While this track has been remade a few times since the sixties, the newest version All Along The Watchtower by Al Chauncy falls into the category of one of the better ones.  It has a soulful vibe over the original instrumentation and is sped up just a little.  Chauncy’s voice is a good match for the track, being a little gruff at times but bringing the gravitas that the song seems to convey in its story to the forefront.

All Along The Watchtower is one of the classic tracks that people know…even if they don’t know that they know it.  Originally recorded by Bob Dylan and remade six months later by Jimi Hendrix, the 1968 song has had a lot of debate about it’s meaning.  Some point out it’s similarities to Isaiah 21:5-9, describing the news of the fall of Babylon.  Others think that it’s a flowery metaphor for two people working on a chain gang in a prison.  Some thing that the track is incomplete as it seems to stop just as the narrative begins.  Whatever it’s about, part of the reason that it has lasted so long is because of the ambiguity in its message.

 

For comparison, check out the Bob Dylan version…

 

…and the Jimi Hendrix version.