The Bob Dylan song choices Timothée Chalamet picked for his “Saturday Night Live” musical appearance were… well, completely unknown to most of the viewing audience. The actor’s dip into more obscure choices delighted many Dylanologists who tuned in, even as his picks defied expectations that he would recreate songs he performed as Dylan in “A Complete Unknown,” which turned out to be the furthest thing from his mind.
In his opening monolog as host, Chalamet signaled that viewers would be surprised by the choices during his musical segment. “You might not know the Bob Dylan songs I’m performing, but they’re my personal favorites,” he told the audience. “I’m so grateful ‘Saturday Night Live’ is still doing weird stuff like this 50 years in. They’re either really nice for letting me do this or incredibly mean and this is all a big prank.”
In an unbilled cameo, Chalamet was joined by the well-known singer-songwriter James Blake on keyboards for the musical numbers, further delighting eager-eyed music fans.
It was quickly apparent that Chalamet intended to perform in his own voice — and have some irreverent fun with it — when he launched into two songs back to back for his first musical spot in the show, wearing sunglasses and a winter coat with a hood over his head.
For that first appearance, Chalamet sang a quick, fun and bold medley of “Outlaw Blues” and “Three Angels,” two numbers that are well-known to serious Dylan fans but have never appeared on any greatest-hits album. “Outlaw Blues” does at least date back to the period depicted in the movie, having appeared on the 1965 “Bringing It Back Home” album. The second choice, “Three Angels,” would be for inclusion if James Mangold ever makes a sequel — it’s from 1970’s “New Morning” album, when Dylan was settling into a mellower mode after the explosive mid-’60s period depicted in the movie.
Chalamet took a more subdued approach when he came back later in the show to sing a third Dylan selection, but he was still avoiding an outright Dylan vocal style and still sticking with the deep catalog.. He closed out the night by performing “Tomorrow Is a Long Time,” a song that Dylan first sang live and demo-ed in 1962 but didn’t release in any form until the 1970s, although many other artists covered it in the ’60s. (Watch that number here.)
(The history of that particular track is convoluted: A 1963 live version of “Tomorrow Is a Long Time” first officially appeared on 1971’s “Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II,” albeit as a sort of bonus, since it had never been previously released, much less a hit. A studio version, recorded in 1962, was bootlegged but not officially released until a 2010 “Bootleg Series” demos collection. Elvis Presley cut the song for his 1966 “Spinout” album, and others recorded it before Dylan ever put out his own versions, including Judy Collins, Ian & Sylvia and the Kingston Trio.)
Chalamet was clearly having a good time as he usurped expectations with the performance, the first appearance in particular feeling like a chance to cut loose and celebrate the Oscar nomination he picked up for best actor this week, one of eight nominations the film garnered.
