albums and tracks

If he were dead, Bob Dylan would be spinning in his grave. As it his, he may well be choking on his popcorn this summer, as My Chemical Romance's cover of his surreal 1965 track, 'Desolation Row', soundtracks one of 2009's cinematic big hitters, Watchmen.

Of course, a superhero epic needs a bit of punch for its lead track, and it follows that MCR have souped up and cut down the rambling folk of the 11-minute original.

But they've gone full throttle here, reinventing the song as a rollicking rock number which, as well as bearing no relation to the original, fails to stand up on its own merit. The punk-by-numbers arrangement is energetic but uninspired, while Gerard Way's rushed vocals trample Dylan's poetic lyrics into near-incomprehensible shouting. Suitable for high-octane trailers only, it seems.