Thanks to Michael Bowman:
“My favorite Dylan song is ‘Blind Willie McTell’.
“I love your blog, your reviews have steered me towards and away from all the Dylan books coming out. Just finished Million Dollar Bash and loved it. Got me to go back to one of my boots to relisten to them in the order he reconstructs in the book.”
And thanks to Steve Hughes:
“My choice would have to be ‘LIKE A ROLLING STONE’. Keep up the good work!”
But which is your favourite Dylan song?
Please send me a note of your top Bob song (to: topsong@dylandaily.com). I’ll post replies and, if we get enough, I’ll also compile a ranked list.
Thanks, in advance.
Gerry Smith
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Good news from Chemnitz - Drawn Blank exhibition extended
Thanks to Cornelia Grosch in Berlin, the bearer of some very good news:
“Here's a message to everybody who hasn't had the time to go to Chemnitz to see Bob’s Drawn Blank Series, but would like to go there ... (like me). They’ve prolonged it till 24 March, which gives more of us the opportunity to see the paintings!”
“Hope you are fine! Always good to read your site.”
http://www.chemnitz.de/de/flash.htm
“Here's a message to everybody who hasn't had the time to go to Chemnitz to see Bob’s Drawn Blank Series, but would like to go there ... (like me). They’ve prolonged it till 24 March, which gives more of us the opportunity to see the paintings!”
“Hope you are fine! Always good to read your site.”
http://www.chemnitz.de/de/flash.htm
New low price for Dylan (and Cohen) albums
The major supermarket chains have driven down CD/DVD/book prices just as much the online retailers and digital downloads. Pity the poor specialist music retailers (only joking!)
But I never thought I’d ever see prime Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen albums retailing at £2.50 each!
Tesco are selling a load of Sony 2-fers including boxed sets of Dylan’s Time Out Of Mind and “Love And Theft”, and Leonard Cohen’s Songs Of Leonard Cohen and Songs Of Love And Hate for £5 each – that’s just £2.50 per album. I paid £15 each for some of these albums - when £15 seemed like a lot of money!
Will top albums soon be available at £1 each? I wouldn’t bet against it.
Gerry Smith
But I never thought I’d ever see prime Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen albums retailing at £2.50 each!
Tesco are selling a load of Sony 2-fers including boxed sets of Dylan’s Time Out Of Mind and “Love And Theft”, and Leonard Cohen’s Songs Of Leonard Cohen and Songs Of Love And Hate for £5 each – that’s just £2.50 per album. I paid £15 each for some of these albums - when £15 seemed like a lot of money!
Will top albums soon be available at £1 each? I wouldn’t bet against it.
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Your favourite Dylan song?
The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll may be the favourite Dylan song of writers Christopher Ricks and Bryan Appleyard (see below).
It was certainly the highlight of the magical November 2003 London shows. Here’s how I reported it on another website:
“The performances were outstanding. Dylan reinterpreted his canon with striking new emphases. The voice has rarely sounded more convincing - strong, melodious, impassioned. Many, hearing The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, maybe for the hundredth time, will have experienced an involuntary dropping of the jaw as Dylan delivered the key line. Such powerful writing, so skilfully delivered, made the derisory sentence handed out to William Zanzinger sound as outrageous as it did the first time you heard it.”
But is The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll your favourite?
Please send me a note of your top Bob song (to: topsong@dylandaily.com). I’ll post replies and, if we get enough, I’ll also compile a ranked list.
Thanks, in advance.
Gerry Smith
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE:
The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll: the best Dylan song?
Which is the best Dylan song? The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll, according to Sunday Times columnist Bryan Appleyard, who has contributed his fair share of lengthy, well-informed Dylan feature articles.
Appleyard picked The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll as one of his choices on yesterday’s Private Passions (BBC Radio 3), pointing out that leading literary scholar/Dylan fan Christopher Ricks also considers Hattie Carroll as Dylan’s finest.
Thanks to Peter Truin who also heard the broadcast and supplied the link which enables you to listen to the programme via the web:
“The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll was chosen by Brian Appleyard, among the more usual Radio 3 fare of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, on the programme "Private Passions" (Sunday 27th Jan).
“I found it interesting to hear his comments about the song, if you would like to listen, it starts about 10 minutes in.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/privatepassions/pip/fpzvs/
It was certainly the highlight of the magical November 2003 London shows. Here’s how I reported it on another website:
“The performances were outstanding. Dylan reinterpreted his canon with striking new emphases. The voice has rarely sounded more convincing - strong, melodious, impassioned. Many, hearing The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, maybe for the hundredth time, will have experienced an involuntary dropping of the jaw as Dylan delivered the key line. Such powerful writing, so skilfully delivered, made the derisory sentence handed out to William Zanzinger sound as outrageous as it did the first time you heard it.”
But is The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll your favourite?
Please send me a note of your top Bob song (to: topsong@dylandaily.com). I’ll post replies and, if we get enough, I’ll also compile a ranked list.
Thanks, in advance.
Gerry Smith
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EARLIER RELATED ARTICLE:
The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll: the best Dylan song?
Which is the best Dylan song? The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll, according to Sunday Times columnist Bryan Appleyard, who has contributed his fair share of lengthy, well-informed Dylan feature articles.
Appleyard picked The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll as one of his choices on yesterday’s Private Passions (BBC Radio 3), pointing out that leading literary scholar/Dylan fan Christopher Ricks also considers Hattie Carroll as Dylan’s finest.
Thanks to Peter Truin who also heard the broadcast and supplied the link which enables you to listen to the programme via the web:
“The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll was chosen by Brian Appleyard, among the more usual Radio 3 fare of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, on the programme "Private Passions" (Sunday 27th Jan).
“I found it interesting to hear his comments about the song, if you would like to listen, it starts about 10 minutes in.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/privatepassions/pip/fpzvs/
Monday, January 28, 2008
The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll: the best Dylan song?
Which is the best Dylan song? The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll, according to Sunday Times columnist Bryan Appleyard, who has contributed his fair share of lengthy, well-informed Dylan feature articles.
Appleyard picked The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll as one of his choices on yesterday’s Private Passions (BBC Radio 3), pointing out that leading literary scholar/Dylan fan Christopher Ricks also considers Hattie Carroll as Dylan’s finest.
Thanks to Peter Truin who also heard the broadcast and supplied the link which enables you to listen to the programme via the web:
“The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll was chosen by Brian Appleyard, among the more usual Radio 3 fare of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, on the programme "Private Passions" (Sunday 27th Jan).
“I found it interesting to hear his comments about the song, if you would like to listen, it starts about 10 minutes in.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/privatepassions/pip/fpzvs/
Appleyard picked The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll as one of his choices on yesterday’s Private Passions (BBC Radio 3), pointing out that leading literary scholar/Dylan fan Christopher Ricks also considers Hattie Carroll as Dylan’s finest.
Thanks to Peter Truin who also heard the broadcast and supplied the link which enables you to listen to the programme via the web:
“The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll was chosen by Brian Appleyard, among the more usual Radio 3 fare of Mozart, Beethoven and Schubert, on the programme "Private Passions" (Sunday 27th Jan).
“I found it interesting to hear his comments about the song, if you would like to listen, it starts about 10 minutes in.”
http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio3/privatepassions/pip/fpzvs/
Remembering Heath Ledger and John Stewart
Thanks to Martin Cowan:
“How about a nod from Dylan Daily to acknowledge a couple of Dylan-related recent demises - the actor Heath Ledger and singer John Stewart?
“Condolences to their families and friends.”
“How about a nod from Dylan Daily to acknowledge a couple of Dylan-related recent demises - the actor Heath Ledger and singer John Stewart?
“Condolences to their families and friends.”
Friday, January 25, 2008
Dylan Daily: “informative … well-written … my daily Dylan fix … “
Thanks to Jon Smithson:
“In case you don’t get told enough – thank you for The Dylan Daily – it’s informative, well-written and provides me with my daily Dylan fix.
“In the last few weeks alone, I’ve thanked you out loud for drawing my attention to, among other things:
* the fabulous second DVD disc in the Don’t Look Back box, which I’d neglected
* the new issue of Record Collector
* the new book on Dylan as a star
* the Sony podcasts
* the Drawn Blank exhibition catalogue
* what you call the “grey catalogue” product.
“Without Dylan Daily, I’d probably have missed nearly all of these.
“Thank you so much – please keep up the great work!”
“In case you don’t get told enough – thank you for The Dylan Daily – it’s informative, well-written and provides me with my daily Dylan fix.
“In the last few weeks alone, I’ve thanked you out loud for drawing my attention to, among other things:
* the fabulous second DVD disc in the Don’t Look Back box, which I’d neglected
* the new issue of Record Collector
* the new book on Dylan as a star
* the Sony podcasts
* the Drawn Blank exhibition catalogue
* what you call the “grey catalogue” product.
“Without Dylan Daily, I’d probably have missed nearly all of these.
“Thank you so much – please keep up the great work!”
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Transmissions CD – a critical note
Thanks to Peter Mackie:
“Just to say that for me the three John Hammond Show songs plus Jokerman are really the only worthwhile things on this CD - they are good, especially Hurricane, and Simple Twist of Fate has the rewritten 1975 lyrics which are interesting to hear.
“The booklet is useless. Anyone who has read their Shelton, Heylin, Bauldie etc could have written that booklet. I didn't learn a single new thing, and I am far from a completist.
“The booklet frustratingly says nothing about the particular performances on the disc - indeed it was only by reading your site that I learned where All Along the Watchtower and Highway 61 came from.
“What are the licensing rules? Did the TV companies have a share of the copyright of these performances? It all seems a bit peculiar.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EARLIER, RELATED ARTICLES:
Bob Dylan Transmissions - enhanced CD & 74 page book
Thanks to Nigel Boddy:
“I've now listened to Bob Dylan Transmissions and can report that the sound quality (on a few of the tracks) could have been a lot better - no remastering carried out here! But, it's possibly better having average quality `rare and previously unreleased' material in your collection than not at all (?).
“The tracks, as far are as I can determine, come from the following sources:
1. Blowin' In The Wind,
2. Man Of Constant Sorrow
3. With God On Our Side
(Folk Songs & More Folk Songs TV Show 1963)
4. Hurricane,
5. Simple Twist Of Fate
6. Oh Sister
(The World of John Hammond TV Show 10.9.75)
7. Jokerman (Late Night With David Lettermen TV Show 22/3/84)
8. Maggie's Farm (Farm Aid 1985)
9. All Along The Watchtower (Guitar Legends 17/10/91)
10. My Back Pages
11. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
(30th Anniv. Show 18/10/02)
12. Highway 61 Revisited
13. Rainy Day Women #12&35
(Woodstock 14/8/94)
The two additional CD-ROM enhanced tracks are Girl From The North Country (With J Cash) & Forever Young (With Bruce Springsteen).
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Grey market Dylan product proliferating
If you haven’t had a good root in the Dylan racks of the music megastores for a while, you might be surprised at the recent proliferation of what’s best described as “grey market” product - CDs and (especially) DVDs.
These products aren’t official (Sony) releases, but they can’t be bootlegs (aka black market), or they wouldn’t be stocked by the mainstream music emporia. Some are also available via online retailers.
The latest product to catch my attention is Bob Dylan – Transmissions, a CD of 15 (mainly audio) tracks recorded for TV/radio across Dylan’s career, released by UK label Storming Music Company. Presumably such releases are legit because the original broadcasters have licensed performances for which they hold the copyright?
Has anyone come across this or similar CDs? Are they worth pursuing?
Gerry Smith
“Just to say that for me the three John Hammond Show songs plus Jokerman are really the only worthwhile things on this CD - they are good, especially Hurricane, and Simple Twist of Fate has the rewritten 1975 lyrics which are interesting to hear.
“The booklet is useless. Anyone who has read their Shelton, Heylin, Bauldie etc could have written that booklet. I didn't learn a single new thing, and I am far from a completist.
“The booklet frustratingly says nothing about the particular performances on the disc - indeed it was only by reading your site that I learned where All Along the Watchtower and Highway 61 came from.
“What are the licensing rules? Did the TV companies have a share of the copyright of these performances? It all seems a bit peculiar.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EARLIER, RELATED ARTICLES:
Bob Dylan Transmissions - enhanced CD & 74 page book
Thanks to Nigel Boddy:
“I've now listened to Bob Dylan Transmissions and can report that the sound quality (on a few of the tracks) could have been a lot better - no remastering carried out here! But, it's possibly better having average quality `rare and previously unreleased' material in your collection than not at all (?).
“The tracks, as far are as I can determine, come from the following sources:
1. Blowin' In The Wind,
2. Man Of Constant Sorrow
3. With God On Our Side
(Folk Songs & More Folk Songs TV Show 1963)
4. Hurricane,
5. Simple Twist Of Fate
6. Oh Sister
(The World of John Hammond TV Show 10.9.75)
7. Jokerman (Late Night With David Lettermen TV Show 22/3/84)
8. Maggie's Farm (Farm Aid 1985)
9. All Along The Watchtower (Guitar Legends 17/10/91)
10. My Back Pages
11. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
(30th Anniv. Show 18/10/02)
12. Highway 61 Revisited
13. Rainy Day Women #12&35
(Woodstock 14/8/94)
The two additional CD-ROM enhanced tracks are Girl From The North Country (With J Cash) & Forever Young (With Bruce Springsteen).
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Grey market Dylan product proliferating
If you haven’t had a good root in the Dylan racks of the music megastores for a while, you might be surprised at the recent proliferation of what’s best described as “grey market” product - CDs and (especially) DVDs.
These products aren’t official (Sony) releases, but they can’t be bootlegs (aka black market), or they wouldn’t be stocked by the mainstream music emporia. Some are also available via online retailers.
The latest product to catch my attention is Bob Dylan – Transmissions, a CD of 15 (mainly audio) tracks recorded for TV/radio across Dylan’s career, released by UK label Storming Music Company. Presumably such releases are legit because the original broadcasters have licensed performances for which they hold the copyright?
Has anyone come across this or similar CDs? Are they worth pursuing?
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Books on individual Dylan albums proliferating
Book-length studies of individual Dylan albums, as pioneered by Greil Marcus over ten years ago, are proliferating. It’s evidence of a growing recognition of the depth and breadth of Zimmerman’s talent.
The latest addition to the genre is Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited, by British music journalist Colin Irwin (Legendary Sessions series, Billboard Books Jan 2008, 256pp, hardback).
I just bought a copy from The Book Depository, in Gloucester, via Amazon Marketplace, at the giveaway price of £8.83 delivered.
Irwin’s new book joins an expanding shelf of studies of individual Dylan albums, including two competitors:
* Marcus, Greil, Like A Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan at the Crossroads, Faber & Faber, 2005
* Polizzotti, Mark, Highway 61 Revisited, 33 1/3/Continuum, 2006
as well as a trio of other single album studies:
* Griffin, Sid, Million Dollar Bash: Bob Dylan, The Band, and The Basement Tapes, Jawbone Press, Sept 2007
* Marcus, Greil, Invisible Republic, Picador, 1997
* Gill, Andy, and Odegard, Kevin, A Simple Twist of Fate: Bob Dylan and the Making Of Blood On The Tracks, Da Capo, 2004.
You can access Dylan Daily reviews of Polizzotti’s and Griffin’s books via the Archive.
Gerry Smith
The latest addition to the genre is Bob Dylan Highway 61 Revisited, by British music journalist Colin Irwin (Legendary Sessions series, Billboard Books Jan 2008, 256pp, hardback).
I just bought a copy from The Book Depository, in Gloucester, via Amazon Marketplace, at the giveaway price of £8.83 delivered.
Irwin’s new book joins an expanding shelf of studies of individual Dylan albums, including two competitors:
* Marcus, Greil, Like A Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan at the Crossroads, Faber & Faber, 2005
* Polizzotti, Mark, Highway 61 Revisited, 33 1/3/Continuum, 2006
as well as a trio of other single album studies:
* Griffin, Sid, Million Dollar Bash: Bob Dylan, The Band, and The Basement Tapes, Jawbone Press, Sept 2007
* Marcus, Greil, Invisible Republic, Picador, 1997
* Gill, Andy, and Odegard, Kevin, A Simple Twist of Fate: Bob Dylan and the Making Of Blood On The Tracks, Da Capo, 2004.
You can access Dylan Daily reviews of Polizzotti’s and Griffin’s books via the Archive.
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, January 22, 2008
LA to be fifth stop for travelling Dylan exhibition
Bob Dylan’s American Journey, 1956–1966, organized by Experience Music Project, moves to LA’s Skirball Cultural Center from 8 February to 8 June.
Bob Dylan’s American Journey, 1956–1966 showcases photographs, recordings, performance, interview footage and historical artefacts – from Bruce Langhorne’s tambourine to Dylan’s copy of Woody Guthrie’s Bound for Glory and a letter from Dylan to Joan Baez’s mother!
The exhibition opened at Seattle’s Experience Music Project, before moving to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland), Morgan Library (New York) and the Weisman Art Museum (Minneapolis).
The ancillary Skirball programmes includes:
· John Cohen and Daniel Kramer on photographing Dylan;
· poetry by Michael McClure, and
· Greil Marcus and other Dylan writers.
Looks absorbing – I’m keenly anticipating it coming to London!
If you’ve already seen the exhibition – in Seattle, Cleveland, New York or Minneapolis, or plan to go to the LA gig, Gerry@dylandaily.com is keen to hear from you and publish your impressions.
www.skirball.org
Gerry Smith
Bob Dylan’s American Journey, 1956–1966 showcases photographs, recordings, performance, interview footage and historical artefacts – from Bruce Langhorne’s tambourine to Dylan’s copy of Woody Guthrie’s Bound for Glory and a letter from Dylan to Joan Baez’s mother!
The exhibition opened at Seattle’s Experience Music Project, before moving to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Cleveland), Morgan Library (New York) and the Weisman Art Museum (Minneapolis).
The ancillary Skirball programmes includes:
· John Cohen and Daniel Kramer on photographing Dylan;
· poetry by Michael McClure, and
· Greil Marcus and other Dylan writers.
Looks absorbing – I’m keenly anticipating it coming to London!
If you’ve already seen the exhibition – in Seattle, Cleveland, New York or Minneapolis, or plan to go to the LA gig, Gerry@dylandaily.com is keen to hear from you and publish your impressions.
www.skirball.org
Gerry Smith
Monday, January 21, 2008
Dylan Rarities – Part One – The ‘60s
Dylan Rarities – Part One – The ‘60s, the cover feature of the new (February) issue of Record Collector is the first of a three-part article by Evan Marshall on Dylan's rare, officially released tracks. Part 1 focuses on the 1960s, Part 2 will be the 70s/80s and Part 3 will be the 90s/00s.
It’s an eight page discographical labour of love – well written and beautifully illustrated with sumptuous cover artwork.
Author Marshall credits long-time Dylan rarities discographer Alan Fraser, whose unmissable website, Searching for a Gem, has been doing the same job for the last ten years.
The February issue of Record Collector also carries an enjoyable five page quote-heavy feature on John Wesley Harding by Harvey Kubernik.
So, if you’re a Bob collector, Record Collector February 2008 is a must-buy.
www.recordcollectormag.com
www. searchingforagem.com
Gerry Smith
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EARLIER RELATED POST
Thanks to Dylan discographer Evan Marshall:
“Thought you might like to know that the current issue of Record Collector features Dylan on the cover and inside is the first of a three part article by myself on Dylan's rare officially released tracks.
“Part 1 focuses on the 1960s, Part 2 will be the 70s/80s and Part 3 will be the 90s/00s.
“So, time to update that list of Dylan covers again! It seems that all the major magazines now seem to feature him once a year.”
(Looks like a must-have to me – Gerry Smith)
www.recordcollectormag.com
It’s an eight page discographical labour of love – well written and beautifully illustrated with sumptuous cover artwork.
Author Marshall credits long-time Dylan rarities discographer Alan Fraser, whose unmissable website, Searching for a Gem, has been doing the same job for the last ten years.
The February issue of Record Collector also carries an enjoyable five page quote-heavy feature on John Wesley Harding by Harvey Kubernik.
So, if you’re a Bob collector, Record Collector February 2008 is a must-buy.
www.recordcollectormag.com
www. searchingforagem.com
Gerry Smith
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
EARLIER RELATED POST
Thanks to Dylan discographer Evan Marshall:
“Thought you might like to know that the current issue of Record Collector features Dylan on the cover and inside is the first of a three part article by myself on Dylan's rare officially released tracks.
“Part 1 focuses on the 1960s, Part 2 will be the 70s/80s and Part 3 will be the 90s/00s.
“So, time to update that list of Dylan covers again! It seems that all the major magazines now seem to feature him once a year.”
(Looks like a must-have to me – Gerry Smith)
www.recordcollectormag.com
Friday, January 18, 2008
New issue of Record Collector has another Dylan cover
Thanks to Dylan discographer Evan Marshall:
“Thought you might like to know that the current issue of Record Collector features Dylan on the cover and inside is the first of a three part article by myself on Dylan's rare officially released tracks.
“Part 1 focuses on the 1960s, Part 2 will be the 70s/80s and Part 3 will be the 90s/00s.
“So, time to update that list of Dylan covers again! It seems that all the major magazines now seem to feature him once a year.”
(Looks like a must-have to me – Gerry Smith)
www.recordcollectormag.com
“Thought you might like to know that the current issue of Record Collector features Dylan on the cover and inside is the first of a three part article by myself on Dylan's rare officially released tracks.
“Part 1 focuses on the 1960s, Part 2 will be the 70s/80s and Part 3 will be the 90s/00s.
“So, time to update that list of Dylan covers again! It seems that all the major magazines now seem to feature him once a year.”
(Looks like a must-have to me – Gerry Smith)
www.recordcollectormag.com
Bob Dylan 65 Revisited: a true bonus DVD
Having decided to wait for the DVD release to see I’m Not There, I’ve been watching instead Bob Dylan 65 Revisited, the bonus second disc in last year’s Don’t Look Back De Luxe box set
Bob Dylan 65 Revisited is a true bonus, a worthy complement to Don’t Look Back itself. Quite apart from absorbing new documentary footage, the film is a remarkable stand-alone DVD live album - unlike Don’t Look Back, Bob Dylan 65 Revisited is full of complete live performances. And they’re magnificent.
Just look at the track list of complete performances:
1. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
2. To Ramona
3. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
4. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
5. It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
6. It Ain't Me Babe
7. If You Gotta Go, Go Now
8. She Belongs To Me
9. Subterranean Homesick Blues (alt pop video)
And there are several other live clips, shot in dressing rooms and hotel suites.
Probably because the film lasts just over an hour, Bob Dylan 65 Revisited has had only a limited theatrical release.
A pity – it’s magical.
Gerry Smith
Bob Dylan 65 Revisited is a true bonus, a worthy complement to Don’t Look Back itself. Quite apart from absorbing new documentary footage, the film is a remarkable stand-alone DVD live album - unlike Don’t Look Back, Bob Dylan 65 Revisited is full of complete live performances. And they’re magnificent.
Just look at the track list of complete performances:
1. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
2. To Ramona
3. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
4. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
5. It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)
6. It Ain't Me Babe
7. If You Gotta Go, Go Now
8. She Belongs To Me
9. Subterranean Homesick Blues (alt pop video)
And there are several other live clips, shot in dressing rooms and hotel suites.
Probably because the film lasts just over an hour, Bob Dylan 65 Revisited has had only a limited theatrical release.
A pity – it’s magical.
Gerry Smith
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Re-Transmissions CD: new grey market follow-up release
Following the release of its Transmissions album before Xmas (details below), UK label Storming Music has announced a 3 March release date for Re-Transmissions, a follow-up live Dylan compilation CD/booklet.
Re-Transmissions’ track list complements the earlier release, with only two of the 12 tracks on the new product already released on the first CD. Both albums compile a number of live broadcast performances.
Like the first release, the new album has a 70-odd page booklet. I wonder if it’s the same booklet? Let me know if you know.
Amazon.co.uk are taking pre-orders for Re-Transmissions. The first CD had limited retail distribution, including the London flagship HMV store at Oxford Circus.
Gerry Smith
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EARLIER, RELATED ARTICLES:
Bob Dylan Transmissions - enhanced CD & 74 page book
Thanks to Nigel Boddy:
“I've now listened to Bob Dylan Transmissions and can report that the sound quality (on a few of the tracks) could have been a lot better - no remastering carried out here! But, it's possibly better having average quality `rare and previously unreleased' material in your collection than not at all (?).
“The tracks, as far are as I can determine, come from the following sources:
1. Blowin' In The Wind,
2. Man Of Constant Sorrow
3. With God On Our Side
(Folk Songs & More Folk Songs TV Show 1963)
4. Hurricane,
5. Simple Twist Of Fate
6. Oh Sister
(The World of John Hammond TV Show 10.9.75)
7. Jokerman (Late Night With David Lettermen TV Show 22/3/84)
8. Maggie's Farm (Farm Aid 1985)
9. All Along The Watchtower (Guitar Legends 17/10/91)
10. My Back Pages
11. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
(30th Anniv. Show 18/10/02)
12. Highway 61 Revisited
13. Rainy Day Women #12&35
(Woodstock 14/8/94)
The two additional CD-ROM enhanced tracks are Girl From The North Country (With J Cash) & Forever Young (With Bruce Springsteen).
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Grey market Dylan product proliferating
If you haven’t had a good root in the Dylan racks of the music megastores for a while, you might be surprised at the recent proliferation of what’s best described as “grey market” product - CDs and (especially) DVDs.
These products aren’t official (Sony) releases, but they can’t be bootlegs (aka black market), or they wouldn’t be stocked by the mainstream music emporia. Some are also available via online retailers.
The latest product to catch my attention is Bob Dylan – Transmissions, a CD of 15 (mainly audio) tracks recorded for TV/radio across Dylan’s career, released by UK label Storming Music Company. Presumably such releases are legit because the original broadcasters have licensed performances for which they hold the copyright?
Has anyone come across this or similar CDs? Are they worth pursuing?
Gerry Smith
Re-Transmissions’ track list complements the earlier release, with only two of the 12 tracks on the new product already released on the first CD. Both albums compile a number of live broadcast performances.
Like the first release, the new album has a 70-odd page booklet. I wonder if it’s the same booklet? Let me know if you know.
Amazon.co.uk are taking pre-orders for Re-Transmissions. The first CD had limited retail distribution, including the London flagship HMV store at Oxford Circus.
Gerry Smith
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
EARLIER, RELATED ARTICLES:
Bob Dylan Transmissions - enhanced CD & 74 page book
Thanks to Nigel Boddy:
“I've now listened to Bob Dylan Transmissions and can report that the sound quality (on a few of the tracks) could have been a lot better - no remastering carried out here! But, it's possibly better having average quality `rare and previously unreleased' material in your collection than not at all (?).
“The tracks, as far are as I can determine, come from the following sources:
1. Blowin' In The Wind,
2. Man Of Constant Sorrow
3. With God On Our Side
(Folk Songs & More Folk Songs TV Show 1963)
4. Hurricane,
5. Simple Twist Of Fate
6. Oh Sister
(The World of John Hammond TV Show 10.9.75)
7. Jokerman (Late Night With David Lettermen TV Show 22/3/84)
8. Maggie's Farm (Farm Aid 1985)
9. All Along The Watchtower (Guitar Legends 17/10/91)
10. My Back Pages
11. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
(30th Anniv. Show 18/10/02)
12. Highway 61 Revisited
13. Rainy Day Women #12&35
(Woodstock 14/8/94)
The two additional CD-ROM enhanced tracks are Girl From The North Country (With J Cash) & Forever Young (With Bruce Springsteen).
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Grey market Dylan product proliferating
If you haven’t had a good root in the Dylan racks of the music megastores for a while, you might be surprised at the recent proliferation of what’s best described as “grey market” product - CDs and (especially) DVDs.
These products aren’t official (Sony) releases, but they can’t be bootlegs (aka black market), or they wouldn’t be stocked by the mainstream music emporia. Some are also available via online retailers.
The latest product to catch my attention is Bob Dylan – Transmissions, a CD of 15 (mainly audio) tracks recorded for TV/radio across Dylan’s career, released by UK label Storming Music Company. Presumably such releases are legit because the original broadcasters have licensed performances for which they hold the copyright?
Has anyone come across this or similar CDs? Are they worth pursuing?
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
New collectable Dylan T-shirts - in a very limited edition
Writer Michael Gray has a new, “very limited-edition” Bob Dylan Encyclopedia T-shirt for sale on his blogsite. An earlier version sold out in 2006.
According to Gray, the new shirt is “black high-quality cotton, again there’s the same understatedness to it - no writing, plain black back - but this time the image is silver instead of white (and the silver does not go grungy in the wash), and the sizes available are Small, Large or Extra Large. Photo and details on the blog.”
For readers unfamiliar with Gray’s writing, he’s the author of the recent, acclaimed Bob Dylan Encyclopedia (there’s a detailed Dylan Daily review in the Archive).
He was also the first writer, with his landmark book, Song and Dance Man: the Art of Bob Dylan (Abacus, 1973, 332pp, pbk), to fully grasp the literary dimensions of Dylan’s genius. For many, Gray’s milestone analysis confirmed the suspicion that Dylan's talent was on a different scale to that of his rocker contemporaries. Gray detailed exactly why Dylan is a great writer, helping to ensure that listening to the Mighty Zim would become a lifelong preoccupation.
Gerry Smith
http://bobdylanencyclopedia.blogspot.com/
According to Gray, the new shirt is “black high-quality cotton, again there’s the same understatedness to it - no writing, plain black back - but this time the image is silver instead of white (and the silver does not go grungy in the wash), and the sizes available are Small, Large or Extra Large. Photo and details on the blog.”
For readers unfamiliar with Gray’s writing, he’s the author of the recent, acclaimed Bob Dylan Encyclopedia (there’s a detailed Dylan Daily review in the Archive).
He was also the first writer, with his landmark book, Song and Dance Man: the Art of Bob Dylan (Abacus, 1973, 332pp, pbk), to fully grasp the literary dimensions of Dylan’s genius. For many, Gray’s milestone analysis confirmed the suspicion that Dylan's talent was on a different scale to that of his rocker contemporaries. Gray detailed exactly why Dylan is a great writer, helping to ensure that listening to the Mighty Zim would become a lifelong preoccupation.
Gerry Smith
http://bobdylanencyclopedia.blogspot.com/
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
More new episodes of Dylan podcasts
Legacy Recordings’ official Dylan podcasts have now reached programme 13, with the third of a trio of programmes Live At The Newport Folk Festival. We’ve lost Patti Smith as presenter – programme 10 onwards sees her replaced by Rita Houston.
The Legacy podcasts are free. And you can subscribe via iTunes to receive future episodes automatically.
http://blogs.legacyrecordings.com/podcast/category/bob-dylan-podcast/
Meanwhile, Mel Prussack's unofficial Dyl-Time Theme Radio Hour podcast reaches the second part of his analysis of 1966.
http://dylanshrine.podOmatic.com
Gerry Smith
The Legacy podcasts are free. And you can subscribe via iTunes to receive future episodes automatically.
http://blogs.legacyrecordings.com/podcast/category/bob-dylan-podcast/
Meanwhile, Mel Prussack's unofficial Dyl-Time Theme Radio Hour podcast reaches the second part of his analysis of 1966.
http://dylanshrine.podOmatic.com
Gerry Smith
Monday, January 14, 2008
I’m Not There – even more praise from Dylan devotee
Thanks to Bernard McGuinn:
“Stuck in the soft South on business last week, alone, I took advantage of the opportunity to see I'm Not There again, and it was well worth the time and the money.
“What struck me additionally, this time around, was the excellent use of some of the Tarantula stuff, and the Grossman and what I assumed was the Edie character – marvellous: illuminating and extremely humorous observations by the director.
“I loved the bit where the Grossman character is lying on a bed receiving a massage, and the Jones guy (?) comes up to him and slips a wad of money under his pillow.
“As your previous reviewer so insightfully highlighted, the dramatisation of the Newport electric set does far more to convey the real drama of the perceived historical situation than No Direction Home could possibly convey. Grossman and Seeger wrestling each other to the ground after they try to stop Seeger cutting the cables with his woodcutter’s axe is a pure belly laugh.
“And in a similar vein, the attempted attack on Bob by the waiter in the hotel room captures the sense of almost religious dogma that existed amongst so-called folk and protest fans in the mid-‘60s.
There's nothing at all new in this Muslim terrorist stuff; the world just has better access to weapons of some destruction these days.
“I think I'll go see it again, for the third time!”
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EARLIER, RELATED ARTICLE:
Thanks to Roy Edgar:
“I saw I'm Not There last night at the Barbican and I must say that I agree with Bernard McGuinn that it is a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
“I found it engrossing throughout, even when I was baffled at what was happening (I really didn't understand the computer-generated whale!) and loved the endless cornucopia of Dylan words from songs, interviews or reviews.
“Cate Blanchett was totally convincing to this viewer, I kept forgetting that she was a woman! Her stare straight at the camera later on in the film defied you to think that she was anyone but Dylan.
“I even enjoyed the playing around with the facts like the Judas scene following Cate/Jude's Ballad of a Thin Man (a la Copenhagen) in front of the Stars and Stripes (a la Paris) with the audience actually storming the stage.
“On top of all this Bob's music fills the theatre, even Sad-Eyed Lady, wow! Suffice it to say I will be going to see this film again.
“Just read your review of Bob Dylan: The Never Ending Star, which has instantly persuaded me to buy the book - thanks for bringing it to our attention.
“And just to round off the plaudits for your site: I have the old version of The Rolling Thunder Logbook but now that you have spotted the new version for £3 at Fopp I will be getting that too.
“Keep up the great work!”
And thanks to Martin Cowan:
“A friend of mine who is a dyed-in-the-wool Dylan fan (he was at the Isle of Wight, you know!) is just back from seeing I'm Not There and was so enthused he wants to see it again!
“By the way, I think you have been perhaps too fulsome in your praise for the Rolling Thunder Logbook reissue. I too looked at this on reissue but found it to be mostly the same as my original edition, with some slightly different illustrations. However, in the light of your comments, I will see if I can track it down and take another look. I thought this was worth having as it works as a written accompaniment to Renaldo and Clara.”
“Stuck in the soft South on business last week, alone, I took advantage of the opportunity to see I'm Not There again, and it was well worth the time and the money.
“What struck me additionally, this time around, was the excellent use of some of the Tarantula stuff, and the Grossman and what I assumed was the Edie character – marvellous: illuminating and extremely humorous observations by the director.
“I loved the bit where the Grossman character is lying on a bed receiving a massage, and the Jones guy (?) comes up to him and slips a wad of money under his pillow.
“As your previous reviewer so insightfully highlighted, the dramatisation of the Newport electric set does far more to convey the real drama of the perceived historical situation than No Direction Home could possibly convey. Grossman and Seeger wrestling each other to the ground after they try to stop Seeger cutting the cables with his woodcutter’s axe is a pure belly laugh.
“And in a similar vein, the attempted attack on Bob by the waiter in the hotel room captures the sense of almost religious dogma that existed amongst so-called folk and protest fans in the mid-‘60s.
There's nothing at all new in this Muslim terrorist stuff; the world just has better access to weapons of some destruction these days.
“I think I'll go see it again, for the third time!”
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
EARLIER, RELATED ARTICLE:
Thanks to Roy Edgar:
“I saw I'm Not There last night at the Barbican and I must say that I agree with Bernard McGuinn that it is a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
“I found it engrossing throughout, even when I was baffled at what was happening (I really didn't understand the computer-generated whale!) and loved the endless cornucopia of Dylan words from songs, interviews or reviews.
“Cate Blanchett was totally convincing to this viewer, I kept forgetting that she was a woman! Her stare straight at the camera later on in the film defied you to think that she was anyone but Dylan.
“I even enjoyed the playing around with the facts like the Judas scene following Cate/Jude's Ballad of a Thin Man (a la Copenhagen) in front of the Stars and Stripes (a la Paris) with the audience actually storming the stage.
“On top of all this Bob's music fills the theatre, even Sad-Eyed Lady, wow! Suffice it to say I will be going to see this film again.
“Just read your review of Bob Dylan: The Never Ending Star, which has instantly persuaded me to buy the book - thanks for bringing it to our attention.
“And just to round off the plaudits for your site: I have the old version of The Rolling Thunder Logbook but now that you have spotted the new version for £3 at Fopp I will be getting that too.
“Keep up the great work!”
And thanks to Martin Cowan:
“A friend of mine who is a dyed-in-the-wool Dylan fan (he was at the Isle of Wight, you know!) is just back from seeing I'm Not There and was so enthused he wants to see it again!
“By the way, I think you have been perhaps too fulsome in your praise for the Rolling Thunder Logbook reissue. I too looked at this on reissue but found it to be mostly the same as my original edition, with some slightly different illustrations. However, in the light of your comments, I will see if I can track it down and take another look. I thought this was worth having as it works as a written accompaniment to Renaldo and Clara.”
Friday, January 11, 2008
The Top 20 Dylan Albums
Reader Jan Rollins asks “has The Dylan Daily ever run a top Dylan albums poll?” Yes, in late 2006. Here’s the article, including the ranked list.
Gerry Smith
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The Top 20 Dylan albums – new expert ranking
Blonde On Blonde is the most popular Dylan album among the experts – the fans - comfortably ahead of Blood On The Tracks and Highway 61 Revisited.
And these three are more popular by a considerable margin than any other Dylan album.
Readers of The Dylan Daily and an associated website were asked to submit a list of their top 5 Dylan albums, in a competition to win a copy of the new Rough Guide to Bob Dylan. Many thousands of readers visited the web pages outlining the competition; and almost 100 submitted their top 5 list. Thanks to everyone who entered.
The submissions were processed to create a definitive new list of The Top 20 Dylan Albums:
The Top 20 Dylan Albums
1. Blonde On Blonde (1966) 100 (index)
2. Blood On The Tracks (1975) 84
3. Highway 61 Revisited (1965) 74
4. Bringing It All Back Home (1965) 43
5. Time Out Of Mind (1997) 21
6. "Love And Theft" (2001) 18
7. The Freewheelin’ (1963) 17
8. John Wesley Harding (1967) 14
9. Desire (1976) 12
10. Another Side Of Bob Dylan (1964) 11
11. Oh Mercy (1989) 10
12. Modern Times (2006)
13. Street-Legal (1978)
14. Slow Train Coming (1979)
15. Infidels (1983)
16. Live 1966 (1998) 2
17. No Direction Home (2005)
18. Planet Waves (1974)
19. New Morning (1970)
20. The Times They Are A'-Changin’(1964) 1
(Figures at the end of each line indicate popularity relative to Blonde On Blonde - they're index figures.)
Gerry Smith
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The Top 20 Dylan albums – new expert ranking
Blonde On Blonde is the most popular Dylan album among the experts – the fans - comfortably ahead of Blood On The Tracks and Highway 61 Revisited.
And these three are more popular by a considerable margin than any other Dylan album.
Readers of The Dylan Daily and an associated website were asked to submit a list of their top 5 Dylan albums, in a competition to win a copy of the new Rough Guide to Bob Dylan. Many thousands of readers visited the web pages outlining the competition; and almost 100 submitted their top 5 list. Thanks to everyone who entered.
The submissions were processed to create a definitive new list of The Top 20 Dylan Albums:
The Top 20 Dylan Albums
1. Blonde On Blonde (1966) 100 (index)
2. Blood On The Tracks (1975) 84
3. Highway 61 Revisited (1965) 74
4. Bringing It All Back Home (1965) 43
5. Time Out Of Mind (1997) 21
6. "Love And Theft" (2001) 18
7. The Freewheelin’ (1963) 17
8. John Wesley Harding (1967) 14
9. Desire (1976) 12
10. Another Side Of Bob Dylan (1964) 11
11. Oh Mercy (1989) 10
12. Modern Times (2006)
13. Street-Legal (1978)
14. Slow Train Coming (1979)
15. Infidels (1983)
16. Live 1966 (1998) 2
17. No Direction Home (2005)
18. Planet Waves (1974)
19. New Morning (1970)
20. The Times They Are A'-Changin’(1964) 1
(Figures at the end of each line indicate popularity relative to Blonde On Blonde - they're index figures.)
Thursday, January 10, 2008
Hidden cost of buying Drawn Blank exhibition catalogue
Since posting the previous article, I’ve discovered that UK buyers of the Drawn Blank exhibition catalogue who order direct from the gallery, Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, need to factor in the extra cost of making an international bank payment, which is about £20, to be added to the book’s price and delivery: total c£50.
Apologies to readers outside UK, I don’t know the extra bank cost in your country, but it’s worth finding out before you decide where to buy the book.
UK readers might be better advised to find a copy in the UK - if Amazon/Marketplace suppliers are out of stock, there are some copies in the bookshop system – I saw one in a branch of Waterstone's last weekend; and Foyles had it online recently.
Another option is to wait for further exhibitions (London, New York, LA?) - I can't believe Dylan would have done all that work just for a single show - and then expect the catalogue to become a very visible global best-seller.
Bottom line, though: Bob Dylan – The Drawn Blank Series is one helluva Dylan artefact, a must-have!
Gerry Smith
Apologies to readers outside UK, I don’t know the extra bank cost in your country, but it’s worth finding out before you decide where to buy the book.
UK readers might be better advised to find a copy in the UK - if Amazon/Marketplace suppliers are out of stock, there are some copies in the bookshop system – I saw one in a branch of Waterstone's last weekend; and Foyles had it online recently.
Another option is to wait for further exhibitions (London, New York, LA?) - I can't believe Dylan would have done all that work just for a single show - and then expect the catalogue to become a very visible global best-seller.
Bottom line, though: Bob Dylan – The Drawn Blank Series is one helluva Dylan artefact, a must-have!
Gerry Smith
Hurry - Drawn Blank exhibition in Chemnitz closes soon
If you’re planning to catch The Drawn Blank Series, the outstanding exhibition of Dylan artwork at Kunstsammlungen Chemnitz, you’d better hurry, because the show closes on 3 February.
It’s a fine collection. Dylan’s artwork – interiors, urban landscapes, men, women - grabs your attention and demands careful scrutiny. The paintings, in the Expressionist style, would be arresting even if they didn’t carry Dylan’s signature. As you’d expect from its artist, the work is observant, witty and worldly-wise. The surprise is that it’s also technically accomplished – it never fails to evoke an emotional response.
Dylan fans worldwide are indebted to curator Ingrid Mossinger. It’s remarkable that the curator of a city art gallery in a regional centre like Chemnitz should have persuaded Dylan to complete such a substantial body of art, and then made it accessible to a global audience via the striking catalogue, Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series.
Danke schon Chemnitz! Danke schon Frau Mossinger!
The exhibition catalogue is a sumptuous stand-alone coffee table hardback book of 170 striking watercolour/gouache paintings that Dylan recently worked up from drawings originally sketched between 1989 and 1992.
It’s an unusual, beautiful, colourful artefact: aficionados need it - it’s one of the Dylan highlights of recent years, far more important than that new film that’s getting all the media attention.
Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series is available from UK suppliers, but the Chemnitz gallery itself is the prime supplier of the catalogue – they are selling the book at 28 euros (plus 17 euros packing/delivery) via their website – excellent value. Specify if you want the English-language version (the book includes several essays about the exhibition).
Details: Bob Dylan - The Drawn Blank Series, edited by Ingrid Mossinger. Munich, Prestel, large format hardback, 29 Nov 2007, 288pp.
www.chemnitz.de/de/tourismus/tourismus_kultur_17_2.htm
Gerry Smith
It’s a fine collection. Dylan’s artwork – interiors, urban landscapes, men, women - grabs your attention and demands careful scrutiny. The paintings, in the Expressionist style, would be arresting even if they didn’t carry Dylan’s signature. As you’d expect from its artist, the work is observant, witty and worldly-wise. The surprise is that it’s also technically accomplished – it never fails to evoke an emotional response.
Dylan fans worldwide are indebted to curator Ingrid Mossinger. It’s remarkable that the curator of a city art gallery in a regional centre like Chemnitz should have persuaded Dylan to complete such a substantial body of art, and then made it accessible to a global audience via the striking catalogue, Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series.
Danke schon Chemnitz! Danke schon Frau Mossinger!
The exhibition catalogue is a sumptuous stand-alone coffee table hardback book of 170 striking watercolour/gouache paintings that Dylan recently worked up from drawings originally sketched between 1989 and 1992.
It’s an unusual, beautiful, colourful artefact: aficionados need it - it’s one of the Dylan highlights of recent years, far more important than that new film that’s getting all the media attention.
Bob Dylan: The Drawn Blank Series is available from UK suppliers, but the Chemnitz gallery itself is the prime supplier of the catalogue – they are selling the book at 28 euros (plus 17 euros packing/delivery) via their website – excellent value. Specify if you want the English-language version (the book includes several essays about the exhibition).
Details: Bob Dylan - The Drawn Blank Series, edited by Ingrid Mossinger. Munich, Prestel, large format hardback, 29 Nov 2007, 288pp.
www.chemnitz.de/de/tourismus/tourismus_kultur_17_2.htm
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Dylan’s everywhere! Recent magazine covers: encore
Thanks to Ellen Rann for her reminder of another Dylan cover issue – which I listed on Dylan Daily - but foolishly didn’t buy:
“Rangefinder, Jan. 2007 issue: (the magazine for professional photographers) - Portrait of Dylan on the magazine's cover”
Other readers with details of Zim mag covers in other markets are invited to share their lists with Dylan Daily readers: please email info@dylandaily.com
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PREVIOUS RELATED ARTICLE:
Dylan’s everywhere! Recent magazine covers
Dylan’s portrait regularly graces the front covers of magazines stocked by my local branch of Borders. These are recent Dylan covers I’m aware of; there must be lots more:
The Independent - Arts & Books Review, Oct 2005
MOJO 142 Sept 2005
MOJO 158 Jan 2007
Paste 22 July 2006
Q April 2006
Radio Times Sept 2005
Radio Times Oct 2007
Record Collector 334 March 2007
Rolling Stone Sept 2006
The Sunday Times Mag Sept 2005
Uncut 92 Jan 2005
Uncut Dec 2006
Uncut August 2007
Uncut February 2008
Readers with details of Zim mag covers in other markets are invited to share their lists with Dylan Daily readers: please email info@dylandaily.com
Gerry Smith
“Rangefinder, Jan. 2007 issue: (the magazine for professional photographers) - Portrait of Dylan on the magazine's cover”
Other readers with details of Zim mag covers in other markets are invited to share their lists with Dylan Daily readers: please email info@dylandaily.com
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
PREVIOUS RELATED ARTICLE:
Dylan’s everywhere! Recent magazine covers
Dylan’s portrait regularly graces the front covers of magazines stocked by my local branch of Borders. These are recent Dylan covers I’m aware of; there must be lots more:
The Independent - Arts & Books Review, Oct 2005
MOJO 142 Sept 2005
MOJO 158 Jan 2007
Paste 22 July 2006
Q April 2006
Radio Times Sept 2005
Radio Times Oct 2007
Record Collector 334 March 2007
Rolling Stone Sept 2006
The Sunday Times Mag Sept 2005
Uncut 92 Jan 2005
Uncut Dec 2006
Uncut August 2007
Uncut February 2008
Readers with details of Zim mag covers in other markets are invited to share their lists with Dylan Daily readers: please email info@dylandaily.com
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
Dylan’s everywhere! Recent magazine covers
Dylan’s portrait regularly graces the front covers of magazines stocked by my local branch of Borders. These are recent Dylan covers I’m aware of; there must be lots more:
The Independent - Arts & Books Review, Oct 05
MOJO 142 Sept 2005
MOJO 158 Jan 2007
Paste 22 July 2006
Q April 2006
Radio Times Sept 2005
Radio Times Oct 2007
Record Collector 334 March 2007
Rolling Stone Sept 2006
The Sunday Times Mag Sept 2005
Uncut 92 Jan 2005
Uncut Dec 2006
Uncut August 2007
Uncut February 2008
Readers with details of Zim mag covers in other markets are invited to share their lists with Dylan Daily readers: please email info@dylandaily.com
Gerry Smith
The Independent - Arts & Books Review, Oct 05
MOJO 142 Sept 2005
MOJO 158 Jan 2007
Paste 22 July 2006
Q April 2006
Radio Times Sept 2005
Radio Times Oct 2007
Record Collector 334 March 2007
Rolling Stone Sept 2006
The Sunday Times Mag Sept 2005
Uncut 92 Jan 2005
Uncut Dec 2006
Uncut August 2007
Uncut February 2008
Readers with details of Zim mag covers in other markets are invited to share their lists with Dylan Daily readers: please email info@dylandaily.com
Gerry Smith
Monday, January 07, 2008
Is Uncut slowly morphing into a Dylan fanzine?
Is Uncut, the London-based music and movies monthly, slowly morphing into a Dylan fanzine? It certainly seems so - Elliott Landy’s striking portrait on the front of the new (“February”) issue is the fourth Dylan cover the magazine has run in the last two years.
Landy’s pic, from his famed Woodstock series - which also provided the Nashville Skyline cover - promotes the mag’s 11 page feature article, Bob Dylan: 1968, The Year He Came Back From the Dead, an extended analysis of John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline.
Drifter’s Escape, the cover-mounted CD, has lots of country classics, though the claim that they “inspired” the two Dylan albums is worthy of debate. I usually deal with cover mounts by salvaging the jewel cases and binning the CDs, but this one is well worth filing, with great tracks by Hank, Elvis, the Carters and Woody Guthrie, among others.
And, so that its readers don’t miss the point that Bob is now central to its worldview, Uncut has positioned yet another Dylan portrait as the centrepiece of a collage of leading poprockers making up a full page ad promoting its website.
Any more of this Uncut Dylan-mania and I might have to start looking at the mag more carefully. Dunno, though, they’d need to drop most of their heritage poprock content - even this collectable recommended issue has too much Dadrockpop for Ageing Nostalgics for my taste - REM, Tom Petty, Nick Cave, Led Zep reunion et al … no thanks …
Gerry Smith
Landy’s pic, from his famed Woodstock series - which also provided the Nashville Skyline cover - promotes the mag’s 11 page feature article, Bob Dylan: 1968, The Year He Came Back From the Dead, an extended analysis of John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline.
Drifter’s Escape, the cover-mounted CD, has lots of country classics, though the claim that they “inspired” the two Dylan albums is worthy of debate. I usually deal with cover mounts by salvaging the jewel cases and binning the CDs, but this one is well worth filing, with great tracks by Hank, Elvis, the Carters and Woody Guthrie, among others.
And, so that its readers don’t miss the point that Bob is now central to its worldview, Uncut has positioned yet another Dylan portrait as the centrepiece of a collage of leading poprockers making up a full page ad promoting its website.
Any more of this Uncut Dylan-mania and I might have to start looking at the mag more carefully. Dunno, though, they’d need to drop most of their heritage poprock content - even this collectable recommended issue has too much Dadrockpop for Ageing Nostalgics for my taste - REM, Tom Petty, Nick Cave, Led Zep reunion et al … no thanks …
Gerry Smith
Friday, January 04, 2008
Dylan, Radiohead, Brian Jones brighten up the January news-stands
New Year issues of rockpop mags - fashionably slim after the ad-led excesses of the Xmas consumption frenzy - are creeping onto the news-stands.
· UNCUT gets top billing with a striking Dylan cover straight from the Nashville Skyline shoot. Bob Dylan: 1968, The Year He Came Back From the Dead, is the cover feature, with extended coverage of John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline. The cover-mounted CD, Drifter’s Escape, has JWH-inspired country rock covers. And UNCUT has a separate photo feature on Blackbushe. Hang on – wasn’t that 1978?
· MOJO has Radiohead on the cover, and a featured interview with Joni Mitchell. Oh dear. I love Mitchell’s music but I lost interest in anything she has to say - about anything - aeons ago. Life’s far too short.
· Record Collector’s cover story is Brian Jones – The Lost Stone.
Gerry Smith
· UNCUT gets top billing with a striking Dylan cover straight from the Nashville Skyline shoot. Bob Dylan: 1968, The Year He Came Back From the Dead, is the cover feature, with extended coverage of John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline. The cover-mounted CD, Drifter’s Escape, has JWH-inspired country rock covers. And UNCUT has a separate photo feature on Blackbushe. Hang on – wasn’t that 1978?
· MOJO has Radiohead on the cover, and a featured interview with Joni Mitchell. Oh dear. I love Mitchell’s music but I lost interest in anything she has to say - about anything - aeons ago. Life’s far too short.
· Record Collector’s cover story is Brian Jones – The Lost Stone.
Gerry Smith
I’m Not There - more high praise from Dylan devotees
Thanks to Roy Edgar:
“I saw I'm Not There last night at the Barbican and I must say that I agree with Bernard McGuinn that it is a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
“I found it engrossing throughout, even when I was baffled at what was happening (I really didn't understand the computer-generated whale!) and loved the endless cornucopia of Dylan words from songs, interviews or reviews.
“Cate Blanchett was totally convincing to this viewer, I kept forgetting that she was a woman! Her stare straight at the camera later on in the film defied you to think that she was anyone but Dylan.
“I even enjoyed the playing around with the facts like the Judas scene following Cate/Jude's Ballad of a Thin Man (a la Copenhagen) in front of the Stars and Stripes (a la Paris) with the audience actually storming the stage.
“On top of all this Bob's music fills the theatre, even Sad-Eyed Lady, wow! Suffice it to say I will be going to see this film again.
“Just read your review of Bob Dylan: The Never Ending Star, which has instantly persuaded me to buy the book - thanks for bringing it to our attention.
“And just to round off the plaudits for your site: I have the old version of The Rolling Thunder Logbook but now that you have spotted the new version for £3 at Fopp I will be getting that too.
“Keep up the great work!”
And thanks to Martin Cowan:
“A friend of mine who is a dyed-in-the-wool Dylan fan (he was at the Isle of Wight, you know!) is just back from seeing I'm Not There and was so enthused he wants to see it again!
“By the way, I think you have been perhaps too fulsome in your praise for the Rolling Thunder Logbook reissue. I too looked at this on reissue but found it to be mostly the same as my original edition, with some slightly different illustrations. However, in the light of your comments, I will see if I can track it down and take another look. I thought this was worth having as it works as a written accompaniment to Renaldo and Clara.”
“I saw I'm Not There last night at the Barbican and I must say that I agree with Bernard McGuinn that it is a thoroughly enjoyable experience.
“I found it engrossing throughout, even when I was baffled at what was happening (I really didn't understand the computer-generated whale!) and loved the endless cornucopia of Dylan words from songs, interviews or reviews.
“Cate Blanchett was totally convincing to this viewer, I kept forgetting that she was a woman! Her stare straight at the camera later on in the film defied you to think that she was anyone but Dylan.
“I even enjoyed the playing around with the facts like the Judas scene following Cate/Jude's Ballad of a Thin Man (a la Copenhagen) in front of the Stars and Stripes (a la Paris) with the audience actually storming the stage.
“On top of all this Bob's music fills the theatre, even Sad-Eyed Lady, wow! Suffice it to say I will be going to see this film again.
“Just read your review of Bob Dylan: The Never Ending Star, which has instantly persuaded me to buy the book - thanks for bringing it to our attention.
“And just to round off the plaudits for your site: I have the old version of The Rolling Thunder Logbook but now that you have spotted the new version for £3 at Fopp I will be getting that too.
“Keep up the great work!”
And thanks to Martin Cowan:
“A friend of mine who is a dyed-in-the-wool Dylan fan (he was at the Isle of Wight, you know!) is just back from seeing I'm Not There and was so enthused he wants to see it again!
“By the way, I think you have been perhaps too fulsome in your praise for the Rolling Thunder Logbook reissue. I too looked at this on reissue but found it to be mostly the same as my original edition, with some slightly different illustrations. However, in the light of your comments, I will see if I can track it down and take another look. I thought this was worth having as it works as a written accompaniment to Renaldo and Clara.”
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Dylan the Never-Ending Star – a must-read new book
Bob Dylan: The Never Ending Star, by Lee Marshall, is one of the most enlightening of the 115 titles currently weighing down my groaning Zim bookshelf.
Author Marshall is a baby boomer Dylan fan who also happens to teach sociology at England’s Bristol University. He has applied his professional skills to his musical passion and come up with a challenging, wholly original perspective on Dylan’s art.
Along the way he offers refreshing insights into, inter alia, Dylan the folk star, the rock star, the Never Ending Tourist and the benign radio-friendly Uncle Bob, fount of wit and wisdom.
Mulling over Dylan’s early subversion of the traditional star role, Marshall is strong on the mid-1960s emergence (creation?) of the rock music market, and Bob’s centrality therein.
The book’s highlights include its analysis of crucial eras in Dylan’s development: the 1965 morphing from folkie to rocker; the unpopular late decade “sell-out” in favour of country and pre-rock pop; and the early 1980s Rock Is Dead phase. Marshall’s analysis of the NET, its purposes and its ever-evolving phases, is stimulating - it will force many readers to reassess the last twenty years of Bob-mania.
No one, not even Bob Dylan, operates in a vacuum, and all players are constrained to some extent by the times. Marshall’s study succeeds admirably in defining the social context and significance of Dylan’s career. In doing so, he ranges freely – and expertly – over popular culture, rock music, the cult of celebrity, and post-Modern creativity, to list but a few phenomena adroitly analysed.
The author’s social scientific objectivity enables him to outshine most Dylan writers, locked, as they are, inside rockist straitjackets, and hampered by risible musical prejudices.
His discussion of earlier Dylan authors is absorbing. Encyclopaedist Michael Gray is the target of some critical potshots; Marshall is maybe too gentle with Greil Marcus.
Though the book is addressed primarily to Cultural Studies inmates, mere civilians shouldn’t be deterred: unlike many sociologists, Marshall writes lucidly and wears his considerable learning lightly. You have to engage your brain, but it’s well worth the effort. And while it’s easy to sneer at the loonier margins of Cultural Studies, admirable books like this reveal a maturing subject demanding respect.
Weaknesses? Not many. Just occasionally, the mask slips, to reveal the Dylanista lurking behind the professorial persona. For example, Marshall proudly discloses attending the full week – five nights – of London shows in 2005: it would be interesting to hear a sociological take on what is, let’s face it, unusual individual and social behaviour. And some of Marshall’s artistic judgments are debatable, but, then, whose aren’t?
Kudos to author and/or his unsung Editor at publisher Polity who worked hard to make the text into such a polished product. In 300 pages of factual information, I only came across one single error (Arthur “ Cudrup”).
Dylan Daily readers are lucky that an expert fellow fan has applied his specialist insight to create an original, compelling explanation of the “Bob Dylan” phenomenon. And that he’s done so with such an accessible and stylishly written book.
Highly recommended. A must-read.
Bob Dylan: The Never Ending Star, by Lee Marshall, Polity Press, 2007 308pp, pbk, £15
www.polity.co.uk
Gerry Smith
Author Marshall is a baby boomer Dylan fan who also happens to teach sociology at England’s Bristol University. He has applied his professional skills to his musical passion and come up with a challenging, wholly original perspective on Dylan’s art.
Along the way he offers refreshing insights into, inter alia, Dylan the folk star, the rock star, the Never Ending Tourist and the benign radio-friendly Uncle Bob, fount of wit and wisdom.
Mulling over Dylan’s early subversion of the traditional star role, Marshall is strong on the mid-1960s emergence (creation?) of the rock music market, and Bob’s centrality therein.
The book’s highlights include its analysis of crucial eras in Dylan’s development: the 1965 morphing from folkie to rocker; the unpopular late decade “sell-out” in favour of country and pre-rock pop; and the early 1980s Rock Is Dead phase. Marshall’s analysis of the NET, its purposes and its ever-evolving phases, is stimulating - it will force many readers to reassess the last twenty years of Bob-mania.
No one, not even Bob Dylan, operates in a vacuum, and all players are constrained to some extent by the times. Marshall’s study succeeds admirably in defining the social context and significance of Dylan’s career. In doing so, he ranges freely – and expertly – over popular culture, rock music, the cult of celebrity, and post-Modern creativity, to list but a few phenomena adroitly analysed.
The author’s social scientific objectivity enables him to outshine most Dylan writers, locked, as they are, inside rockist straitjackets, and hampered by risible musical prejudices.
His discussion of earlier Dylan authors is absorbing. Encyclopaedist Michael Gray is the target of some critical potshots; Marshall is maybe too gentle with Greil Marcus.
Though the book is addressed primarily to Cultural Studies inmates, mere civilians shouldn’t be deterred: unlike many sociologists, Marshall writes lucidly and wears his considerable learning lightly. You have to engage your brain, but it’s well worth the effort. And while it’s easy to sneer at the loonier margins of Cultural Studies, admirable books like this reveal a maturing subject demanding respect.
Weaknesses? Not many. Just occasionally, the mask slips, to reveal the Dylanista lurking behind the professorial persona. For example, Marshall proudly discloses attending the full week – five nights – of London shows in 2005: it would be interesting to hear a sociological take on what is, let’s face it, unusual individual and social behaviour. And some of Marshall’s artistic judgments are debatable, but, then, whose aren’t?
Kudos to author and/or his unsung Editor at publisher Polity who worked hard to make the text into such a polished product. In 300 pages of factual information, I only came across one single error (Arthur “ Cudrup”).
Dylan Daily readers are lucky that an expert fellow fan has applied his specialist insight to create an original, compelling explanation of the “Bob Dylan” phenomenon. And that he’s done so with such an accessible and stylishly written book.
Highly recommended. A must-read.
Bob Dylan: The Never Ending Star, by Lee Marshall, Polity Press, 2007 308pp, pbk, £15
www.polity.co.uk
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
The Rolling Thunder Logbook – check out the 2005 edition
Having had the original edition of Sam Shepard’s Rolling Thunder Logbook since publication thirty years ago, I ignored what I assumed to be a reprint, published by Sanctuary in 2005.
Mistake.
The new version is far more than a reprint. It has the same Shepard text as the original, but in every other way it’s a new book. Apart from a new Preface and Foreword (by T-Bone Burnett), it features entirely new set of photographs in a radical redesign.
So, collectors need to check out the 2005 edition of The Rolling Thunder Logbook, even if they already have the original. Especially when it’s discounted to £3 (from £14) as it currently is at the reborn Fopp min-chain.
Other Zim bargains currently on sale at Fopp include Biograph (long box version) at £10, and CP Lee’s Like A Bullet Of Light, at £5.
Gerry Smith
Mistake.
The new version is far more than a reprint. It has the same Shepard text as the original, but in every other way it’s a new book. Apart from a new Preface and Foreword (by T-Bone Burnett), it features entirely new set of photographs in a radical redesign.
So, collectors need to check out the 2005 edition of The Rolling Thunder Logbook, even if they already have the original. Especially when it’s discounted to £3 (from £14) as it currently is at the reborn Fopp min-chain.
Other Zim bargains currently on sale at Fopp include Biograph (long box version) at £10, and CP Lee’s Like A Bullet Of Light, at £5.
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, January 01, 2008
I'm Not There now on YouTube
Thanks to Bets:
“Been a regular reader for awhile now. Just thought I'd let you all know that I'm Not There - the entire movie - is up on YouTube (in 22 separate instalments ... no joke). At least it was there this morning.
”I saw the movie about 6 weeks ago here in town and loved it. Actually I had to go see it twice. Being a hard-core Dylan geek had my brain doing too much analyzing the first time around. The second time I was able to just view it viscerally.
“Really cool flick. Thanks for the site.”
“Been a regular reader for awhile now. Just thought I'd let you all know that I'm Not There - the entire movie - is up on YouTube (in 22 separate instalments ... no joke). At least it was there this morning.
”I saw the movie about 6 weeks ago here in town and loved it. Actually I had to go see it twice. Being a hard-core Dylan geek had my brain doing too much analyzing the first time around. The second time I was able to just view it viscerally.
“Really cool flick. Thanks for the site.”
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