“Highway of Diamonds – Black America Sings Bob Dylan” is the latest release in Ace Records’ “Black America Sings…” series. Ace is a small but mighty UK label that specializes in reissues and vintage catalog material, prioritizing physical releases that feature thoughtful annotations and liner notes. Their previous Dylan entry in the series (2010’s “How Many Roads”) features several of the same artists on “Highway of Diamonds,” and that’s not because they were limited for choice, but because there are simply so many excellent covers to choose from.
The songs on “Highway of Diamonds” span from the early ’60s to almost the ’90’s (“Oh Mercy” is the most contemporaneous of the albums represented, with Bettye LaVette’s brilliant “Everything Is Broken”) and the renditions themselves extend across an even larger continuum; some — like the Staple Singers’ “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” — were recorded not long after the originals, but there’s representation in every decade here, which points to the kind of longevity and relevance that any songwriter would envy. Not every presentation is a home run, but they’re all worth more than a few listens.
