How to pick a Dylan song: Brian Ferry explains

As lead singer of legendary art-rock band Roxy Music, Bryan Ferry earned a reputation as one of music’s great innovators. But as forward-looking as Roxy Music was, there was always a side of Ferry that enjoyed looking back. His first solo album, 1973’s These Foolish Things, began with a cover of Bob Dylan’s “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall.” On that album, and throughout his solo career, Ferry has covered classic rock, Motown and jazz standards. Since his latest album, Dylanesque, is a collection of 11 Dylan covers, Ferry discusses five of the songs he plucked from Dylan’s massive catalog.

1. “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door”
“It was a bit of a risk because it’s been done a million times,” Ferry says. “But so has ‘Smoke Gets in Your Eyes.’ Both stand up to many interpretations. The stronger a song is in the writing, the more possibilities there are for how you can do it.”

2. “Gates of Eden”
“It has some very powerful images. There’s also a rich use of language and words you don’t normally hear in pop songs. It’s a very interesting song, the way he’s kind of rambling and free associating.”

3. “To Make You Feel My Love”
“I don’t know his work from this period [the 1990s] terribly well. But this song has a bleakness about it that makes it different from the others. Those were written when he was hanging out in Greenwich Village and seemed on a poetic mission. This one is much more plain and desolate, which I found attractive.”