Bob Dylan’s song choices Song Timothée Chalamet chose for his musical appearance “Saturday Night Live” was … well, completely unknown to most of the viewing public. The actor’s dip into more obscure choices delighted many Dylanologists who tuned in, even as his choices defied expectations that he would recreate songs he would perform as Dylan in “A Complete Unknown,” which turned out to be the furthest thing from his mind.
In his opening monologue as host, Chalamet indicated that viewers would be surprised by the choices made during his musical segment. “You may not know the Bob Dylan songs I perform, but they are my personal favorites,” he told the crowd. “I’m so grateful ‘Saturday Night Live’ is still doing weird things like this 50 years in. They’re either really nice for letting me do this or incredibly mean and this is all a big joke.”
In a non-billy cameo, Chalamet was joined by noted singer-songwriter James Blake on keyboards for the musical numbers, further delighting fans with eager eyes.
It was quickly clear that Chalamet planned to perform in his own voice — and have some irreverent fun with it — as he launched into two songs back-to-back for his first musical spot on the show, wearing sunglasses and a winter coat with a hood over his head.
For that first appearance, Chalamet sang a fast, fun and rollicking medley of “Outlaw Blues” and “Three Angels,” two songs familiar to serious Dylan fans but never appearing on a greatest hits album. “Outlaw Blues” goes back at least to the period depicted in the film, appearing on the 1965 album “Bringing It Backing Home.” The second choice, “Three Angels,” would be for inclusion if James Mangold ever a sequel makes—it’s from 1970’s “New Morning” album, as Dylan settled into a Mellower mode after the explosive period of the mid-’60s depicted in the film.
Chalamet took a more subdued approach when he returned later in the show to sing a third Dylan selection, but he still avoided an outright Dylan vocal style and still stuck to the deep catalogue. He ended the night by saying “Tomorrow is already long,” A song Dylan first sang live and was dismantled in 1962, but not released in any form until the 1970s, although many other artists covered it in the ’60s. (Check out that song here.)
(The history of that particular song is complicated: 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 bonus of sorts, since it had never been before, because it had never been released before, let alone a hit. Ever put out its own versions, including Judy Collins, Ian & Sylvia and the Kingston Trio.)
Chalamet clearly had a good time as he used expectations with the performance, particularly the first appearance as a chance to cut loose and celebrate the Oscar nomination he picked up this week for best actor, one of eight nominations who collected the film.