessa Amorosi, who duets with Stewart on “It Ain’t Me Babe.”
> “It wasn’t a commercial decision,” Stewart said. “I didn’t think, ‘What Dylan songs will chart well?’ I thought about which ones stuck with me — the ones I’d hum while walking down the street or think about while lying awake at night.”
The release of Dylan Reimagined also comes at a time of renewed interest in Dylan’s catalog. Following his 2020 album Rough and Rowdy Ways and the sale of his songwriting catalog for an estimated $400 million, Dylan’s legacy has been the subject of documentaries, academic studies, and tribute concerts. Stewart’s album joins this cultural moment, offering a deeply personal perspective rather than a mainstream retrospective.
What makes the project more meaningful is Stewart’s decision to donate a portion of the album’s proceeds to literacy and arts education initiatives, citing Dylan’s lyricism as a force for learning and empowerment.
> “Dylan opened my eyes to the power of words. His songs made me read more, write more, and think harder,” Stewart explained. “If this album helps inspire even one young songwriter or poet, it’s done its job.”
In support of the album, Stewart is planning an intimate concert series across select cities in Europe and North America this fall, with stripped-down sets, spoken-word interludes, and discussions on Dylan’s cultural legacy. The shows, he says, will feel more like gatherings than concerts.
The visuals for the album also deserve mention. The cover art — a blurry portrait of Stewart standing in shadow under a streetlight, holding a Dylan record — was shot on 35mm film and is intended to evoke a sense of nostalgia and reverence. Accompanying videos feature grainy archival footage interspersed with present-day shots of Stewart in the studio, visually tying the past to the present.
Although Stewart has previously hinted at retiring from large-scale touring, Dylan Reimagined seems to have sparked a new phase of creativity. He’s already working on a documentary about the making of the album and considering a follow-up project focusing on other iconic lyricists, possibly including Leonard Cohen or Joni Mitchell.
For now, though, Stewart is content to bask in the reflective glow of Dylan’s influence — and to share that with listeners in his own quietly powerful way.
> “You don’t just listen to Bob Dylan,” Stewart said. “You grow with him.”
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