Barb Jungr
Every Grain of Sand

No, don't be fooled by a cover that calling it ugly is almost a compliment, here we are in the presence of something extraordinary: already in 1968 Joan Baez, not just anyone, tried to give a female face to Bob Dylan's music with the double album "One Day At A Time"; the result? Good, very pleasant but, alas, an assignment that can be quite overlooked. Thirty-four years later, in 2002, Barb Jungr tries again. English, but of Czech origins, Jungr is a professional chanteuse, a seasoned interpreter tied to a cabaret pop-jazz style, in the most absolute way she is not a meaningless neo-retro bauble but an artist of great character, who manages to sound classic and elegant without giving up anything in terms of freshness, modernity, and spontaneity.

Barb Jungr deeply loves the music of Bob Dylan, not only in this album but throughout her entire production, you'll find covers of the Duluth Artist, and she manages to make it her own in her unique way: in each of the fifteen interpretations that compose this album, one perceives a very strong passion, genuine and sincere emotion, conveyed by a marvelous voice, a mezzo-soprano capable of spanning from warm, velvety, and sensual tones to clearer and crystalline ones, with equal intensity and passion, accompanied mainly by the piano, and occasionally by some strings and brass. In "Every Grain Of Sand" you'll find a bit of all Bob Dylan: the '60s, '70s, '80s, '90s, and 2000s; great classics and minor tracks alike. Among the latter, "If Not For You" (New Morning-1970) and "Born In Time" (Under The Red Sky-1990) particularly shine, where you can fully appreciate the beauty of the melodies, the absolute perfection of the arrangements, and above all, you can grasp the greatness of the interpreter Barb Jungr, who approaches the endless Dylan repertoire without any reverence but with the enthusiasm and determination of someone facing a challenging task with the sole intent of winning it.

With Bob Dylan's songs she plays, she "feels" them under her skin, she makes them her own with absolute ease, rendering an evergreen like "I Want You" almost unrecognizable, turning "Tangled Up In Blue" inside out, with the help of a double bass and the trusty piano, elevating it to a new, more lively and ironic dimension. "Things Have Changed", the Oscar-winning song, turns into a fascinating tango, "Sugar Baby", from "Love And Theft" then fresh off release, becomes long and dreamy, imbued with a sweet melancholy, like the more famous "Not Dark Yet", like the intense and introspective "What Good Am I?", a wonderful pearl from "Oh Mercy" of 1989, which blends with ancient pillars like a vibrant "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right", the bittersweet and hypnotic "It's All Over, Baby Blue" and a warm, sensual love song like "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight". "Ring Them Bells" does not need any particular upheavals, enriched with an intense hint of gospel/spiritual flavor, the stunning "Is Your Love In Vain?", just piano and voice, is pure essence, is crystalline poetry, "Forever Young", thanks to the harmonica sounds like the most "Dylan-like" of the album, standing out for its vivacity and lightness, also thanks to the bubbly vocalizations of Barb Jungr, finally "Every Grain Of Sand", which opens with a gust of wind followed by the warm sound of a cello, is interpreted with an almost declamatory style, and rediscovers Bob Dylan's more spiritual side with serenity and clarity.

"Every Grain Of Sand" is an album that, despite notable differences in style and musical approach, is comparable only to another masterpiece of female interpretative art like "Famous Blue Raincoat" by Jennifer Warnes, with which the comparison ends in a substantial draw; like Warnes with Leonard Cohen, Jungr too with Bob Dylan does not limit herself to performing a diligent homework but adds her touch, primarily, of course, an extraordinary vocality, magnetic and capable on more than one occasion of sending shivers down the spine; "Every Grain Of Sand" is a precious gem that unveils a Bob Dylan you've never heard.

For those who are satisfied with plastic, well, there’s always this stuff here, which some say is also good.