The Dylan Thread

[angelsighs]

thought it best to make this a new thread as it was overtaking the other one a bit.

nah, not perfect. He should have included She´s your lover now

I agree, that's an amazing song. but we can always say stuff like that with hindsight!
Blonde On Blonde does have some weaker songs I admit but nothing too skippable and the uniform sound of the album binds it all together

jadams- i think the production on Time Out Of Mind is brilliant, and takes often already wonderful songs into another space. Love Sick, Trying To Get To Heaven, Standing In The Doorway, Cold Irons Bound, Not Dark Yet- an array of Dylan classics right there. Modern Times has nothing a patch on those (apart from maybe Workingmans Blues)
also love the 'groove' songs like Dirt Road Blues

angelsighs top 5 dylan albums:
Time Out Of Mind
Desire
Highway 61 Revisited
Another Side Of Bob Dylan
Blonde on Blonde

[redcloud]

I agree, that's an amazing song. but we can always say stuff like that with hindsight!

Very good point!

My top five Dylan albums are:

1. Bringing It All Back Home (My absolute all time favorite Dylan album!)
2. Highway 61 Revisited
3. Blood on the Tracks
4. Blonde on Blonde
5. John Wesley Harding or Nashville Skyline (too difficult to decide between the two)

[jadams501]

There are a number of good outtakes or single-only releases from that 65-66 period -- Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window, She's Your Lover Now, I'll Keep It With Mine, I Wanna Be Your Lover, Tell Me Mama, and I think a few others I'm forgetting. I don't know if I'd leave anything from the Blonde sessions on the cutting room floor (though I'd go with an alternate take of Visions of Johanna and probably also Rainy Day Women) but I would definitely have split it into two more consistent albums.

In general, I love the highlights of that album but find some of it painful to listen to, a bit like watching latter day Elvis. All of the drugs were clearly taking their toll on Dylan by this time, and some of his writing falters in a number of spots on the album. To me Highway 61 is where he balanced the surreal amphetamine wordplay with quality control, and by the time of Blonde on Blonde he seemed to be spiraling out of control.

I do like a bunch of the songs on Time Out Of Mind, and Dirt Road Blues in particular I really enjoy. But I find the album version of Cold Irons Bound inferior to the arrangement he released on Masked & Anonymous and generally performs live, and find the production on Not Dark Yet and Standing In The Doorway to be a little distracting. Make You Feel My Love is another song that I really like compositionally but just doesn't sound quite right on the album. TOOM is a good album for sure, I personally prefer it to Love & Theft, but Modern Times is perfectly produced and has great tracks like Thunder On The Mountain, Spirit On The Water, Rollin' and Tumblin', Workingman's Blues, Ain't Talkin', etc.

My top Dylan albums are (in order of release):

Highway 61 Revisited
John Wesley Harding
Blood On The Tracks
Slow Train Coming
Infidels
World Gone Wrong
Modern Times

[spzretent]

Not nearly as big a Dylan fan as you guys but oh how I love lists.
1. Bringing It All Back Home
2. Time Out Of Mind
3. Basement Tapes
4. Blood On The Tracks
5. Infidels

[TheWarmth]

Not one mention of Freewheelin' yet!? Bizarre.

[angelsighs]

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on Time Out Of Mind, I know the production does tend to divide, Dylan himself apparantly isn't keen . but the album really floats my boat. it can't be a coincidence that my favourite tracks on Love & Theft are Mississippi (TOOM outtake) and Sugar Baby (similar spooky sound)
I'm not sure what I think about Make You Feel My Love. it's a bit MOR but does serve as a palate cleanser.

on other peoples choices... (it's our duty as men to do lists!!) Infidels I admit i've never heard, although I like Jokerman. the 80's sound actually has an appealling crispness rather than the horrible clunky sound of Empire Burlesque.
I think Blood On The Tracks is very good but maybe a little overrated

and shit, yeah Freewheelin is pretty fine. probably just bubbling under my top 5

[bunnyben]

There are a number of good outtakes or single-only releases from that 65-66 period -- Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window, She's Your Lover Now,

those two do nothing for me but tracks like 'i'll keep it' and 'tell me mamma' (live 66) are mind blowing and then there's other outtakes like love is just a 4 letter word. beaz rescued it from the bin and then played it once in a hotel room and dylan turned around and went 'wow that's a great song' and she replied 'well ofcourse it is, you wrote it!'

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Kcz1tvaLoc

highway 61
blood on the tracks
modern times
times they are a-changing
oh mercy

though saying that other than the top 3 the others change constantly. for example john wesley harding i liked maybe 3 or 4 songs and then read the old testament and it coincided with a relisten and the albums feel and language made sense and now i love it. toom tossed up with o mercy etc

how about top 5 dylan songs

tombstone blues
shelter from the storm
things have changed
working man blues #2
and maybe love is a four letter word

[johnnyboy]

Por moi, not really in order but #1 is my fav:

1. Bringing It All Back Home
2. Freewheelin'
3. Highway 61
4. Blonde On Blonde
5. John Wesley Harding

[Broc]

My top 5, or the ones I listen to most:

Blood On The Tracks
Another Side Of Bob Dylan
Nashville Skyline
The Freewheelin Bob Dylan
Highway 61 Revisited

[jadams501]

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree on Time Out Of Mind, I know the production does tend to divide, Dylan himself apparantly isn't keen . but the album really floats my boat. it can't be a coincidence that my favourite tracks on Love & Theft are Mississippi (TOOM outtake) and Sugar Baby (similar spooky sound)

I'll give Lanois some credit and say that by far my favorite version of Mississippi is the first track on the Bootleg Series vol. 8, which he produced at the TOOM sessions. Bob didn't think it captured the "polyrhythms" of the song (or something like that) but it's one of his best recordings period, as far as I'm concerned. Sugar Baby is a good one, too.

on other peoples choices... (it's our duty as men to do lists!!) Infidels I admit i've never heard, although I like Jokerman. the 80's sound actually has an appealling crispness rather than the horrible clunky sound of Empire Burlesque.
I think Blood On The Tracks is very good but maybe a little overrated

I highly recommend tracking down Infidels as soon as possible. It sounds great (thanks, Mark Knopfler) and songs like Sweetheart Like You, I & I, and Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight are some of Dylan's best of the 80s. People say it should have had Blind Willie McTell on there, but imho it wouldn't have fit with the other tracks. Also, don't write off Empire Burlesque entirely -- it has some clunkers, but Tight Connection, Trust Yourself, Dark Eyes, and a few others are personal favorites.

I agree that Blood On The Tracks as released is slightly overrated. I'll go along with the conventional wisdom and say that the original New York Sessions (all acoustic) make for a better LP. The original versions of Tangled Up In Blue and If You See Her Say Hello are unspeakably brilliant and far better than the album takes, in my opinion.

[bunnyben]

I agree that Blood On The Tracks as released is slightly overrated. I'll go along with the conventional wisdom and say that the original New York Sessions (all acoustic) make for a better LP. The original versions of Tangled Up In Blue and If You See Her Say Hello are unspeakably brilliant and far better than the album takes, in my opinion.

nah! the lilly, rose... from the second sessions (on the album) is an amazing song. the acoustic one has an extra verse but that's the only thing i like about it more than the other. it's perfect as it is (except buckets of rain though my freind adores that track) outtakes from it call letter blues is good but up to me is exceptional.

blind willie was left off the same way dignity was left off o mercy and i agree neither song would fit on either album and both albums are worth listening too (despite mark knoffler on infidels- he makes it sound too produced for me)

[angelsighs]

it's a sign of good taste when an artist can leave an extremely strong song off an album when they know it just doesn't fit. some songs might be too overpowering on an album or ruin the flow.
where would have Series of Dreams gone on Oh Mercy?
where would have Girl from the Red River Shore gone on TOOM?

there are exceptions though, when the judgement goes wrong, like a lot of the 80's albums where great songs were left off.
also Moonshiner should be on The Times They are a Changin- it's beautiful

I think Blood On The Tracks is a little overrated generally, not just in relation to the original versions. it has some extremely strong key songs but some are dare I say more formulaic? the first half of the album is much stronger than the second half in my opinion. and Lily.. just doesn't fit.

i would try and pick my 5 favourite songs Ben, but thats just too hard!!

[BzaInSpace]

it's a sign of good taste when an artist can leave an extremely strong song off an album when they know it just doesn't fit. some songs might be too overpowering on an album or ruin the flow...

Like 'Going Down Slow' being left off Let it Come Down at the 11th hour?

Although I think that song could have been on there just before 'The Twelve Steps'... in place of 'Out of Sight' or not.


Anyway, back to Dylan:

Firstly, I don't believe the opinion that the NY sessions of Blood on the Tracks were better than the finished pieces - Dylan's brother was right!!! - I prefer the intricately layered version of 'Tangled Up In Blue' by far. However, as far as that album goes I also really love 'Meet Me In The Morning' - for me Dylan's often best when he's just cribbing the blues. The heavy blues in this case.

My thing with Dylan is that the generally accepted wisdom of his output rarely agrees with me - see any of his multiple 'Best Of' albums which are to me an exercise of "why did they leave X out?"

Even the aforementioned album - I can't stand 'Idiot Wind'. Yet it's often hailed as THE song from Blood On The Tracks.

Same with Highway 61 - for me the best songs on there are 'It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry', 'From A Buick 6' and 'Tombstone Blues' - these seem to be considered the 'filler' of this record (if such as thing is possibly with Bob) - no way.

'Tombstone Blues' - seen some mention here already (nice wan Ben) - I wish he'd done a whole album like that. Probably the garage rock album to end them all.

I agree that Blonde on Blonde is a grower - it took me years to appreciate it as a whole and I now love it. I do think 'Just Like A Woman' sucks though. I will however state that in Dylan's case I am always happy and willing to be proved wrong...

Favourite albums?

Desire (maybe just for 'Isis'!)
Blonde On Blonde
Nashville Skyline
Modern Times
Highway 61
Planet Waves (first one I heard...)

I also really like the Pat Garret OST and as far as live albums go I'll settle for Hard Rain or the "Royal Albert Hall" Bootleg Series album. Forgetting about John Wesley Harding, which is brilliantly minimal (except for the words) and contains the immortal 'Drifters Escape' - did you know infamous Glasgow nightclub Nice N' Sleazys often plays that song in the midst of mad funk and dance tunes late on a Saturday - I've seen lots of people boogieing on down to that one, including me...!

Songs - ach, not enough time, but I remain convinced the BEST EVER Bob song is the unmastered, bootleg version of

'I'm Not There (1956)'

That song is Dylan. Absolutely perfect...

Dylan for me took some time to really get into, but once you're there...

[angelsighs]

I agree, I don't think the NY BOTT takes are that amazing or superior. the finished album has more colour and texture to it at least. and Idiot Wind IS the touchstone of that album, it's amazing!!

Tombstone Blues is shit hot- Mike Bloomfields guitar on there is just blistering. apparantly Dylan wanted him in his band permanently but he was too busy so got Robertson in (who, to be fair knows how to play a few licks himself)- imagine if he'd toured with him, or even played on Blonde on Blonde!!
also apparantly he tried to get Bloomfield to play on Blood On The Tracks but he couldn't get a handle on the songs and work out appropriate stuff to play. it would have been a very different album.

a lot of people choosing Modern Times.. maybe i really do need to try that one again!!

[spzretent]

I highly recommend tracking down Infidels as soon as possible. It sounds great (thanks, Mark Knopfler) and songs like Sweetheart Like You, I & I, and Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight are some of Dylan's best of the 80s. .

How about Sly & Robbie for his rhythm section on Infidels.

[jadams501]

My thing with Dylan is that the generally accepted wisdom of his output rarely agrees with me - see any of his multiple 'Best Of' albums which are to me an exercise of "why did they leave X out?"

Even the aforementioned album - I can't stand 'Idiot Wind'. Yet it's often hailed as THE song from Blood On The Tracks.

Same with Highway 61 - for me the best songs on there are 'It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry', 'From A Buick 6' and 'Tombstone Blues' - these seem to be considered the 'filler' of this record (if such as thing is possibly with Bob) - no way.

Yeah I don't see how somebody could begin to compile a representative Dylan best-of without at least four 70 min + discs. In his case, it really is best to buy the albums. I personally think that From A Buick 6 is a filler track, but I've never seen the other two referred to as such. Both have been revived in setlists over the years -- there's a particularly good "Lot to Laugh" at the Concert for Bangladesh and I'm very fond of the 'Tombstone Blues' from the Unplugged album.

I also really like the Pat Garret OST and as far as live albums go I'll settle for Hard Rain or the "Royal Albert Hall" Bootleg Series album.

I'm also a big fan of Pat Garrett and the Hard Rain album. I'm surprised that you can like Hard Rain if you hate Idiot Wind, though, as the venomous 10 minute take that closes the album is such a highlight for me.

Songs - ach, not enough time, but I remain convinced the BEST EVER Bob song is the unmastered, bootleg version of

'I'm Not There (1956)'

That song is Dylan. Absolutely perfect...

Best Dylan song ever? Probably impossible to determine but I'd have to say it's It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding), Desolation Row, or Tangled Up In Blue. Closely followed by Wiggle Wiggle from Under the Red Sky.

[bunnyben]

i would try and pick my 5 favourite songs Ben, but thats just too hard!!

come on man! you picked 5 albums both are implausable but test yo self!

[jack white]

some crazy opinions itt :p

Like 'Going Down Slow' being left off Let it Come Down at the 11th hour?

Although I think that song could have been on there just before 'The Twelve Steps'... in place of 'Out of Sight' or not.

or not.
GDS shoulda been squeezed on & LCYHM squeezed off but not that ^ compromise!


released BOTT >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> NY BOTT

Idiot Wind is one of his best ever songs.

Modern Times is p weak bar Ain't Talkin'/Workingman's Blues #2/Nettie Moore

"L&T" is vastly superior
Mississippi off "L&T" is one of his best ever songs.

TOOM is like in his top 2 r 3 albums. poss his best.
Highlands is one of his best ever songs.
& so is Things Have Changed.
& Lovesick
& Cold Irons Bound

Lily Rosemary & Jack of Hearts is essential to BOTT & a p great song to boot

top 5 is difficult but arbitrary, atm it looks like this:
1: desolation row
2: to ramona
3: highlands
4: blind willie mctell
5: i dunno... i'll go for i'm not there but that seems like a p soppy top 5. i'll go for mississippi instead.

my top 5 albums would be similar to spzretent's

1: BOB
2: TOOM
3: Basement Tapes/A Tree w Roots
4: BOTT
5: Another side of..

obv that chances all the time
most recently i've been listening to TOOM & BOTT & Biograph & assorted Rolling Thunder stuff (isn't Isis off Biograph the best song ever?!)

that cold dark spring was just the frightening weather that is perfect for TOOM & Highlands.. think i got a touch SAD when summer didn't materialize & dove into TOOM like it was 3rd/Sister Lovers @ christmas..

[BzaInSpace]

I personally think that From A Buick 6 is a filler track, but I've never seen the other two referred to as such. Both have been revived in setlists over the years -- there's a particularly good "Lot to Laugh" at the Concert for Bangladesh and I'm very fond of the 'Tombstone Blues' from the Unplugged album.
I'm also a big fan of Pat Garrett and the Hard Rain album. I'm surprised that you can like Hard Rain if you hate Idiot Wind, though, as the venomous 10 minute take that closes the album is such a highlight for me.

Y'know what, I've never seen any of those tracks to referred to as filler either - hence my "if such a thing is possible with Dylan..." line. What I mean is, that on all the various Best-of collections those songs never appear, and they appear to be not considered as good as other more well known songs possibly. But 'From A Buick 6' filler? Never! It rocks. If I had a top 10, it's in there.
Hard Rain... yeah, but that whole selection of live songs seems a more suitable backdrop for 'Idiot Wind' and that particular take. I detect a bit of punk energy (!?) in that album. I love the takes of 'Maggie's Farm' and 'Lay Lady Lay'.

some crazy opinions itt :p

Like 'Going Down Slow' being left off Let it Come Down at the 11th hour?
Although I think that song could have been on there just before 'The Twelve Steps'... in place of 'Out of Sight' or not.

or not.
GDS shoulda been squeezed on & LCYHM squeezed off but not that ^ compromise!

Nah, I would never leave off 'Lord Can You Hear Me' - now that's crazy! - that song is the epic pinnacle of the whole album. 'Going Down Slow' was left off at the end and I'll go with that decision - if it had to be exchanged then yeah, maybe 'Out Of Sight' although I like that song a lot more than I used to. Lets keep it as a bonus track or something.

Idiot Wind is one of his best ever songs.

Like Dylan himself once hinted "I dunno how people can enjoy that level of pain" (or words to that effect). Not for me. It might be down the line - I didn't even like 'Like A Rolling Stone' until a few years back. These songs burrow there way into you don't they - not many are immediate pop thrills. That's OK...

Modern Times is p weak bar Ain't Talkin'/Workingman's Blues #2/Nettie Moore

Heh heh - piss weak? No way - the first trio of songs on Modern Times are wonderful and beautiful. For me they beat everything on the last three records - bar the awesome 'Highlands' which you mention below, so we have some kind of mutual thing there.

that cold dark spring was just the frightening weather that is perfect for TOOM & Highlands.. think i got a touch SAD when summer didn't materialize & dove into TOOM like it was 3rd/Sister Lovers @ christmas..

Agree there completely... I'm still waiting for summer to begin!

This thread once again shows the vast varitey of informed opinion held around here even on a subject such as Bobby D. I imagine elsewhere there are accepted held thoughts on 'the canon' of work - probably mostly with the BD hardcore, so again it's refreshing to see such differing thoughts and championing of not-necessarily-the-accepted 'classics'...

Where can I get the DVD of Masked & Anonymous?

[bunnyben]

Where can I get the DVD of Masked & Anonymous?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Masked-DVD-Bob ... 674&sr=8-1

[niamhm]

jack white wrote:
Modern Times is p weak bar Ain't Talkin'/Workingman's Blues #2/Nettie Moore
Heh heh - piss weak? No way - the first trio of songs on Modern Times are wonderful and beautiful. For me they beat everything on the last three records - bar the awesome 'Highlands' which you mention below, so we have some kind of mutual thing there

Yup that had me sputtering into my cornflakes when I read it this morning also,

[angelsighs]

(isn't Isis off Biograph the best song ever?!)

yep it's pretty amazing. it's like a whirlwind. I love the Rolling Thunder era. Desire has such a distinctive sound, largely down to Scarlet's violin and Rob Stoner's superb bass playing- you can also hear him adding so much melodic flavour on the rocked-up versions of old songs on the Bootleg series V5.

infact I agree with all of your post right up until your view on Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of hearts (I just don't get it)
Modern Times isn't piss poor though, just average.

how is this for differing opinions- can't see the big fuss about Blind Willie McTell, its a bit of a dirge.
secondly.. I don't like Bringing It All Back Home all that much. there's definite filler on there for a start. the 'rock' ones (Maggies Farm/Subterranean) are blown away by anything on Highway 61 and the twin epics are among my least favourite of Dylans long pieces.
and I don't care for The Times They Are A Changin title track- simplistic, wishy washy

[bunnyben]

how is this for differing opinions- can't see the big fuss about Blind Willie McTell, its a bit of a dirge.
secondly.. I don't like Bringing It All Back Home all that much. there's definite filler on there for a start. the 'rock' ones (Maggies Farm/Subterranean) are blown away by anything on Highway 61 and the twin epics are among my least favourite of Dylans long pieces.
and I don't care for The Times They Are A Changin title track- simplistic, wishy washy

maggies faem live 65 newport is one of the best live tracks i've heard. it rocks and tears everything apart. there is filler on bibh but the great tracks are immense ('i said you know they refused jesus too, he said 'you're not him') but then (by dylan's standards) there isn't a single album that is 'filler' free (down the highway, from a buick, temporary like achilles) but if i put together a cd of 10 dylan 'fillers' and a new artist or an established artist (neil young etc) released it as a new album now of originals it would blow my cotton socks off.

i did't get the '...times...' title track either until recently when i was really really pissed off and then whilst i was in the shower seething one of the verses popped into my head and i understood the song for what it is and was blown away. same with tracks like mr tamborine man- until i relaised it was a guthrie-esque journey through america it was just another song (overplayed and 'popular' with the masses who would just go 'it's a song about drugs obviously when i knew it obviously wasn't but i couldn't put my finge ron what it really was). also it took a midnight walk in the hills of a new town (i'd just left home and was still getting adjusted) lost and lonely and i had that album on my discman and i finally understood it. i think, like i wrote earlier, a lot of things have to do with context. once you are in a situation where you make a personal mental or emotional connection everything makes sense and formed is a 'tight connection to my heart'

[redcloud]

It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry', ' seem to be considered the 'filler' of this record (if such as thing is possibly with Bob) - no way.

Really? I never thought of this track as a filler tune. Clearly it struck a chord because several bands covered it not least the storming version on the Al Kooper & Stephen Stills side of 'Super Session'.

I don't like Bringing It All Back Home all that much. there's definite filler on there for a start.

In my opinion, Side 2 of 'Bringing it All Back Home' is one of THE all greatest sides of music...ever! It is an absolute monster from start to finish. Side 1 isn't too shabby either.

[angelsighs]

maggies faem live 65 newport is one of the best live tracks i've heard. it rocks and tears everything apart.

oh yeah, I'm not gonna deny that, that version is red hot. Mike Bloomfield on guitar again there

I love Mr Tambourine Man and always have, strangely enough that and the other poppy/well known one (Baby Blue) are my favourites on BIABH

[bunnyben]

lost dylan classic or just odd?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xfi7ME_Y5Vs

[TogetherWeCan]

Saw Dylan live in my local park last night. Yikes!

Was one of the few elite living legends that I said I'd never see live but then got free tix so could hardly resist. Glad I wasn't someone that paid £86 to get in though. I've a certain respect for him just carrying on and doing it the way he wants to and ignoring his critics but as a fan in the crowd the new arrangements and diminished voice just leave his songs powerless.

He's my my Dad’s teenage idol, as I’m sure he is many, and he had warned me off - saying the last good Dylan concert he saw was in 1970. But the festival was a 10 minute walk from my house and free... I would have been a fool! Horrible to hear the whole festival muttering their dismay but also quite fitting as that's what rambling bob was kind of doing as well.

It wasn't until the last line of the song that I realised he was playing Tangled Up in Blue and Hard Rain was something else.

The highlight was seeing some shrivelled old man being dragged out by security shouting 'I'm 70 and ain't got no direction home.' Like a Rolling Stone was pretty good as well, but only because the audience sang the words so you could make out what it was.

Yep, I love the great art Dylan has left us - it's timeless and will live on forever, but as for seeing him live, a complete waste of time! Love his old radio shows though – they’re worth getting hold of for those who haven't heard them.

Nope, the only legends of the elite so as to speak I’ll ever be seeing again are probably Iggy, Cohen and Young. They never let disappoint! Although saying that off to see Lou Reed in a couple of weeks to - let's hope his music's not as sour as his face usually is.

[bunnyben]

Saw Dylan live in my local park last night. Yikes!

Was one of the few elite living legends that I said I'd never see live but then got free tix so could hardly resist. Glad I wasn't someone that paid £86 to get in though. I've a certain respect for him just carrying on and doing it the way he wants to and ignoring his critics but as a fan in the crowd the new arrangements and diminished voice just leave his songs powerless.

He's my my Dad’s teenage idol, as I’m sure he is many, and he had warned me off - saying the last good Dylan concert he saw was in 1970. But the festival was a 10 minute walk from my house and free... I would have been a fool! Horrible to hear the whole festival muttering their dismay but also quite fitting as that's what rambling bob was kind of doing as well.

It wasn't until the last line of the song that I realised he was playing Tangled Up in Blue and Hard Rain was something else.

The highlight was seeing some shrivelled old man being dragged out by security shouting 'I'm 70 and ain't got no direction home.' Like a Rolling Stone was pretty good as well, but only because the audience sang the words so you could make out what it was.

Yep, I love the great art Dylan has left us - it's timeless and will live on forever, but as for seeing him live, a complete waste of time! Love his old radio shows though – they’re worth getting hold of for those who haven't heard them.

Nope, the only legends of the elite so as to speak I’ll ever be seeing again are probably Iggy, Cohen and Young. They never let disappoint! Although saying that off to see Lou Reed in a couple of weeks to - let's hope his music's not as sour as his face usually is.

the times review was very good. said he played it as a old man blues show which sounds wonderful

[TogetherWeCan]

Yeah a friend I was with said he just read a good review and was mystified. All I can say is if that was good performance, glad I didn't catch him on a bad day!

Like I say though – good for him doing it on his own terms the exact way he wants to and saying fek the crowd! It’s an artists right! He’s been doing it like this for well over 10 years now so everyone knew what to expect… it’s not like he cheated any fans out of their hard earned cash.

[angelsighs]

I've never seen Dylan live and i've got no great desire to as I've heard some right horror stories.

I can understand the theory of trying to give the songs a new spin and a different feel (mainly due to his deteroirating voice, lets face it) and i do agree that it's his right to do what he wants. and i'm sure there are flashes of great moments.
we just have to admit sometimes that artists go past their peak in the live arena.

apparantly Dylans band are pretty talented though- tight, slick, and adept at feeling their way into an arrangement of whatever song from his catalogue Bob decides to put into the set in any given night

now Neil Young- thats a guy who still knows how to bring it live. I much prefer Dylan as an artist overall but I saw NY a couple of years back and it blew my head off

[redcloud]

I've never seen Dylan live and i've got no great desire to as I've heard some right horror stories.

I saw the Dylan and Dead shows in 1986 (with Tom Petty). Although we had a great time traveling with the band those particular shows were not great. The idea was good but it never really came together. The highlight was a combined Dylan and Garcia version of 'Knocking on Heaven's Door' to close Dylan's set. These were big stadium gigs, Dylan was lost on the humungous stage and to be honest he was pretty boring to our stoned minds. The set seemed to go on forever and the sun was hotter than hell that summer. But, Jerry too was a mess as these were his very overweight days, he was back on junk and he eventually fell into a diabetic coma in July and nearly died.

I haven't seen Dylan since. I have had many opportunities but I opted instead to listen to his records in my living room.

[angelsighs]

is it only me who thinks Another Side is the best of his acoustic albums? it's got it all- humour, surrealism, and tenderness, all apparantly recorded in one drunken session. the lyrics on Chimes Of Freedom are incredible, same on Ballad in Plain D (which I know a lot of people hate, it is a bit bitter but every line is killer).
All I Really Want to Do always makes me smile, To Ramona is amazing. what an album. not mentioned much.

and none of the pompous 'finger pointin' songs of The Times They are A Changin too

[bunnyben]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/today/hi/today/ne ... 492886.stm

dylan admits to heroin addiction and suicidal thoughts

[bunnyben]

is it only me who thinks Another Side is the best of his acoustic albums? it's got it all- humour, surrealism, and tenderness, all apparantly recorded in one drunken session. the lyrics on Chimes Of Freedom are incredible, same on Ballad in Plain D (which I know a lot of people hate, it is a bit bitter but every line is killer).
All I Really Want to Do always makes me smile, To Ramona is amazing. what an album. not mentioned much.

and none of the pompous 'finger pointin' songs of The Times They are A Changin too

not the best but tracks like motopsycho nightmare are brillaint 'you ain't patriotic rotten doctor commie-rat!'

you think dylan had 'pompous finger pointing' songs? i don't think so. his 'protest' songs are more a case of waving his hands in the air and addressing the cosmos

[angelsighs]

maybe that was a bit harsh, you are right that he was usually clever enough to make his protest songs quite vague and broad.
I just find some of the songs on Changin.. a bit po faced. I think 'finger pointing' is a term Dylan himself used. he must have realised he was a bit of a dead end as on Another Side it was moving away from that. Chimes of Freedom is sort of a 'protest' song but it's more more artistic and poetic

[Broc]

is it only me who thinks Another Side is the best of his acoustic albums? it's got it all- humour, surrealism, and tenderness, all apparantly recorded in one drunken session. the lyrics on Chimes Of Freedom are incredible, same on Ballad in Plain D (which I know a lot of people hate, it is a bit bitter but every line is killer).
All I Really Want to Do always makes me smile, To Ramona is amazing. what an album. not mentioned much.

and none of the pompous 'finger pointin' songs of The Times They are A Changin too

Nope, totally agree with you Angelsighs. Used to have to limit the playing of this album cos it affected me so much.

[bunnyben]

maybe that was a bit harsh, you are right that he was usually clever enough to make his protest songs quite vague and broad.
I just find some of the songs on Changin.. a bit po faced. I think 'finger pointing' is a term Dylan himself used. he must have realised he was a bit of a dead end as on Another Side it was moving away from that. Chimes of Freedom is sort of a 'protest' song but it's more more artistic and poetic

wasn't that the point of another side? to move away from the 'serious' songs then you have self portrait as a complete rejection of everything up to that point. is it me or does self... have some amazing songs on and is very very underrated?

[angelsighs]

I've never heard Self Portrait! I'm all for investigating hidden corners of peoples catalogues but everything I've heard about that says its crap! so there are some gems on there then?

[jadams501]

Self Portrait is a great album. There are a few tracks on there that seem to have been included as jokes, but it's an off-kilter journey through the country, pop, folk, and orchestrated schlock that influenced Dylan and some material that reflects that influence. Copper Kettle is by far my favorite on there but I quite like Little Sadie, Let It Be Me, Early Morning Rain, Days of 49, Alberta, and WIGWAM.

It's clear that the album was a repudiation of all the expectations people had of Dylan, and it was hated for being the confirmation that he had no intention of trying another Blonde on Blonde. But it's a really solid record on its own terms, aesthetically somewhere between Nashville Skyline and the panoramic Americana of the Basement Tapes.

[SpaceLine]

the greatest dylan album is, imho, the electric side of this release: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert. just like tom thumb's blues and one too many mornings in particular are so good.

love much of his work, particularly desire and blood tracks but this electric set is just fantastic as is the backing band.

there is a bootleg from a show in Australia from that 66 tour in which they play positively 4th street and that is superb too.

[TheWarmth]

For what it's worth, I was listening to the vinyl rip I did of Modern Times last night and I think that album is superb. It's easily one of his best of the past 20 years. I definitely like it better than Together Through Life and Love & Theft.

[bunnyben]

there is a bootleg from a show in Australia from that 66 tour in which they play positively 4th street and that is superb too.

do you have that by any chance?

[henryapplecore]

My two favourite Dylan LPs are two totally overlooked and underrated albums. 92's Good As I Been To You & 93's World Gone Wrong. I grew up with these two albums. Just Dylan and a guitar. Sheer brilliance! His first acoustic-only albums since 65?

http://www.mediafire.com/?0z1nijgmzxt
http://www.mediafire.com/?z67okb1b0t0qs24

[jadams501]

My two favourite Dylan LPs are two totally overlooked and underrated albums. 92's Good As I Been To You & 93's World Gone Wrong. I grew up with these two albums. Just Dylan and a guitar. Sheer brilliance! His first acoustic-only albums since 65?

I don't overlook or underrate those! Good As I Been To You is a mixed bag imho, but World Gone Wrong is one of my all time favorites. Jack A Roe, Ragged & Dirty, Lone Pilgrim etc. are incredible songs and the rediscovery of his folk-blues roots pretty clearly led to the creative resurgence in his next several albums of original material. This sort of material obviously comes so easily to Dylan, I wish he'd release something like this every year or two -- it would probably only take him a couple of hours to record.

I think you meant to say since '64, as his two 1965 albums were partially or fully electric. I'm not sure if it's entirely acoustic or if as a soundtrack it should count, but Pat Garrett draws from a largely acoustic palette. And John Wesley Harding is mostly acoustic, too, although it has drums.

[jadams501]

I've been listening to a lot of Infidels these past few months. I and I, Sweetheart Like You, and Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight are some of my all time favorite Dylan tracks -- and the rest of the album is pretty great, too.

Too many boomers are too nostalgic about the folkie years to ever let anything past Blood On The Tracks into "the canon," but Infidels is as good as any album he's released.

[bunnyben]

i started reading the book 'the ballad of bob dylan' and it was more about the writer going to his gigs and blow by blow reviews of songs than about dylan. after 10 pages i started skipping ahead. it was awful. avoid this book!

[angelsighs]

the greatest dylan album is, imho, the electric side of this release: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert. just like tom thumb's blues and one too many mornings in particular are so good.

I agree that this album is pretty amazing. it would have made my top 5 but i disqualified live albums as it would have made it even more difficult. the trance-like acoustic side is less often mentioned but also brilliant.

[jack white]

i love the hard rain version of one too many mornings. prob my 2nd fave version after the album cut.

[angelsighs]

Bootleg Series Vol 10 is on the way...

http://www.bobdylan.com/us/feature/what ... ust-27-rel

the deluxe version includes the full Isle of Wight show...

[The Dr]

i just got the email! can't wait, but how much will it be?

[angelsighs]

i just got the email! can't wait, but how much will it be?

good point. the 3CD version of Vol 8 was disgustingly priced, I imagine it will be similar. it's just fleecing fans and really annoys me.

I watched the 'trailer' for this new one and I like what I hear. It's funny to hear Bob's smooth crooning voice from that time!

[The Dr]

i've been listening to john wesley and nashville a lot recently and love his voice.

Another Self Portrait (1969-1971): The Bootleg Series Vol. 10 (Deluxe 4 CD)

Includes 4 CDs, 2 hardcover books including photos and liner notes, all housed in a hardcover slip case.

£63.99GBP
add to cart Pre-Order - Ships on or before August 27, 2013


Bob Dylan Bootleg Series Volume 10 comes from the 1969 – 1971 recording sessions that ultimately produced the Self Portrait and New Morning albums. All 35 tracks are previously unreleased, alternate takes, demos or live versions of that material. The versions of the songs on this package are radically different from the officially released versions. The cover is new artwork by Bob Dylan. The liner notes have been written by Greil Marcus, who wrote the original Self Portrait review for Rolling Stone that infamously asked, “What is this shit?”. Also included is an extensive essay from well known journalist, Michael Simmons. The set also has extensive photographs of that era from John Cohen and Al Clayton – many of them rare and unseen - as well as pictures of the original tape boxes and cue sheets.



The Deluxe Version contains 4 CDs and two hardcover books housed in a hardcover slip case:

Book # 1 contains 4 CDs and liner notes
Book # 2 contains the photos from John Cohen and Al Clayton.
The 2 bonus CDs contain the newly remastered version of Self Portrait and the complete 17 song recording of Dylan & The Band performing live at the Isle Of Wight in 1969

£64...it is tempting to just download it but i really don't like doing that. i like self portrait . i think it is greatly underrated unlike greil marcus who is vastly overrated with his 'weird ol america' comment re: basement tapes. wonder how much he has made writing books about dylan?

[jack white]

i reckon the basement tapes are much more exciting than self portrait, which, yes, is still an unjustly maligned record & like even the least of his albums, has at least a few gems.
i think marcus' thoughts re the basement tapes are somewhat similar to what scorsese achieved w/no direction home & i would tend to agree there is a link between the alchemy brewed in woodstock & those classic lomax recordings & american folk tradition, tho scorsese's vision was much more cosmic in scope. in fact i'd say that dylan & the band probably set out to recreate an atmosphere of that kind whether knowingly or not.
i think marcus' best dylan writing may actually be his like a rolling stone book.


anyway, been listening to New Morning. the sunshine & happy dylan go well together. he shoulda been happier more often. he nearly left it too late. he probably did actually.
i mean he was always witty & droll but wasn't really ever happy for a long time early on. he's younger than that now(!)



sorry.

[The Dr]

"i think marcus' thoughts re the basement tapes are somewhat similar to what scorsese achieved w/no direction home & i would tend to agree there is a link between the alchemy brewed in woodstock & those classic lomax recordings & american folk tradition, tho scorsese's vision was much more cosmic in scope. in fact i'd say that dylan & the band probably set out to recreate an atmosphere of that kind whether knowingly or not.
i think marcus' best dylan writing may actually be his like a rolling stone book."

sure, i agree with the sentiment but that phrase gets praised here there and everywhere and i find it a clumsy way of making an obvious point, anyway my favorite dylan books

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Simple-Twist-Fa ... racks+book

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bob-Dylan-Ameri ... in+america

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Down-The-Highwa ... he+highway

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rolling-Thunder ... ng+thunder

and of course 'chronicles'

[The Dr]

amazon's list price now

Another Self Portrait: Bootleg Series 10 (Deluxe) by Bob Dylan (2013)

£227.18 Audio CD prime


they can go and f themselves!

[The Dr]

£60.23 + free p&p play.com

[The Dr]

did anyone get this? if so what are the books like?

[angelsighs]

i'm gonna wait til it goes a bit cheaper (the 2CD version, I mean... don't think I can stretch to the 4CD version, even though I would like the Isle of Wight show)
the clips I've heard really show off Dylan's particular singing voice from this time. this period was him being laid back, unpretentious and warm...

[The Dr]

i'm gonna wait til it goes a bit cheaper (the 2CD version, I mean... don't think I can stretch to the 4CD version, even though I would like the Isle of Wight show)
the clips I've heard really show off Dylan's particular singing voice from this time. this period was him being laid back, unpretentious and warm...

i'd have loved to hear him singing roy orbison songs in this voice

i'll upload the isle show for you (got it from a torrent) do you want the other two discs too? (the 4th is just s.p remastered)

[TheWarmth]

I received the 3xLP version of Another Self Portrait yesterday and am really excited to plow into it. It came with two cds containing all of the tracks on the LPs. I would love to hear the Isle of Wight live album, but the deluxe version was just way too expensive. I think this 3xLP version was $65 or so via Amazon, which seems like a fair price. Oh, the booklet included is gorgeous! Really nice.

[jadams501]

Let me preface this by saying that I am a big fan of Bob's domestic period from the Basement Tapes through Planet Waves. Other than the Christian years and maybe his 90s folk albums, it's probably his stuff I listen to most. I love Self-Portrait, New Morning, and the deleted "Dylan" album.

That said, Bootleg 10 is a scattershot missed opportunity with a lot of material that need not have been released, and a lot of better stuff that wasn't included. Most of the covers sound like the indifferent rehearsals they are, and a lot of the previously released songs with and without overdubs add little to the masters, other than sometimes missing a bit of classic country rock flavor. There are some tremendous gems (like the original unsabotaged version of Spanish Is The Loving Tongue), and a lot of historical value in support of the thesis that Bob was deliberately trying to shatter his mystique, but those original releases were largely better than the bulk of this material. There are definitely several great tracks, I as a hardcore fan am happy to own it, but all the 4 and 5-star reviews it is getting are over the top.

My theory is that currently Bob is back in the sort of untouchable space that he was circa 1970 when anything was rapturously received, so with "Another Self-Portrait" he is again putting together a deliberately bewildering pile of a lot of shit thrown at the wall to see what sticks. The critical response says more about the market than the work. Bootleg 10 is a strange little collection, like the original album, and also like the original it leaves behind really great stuff from the same broad era that now will likely remain obscure for many years. The curious should check out his Woody Guthrie tribute tracks with The Band from '68, and the jam sessions with Carl Perkins and George Harrison. There are some classic songs and rerecordings from that period -- a laid back country rock Song To Woody is probably my favorite -- that beg for release more than the undubbed master of In Search of Little Sadie, if you know what I mean.

[the dreamer]

Anybody going to see him on his UK visit in November?

[The Dr]

The curious should check out his Woody Guthrie tribute tracks with The Band from '68, and the jam sessions with Carl Perkins and George Harrison. There are some classic songs and rerecordings from that period -- a laid back country rock Song To Woody is probably my favorite -- that beg for release more than the undubbed master of In Search of Little Sadie, if you know what I mean.

i never realised the guthrie stuff was recorded! do you have it by any chance?

[The Dr]

Bob Dylan to release huge, career-spanning box set Bob Dylan Tickets

The 'Bob Dylan Complete Album Collection Vol One' will include 35 studio albums and six live records

A huge, career-spanning Bob Dylan box set is set to be released this November.

The 'Bob Dylan Complete Album Collection: Vol One' will be released on November 4 via Columbia Records and includes 35 of the iconic singer-songwriter's studio albums, from his 1962 self-titled debut to his 2012 LP 'Tempest', with 14 of the albums being newly remastered for the release. The collection will also boast six live recordings, including the 1972 live album 'Before The Flood' and his 1995 'MTV Unplugged' show, and a new book featuring extensive new album-by-album liner notes penned by Clinton Heylin with an introduction written by Bill Flanagan.

The box set, which will also see the singer's 1973 record 'Dylan' given its first North American release, will also come with a 2XCD titled 'Side Tracks', which will feature a plethora of non-album tracks such as singles, tracks from films, songs from 'Biograph' and other compilations. In addition to being made available as a CD boxset, it will also be available digitally as a harmonica-shaped USB stick.

Columbia Records will also release another compilation titled 'The Very Best Of Bob Dylan' on November 4, which will come in both a standard single-disc version and a deluxe double-disc format, in addition to confirming that 'Bob Dylan Complete Collection: Vol Two' will be released next year. The next instalment in the series will compile the entirety of the singer's popular Bootleg series for the first time.

The details for 'Bob Dylan Complete Collection: Vol One' are as follows:

Studio albums

'Bob Dylan' (1962)
The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan' (1963)
'The Times They Are A-Changin'' (1964)
'Another Side Of Bob Dylan' (1964)
'Bringing It All Back Home' (1965)
'Highway 61 Revisited' (1965)
'Blonde On Blonde' (1966)
'John Wesley Harding' (1967)
'Nashville Skyline' (1969)
'Self Portrait' (1970 – newly remastered)
'New Morning' (1970)
'Pat Garret & Billy The Kid' (1973 – newly remastered)
'Dylan' (1973 – newly remastered)
'Planet Waves (1974)
'Blood on the Tracks (1975)
'The Basement Tapes (1975)
'Desire (1976)
'Street Legal (1978 – newly remastered)
'Slow Train Coming (1979)
'Saved (1980 – newly remastered)
'Shot of Love (1981)
'Infidels (1983)
'Empire Burlesque (1985 – newly remastered)
'Knocked Out Loaded (1986 – newly remastered)
'Down in the Groove (1988 – newly remastered)
'Oh Mercy (1989)
'Under the Red Sky (1990 – newly remastered)
'Good as I Been to You (1992 – newly remastered)
'World Gone Wrong' (1993 – newly remastered)
'Time Out of Mind' (1997)
'Love and Theft' (2001)
'Modern Times' (2006)
'Together Through Life' (2009)
'Christmas in the Heart' (2009)
'Tempest' (2012)

Live Albums

'Before the Flood' (1972)
'Hard Rain (1976 – newly remastered)
'Bob Dylan at Budokan (1979 – newly remastered)
'Real Live (1984 – newly remastered)
'Dylan & the Dead' (1989)
'MTV Unplugged' (1995)

Side Tracks

'Baby, I'm In The Mood For You
'Mixed-Up Confusion'
'Tomorrow Is a Long Time' (live)
'Lay Down Your Weary Tune'
'Percy's Song'
'I'll Keep It with Mine'
'Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?'
'Positively 4th Street'
'Jet Pilot'
'I Wanna Be Your Lover'
'I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met)' (live)
'Visions of Johanna' (live)
'Quinn The Eskimo
'Watching The River Flow'
'When I Paint My Masterpiece'
'Down In The Flood'
'I Shall Be Released'
'You Ain't Goin' Nowhere'
'George Jackson' (acoustic version)
'Forever Young'
'You're A Big Girl Now'
'Up to Me'
'Abandoned Love'
'Isis' (live)
'Romance in Durango' (live)
'Caribbean Wind'
'Heart of Mine' (live)
'Series of Dreams'
'Dignity'
'Things Have Changed'

[jadams501]

What baffles me about that giant boxset is that anybody who would be interested surely already owns the vast majority of that material... if you don't already own Knocked Out Loaded, is it worth dropping several hundred dollars to add it to your collection? You can get it on Amazon for $2.99.

[jack white]

Isis (live) is the greatest thing.