After picking up our tickets for Joan Osborne Sings the Songs of Bob Dylan, we climb the staircase inside South Orange Performing Arts Center’s graceful lobby on May 19, 2017, where we come upon Angelo and Maria from Belleville, two longtime fans of Joan Osborne’s.
“We’ve been following Joan for about 20 years,” says Angelo.
Osborne, a seven-time Grammy Award nominee known for her work in the area of pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country, started her career just 17 miles from here, as a part of the New York City music scene. In the Big Apple, she attended open-mic nights before ultimately being launched into the spotlight with the breakout single from her 1995 album, Relish, “One of Us.”
“She has a great voice — very powerful, yet soothing,” explains Angelo’s wife, Maria, “and she can perform a great range of musical styles from cabaret to rock to blues.”
Osborne’s considerable vocal talents have made her a sought-after performer both in the United States and around the world. She not only sang with Motown’s legendary Funk Brothers in the acclaimed 2002 film, Standing in the Shadows of Motown, but has shared the stage with such varied performers as Stevie Wonder, Melissa Etheridge, Emmylou Harris, Taj Mahal, Luciano Pavarotti, and Bob Dylan.
“I’m very intrigued Joan will be singing Bob Dylan songs tonight!” exclaims Angelo. “I’ve always loved Dylan’s music, but I’m not necessarily in love with his voice, so I’m curious to hear what Joan can do with his material.”
We make our way inside SOPAC’s main auditorium — one of the finest music listening rooms we’ve experienced anywhere — where we’re soon introduced to the opening act for tonight’s sold-out concert, Gabrielle Louise.
Although Louise hails from Colorado, she tells the Jersey crowd, “I once worked as a nanny in Montclair!”
Louise opens her set with an original composition entitled “Cigarettes for Sentiments,” which she describes as “a series of conversations” among a diverse group of people. She says she wrote the piece as a paean to communicating with others “for no gain other than to pass the time.”
As she sings, Gabrielle’s sweet voice — reminiscent of a young Joni Mitchell — paints a picture of the verbal exchange for the audience as she ably accompanies herself on her acoustic guitar.
Three more Louise originals — “Love On the Rocks,” “The Fat Man in the Golden Suit,” and “Orion’s Archer” — are also well-received by the crowd, as is her final number, “Stillness Speaks,” a composition Louise states was inspired by the “dysfunctional family” people commonly refer to as “social media.”
Following avid applause, we return to the SOPAC lobby during intermission where we get a chance to chat with Louise, currently on tour to promote her latest CD, If the Static Clears.
In discussing her work, Louise says, “My songs are like my children. Some come in my sleep, whereas others come slowly — where you chisel away at them a little at a time.”
Noting how pleased she is to be back in the Garden State, Louise admits, “Audiences in New Jersey are kind and friendly.”
Gabrielle also adds that she’s happy to be here at SOPAC tonight stating, “I’m thrilled to be opening for Joan Osborne. Her voice is so soulful, and the way she interprets the music of others — she’s just an inspiration to me!”
We soon find ourselves back in the auditorium, taking our seats just in time to hear the announcement, “Please welcome Joan Osborne.”
As the audience applauds, Osborne, 54, takes the stage accompanied by two fellow musicians: Jack Petruzzelli and Jim Boggia.
The trio opens with “Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn),” a Dylan-penned tune that became a Top Ten hit for Manfred Mann in 1966. As Osborne’s bourbon-laced vocal washes over the audience, Petruzzelli and Boggia authoritatively strum acoustic guitars.
Before long, Osborne picks up a tambourine and the guitarists duel, which elicits excited hoots and hollers from the crowd, and is soon followed by enthusiastic applause.
“Hello, New Jersey,” exclaims Osborne, “We made it back!”
After introducing Petruzzelli — “New Jersey’s own,” says Osborne, and Boggia, “from Philly,” she says — Osborne reveals, “We just finished our album of Bob Dylan songs, and tonight we’ll be giving you a special preview of the album.”
Petruzzelli moves over to play the grand piano and Boggia plays rhythm acoustic guitar on the trio’s next song, Dylan’s 2001 composition, “High Water (for Charley Patton).” On this piece — Dylan’s update of a Charley Patton blues song — Osborne spins a yarn about a variety of problems which confront modern society with her soulful bluesy sound.
The audience loves Osborne, one fan even going so far as to announce out loud, “She’s amazing!”
“Dylan can do everything — even tender love songs like this one,” notes Osborne as she introduces her next number. Calling it one of her “favorites,” she performs “Buckets of Rain,” a tune with a lilting old-fashioned feel.
Audience members tap their feet and snap their fingers to the trio’s percussive acoustic sound.
“Yeah!” shouts one excited audience member.
Next up is Dylan’s 1964 composition, “Spanish Harlem Incident.” Singing, “I am homeless/Come and take me/To the reach of your rattling drums,” Osborne’s voice sounds crystal clear in this acoustically-superior listening environment. All the while, she is supported by tight vocal harmonies provided by Petruzzelli and Boggia. When Osborne starts to play the shaker, the guys start to rock out on their guitars. In the middle of the number, Joan calls out to the avid crowd, “What do you think of that?,” to which the audience responds with enthusiastic cheers and hollers.
Although Osborne introduces the next piece as “the biggest hit Bob Dylan ever had — his highest charting single,” she nevertheless goes on to clarify by noting, “but we changed it up.” Here, she performs Dylan’s tune which reached #2 on the U.S. charts in 1966, “Rainy Day Women #12 and 35.” Some in the crowd respond with cat calls each time Osborne sings the song’s famous refrain, “Everybody must get stoned.” While Joan dances and plays her tambourine, the audience goes crazy for a tasty guitar solo by Petruzzelli.
Soon after, Osborne invites the audience to sing and snap along too, and they happily oblige, after which Joan quips, “Nice snapping, by the way!”
Acknowledging, “Some of the songs we take liberties with, and some we just let be,” the trio launches into a lovely version of Dylan’s 1962 classic, “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.” As both flat-picked and finger-picked guitars provide the backdrop for her marvelous lead vocal, Osborne’s voice cries and pleads, “Look out your window, and I’ll be gone/You’re the reason I’m a-traveling on/But don’t think twice, it’s all right.”
Percussive piano and guitar accompany Joan’s next cover song— her rendition of Dylan’s 1963 epic, “Masters of War.” On this number — just one of many highlight performances of this evening’s top-notch program — Osborne powerfully interprets Dylan’s lyrics singing, “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 over your grave/’Til I’m sure that you’re dead.”
“That was very good, Joan,” shouts out one audience member, to which Osborne jokingly replies, “Thanks, Mom.”
Following such an emotional performance, Osborne says, “We need to have strong and powerful statements from our artists. We’re standing on the shoulders of giants here.”
Going on to declare, “We all could use a palette cleanser now, so we’re gonna need the “Oomph’ for this next song” — the “Oomph’ referring to a pre-selected electronic rhythm track — Joan readies herself while the guys grab electric guitars. At this point, the “quartet”— if you count the “Oomph” — performs a buoyant rendition of Dylan’s 1966 ditty, “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat.” The musicians rock the house as Osborne and the audience clap along together on this engaging crowd-pleaser.
Taking a break from the Dylan songbook, Osborne takes some time to perform what she describes as some “Joan Osborne songs.”
Explaining she found her next tune “on an Ike and Tina Turner album called Funkier Than a Mosquito’s Tweeter,” Osborne and the boys launch into a funky version of her 2012 number, “Game of Love.” On this song, both Osborne’s soulful vocal and Petruzzelli’s distorted guitar and wah-wah pedal make the audience want to move and groove!
As Boggia starts picking on his guitar, Joan struts over to the microphone and begins singing another one of her tunes from 2012, her infectious “Shake Your Hips.” Shaking her own hips and dancing with the microphone, Joan and the band build the music to such a frenzied state, the audience can’t help but joyfully react with screams and cheers.
Revealing to the crowd that her next tune “was inspired by a Gershwin song, ‘You Can’t Take That Away From Me,’” Osborne performs her Latin-influenced composition, “Work On Me.” She follows that up with a number she reveals she wrote for Mavis Staples after being inspired by Staples’ “inclusive, uplifting, and joyful” message.
Entitled, “Talkin’ ‘Bout Freedom,” Osborne uses the higher end of her vocal range on this R&B blockbuster, evoking cheers from the audience, not to mention a standing ovation from a number of fans in the sold-out crowd.
Going back to the Bob Dylan songbook, Osborne, Petruzzelli, and Boggia perform Dylan’s 1979 composition, “Gotta Serve Somebody.” Singing, “You may be an ambassador to England or France/You may like to gamble, you might like to dance/You may be the heavyweight champion of the world/You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls/But you’re gonna have to serve somebody,” Osborne proves that her voice is the perfect messenger to communicate Dylan’s thought-provoking lyrics.
Moving on to yet another highlight of this concert chock-full of highlights, Osborne performs Dylan’s 1965 classic, “Highway 61 Revisited.” As the sound of Jim Boggia’s acoustic guitar rings out, Joan’s bluesy voice conjures up mental images of a diverse selection of individuals whose lives remarkably intersect “on Highway 61.”
Disclosing to the audience, “I had to dive deep into this Dylan material like an actor when he does Shakespeare,” Osborne articulates, “There’s so much there and such a broad range.” Acknowledging, “Songs written 50 years ago talk about things that are happening now,” Joan goes on to add, “Thanks, Bob, wherever you are.”
At this point, Joan performs Dylan’s 1975 piece, “Tangled Up in Blue,” her superb voice communicating the story as she vocalizes, “She was married when we first met/Soon to be divorced/I helped her out of a jam I guess/But I used a little too much force/We drove that car as far as we could/Abandoned it out west/Split up on a dark sad night/Both agreeing it was best/She turned around to look at me/As I was walkin’ away/I heard her say over my shoulder/We’ll meet again some day/On the avenue/Tangled up in blue.”
Following a well-deserved standing ovation, Osborne humbly thanks her audience stating, “It’s an honor and a privilege to do music for your life. That means a lot.”
Concluding the evening’s presentation with a heavenly rendition of Dylan’s 1973 classic, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door,” Petruzzelli and Boggia fill the SOPAC auditorium with their dreamy swirling guitar sounds, while the beauty of Dylan’s melody and lyrics are exquisitely illuminated by Joan Osborne’s soulful voice.
The crowd rises to its feet in response to Osborne and Co.’s moving Dylan interpretation and performance.
After leaving the stage, the group soon returns and Osborne declares with a smile, “The first rule of show business is to always leave them wanting more.”
For an encore, Joan performs her own 1995 Top Five hit — a song for which she was nominated for five Grammy awards including Best Female Pop Vocal Performance, Record of the Year, and Song of the Year — “One of Us.”
After thanking her stage mates, Osborne cradles the microphone in her hands and delivers a second encore — an impassioned rendition of Dylan’s 1975 masterpiece, You’re Gonna Miss Me When You Go” — her sincere and heartfelt performance clearly moving this enraptured audience.
Following well-earned applause, we make our way back to the SOPAC lobby where we take a moment to chat with Ms. Osborne who is happily signing autographs for her fans.
“I love playing here in New Jersey and, especially, performing in a beautiful hall like this,” she says with a smile.
We also get an opportunity to chat with several members of the audience who give us their thoughts on this very special Joan Osborne Sings the Songs of Dylan concert experience this evening.
Lori from West Paterson exclaims, “It was fabulous! I love Joan. Relish was the first Joan Osborne album I ever listened to and I was hooked. I love the way she communicates her views on life and the way she sings — in fact, I just love everything about her!”
Laurie from Leonia, a long-time Osborne fan, reveals, “I’ve seen Joan many times and she never disappoints. She’s wonderful,” going on to note, “I could just sit and close my eyes and listen to her all night long.”
We also get a chance to chat with “Unsteady” Freddie from New York City who states, “Joan Osborne is terrific. I’m a total Dylan fan — and her interpretations were great. She is one great artist who has a great voice.”
Lastly, we come upon Richard from Nutley, NJ who likely sums up the views of many in the crowd at SOPAC tonight when he concludes, “Joan Osborne’s voice and Bob Dylan’s lyrics? That’s one perfect combination.”
For more information on Joan Osborne, please go to www.joanosborne.com and to learn more about her upcoming album, Joan Osborne Sings the Songs of Bob Dylan, click on www.pledgemusic.com. For information about future concerts at SOPAC — including Nick Lowe on June 15, Aimee Mann on June 19, Matthew Sweet on September 24, and Tommy Emmanuel & David Grisman on November 14 — please go to www.sopacnow.org.
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