Dave Stewart Has An Album Of Bob Dylan Covers But They Have Been Friends For Years

One album that slipped through the cracks in July was Dave Stewart’s ‘Dave Does Dylan’, an album for Dylan covers from the Eurythmics co-founder.

Dylan and Dave have been mates for decades. Dylan has been quoated as saying about Dave Stewart that Dave is “an explosive musician, Captain Dave is a dreamer and a fearless innovator, a visionary of high order, very delicately tractable on the surface but beneath that, he’s a slamming, thumping, battering ram, very mystical but rational and sensitive when it comes to the hot irons of art forms.”

Here is the Dave Does Dylan tracklisting and the original Dylan albums they came from:

• A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall – The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963)
• Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright – The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan (1963)
• Emotionally Yours – Empire Burlesque (1985)
• Forever Young – Planet Waves (1974)
• I Want You – Blonde on Blonde (1966)
• Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door – Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (soundtrack, 1973)
• Lay, Lady, Lay – Nashville Skyline (1969)
• Love Minus Zero – Bringing It All Back Home (1965)
• Make You Feel My Love – Time Out of Mind (1997)
• She Belongs To Me – Bringing It All Back Home (1965)
• Shelter From The Storm – Blood on the Tracks (1975)
• Simple Twist Of Fate – Blood on the Tracks (1975)
• Spanish Harlem Incident – Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964)
• To Ramona – Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964)
• Visions Of Johanna – Blonde on Blonde (1966)

Dave and Bob have a long history together.

Dave Stewart recounts that as a teen (around 14 or 15, circa 1964–65), he first connected with Dylan’s music through his brother’s record collection, performing Dylan songs at local folk clubs in Sunderland, UK.

1985, at the peak of Eurythmics’ fame, Stewart received a phone call from Dylan himself while in a Los Angeles studio. After meeting and bonding over art films and music, Dylan impulsively suggested making a film. This led to Stewart directing two music videos, “Emotionally Yours” and “When the Night Comes Falling From the Sky”, from Dylan’s then-new Empire Burlesque album.

Over subsequent years, their friendship blossomed through shared adventures from milking cows at Dylan’s, to Dylan arriving at Stewart’s LA studio perched on a motorbike. Stewart also hosted Dylan in his Camden boat house, and Dylan even recorded part of Traveling Wilburys’ debut album in Stewart’s back garden studio in May 1988.

There’s a charming anecdote of Dylan arriving at the wrong address in North London, knocking on a stranger’s door asking for “Dave”. It turned out that the owner of the house was also a Stewart, Adrian Stewart.

In 1993 Stewart filmed Dylan walking through Camden Market wearing a top hat for a version of the traditional folk song “Blood In My Eyes.” A photographer friend captured a shot of Dylan that went on to become album cover art.

Stewart first worked as a producer for Bob on Dylan’s Knocked Out Loaded (1986). Dave Stewart is credited with production work on this Dylan album.

Though not an official member, Stewart played a pivotal role. He introduced George Harrison, Tom Petty, Jeff Lynne, Roy Orbison, and Dylan via his home; they convened and recorded in his studio. Stewart described himself as a “host/virtual member” of the group.

What began as impromptu iPhone-recorded Dylan covers posted to Instagram during touring grew into Dave Does Dylan, a full tribute album featuring 14 acoustic covers, each recorded in a single take.

Stewart explains that Dylan’s lyrical phrasing, often lacking conventional choruses, resonated deeply with him, leading to this intimate interpretation of the songs’ unique structure.

The album first debuted as a limited-edition vinyl for Record Store Day on April 12, 2025, via Surfdog Records (with around 1,100 copies released).
It more recently became more widely available for streaming on all major platforms on July 18, 2025

The album artwork nods to Dylan’s Nashville Skyline aesthetic, and even mirrors his album pose with Stewart donning the hat and guitar.
On March 22, 2025, at Analog inside The Hutton Hotel in Nashville, Stewart taped a live performance for PBS’s Recorded Live at Analog, featuring Dylan covers with added strings, pedal steel guitar, and keys.

Dave Stewart’s Noise11 interviews:

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Tagged as: 80s, Americana, Bob Dylan, Dave Does Dylan, Dave Stewart, folk, USA