Rate-O-Rama: Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Rate-O-Rama #26: Bob Dylan / Eric Clapton / Guns 'N Roses
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Rate-O-Rama is a reader participation game.
Every Thursday evening I will publish a Rate-O-Rama article which will feature three versions of a popular song.
The object is to listen to each of the music videos provided within the post.
After listening to each video you can rate each song in the comments section below.
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The rating method is easy. Simply give each song a rating of 1 to 100.
(The more you like the song the higher the rating).
If possible, please provide a brief comment to let us now what you think of each song.
After a week (Wednesday evening) I will tally the ratings and in the next Rate-O-Rama post, I will announce the average rating each song received.
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Last week we featured the Reggae classic: "One Love / People Get Ready" as recorded by Bob Marley (1977), Gipsy Kings (2001), and The Glee Cast (2010).
The following are the average ratings for each song as a result of the votes:
🥇 Bob Marley: 99.3
🥈 Glee Cast: 71.1
🥉 Gipsy Kings: 64.1
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The Twenty-Sixth Edition of Rate-O-Rama features three renditions of the Folk Rock classic: “Knockin’ On Heaven's Door."
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Bob Dylan (1973)
Bob Dylan, wrote “Knockin' On Heaven's Door” for the soundtrack of the 1973 film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid. Released as a single two months after the film's premiere, it became a worldwide hit, reaching the Top 15 in several countries, including #12 in the US and Canada, #14 in the UK, and #10 in Australia. The song became one of Dylan's most popular and most covered songs.
Roger McGuinn, lead guitarist and one of the lead singers for the Byrd's, played guitar in Dylan's recording. Coincidentally the Byrds covered several of Dylan's songs.
In 2004 Rolling Stone magazine ranked Dylan's rendition of the song at #190, in their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and #192 in 2010.
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Eric Clapton (1975)
Shortly after having played guitars on a version of “Knocking on Heaven's Door” as recorded by Arthur Louis, Clapton recorded his own reggae influenced rendition. His rendition never appeared on any of his studio albums. The song was recorded between his albums There's One In Every Crowd and No Reason to Cry. But it was included on his hits compilation: Timepieces: The Best of Eric Clapton.
Clapton had lesser success with the song reaching #38 in the UK and #31 in the Netherlands. It also charted lower in Japan but failed to chart in the US.
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Guns ‘’N Roses (1990 / 1992)
GNR had the biggest success with “Knockin' On Heaven's Door.” The band began performing the song live in 1987. Subsequently they did a studio version of the song for the Days of Thunder Soundtrack.
In 1991 they slightly modified their recording of the song and included it on their studio album Use Your Illusion II. It is this rendition that ended up achieving worldwide success. While GNR failed to chart in the US with the song they did experience monumental success globally. They took the song to #1 in Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Portugal. They also placed in the Top Three in Austria, New Zealand, and the UK. They also charted in the Top Ten in Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and most notably Greece. Let's just say they generated a ton of royalties for Bob Dylan.
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My Thoughts
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Bob Dylan:
Quite a few people continuously knock Bob Dylan for his vocal style. I will agree technically he may not be a great singer. But I personally like his singing quite a bit. He has this raw sort of emotion and soul in his voice that resonates with me.
“Knockin' On Heaven's Door,” in my opinion, works well with a rootsy, folksy sort of rawness. Plus, I am a huge Bob Dylan fan. I have every one of his studio albums from 1962 to 2015 and a few live albums and compilations on CD totalling over 40 discs. Plus, I have his entire studio output from the 1960s, 1970s, and up to 1983 on vinyl. I give Dylan 100 for his original.
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Eric Clapton:
I am not much of a fan of Eric Clapton. Yes, I do like several of his songs: “Lay Down Sally,” “Wonderful Tonight,” “Promises,” “Tears in Heaven” are ones I like quite a bit. I also acknowledge his finesse as a guitarist, songwriter, and singer.
I will try and be impartial here and give Clapton a 75.
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Guns ‘’N Roses:
Another one of which I am not a fan. However, I want to be honest in that although I am not at all a fan of Axl Rose's singing style, I do recognize that he is an accomplished singer. The man has an amazing 5 octave vocal range. He began singing in the church choir at age five. In high school he participated in the school chorus and started taking piano lessons. Rose has the ability to sing in most any vocal style of any musical genre. I just happen to not care for the style he sings in on his recordings with Guns ‘’N Roses. However, I want to be fair and recognize him as an able and competent vocalist.
Lead guitarist Slash gives an extraordinary lead guitar performance on the song and his solos are of the best in rock and roll. His work is impressive. Not being a fan of Guns ‘’N Roses I am going to give them a somewhat high rating. I give them an 88.
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I will be back next week with the results of this Rate-O-Rama Edition.
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Last Week's Rate-O-Rama:
With Love, RHC ❤️
About the Creator
Rick Henry Christopher
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The shattered pieces of life will not discourage me.
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Comments (18)
Bob 83 Eric 84 G & R 83
This round of Rate-O-Rama is now complete. The new round is @ https://vocal.media/beat/rate-o-rama-come-in-from-the-rain
Congrats on the Honourable Mention!
This is a tough one for me. I feel like Bob Dylan should get 100 but I'm basing that off of his lyrical genius, and to be fair, we wouldn't have this iconic song without him. However I'm more interested in how the song makes me feel here, since it is such an emotionally charged record. Guns N Roses 100. The inflection in Axl Roses voice and the pain I hear it in, I'm giving them the top honor. Bob Dylan 95 Again, as the writer he deserves much credit. This is truly a haunting song, which the lister can easily interpret their own meaning. I do love his voice here. I remember seeing him in concert with Ani Difranco and I could barely understand him. But I was witnessing a legend live and still has a wonder experience. Eric Clapton 20 Unpopular opinion I'm sure, however the reggae sound takes me out of the meaning of this song. I can't be the only one to feel this way. Also, to all fans of this song, Avril Lavigne has a very stripped down haunting version as well. Check it out sometime.
Gee! I almost missed this one. It's been one of those weeks. :( And Bunny sick on the weekend. :( - Bob Dylan: 100! I love Bob Dylan. - Eric Clapton: 70 - Guns 'N' Roses: 20 Not my cup of tea in any way. I never liked GNR. In fact, they alter my nerves. They did in the past. They still do now. They turned a beautiful song into one that annoys my sensitive ears. Gosh. I am still annoyed after listening too their noise!
This is one of my favorite songs. Something about the melancholy tone that pulls me in. Dylan 100 Dylan is not a singer in the true sense of the word, but he has a unique voice that suits his songwriting style. He has written many amazing songs, but most do best in covers by others. Not this song. This is classic Dylan, and no one does it better. Clapton: 80 I love reggae music, but I prefer Clapton singing the blues. This song translates well to reggae rhythm but is not Clapton's best work. He did sneak in a bluesy vibe, which was nice. However, I love this song and enjoyed his cover. G&R: 50 I have never been a fan of this group, but they are undoubtedly gifted musicians. However, I feel this cover was too overproduced and lost its impact and soulfulness.
Gosh, this was basically a tie in my mind. I like Bob Dylan’s version best; it captures the lyrics better than the others. However, I really like Clapton’s cover for its mellowness and twist on the style (reggae); a bit forgettable though. Guns n Roses is great, classic imo, but perhaps too showy, too big for the song’s lyrics. It still works but it isn’t optimal. So… Bob Dylan: 100 Clapton: 90 Guns n Roses: 93
Absolutely going to be tough because you have to give props to the original that made it popular but some songs just hit the right 'feels' SO here goes : GNR - 99 - do your self a favor and listen to this version Live in Tokyo Dylan- 98 Has the soulful feel and a rawness to it. Eric Clapton- 85 strayed away but added a beautiful Blues sound Thanks RIck love this weeks song choice
Bobby Dylan:100 Eric Clapton: 80 Guns’N’Roses:75 I love this song, but had only heard Dylan’s version before… which I think he sings tunefully compared to his usual style… I feel his soulful singing matches the lyrics. Clapton’s reggae sounds too cheerful for the lyrics. Guns’N’Roses’ lead singer’s voice annoys me intensely 😵💫🙃
Eric Clapton”s video seems to be unavailable.
I agree with your reading for a Dylan - it’s a solid 100 for this song. Clapton I give an 80, GNR a 50. I find his vocals on this track like nails on a chalkboard!
Dylan: 100 Clapton: 0 Guns & Roses: 0 Although I love Clapton & G n R, their renditions were a travesty compared with the heart and soul of Dylan's version.
Dylan is Dylan, but I have to subtract a bit for the background vocals: 98 Clapton: Not a fan of this rendition: 70 Guns & Roses: back ground vocals are stellar, everything is stellar except for the way they distort the words: 80
100 % Guns ‘N Roses, I got accustomed to listening a lot to their version growing up
I love Bob Dylan: Absolutely Sweet Marie is perhaps my fave :) But I was never a fan of Heaven's Door so he gets a 72.3. I'm not crazy about Guns & Roses here so 70.2 for them (& thx for the info on Axel). I like Clapton's version and give him 80. If I'd have know about his comments on vaccines when I listened to his rendition I'd have flunked him altogether!
Bob Dylan 98 or 100. I grew up writing poetry while listening to Bob Dylan in the 1960s and 1970s. HE ROCKS. Eric Clapton gets a 50. Recent comments regarding vaccines turned me off. Guns & Roses gets a 90. I am a big Bob Dylan and Guns & Roses fan. I was listening to Bob's poetry book, "Tarantula" on HOOPLA, an affiliate of The LA PUBLIC LIBRARY just as I saw your Rate-O-Rama post.
Bob Dylan - 100: I'm kind of hit or miss with Dylan depending on what era, etc. of his it is. Generally, I've considered him a better songwriter than a singer/performer. This is a great song and a solid performance. His rendition was never improved upon, in my opinion. Eric Clapton - 85 Clapton did a pretty solid job covering this, in my opinion. I actually liked it more when I was younger than I do now. Change of taste with change in age, I guess. Still a strong tune, though, thus the decent score. Guns & Rose - 95 Though the G-n-R version diverges the most from the original, I think they nailed it in a way that perfectly fits their genre and style. There is probably a bit of nostalgia involved in my preference for this version, too. It came out sometime around my late teens / early 20s when the band was in its heyday. At that age, music is a big part of life for many of us. This song was part of my life's soundtrack at that time.
Right, I'm here now because otherwise, I forget. Bob Dylan - 80 I'm not a great Dylan fan. It's his voice, not his music. He sounds nasal and I like clarity in my vocalist. Still, it's okay and I like it. Eric Clapton - 80 I am a Clapton fan but this version is such a departure from what I think it should sound like that I will give it the same as Dylan. G'n'R - 85 I'm going to give this the most because if you ever want to do a good impression of Axl, then this is the performance to emulate and use for practice. It also has the most to it, depth wise. Thanks, Rick for the Rate-o-rama.