Talking about Dylan

Evas Dad

I went and saw Bob Dylan last year, maybe the year before, in the UK.

I have the male version of your Eva - a son who is a music nut, has a vast collection of CDs and goes to concerts more frequently than he goes to university! Like me,he loves the legacy Sixties Dylan stuff and talked me into going to see Bobby D.

On my plastic, of course.

What a weird concert - lots of 'Love And Theft' tracks, super tight band who were superb and BD really struggling with the singing, in my opinion.It sounded like he was losing his voice.

The most disappointing thing was that Dylan didn't say a word to the audience, played his set and left.He seemed to be just going through the motions - if that is normal for him , he should not bother. I can't believe he needs the £30 ticket price more than me. I felt ripped off.Perhaps it was a bad night, but I read a few other poor reviews from that tour.

This was not the Bob Dylan we knew at the heart of a cultural revolution, this was the Dylan with the low golf handicap.

Yes, you are right, it´s a fantastic album and together with Blonde on Blonde and Slow Train Coming one of my favourites of earlier times.
Günter

Hello Eva's Dad, Gunter!!  The answer my friend is blowing in the wind...:)

I had to dig out my old post, I saw Dylan almost 2 years ago as part of my 5oth birthday celebration!   Overall, I'm glad I saw Dylan, what I regret is that I never saw him back in the day.  Similar to Crossroads, for a man that is such an incredible poet, I was very surprised that he had no interaction with the audience.  And he mumbles a little and is unclear sometimes.  In addition, I was disappointed I didn't get to hear him play guitar.

Shortly after that concert, there was a thread on the Clapton site and my friend derekiseric, who is very witty and a man of few words, had mentioned he had seen Dylan several times.  In a live performance, you just never know...he's seen some GREAT shows and some where Bob mumbled most of the show.  Then a little while later I read an interview in Rolling Stone from Ringo Starr.  He spoke about seeing Bob in a performance and going backstage during intermission.  Dylan said to Ringo, "Is there any song you want me to play?" and Ringo mentioned one and everyone except Ringo started laughing, Dylan had already played it!!! (the mumbling factor again)  I have to tell you, I laughed so hard when I read that. Thinking about some of the interviews I've heard of Dylan, sometimes he is a little antagonistic.  Being interviewed isn't his favorite thing to begin with, so my sense is he is a deep thinking eccentric artist, which is one of the reasons he is capable of such incredible lyrics and he pours his emotions into the music. Some artists just aren't as comfortable with the audience.  We all have to accept the good with the bad sometimes...   And I think you're right about Van also, some of the same factors apply.

With all that being said, very few artists come close to Dylan when it comes to songwriting, he is superb!!!  And Blood On The Tracks and Blonde On Blonde are my 2 favorites, especially powerful lyrics.  At your advice, I will check out his last album.

And bringing this all back to Joe, back in April Joe featured Dylan songs on the Cup of Joe.

Theme:  The Blues Plays Bob Dylan

1.  Johnny Winter ~ Highway 61 Revisited

2.  Leon Russell ~ It Takes Alot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry

3.  Kenny Wayne Shepherd ~ Everything Is Broken from 10 Days Out, which Joe thinks is just stellar!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQUaEs3z … re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ole7-bR_ … re=related

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YP0HgKaY3_Q

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ced8o50G … re=related

http://www.jbonamassa.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=1180

i love dylan, and think he is one of the perfect songwriters(him, townes van zandt, neil young, tom waits, leonard cohen, nick cave, shane macgowan, john prine, surely others i am unaware of).  i have heard his recent live performances range from bad to worse.  his voice as it is now is intolerable to me.  it was always unique but now he sounds like a bad impersonation of what he once was, and to me it is downright shameful that he doesn't talk in concert.  if youve seen bb king live lately, you know what i mean.  it is not disputable, king is past his musical prime, but he is still great and has stories to beat all and he will tell them.  dylan is past his prime to and should follow bb's lead, in my opinion.  if you have lived the life he has, at this point  your shows should involve some stories.  i would not pay to see him live, as it would be paying to lay my eyes on him, not to enjoy the show.  i personally think if he isn't going to put on a good live show he should stop performing live, but i will admit he has earned the right to pretty much do whatever he wants.

that said, my dad played me blood on the tracks a long time ago, i love it(tangled up and lily rosemary... being two of my fav songs ever), i havent heard even 20% of his material but am sure i have heard more than most people my age.  the guy is a god in music.  to be studied for generations.  possibly the best songwriter ever born.  his legacy is going to last as long as the human race, maybe longer if any other literate life comes after us, i truly believe that.  one of, if not the, most important musicians of the modern era.

so that is about what i can contribute on the discussion.

Nice story, Angela.
I have seen Dylan live only once in the late sixties-quite a time ago. For me it was a historical event because he was singing in Nürnberg in the remainings of the Reichsparteitag -  the former meeting place of the Nazi idiots. (Maybe you have seen the Riefenstahl movies.) And Bob was standing right at the place where Hitler made his speeches. I experienced it as a kind of exorcism.
Günter