The Dylan Daily

No new content for a while

2010-01-28T09:26:00.000Z

The site has suffered from a succession of IT problems over the last few months; they’ve prevented me posting new content as frequently as I’d like.

In order to sort out the problems once and for all – and to take the opportunity to upgrade the site – we won’t be carrying any new material for a while. Please accept my apologies for not using any material you may send for the duration.

The site has a considerable following, so we intend to be up and running as soon as possible. Please keep checking back.

Thanks to all contributors and readers for your support over the years.

See you soon.

Gerry Smith, Editor

Dylan for Israel!

2010-01-25T20:33:00.000Z

Thanks to Paul Thomas:

“Bob Dylan is a-coming!

“29/5/10 at Park Hayarkon in Tel-Aviv, Israel!

“I've already offered him somewhere to stay though there should be plenty of room in the Inn or Hilton.”

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You can see Dylan's complete NET 2010 schedule on:

www.expectingrain.com

Gerry Smith, Editor

Dylan, Elvis and Andy Warhol: prints ARE still available

2010-01-22T20:17:00.001Z

Thanks to Emily Airton, Account Executive at Idea Generation:

“I saw your blog post on our Nat Finkelstein exhibition; Nat’s photographs are amazing aren’t they?

“I just wanted to clarify re the red dot – this meant the first print of the edition had been sold; so the Andy, Bobby and Elvis is still available to buy.

“Another bit of trivia for you, Dylan later told Nat that he’d traded the Elvis for Albert Grossman’s couch!”

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Emily clarified this part of the original version of my Finkelstein review article of 21 January:

“The photograph is available in limited editions of 20 prints in each of three sizes, priced at £575, £475 and £375. (But the display print was bearing the coloured sticker dreaded by collectors - it usually indicates “sold out” - when I visited today.)”

Gerry Smith

Dylan, Elvis and Andy Warhol together: iconic new image now available

2010-01-21T23:38:00.003Z

There can be few more iconic images than a new poster and limited edition print capturing Dylan, Elvis and Andy Warhol in the same photograph.

Selected as the poster for his new exhibition, which has just opened at Idea Generation’s gallery near London’s Liverpool Street station, Andy, Bobby and Elvis 1965 is surely photographer Nat Finkelstein’s career-defining image.

It shows Dylan being presented by Warhol with a copy of his portrait of Elvis as gunslinger, and was snapped when Dylan and the Pennebaker crew called in to The Factory.

The photograph is available in limited editions of 20 prints in each of three sizes, priced at £575, £475 and £375.

Collectors will also want to look at the two other Dylan images in the show - Andy and Bob Dylan, and Dylan In The Dark. Both are available in the same sizes, edition sizes and prices as Andy, Bobby and Elvis 1965.

The prints are numbered, but not signed or framed.

Collectors on a much tighter budget will be more interested in the exhibition poster, incorporating Andy, Bobby and Elvis 1965, and overprinted with: Nat Finkelstein – From One Extreme to the Other 20/01/10-14/02/10.

It’s a beauty. I bought one (£5) and will treasure it.

The rest of the exhibition concerns Finkelstein’s work at The Factory, with the Velvet Underground, as well as his documenting of 1960s US protest movements and American popular culture.

It’s a lovely little exhibition, well worth a visit. And serious Dylan collectors will want to check out the must-have poster and the three limited edition prints.

Thanks to Johanna Moore who alerted me to the show.

Info:
www.ideageneration.co.uk

www.natfinkelstein.com

Gerry Smith

(article revised at 2330 on Friday 22 January, to incorporate clarification by Emily Airton of Idea Generation gallery)

New Dylan exhibition: confusion on opening date

2010-01-20T13:31:00.001Z

Thanks to Gordon Macniven:

“Your readers should treat the "6 February" opening (for the new Dylan art show at the Halcyon Gallery) with a pinch of salt.

“The Halcyon's web gives two different dates for the opening (6 and 8 February) but, when I emailed them for clarification, they came back with 13 February!

“Clear as mud.

“Incidentally do we know how much the Christmas album has raised for the homeless?”

(Halcyon web site main entry and press release say “6 Feb”; best advice is to check with gallery before travelling – Gerry Smith, Editor.)

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New Dylan exhibition – paintings on canvas - opens in London on 6 Feb

Thanks to Johanna:

“I thought this newest exhibition of Bob's artwork might be worth mentioning.

“From my research when I was writing about the Drawn Blank Series, I believe these might include work(s) not included in either of the two hardback catalogues - wondering if they will publish a new brochure for those?”

www.halcyongallery.com/news.php?id=55

Dylan’s context: American folk music

2010-01-15T20:30:00.000Z

I’ve long admired Lawrence Epstein’s writing on Dylan on the Best American poetry blog, so I’m looking forward to a new book he’s just announced. Here’s the promo from his website:

Political Folk Music in America from Its Origins to Bob Dylan
Lawrence J. Epstein

Pre-order now on Amazon, Available Spring/Summer 2010
ISBN 978-0-7864-4862-3
[204]pp. softcover 2010

Many American folk singers have striven to leave their world a better place by writing songs of social protest. Musicians like Woody Guthrie, Lead Belly, Pete Seeger, Bob Dylan, and Joan Baez sang with fierce moral voices as they tried to relieve human suffering and transform what they saw as an uncaring society.

But the personal tales of these guitar-toting idealists were often more tangled than the comparatively pure vision their art would suggest. Many singers produced work in the midst of personal failure and deeply troubled relationships, and under the influence of radical ideas and organizations.

This provocative work examines both the long tradition of folk music in its American political context, and the lives of those troubadours who wrote its most enduring songs.

http://lawrencejepstein.com/folk

Gerry Smith

New Dylan exhibition – paintings on canvas - opens in London on 6 Feb

2010-01-13T23:17:00.001Z

Thanks to Johanna:

“I thought this newest exhibition of Bob's artwork might be worth mentioning.

“From my research when I was writing about the Drawn Blank Series, I believe these might include work(s) not included in either of the two hardback catalogues - wondering if they will publish a new brochure for those?”

www.halcyongallery.com/news.php?id=55

Dylan/Handel… and Milton, Koestler

2010-01-11T14:38:00.000Z

Thanks to Martin Schaefer in Basel, Switzerland:

“Concerning Dylan/Haendel, there is an even closer link at the beginning of “It’s Alright Ma” (‘Darkness at the break of noon’):

‘Total eclipse – no sun, no moon, All dark amid the blaze of noon’ –

this is the first line of Samson’s great aria in ‘Samson Agonistes’, the musical rendering of John Milton’s epic poem.

Of course there is an even better argument for Dylan’s being aware of Milton than of Haendel’s music. In Milton, the line goes:

‘O dark, dark, amid the blaze of noon, Irrecoverably dark! total eclipse, Without all hope of day.’

“And then there was Arthur Koestler’s ‘Darkness at Noon’, of course.”

Dylan and George Orwell

2010-01-08T10:59:00.001Z

Thanks to Rich S:

“That Dylan/Handel link is a good find... I had a similar moment a few days ago and figured I would share.

* “I was reading Burmese Days by George Orwell and came across the line:

’What shall it profit a man if he save his own soul and
lose the whole world?’

* Bob Dylan, in the gospel-era song Ain't Gonna Go To Hell For Anybody:

‘But it don't suit my purposes, it ain't my goal/To gain the whole world and give up my soul’.

* Matthew 16:26:

’And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?’

“Note how Orwell alters the biblical line by switching the emphasis of soul and world, a technique Dylan would rediscover some thirty years later.”

More on Dylan/Handel

2010-01-07T19:34:00.001Z

Thanks to “Arja & John”:

“There is one Dylan/Handel connection that came rather belatedly to my mind, and one that comes just a few minutes before the Behold, I tell you a mystery/ The trumpet shall sound passage in the Messiah that you refer to.

“The women’s vocals in the unfinished ‘Hallelujah’ (1981 – on the Between Saved and Shot bootleg) are clearly using Handel’s rhythm for the word ‘Hallelujah’ from the Hallelujah Chorus, even if the notes and chords (minor key) are very different.

“Not that it takes a very intimate acquaintance with Handel’s output to reference the Hallelujah Chorus, and on balance the second of your options (Dylan… is familiar with 1 Corinthians 15, vv. 51-52, the New Testament source) is the most likely.

“This chapter is a key passage in the writings of St Paul (readily accessible online via sites such as biblegateway.com), where Paul talks about Jesus’ resurrection, and the resurrection that awaits his followers.

“Part 3 of Handel’s ‘Messiah’(Part 1 is basically the Christmas story, Part 2 uses primarily Old Testament prophecies to tell the story of Jesus’ suffering, death and eventual victory) turns its focus to the glories that await the believer, and is largely based on this chapter (verses 20-2 and 51-7).

“A lot of Dylan’s writing 1979-81 seems to come directly or indirectly from Paul – examples include Pressing on (from Philippians), the ‘fiery darts’ from What can I do for you? (from Ephesians); and Watered- down love is of course based on the ‘faith, hope and love’ chapter, 1 Corinthians 13.

“The times they are a-changin’ has obviously been a very important point of reference for Dylan for much of his career, often where the sentiments of the original are being challenged (the 1981 performances at e.g. Drammen and New Orleans, or the succession of important ‘change’ songs – Gonna change my way of thinking, Things have changed, I feel a change comin’ on): Ye shall be changed possibly stands in this tradition.

“The lyrics of the born-again albums are much more self-aware and self-referential than I remember noticing at the time – examples include the ‘don’t look back’ line in Pressing on, or the end-of-line ‘conceal’ in When He returns.

“Ye shall be changed (great song, by the way) is following the Slow train coming/Saved pattern of presenting beliefs founded on Biblical texts whilst taking a swipe at his past work.

“There’s no reason why Dylan shouldn’t be familiar with Handel’s work, and Messiah is a masterpiece, with musical and spiritual depths way beyond its most famous chorus.

“I hope you didn’t sleep through I know that my redeemer liveth.

“Thanks as always for a highly entertaining and informative daily contribution to the Dylan world.”

Is Bob Dylan a closet Handel fan?

2010-01-06T23:17:00.000Z

Fulfilling a long-held ambition, in 2009 I attended London concerts of three of the major works in the sacred music repertoire – Bach’s St Matthew and St John Passions and Handel’s Messiah.

(I’m an eclectic music lover, not a practising Christian.)

Towards the end of Messiah, I was startled out of my slumber – it wasn’t the most engaging performance – by a line which struck me as Dylanesque:

“we shall all be chang’d”

Followed by another verse starting:

“The trumpet shall sound”.

It reminded me, of course, of Ye Shall Be Changed, the Slow Train Coming out-take which saw daylight on Bootleg Series v1-3, and which also mentions a trumpet in the chorus.

How do we explain the striking similarities? Several possibilities:

* Dylan is a closet Handel fan, or at least he’s familiar with Messiah.

* Dylan, like Handel (or, more accurately, Charles Jennens, who assembled the libretto for Messiah), is familiar with 1 Corinthians 15, vv. 51-52, the New Testament source.

* pure coincidence.

If you’re a Bible scholar and are aware of any other Dylan-Handel links, please enlighten the rest of us!

Gerry Smith

Xmas album: not pushing the boundaries

2010-01-05T15:45:00.001Z

Thanks to Andrew Robertson in Adelaide:

“Further to Brandon Young’s comments about Christmas in the Heart, I do not think you can compare that album with any of Dylan’s albums of original music.

“Dylan’s reputation – but more importantly, his art – is based on his writing, his original music.

“Other greats in music – perhaps most notably Frank Sinatra and Ella Sinatra – were great arrangers and/or interpreters of music written by others, but that is not Dylan’s claim to fame, nor his consummate skill.

“Is Christmas in the Heart a great CD?

“I am prepared to accept that different people will have different opinions, based on personal taste – but that’s the subjective judgment.

“However I think there is also an objective judgment: no, it isn’t, it’s a Christmas album, it might be the greatest ever Christmas album, but it is not pushing the boundaries of art, as Dylan’s original music does.

“Best wishes for 2010 to all… “

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Thanks to Brandon Young:

“Hi! I'm a huge Dylan fan. Any album any show, any period. Period.

“People who don't like Dylan's new stuff can just watch "Don't Look
Back" and count themselves with the "Judas!" sayers. History will not absolve them.

“These people have no idea what Dylan is, what his influences are and
therefore why "Christmas in the Heart" is so important.

“I'm 27 and friends who only listen to rap dig the album. Of course these people aren't indoctrinated enough to be critics, who, in our age are in every category (art, literature, morality) out if step with the vast majority of people. There are exceptions.

“I am convinced that history will look back at this album and put on
par with Nashville Skyline, Desire, Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft.

“To the nay-sayers: look into the meaning of these songs; these old
traditional songs. They are mediaeval and identify with an
older, lost secret tradition.

“Rome falls nine times a day. Your job is to notice.”

Olivier Dahan, film director who inspired Together Through Life

2010-01-04T21:24:00.000Z

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“Dylan Daily readers who are curious about the work of film director Olivier Dahan (evidently it was his request for a suitable song for his latest movie that inspired the feverish song writing that resulted in "Together Through Life") had the opportunity to see his earlier film about Edith Piaf, shown on BBC4 yesterday.”

(Though I like Edith Piaf’s music, and love Paris, the film wasn’t my tasse de the: trop crasse, a mon avis - GS)

Xmas album: mediaeval

2010-01-01T21:24:00.001Z

Thanks to Brandon Young:

“Hi! I'm a huge Dylan fan. Any album any show, any period. Period.

“People who don't like Dylan's new stuff can just watch "Don't Look
Back" and count themselves with the "Judas!" sayers. History will not absolve them.

“These people have no idea what Dylan is, what his influences are and therefore why "Christmas in the Heart" is so important.

“I'm 27 and friends who only listen to rap dig the album. Of course these people aren't indoctrinated enough to be critics, who, in our age are in every category (art, literature, morality) out if step with the vast majority of people. There are exceptions.

“I am convinced that history will look back at this album and put on par with Nashville Skyline, Desire, Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft.

“To the nay-sayers: look into the meaning of these songs; these old traditional songs. They are mediaeval and identify with an older, lost secret tradition.

“Rome falls nine times a day. Your job is to notice.”

Bob Dylan: Changing Times, part 2 - 1979

2009-12-31T21:01:00.000Z

Thanks to Jerry Stone:

“I listened to the '79 show yesterday and thought that, whilst it was enjoyable enough, it barely began to examine the 'Born Again' period in any depth at all.

“I was pleased to hear that Sid Griffin is working on a book about that era and his comments were very astute.

“Howard Sounes, however… typical response from a fan who doesn't want to acknowledge Dylan's Christianity, whether it's in the past or not (personally, I see no real evidence to suggest Dylan has given it up).

“Looking forward to Griffin's book.”

(Jerry’s text has been lightly edited – GS)

Bob Dylan: Changing Times, part 4

2009-12-30T20:50:00.000Z

Bob Dylan: Changing Times, part 4, which just finished on BBC 6 Music, covered Dylan in the Noughties.

It started with four men talking about Bob.

After about ten minutes, I fell asleep.

If you managed to stay awake, please share with fellow readers of The Dylan Daily what you heard.

Is it worth a listen on BBC iPlayer?

Gerry Smith

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Changing Times radio series: enjoyable. (Part 4 transmits Wednesday @ 1900 GMT)

Inter-cutting all 10 tracks with comments by writers Howard Sounes and Sid Griffin, Bob Dylan: Changing Times, part 3 – 1989, 0h Mercy, which just finished on BBC 6 Music, was a largely enjoyable dissection of the 1989 album.

Like the previous pair, the programme strove to prove that years ending in “9” have been particularly significant in the Dylan story.

Many, me included, would dispute that.

Other voices heard were Dylan himself (short clip about live performance), Sean Penn (impersonating Bob, reading from Chronicles), Malcolm Burn, muso/engineer on Oh Mercy, and presenter John Wilson.

The programme’s strength was its focus on the music.

But, for those who know the music, that was also a weakness – we all possess the album and can play it whenever we want. More evaluation and some fresh insights would have been preferable.

Those reservations aside, programme 3 will send me back to the earlier two, via BBC iPlayer:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

Programme 4, unlisted in Radio Times, the woeful BBC listings mag, runs tomorrow, Wednesday 30 Dec, @ 1900 GMT. It looks as if it might be “experts” “chatting” about Dylan in the Noughties.

Hmmm…

Gerry Smith

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Tempting new three-part BBC radio series to track the changing Dylan

Over the Xmas holidays, BBC 6 Music, the rock radio station, is broadcasting a tempting new three-part series surveying Dylan’s changing times.

Bob Dylan: Changing Times, a trio of one-hour programmes to be transmitted on successive evenings from Sunday 27 December (Sunday @ 2000 GMT, then 1900 on Monday and Tuesday), examines Dylan’s abrupt end-of-decade changes – country in 1969, Christianity in 1979 and a “return to large-scale touring” in 1989.

BBC 6 Music is a digital-only station, focusing mainly but not exclusively on post-Punk rock. It targets a younger audience than hoary old Radio 2 - the older brothers of pubescent Radio 1 listeners.

If you live in a territory where copyright allows, you might be able to hear the series online at:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

Gerry Smith

Changing Times radio series: enjoyable. (Part 4 transmits Wednesday @ 1900 GMT)

2009-12-29T21:14:00.001Z

Inter-cutting all 10 tracks with comments by writers Howard Sounes and Sid Griffin, Bob Dylan: Changing Times, part 3 – 1989, 0h Mercy, which just finished on BBC 6 Music, was a largely enjoyable dissection of the 1989 album.

Like the previous pair, the programme strove to prove that years ending in “9” have been particularly significant in the Dylan story.

Many, me included, would dispute that.

Other voices heard were Dylan himself (short clip about live performance), Sean Penn (impersonating Bob, reading from Chronicles), Malcolm Burn, muso/engineer on Oh Mercy, and presenter John Wilson.

The programme’s strength was its focus on the music.

But, for those who know the music, that was also a weakness – we all possess the album and can play it whenever we want. More evaluation and some fresh insights would have been preferable.

Those reservations aside, programme 3 will send me back to the earlier two, via BBC iPlayer:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

Programme 4, unlisted in Radio Times, the woeful BBC listings mag, runs tomorrow, Wednesday 30 Dec, @ 1900 GMT. It looks as if it might be “experts” “chatting” about Dylan in the Noughties.

Hmmm…

Gerry Smith

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Tempting new three-part BBC radio series to track the changing Dylan

Over the Xmas holidays, BBC 6 Music, the rock radio station, is broadcasting a tempting new three-part series surveying Dylan’s changing times.

Bob Dylan: Changing Times, a trio of one-hour programmes to be transmitted on successive evenings from Sunday 27 December (Sunday @ 2000 GMT, then 1900 on Monday and Tuesday), examines Dylan’s abrupt end-of-decade changes – country in 1969, Christianity in 1979 and a “return to large-scale touring” in 1989.

BBC 6 Music is a digital-only station, focusing mainly but not exclusively on post-Punk rock. It targets a younger audience than hoary old Radio 2 - the older brothers of pubescent Radio 1 listeners.

If you live in a territory where copyright allows, you might be able to hear the series online at:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

Gerry Smith

Christmas In The Heart: different class!

2009-12-24T17:49:00.000Z

Thanks to David Harris:

“I too have resisted buying this till Xmas was nearer. I have been reading the various (mainly negative) reviews.

“Then yesterday morning on Radio 2 Johnny Walker played the crazy polka sound of “Must be Santa Claus” on the car radio on my way to work in the snow.

“Amid all the other Christmassy muzak we have to endure at this time of year, this (to my ear) was simply different class.

“Bob is one step ahead as usual.

“Will now go out and buy the album and play it for the next couple of weeks feeling good about the cause and enjoying the novelty of hearing the master having fun.

“Keep up the good work.

“Happy Christmas!”

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And hearty Christmas greetings to all Dylan Daily contributors and readers!

Gerry Smith, Editor.

More on: Xmas album: “sh*te”

2009-12-22T17:25:00.001Z

Thanks to Humberto:

“Well, I took your advice and waited... listened to the cd for the first time this morning, after taking your advice - "I'll probably play it a few days before Christmas."

“Excellent! It's a hit of this season, balancing Sting's "If On A Winter's Night."

“How can people moan and groan? It's a unique take on the seasonal bombardment of soft, gushy repeats of the same old songs, carols etc.

“It's Dylan, it's art, it's his creative offering for this special season. Let the snow Scrooges chill, just enjoy the effort he's made this Christmas.”

Xmas album: “sh*te” - Christmas week in Dylanland #1

2009-12-21T14:39:00.001Z

Dylan Daily readers had their say on Christmas In The Heart when it was first released a few weeks ago, but it’s always healthy to hear the views of the unconverted.

I just received a txt msg from a friend who ridicules my Dylan preoccupation:

“Someone just gave me Dylan’s Xmas album: it’s sh*te. Even my favourites, Status Quo, wouldn’t stoop that low!”

Happy winter solstice to all readers! Keep calling in – normal Dylan Daily service over the holiday period.

Gerry Smith

Tempting new three-part BBC radio series to track the changing Dylan

2009-12-17T19:13:00.000Z

Over the Xmas holidays, BBC 6 Music, the rock radio station, is broadcasting a tempting new three-part series surveying Dylan’s changing times.

Bob Dylan: Changing Times, a trio of one-hour programmes to be transmitted on successive evenings from Sunday 27 December (Sunday @ 2000 GMT, then 1900 on Monday and Tuesday), examines Dylan’s abrupt end-of-decade changes – country in 1969, Christianity in 1979 and a “return to large-scale touring” in 1989.

BBC 6 Music is a digital-only station, focusing mainly but not exclusively on post-Punk rock. It targets a younger audience than hoary old Radio 2 - the older brothers of pubescent Radio 1 listeners.

If you live in a territory where copyright allows, you might be able to hear the series online at:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

Gerry Smith

Tell Tale Signs box - Dylan collectable?

2009-12-14T12:32:00.000Z

Thanks to Martin Gayford:

“Thanks for the useful site.

“I reckon the TTS box is collectable, but as the price fluctuations have been so extreme up to now, I wouldn't want to bet on its future status. It was advertised as limited on release, I think, but who knows how many were produced, or whether or not it'll appear in the future in an upgraded version?

“The real collectables as far as I can see are the LPs that were issued in small numbers during the ‘90s - BS Vol 1-3, GAIBTY, WGW, Unplugged and TOOM - all of which often go for over £50 each on ebay. I'd guess that the vinyl Bootleg Series box sets may also have been pressed in relatively small numbers (at least the 180 gram editions), so perhaps sealed copies would be worth buying as an investment.

“In terms of the products themselves, I think TTS has some absolutely essential stuff on it - spread over all 3 discs, so you need the deluxe - but also some stuff I would have left in the vault (some of the live tracks in particular) in favour of more studio outtakes, especially from L&T, of which there are none.

“The box is nice, but I still don't understand the reason for inclusion of the singles book - other than it makes the price hike (slightly) more acceptable - as it has nothing to do with the contents of the discs.

“On average we pay about £10 per CD in the UK, so even at the reduced £50 you'd expect 4 or 5 CDs, which Sony could easily have produced. It's not exactly hard to find 5 hours of quality material from at least 5 major album sessions and over 20 years of concert recordings. Charging £100 for 3 discs is asking for trouble, in my opinion.

“If the artist was primarily aimed at teenagers, Sony wouldn't have a chance of selling it at that price, but because Bob's audience are either 'serious' music lovers who can afford it, or crazed Dylan addicts that will sell their furniture to get it if they need to, Sony are pretty much guaranteed sales, which is quite manipulative I think.

“Anyway, now you know my opinion!”

Bob Dylan’s fond comments about Joan Baez in must-have new TV doc

2009-12-10T17:04:00.001Z

Thanks to Kenneth Crouch:

“Dylan talks about Baez in a warm way on last night’s Imagine show on BBC1.

“Does any Dylan Daily reader know when this was filmed and where? Seems new to me. Catch it on your iPlayer. Ken from Somerset.”

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I agree wholeheartedly with Ken.

This is a must-have broadcast. Lots of Dylan content – historic stuff from Don’t Look Back, plus a new interview in which Bob’s very positive about Ms Baez. She talks at length about Dylan, too.

If you live in a territory where copyright allows, see it online at:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

Gerry Smith

More on Dylan box sets: collectables, investments?

2009-12-08T20:20:00.001Z

Thanks to Barnaby Attwell:

“Just read your piece on Dylan box sets.

I recently bought the 3CD Tell Tale Signs for £35 from the HMV website (and it was £39 the last time I went to Fopp) – having just noticed it's gone back up to £117.99 (!)

I'm not sure if it's collectable or an investment (time will tell) but the 3CD package is a beautiful thing indeed – and if it was priced at £35 when it came out, I'm sure it would have sold a lot more (and there would have been less of an uproar!)

The book of singles covers is lovely – and fascinating – to flick through; the booklet containing the CDs is more expansive and has larger photos; the CDs themselves are nicely packaged in mock-old LP covers; and of course there's the third CD (which I already had through less legit channels – but it's nice to have it 'officially').

All in all, it's lovely as an artefact – but one I would never have paid over £100 for!

(Now if only they took such care for, say, re-issuing the complete Basement Tapes... as much as I love Tell Tale Signs, the 3CD packaging – and original cost – almost seems OTT for a relatively 'minor' (in my opinion) collection of songs.)

Nevertheless, a source of joy, aurally, physically and visually!

By the way, I took your advice and visited the National Portrait Gallery for the Dylan exhibition. Great photos – and a terrific poster for £5 too.

Many thanks for your always interesting site.

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Dylan box sets: collectables, investments?

Columbia Legacy’s recent releases of deluxe Dylan boxes – notably 2003’s Bob Dylan Revisited: The Reissues Series, and 2008’s Tell Tale Signs: Rare And Unreleased 1989-2006 (The Bootleg Series vol 8) 3CD – contain great music and are well executed artefacts.

But are they collectables? Or investments?

To be very collectable, they’d need to be scarce by now. But they are generally available for sale, new, on the web.

To qualify as investments, they’d need to be appreciating in value. But both seem to be available at well below launch price: I recently came across Bob Dylan Revisited: The Reissues Series at £124. And Tell Tale Signs: Rare And Unreleased 1989-2006 at £52.

What’s your experience of buying luxury packages? Worth having for the joy they bring? A source of disappointment?

Dylan Daily would welcome your thoughts on the matter.

Gerry Smith

Dylan box sets: collectables, investments?

2009-12-04T17:19:00.001Z

Columbia Legacy’s recent releases of deluxe Bob Dylan boxes – notably 2003’s Bob Dylan Revisited: The Reissues Series, and 2008’s Tell Tale Signs: Rare And Unreleased 1989-2006 (The Bootleg Series vol 8) 3CD – contain great music and are well executed artefacts.

But are they collectables? Or investments?

To be very collectable, they’d need to be scarce by now. But they are generally available for sale, new, on the web.

To qualify as investments, they’d need to be appreciating in value. But both seem to be available at well below launch price: I recently came across Bob Dylan Revisited: The Reissues Series at £124. And Tell Tale Signs: Rare And Unreleased 1989-2006 at £52.

What’s your experience of buying luxury packages? Worth having for the joy they bring? A source of disappointment?

Dylan Daily would welcome your thoughts on the matter.

Gerry Smith

New issue of UNCUT - Dylan cover

2009-12-02T22:49:00.003Z

Thanks to Martin Cowan for reminding me that the issue of UNCUT mag currently in the newsagents’ racks has a Dylan cover.

I mentioned it last week, at the end of a piece on the two London Bob exhibitions, but it might have been missed by some readers who collect Dylan covers.

Gerry Smith

Collectable new Dylan cover - The Big Issue magazine

2009-11-30T20:14:00.001Z

There’s a new, very desirable Dylan cover on The Big Issue magazine, issue no 874, 23-29 Nov. It was still on sale in London on Saturday, but you’ll have to hurry.

The Dylan portrait (looks like the William Claxton shoot for Modern Times) flags the main article in the issue, a transcript of the Bill Flanagan interview promoting the Xmas album.

The Big Issue is the best possible UK mag for the interview as it’s sold by homeless street vendors, in line with the charitable destination for Dylan’s royalties from the new CD.

Gerry Smith

Utterly original: Bob Dylan Revisited - lyrics interpreted as grown-up graphics

2009-11-26T23:51:00.001Z

There seems no end to the formats in which Dylan’s artistry is now celebrated.

The latest medium to catch my attention is the new hardback book, Bob Dylan Revisited: 13 Graphic Interpretations of Bob Dylan’s Songs.

It’s a fine addition to the Zim bookshelf, presenting lyrics of a selection of classic songs as graphics for grown-ups.

So, for example, Girl From The North Country is covered in five large-format glossy colour pages, with the lyrics running alongside graphic artist Francois Avril’s telling visual interpretation of the song, in strip cartoon form.

Graphic books for grown-ups are exotic in the Anglo-Saxon world, but they’re an important, massively popular, artform in Francophone countries. Unsurprisingly, this delightful book was originally published in French, last year.

Utterly original: recommended.

Achetez ce livre, mes amis!

(Details: Bob Dylan Revisited: 13 Graphic Interpretations of Bob Dylan’s Songs, WW Norton, New York/London, 98pp, large format hardback, Oct 2009, £15 approx.)

Gerry Smith

All along the watchtower: Dylan’s everywhere… (continued)

2009-11-25T12:33:00.001Z

On my way to a gig at the Barbican, with half an hour to spare, I called in at the fabulous Museum of London.

At the end of the Roman London gallery, in a section dealing with defensive fortifications, the information panel was headed: “All Along The Watchtower”.

Dylan’s everywhere these days – he’s now firmly embedded in the English language – a Shakespeare for the 21st Century, just as some of us were expecting, way back when…

Gerry Smith

Bob Dylan and Miles Davis: Sony’s big box sets compared

2009-11-13T23:19:00.001Z

As far as Bob Dylan and Miles Davis, its major assets, are concerned, Sony does a creditable job managing the treasures locked away in its priceless vaults.

However much hardcore fans might moan about the slow drip-feed of the unreleased Dylan legacy, Columbia Legacy is to be commended on its Bootleg Series.

Columbia Legacy also manages its Miles Davis assets pretty astutely, though some Miles aficionados whinge that Sony has released too much inconsequential blathering by the Prince Of Darkness!

But the imminent release of the Complete Miles Davis Columbia Album Collection will leave Bobfans drawing unfavourable comparisons with the Zim equivalent, 2003’s Bob Dylan Revisited: The Reissues Series.

The two reissue projects are similar in key respects – all the albums in both collections have remarkable upgraded sound and both boxes reintroduce the original album artwork, in seductive digipak format.

But, in other ways, the new Miles box is more compelling:

* it pulls together all of the label’s Miles albums – Bob Dylan Revisited: The Reissues Series was selective, with only 15 titles, against the Miles box’s whopping 52, many of them double albums!

* many of the Miles albums carry worthwhile bonus tracks – the Dylan reissues eschewed any.

* even if you already own most of the original recordings, the incentives to buy the Miles box are persuasive – a newly released live DVD, a couple of previously unreleased CDs-worth of music, a substantial 250 page book by two leading Miles experts, and striking packaging.

* value: the “street” launch prices of the two boxes are similar, but the Miles box gives you far more bang for your buck.

Bottom line: I already had virtually all releases by both musicians. I passed on the Dylan box; I’ve ordered the Miles box.

Gerry Smith

Hugues Aufray: more than just a “cover artist”

2009-11-12T22:31:00.001Z

Thanks to Miche Duthoit:

“Good to see you reporting on Hugues Aufray again. But I think you underestimate Hugues’ importance: in France at least, he’s rather more than a ‘cover artist’.

“Aufray’s translations (as well as recordings) of the early catalogue converted a whole generation of 1960s French-speaking pop fans to Dylan.

“Keep up your coverage of Dylan from a European perspective; it’s refreshing.”

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Hugues Aufray a Paris: non, merci - trop cher

Having only recently discovered Hugues Aufray’s French-language translations/cover versions of the early Dylan catalogue, I was thrilled at the weekend to stumble across a live performance by the Gallic baritone.

I was strolling around les Grands Boulevards in Paris last Saturday evening, wondering what to do, when, lo and behold, at the legendary Rex theatre, there it was - Aufray’s name, up in lights. He was due to take the stage an hour later.

Shall I, shan’t I… ? Hmmmm.

After a moment of indecision, I checked my Pariscope ents guide for ticket prices: “euros 30-55.”

The clincher: trop cher.

So I walked away. I simply don’t value any Dylan cover artist enough to justify paying over £10.

Pity. I’ll continue to enjoy the singer’s best compilation CD, Aufray Chante Dylan - it’s a lovely change from Hardy, Brel or Piaf (and even Malcolm McLaren) when in Paris/Paris mood.

And recommended.

Gerry Smith

New Age Dylan: Oh Lord, please give me strength…

2009-11-05T01:08:00.001Z

Thanks to Sarah Hunt:

“New Age Dylan? Oh Lord, please give me strength…

“This is certainly not ‘appropriate’. If people want to listen to this stuff, fine by me. Same with the Xmas album. But you couldn’t pay me to listen to either.

“Am I the only Dylan Daily reader who feels that a great body of art is being undermined here?”

New Age Dylan – soothing furrowed brows?

2009-11-04T14:13:00.001Z

The record label have sent me details of a new album “which transforms popular rock bands [sic] like Bob Dylan, The Beatles and U2 into relaxing meditation music.”

But is this appropriate?

Having been surprised by some positive fan reaction to the Xmas album, I’m not sure any more…

Gerry Smith

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Information and song samples:

www.modernmeditations.com

FROM THE PRESS RELEASE:

Slated for release November 17, the ³Modern Meditations² series¹ ³Rock Classics² and ³Modern Classics² 12-track collections feature meditative renditions of some of rock music¹s best-known
and most beloved songs. Also available on November 17 is an album dedicated to the songs of The Beatles. Aimed at introducing a brand new, modern rock perspective on ³new age² music fare, the ³Modern Meditations² series will be available for purchase at all traditional music retail outlets and online services, as well as distributed to many high-end lifestyle retailers.

Featuring the work of renowned producers from across the globe, ³Modern Meditations² has transformed contemporary rock favorites into meditation music for the rock & roll generation. Shimmering rock guitars and warm percussion create lush instrumental soundscapes. While yoga, Pilates, and meditation have all entered the mainstream, the music has not. The ³Modern Meditations² series aims to introduce an alternative to traditional new age fare to the growing modern rock audience.

The first of two compilation releases, ³Rock Classics,² features serene instrumental versions of songs from classic rock¹s most revered artists including Bob Dylan, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Led Zeppelin and many others. ³Modern Classics² dives into the contemporary rock catalog with tranquil renditions of songs by The Verve, U2, The Cure, Oasis, R.E.M., Nirvana and more.

Dylan Different: jazz singer Ben Sidran's new covers album

2009-10-26T21:00:00.000Z

I’m not over-fond of Dylan cover albums, but when a favourite singer – Bryan Ferry, most recently – interprets Bobsongs, I usually buy and enjoy.

So I’m looking forward to Dylan Different, an album of covers by jazz singer/pianist Ben Sidran.

Sidran crossed my radar with his contribution on the grossly under-rated Van Morrison album, Tell Me Something (1996), a collection of Mose Allison covers which also featured Georgie Fame and Mose himself.

I searched out Sidran and saw him play a tiny London gig. He was outstanding – laconic, droll and a beautifully lyrical musician. Very similar to Mose Allison, in fact. Watching him perform at close quarters for a couple of hours a was sheer delight.

Ben Sidran’s Dylan Different, due 16 November, is a must-buy in these parts.

Tracklist:

Everything Is Broken
Highway 61 Revisited
Tangled Up In Blue
Gotta Serve Somebody
Rainy Day Woman
Ballad of a Thin Man
Maggie's Farm
Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Subterranean Homesick Blues
On The Road Again
All I Really Want To Do
Blowin' in the Wind

www.bensidran.com

Gerry Smith

Limited edition Dylan photographs at London gallery

2009-10-22T11:04:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Sophie Kaila, Gallery Manager:

“The Proud Galleries would like to bring your attention to our beautiful collection of limited edition Bob Dylan prints by a selection of world-renowned and celebrated photographers from Jerry Schatzberg and Mark Makin to John Cohen and Elliott Landy.

“With prices starting from £250 ex VAT your fan members could be part of the elite group of people who own some of the world’s most exciting photography.

“In response to outstanding interest we couldn’t resist exhibiting a few special images of Bob Dylan in our Best of Proud collection. Please pop down to Proud Camden to take your first look whilst enjoying our outstanding venue adorned by rock royalty throughout.

“We have a favourite Dylan print shot by Jerry Schatzberg. It is available from our Proud Camden Gallery for £2000 ex VAT.

“As one of the most popular privately-owned photographic galleries in the UK, Proud always endeavours to offer an efficient, personalised service for photography fans who care as much as we do about preserving and sharing history’s greatest photographic images.

“If you have any questions about our prints, enquiries about forthcoming exhibitions or are simply trying to track down a special image or photographer in the run up to Christmas, please do give me a call and I will be happy to help.”

Proud Camden
(Proud Publishing Ltd)
The Horse Hospital
Stables Market
Chalk Farm Road
London NW1 8AH

T: +44 (0) 207 482 3867
E: sophie@proud.co.uk

http://www.proud.co.uk

Bob Dylan in LA: very enjoyable

2009-10-15T14:11:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Rob Schultz:

“Bob in LA: not a lifetime highlight show (my 41st) but very enjoyable.

“Highlight has to be the return of the great guitarist Charlie Sexton, news which will cheer every Bobcat.

“Recent setlists are the usual ever-changing mix – standards for the casuals, recent highlights for product promo, and a lucky dip for those knowledgeable enough to recognise rarity and great art when they hear it.

“Setlist (though I’m not 100% sure of the order towards the finale):

I’m Gonna Change My Way of Thinking
Shooting Star
Beyond Here Lies Nothin’
Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
Cold Irons Bound
Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)
My Wife’s Home Town
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
High Water (for Charlie Patton)
Highway 61 Revisited
I Feel a Change Comin’ On
Thunder on the Mountain
Nettie Moore
Ballad of a Thin Man
Like a Rolling Stone
Jolene
All Along the Watchtower.

“Keep up the good work – I call into Dylan Daily regularly and admire your unique take on all things Bob.”

Christmas In The Heart – reviewed by Matthew Zuckerman

2009-10-12T18:43:00.001+01:00

Well, Christmas In The Heart arrived in the post today -- nice efficient service from Isis. They always manage to get the new releases on the doormat the day before official release. Many thanks to Derek and Tracy (& great to see you at the Mott the Hoople reunion show!)

The deluxe version is just the regular jewel case in a cardboard sleeve, with five cards -- blank inside -- all with the album cover and envelope.

As for the album, I downloaded it on to my iPod and listened to it as I walked the dog around the local cemetery. What immediately struck me -- well, not immediately, but what started to dawn on me by the second or third song and was clear by the fourth -- was that this is not just a little dashed off side project.

Like it or not, the emotional commitment that Dylan has given to these songs makes Christmas In The Heart very much the new Bob
Dylan album.

For many people, certain albums -- Bringing It All Back Home,
Highway 61, Nashville Skyline, Self Portrait, Slow Train Coming, Saved, Shot of Love -- were too associated with something they hated (rock & roll, country, schmaltz, Christianity) for them to want or be able to appreciate the albums for themselves.

You can add Christmas In The Heart to that list.

Those who cannot accept the fact that Bob might want to have such an album in his catalogue -- as Bing Crosby, Elvis, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Washington and many other of his favourite singers have done -- will find the album a closed door.

But for anyone else, it could be a small delight.

I have only listened to the album once, and do not have time to write more than the most fleeting impressions. All I would say is listen to the musicians (Bob's road crew plus David Hidalgo and a few others -- and a startlingly fine piece of harmonica playing on one track); the really very fine melodies; the instrumental and vocal harmony arrangements that both recapture the slick 1940s/50s studio sounds that Bob grew up with and breathe life into them, humanizing them; the battered and beaten voice sometimes flaring and phlegming up but still hitting all the notes – and singing with the same intense intimacy that he invested in A Simple Twist of Fate.

And then there's Must Be Santa. Bob Has often talked about his love for polka. And with this manic -- yet always controlled -- performance you can see why. I wonder what the world would have done if Bob had mixed his folk lyrics and surreal verse with a polka outfit like the one backing him here instead of a rock & roll band. Would we have booed?

And would we all -- supporters and booers alike -- follow him down his various roads, as we have done in this layer of the multiverse?

I digress, and I must end. I have much to do and time is short.

Bob Dylan explorations

2009-10-09T15:29:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Martin Cowan and Andrew Robertson (from Adelaide):

* Martin:

“I am envious of someone who has only just got into Bob Dylan and has that wealth of music to discover! A few recommendations:

“Best compilations: Biograph/Bootleg Series 1-3/Tell Tale Signs: 8 cds worth of famous greats and unreleased gems, from 1962 to 2006.

“Best album - Street Legal: a pivotal album, mixing poetic lyrics and great tunes with a hard rocking sound.

“Best book - Heylin's "Behind The Shades" and Nigel Williamson’s "Rough Guide" are both highly recommended.”

* Andrew:

“To which I would add two important bookends from Dylan’s (official) discography: Live 1964 and Tell Tale Signs.

“Live 1964 because it is Bob Dylan live as you’ve never heard him. He is young and vibrant, ebullient and irrepressible, confident and so, so commanding.

“Singing solo acoustic, other than a few songs beautifully accompanied by Joan Baez, his vocals have a power and clarity that I think is unmatched. Any debate about his voice and his ability to sing ends instantly upon listening to this concert – he is nothing less than masterful.

“Perhaps it’s because the songs are still relatively new that he imbues them with such power and passion. Indeed, some of them were being performed for the first or second time – songs that were to become legend, like Gates of Eden and It’s Alright Ma.

“You almost get the sense that Dylan was hearing them for the first or second time too, there was a real sense of newness and discovery – as if he was being as delighted as the audiences by his lyrical wizardry!

“But even more than the performance power, was the power of the person – Dylan was more engaged with the audience than I’ve ever heard him, talking and laughing, joking and teasing. Spellbinding stuff!

“And between the deeper meanings of his masterpieces like Hard Rain, was the playfulness and irreverence of If You Gotta Go, Go Now, surely one of the wittiest songs of its time.

“Live 1964 is a fantastic – no, essential – introduction to Dylan, both lyrically and as a performance artist.

“Tell Tale Signs is my second recommendation, because it is the other side of the gold coin that is Bob Dylan – more recent works that showcase the mature artist that the young Dylan of 1964 evolved into.

“The voice has changed, the instrumentation has become more sophisticated, and the lyrics reflect the wisdom of his years. They are no less powerful and if anything, perhaps they carry greater meaning through being more nuanced, but they still portray the same unique talent. It is a more personal view than the worldview of the one-time “voice of a generation” but no less relevant for that.

“Again, in terms of an introduction to Dylan, Tell Tale Signs is essential listening.

“Then, depending which of the two resonated more, our friend could explore the canon from the start moving forward, or from the present moving back – either would be a journey to be savoured!”

How do I start to explore Dylan? New fan seeks advice

2009-10-06T22:51:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Pierre L:

“I’ve just seen the light! After avoiding Dylan for many years, I finally get it.

“But Dylan’s work is so vast. Where do I start? Best studio album? Is there a recommended compilation? Best book to guide me – there seem to be dozens? Any good DVDs? Is it worth going to live shows? Does he play France?

“Suggestions from the expert readers of Dylan Daily will be gratefully received.”

Striking new Dylan drawings by Feliks Topolski

2009-10-02T23:10:00.001+01:00

A couple of months ago, I stumbled across an engrossing new art gallery on London’s South Bank, near Waterloo Station.

Topolski Century showcases the work – drawings, cartoons, paintings - of Feliks Topolski, a Polish expat well-known in London creative circles in the 1960s/70s/80s. He documented major events of the twentieth century.

Two of his 1960s images are pencil drawings of Bob Dylan. Strikingly evocative pieces, they’re available to buy as postcards (and, I think, posters).

This is little known, but important artwork. Highly recommended.

www.topolskicentury.org.uk

Gerry Smith

Christmas In The Heart: revealing a supreme vocal stylist

2009-10-01T23:03:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Jane Swann:

“Listening to Christmas In The Heart on You Tube tonight strengthened my view that that the songs themselves are simply not worth listening to.

“But, less expected, it confirmed that Dylan is a supreme vocal stylist – I’d hesitate to call him a singer any more – his vocals express real emotion, he seems to have plenty in reserve and he makes the carols his own. Great voice: who cares if the range is so narrow?

“And the album is surely an important statement about Dylan’s religious beliefs these days.

“I’ll be buying!”

Dylan and the Virgin Mary: healers of the sick

2009-09-30T13:32:00.001+01:00

Dylan has been compared to many other agenda-setters, but rarely to the Virgin Mary.

A lovely article I just re-discovered compares Dylan’s powers as a healer to that of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Catholic pilgrimage mecca in southern France.

Cultural commentator Jonathan Meades, in a typically thought-provoking piece, likens the scene at the Lourdes grotto to that of Dylan’s legendary London Earls Court gigs (published as Lourdes: a last resort - Jonathan Meades’s Sense Of Place column, in The Times, Sat 15 Jan 2005):

“It is however another performance that Lourdes brings to mind. Bob Dylan. When this genius cum charlatan… played Earls Court… his gigs were packed out by paraplegics, quadraplegics, the chair-bound and the literally legless. He might cure.”

Typical Meades juxtaposition: he will be known to some UK readers as a refreshing writer/broadcaster. I’ve been singing his praises since his first TV docs – contrarian, challenging, wholly original – were aired nearly 30 years ago.

Gerry Smith

More on Joan Baez

2009-09-25T19:22:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Kurt H:

“Well said re Joan Baez. I used to love her stuff – I remember buying four albums at once in the late ‘60s, unusual for this cheapskate!

“But I did tire of her, and can’t tolerate Joan’s singing any more.

“However, I do get angry when Dylanistas gratuitously insult her. I remember reading one “expert”, who described her as “awful in many ways”, or words to that effect. Can’t remember where I saw it, but such nastiness is quite common. And disgracefully mean-spirited.”

Joan Baez: respect

2009-09-24T21:33:00.000+01:00

Joan Baez is treated shabbily by some Dylan aficionados. I don’t particularly like Baez’s voice, her music or her worldview, but I’d shrink from the personal attacks she occasionally attracts. As a successful musician (and an early promoter of Dylan), she deserves respect.

Baez is still performing at the age of 68 – remind you of anyone? She’s touring the UK from 1 October. Though I wouldn’t dream of attending a gig myself, if you are, I hope you (and Ms Baez) enjoy it.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper carried an extensive interview by Mick Brown on 15 Sept; it includes lots of Dylan content - recommended:

www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music

Gerry Smith

Early Xmas shopping

2009-09-22T13:23:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Matthew Zuckerman:

“Gordon Macniven writes:

> ³I'm intrigued, however, by the timing of this unfortunate venture - why bring
> out a CHRISTMAS album before mid-October? Surely a late November/early
> December release would have been more appropriate?

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“I presume it is connected to the fact that profits from the album will go towards feeding the hungry at Christmas. In order to do so, the money will be needed sooner than the week before Christmas.

As for its "mawkish sentimentality" being "deeply embarrassing": in 1969 and 1970 when Nashville Skyline and Self Portrait were released, much of the indignation was aimed a the very fact that Dylan had chosen to sing country music. I mean, country music!

“To newly serious ears that had forsaken "pop" music a few years earlier for "rock", this seemed the ultimate betrayal. Redneck music. That the world of country music might have anything to teach
these young pioneers was a ridiculous thought.

“Now, of course, we know better than that. We have outlaw country, country rock and alt country, we listen to music from all over the world, Paul McCartney writes classical music and classical musicians perform arrangements of Jimi Hendrix.

“Sentimentality is the last frontier, and it seems to be a tough one. We listen to Jimmie Rodgers' Blue Yodel, In the Jailhouse Now and Waiting for a Train and we applaud, but when he starts to sing The Soldier's Sweetheart or Mother the Queen of My Heart, we look the other way.

“My wife calls Sony the prince of darkness, the Walkman being the devil's tool. It taught generations of music lovers how to listen in private, make their own musical world, and lose the sense of music as a shared experience.

“Why do people chat during a concert? Why do people recoil at music that is designed to be shared across the generations? Why do people treat music as a way to retreat from the world where it used to be a cement to hold it together?

“Christmas in the Heart may not solve this state of affairs, but if it can awaken a few people to the fact that fun, sentiment and the quality of sharing are at least as central to music as being cool, then it will have more than justified its existence.”

Shop early for Xmas

2009-09-21T22:34:00.003+01:00

Thanks to Gordon Macniven:

“For what it's worth (having listened to the samples) I won't be buying the Christmas album either.

“Its mawkish sentimentality is deeply embarrassing, but I expect it to be a hit on "Sing Something Simple" (English radio series aimed at over-80s early school leavers – Ed).

“I'm intrigued, however, by the timing of this unfortunate venture - why bring out a CHRISTMAS album before mid-October? Surely a late November/early December release would have been more appropriate?

“Very odd.”

And thanks to Humberto:

“Yes, agree with Johanna...

"If anybody wants to cry "sellout!" once again, so be it. Probably
Bob will just smile to himself and know people still care enough to be outraged. And maybe, they will listen with an open mind and judge the performances, not the idea."

Mary Travers RIP: she introduced Baby Boomers to Dylan

2009-09-18T23:40:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Pete Mackie:

“Mary Travers' death prompts me to write that for the baby boomer generation, my guess is that 99%-plus of us were introduced to Bob Dylan via Peter Paul and Mary. Grossman's strategy worked and PPM were crucial in that.

“The other 1% had US connections or went to the folk clubs in London in dec 1962 or happened to see Madhouse on Castle Street.

“In the Wind didn't come out till Dec 1963, probably later than that in the UK. I remember sitting on a bus in spring 64 saying 'who is this Dylan'-- listed on the album as author of Blowing in the wind, Don't think twice and Quit your lowdown ways and a schoolmate turning around and saying 'you ought to listen to Freewheelin'.

“So, given Dylan's extraordinary pace of development, the timescales were even more compressed for the fans, just a year or so to absorb the four albums from Freewheelin' to Bringing it all back home.

“No wonder there was a bit of a backlash when he went electric.

“Fast-moving times!”

More on the Christmas album

2009-09-17T21:31:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Kenneth Crouch:

“I’ve just listened to samples. I’ve been a fan since the sixties but this a joke; the only good thing if any are sold is that the money goes to charity.

“If my son buys me it, then it will stay in the wrapper.

“No more like this, Bob, please.”

And thanks to Johanna Moore:

“The ongoing discussion about the new album makes me smile... Bob Dylan has done it again, created something that some of his fans are unwilling to forgive him even before they got the chance to listen.

“Many of "us" of course will buy it anyway, I know I will. It is really only just history repeating. People seeing electric guitars and disagreeing with the idea, without giving it a chance. People shuddering at the idea that "the voice of promise of the 60s counter culture (etc etc)" will be heard singing Christmas songs.

“It has nothing whatsoever to do with whether any of "us" ever bought Christmas albums before. Would it really be the first time for Bob to introduce "us" to something new, that we hadn't considered thinking about before? I guess it will sell okay in this time and day.

“If anybody wants to cry "sellout!" once again, so be it. Probably Bob will just smile to himself and know people still care enough to be outraged. And maybe, they will listen with an open mind and judge the performances, not the idea.”

Christmas album: in defense of the artistically indefensible

2009-09-16T13:50:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Matthew Zuckerman:

Gerd Hain writes:

“Can those who defended the idea honestly say that they have ever bought a Xmas album; and even if they have, do they ever listen to it? Xmas albums are abysmal, not worth hearing again after 1 January. Like Chris, I¹ll be avoiding it."

xxx xxx xxx

“I have three Christmas albums and all get played at Christmastime:

* "Xmas From Great Old Friends" features Lightning Hopkins, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Benny Carter and others.

* "Black Christmas" features The Staple Singers, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mahalia Jackson, Freddy King, Lightning Hopkins, Amos Milburn, Charles Brown and others.

* "Soul Christmas" features King Curtis, Clarence Carter, Carla Thomas, Booker T & the MGs, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding and others.

“No doubt Gerd Hain has heard these albums, otherwise how could he state so emphatically that "Xmas albums are abysmal"? I, however, think they are seasonal fun and a great antidote to the jingly fare that is generally heard around Christmastime.

“I look forward to another antidote next month. I doubt that I will play it as often as Blonde on Blonde, Blood on the Tracks or Modern Times, but what does that matter? I wear gloves less often than trousers. I use balsamic vinegar less often than white wine vinegar.

“For the past few years, Bob has been trying hard to get people to understand that he sees himself a working musician, not as a great artist of and for the times. (That doesn't mean he isn't a great artist, just that it is unproductive and even destructive for him to see himself as such.)

“So he has a radio show at which he is at pains to play music across the board: How Much Is That Doggie in the Window is, to many people, at the very bottom of the musical barrel.

“Bob does not agree. "Here's a record that everyone always talks about when they talk about how dull radio was before rock and roll. Personally, I don't agree with them; I think Patty Page made beautiful records."

“He repeatedly namechecks Bing Crosby and other less-than-hip singers as influences. He mentions in Chronicles how he feels an affinity with Tiny Tim, Rick Nelson and Frank Sinatra Jr.

“Of the five non-original songs he has performed this year, one is by Charles Aznavour, one by Dean Martin, and one, I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy, by George M Cohan, known as the "man who invented Broadway". (George Harrison's Something and Elvis's Heartbreak Hotel were the other two.)

“Christmas In The Heart may indeed be a dreadful album. If so, it will no doubt receive a flood of reviews saying just that. Then again, it may be a small delight.

“And if it is a surprise delight, will Gerd's having raged that it is
"artistically indefensible, a big mis-judgment by Bob, utter waste of talent" make it harder for him to share the pleasure?

Christmas album: indefensible, waste of talent

2009-09-15T23:29:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Gerd Hain:

“I was mildly shocked by the balance of responses on Dylan Daily to C Walker’s critique of the idea of a Xmas album by Dylan.

“Can those who defended the idea honestly say that they have ever bought a Xmas album; and even if they have, do they ever listen to it?

“Xmas albums are abysmal, not worth hearing again after 1 January. Like Chris, I’ll be avoiding it.

“I’ve always supported Dylan’s changes of directions – it’s what artists do. I even welcomed the Christian conversion stuff all those years ago. But this release is artistically indefensible – a big mis-judgment by Bob. Utter waste of talent.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Thanks to Chris Walker:

“I’m surprised that no Dylan Daily readers have recoiled in horror at the very idea of Dylan releasing an album of Xmas songs.

“Xmas albums are for lame brains. I wouldn’t have one given for free. Whoever recorded it. For whatever charity. Xmas albums are strictly for sentimental bozos.”

“I’ve been an ardent Dylan fan for many years, but I’m afraid this kind of showbiz bullcrap is the final straw – I ain’t gonna sing Dylan’s praises no more: the greatest creative artist of the 20thC has lost it: so long, Bob.”

All Along the Watchtower: the US in decline?

2009-09-10T23:42:00.001+01:00

“In "All Along the Watchtower," Bob Dylan envisions America's decline and accepts the role of warning people about it… “

So begins Lawrence J Epstein’s pithy analysis in his Dylan Watch blog on The Best American Poetry site. Recommended.

http://thebestamericanpoetry.typepad.com

Beatles v Bob

2009-09-10T00:04:00.000+01:00

You’d need to be media-averse to have missed today’s launch of the re-masters of The Beatles’ albums. Newspapers, mags, tv and radio, in this part of the world at least, are overflowing with Fab Four hype.

It’s all gone over my head, though: the Beatles were – and are – over-rated.

I loved the first two albums and the early singles: massively refreshing, the Fabs swept away half a decade of appalling pop pap.

Yes, the Beatles were the biggest pop musicians ever, far more popular than everyone else. And yes, their influence was far wider than the pop charts.

But they were less interesting than the Stones; and they weren’t even my fave mid-1960s Scouser popsters – take a bow, Gerry… The Searchers… The Big Three… and several more Merseybeat bands.

To compare the Beatles’ legacy, as many halfwit journalists have done in the current frenzy, to that of Dylan is plain stupid – it’s like comparing Dylan with Madonna or Abba. The Beatles were show biz entertainers. Dylan is the 20thC’s dominant musician.

I haven’t played a Beatles record for over 20 years; there’s little chance of that changing, re-masters or not.

Gerry Smith

Christmas album: I can’t wait

2009-09-08T23:28:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“I laughed like a drain when I read Chris Walker's comments about the upcoming Dylan Christmas album.

“Chris would no doubt have been there with Pete Seeger hacking through the electricity cables at Newport '64 and booing and heckling in '66 and '79-'80!

“Creative artists will always be pushing the boundaries and it's interesting that what Dylan is doing here is perceived as both pushing further into the mainstream ("showbiz bullcrap") and behaving in a boundary pushing way (not afraid of the reaction of his fans).

“Personally, I can't wait for the LP, and I hope that the end result is as good as it could be (the difference between an album like "Good as I Been To You" and an album like "Down in The Groove").

As we know with Dylan, either is possible!

Christmas album

2009-09-07T23:47:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Matthew Zuckerman:

Chris Walker writes: 'I've been an ardent Dylan fan for many years, but I'm afraid this kind of showbiz bullcrap is the final straw. I ain't gonna sing Dylan's praises no more: the greatest creative artist of the 20thC has finally left me behind: so long, Bob.'

Amazing... Even the Judas-crying hecklers of the mid-1960s gave the music a listen before they started to boo. Nowadays, it seems we are so strait-jacketed in our thinking that the music itself is a mere signifier for whatever we wish to believe.

Over the years Dylan has enraged various people by:

Playing rock & roll at a high school dance
Singing with a less-than-angelic voice
Insulting the audience at a Tom Paine awards ceremony
Turning away from writing songs with overt political content
Playing rock & roll again
Playing country music
Playing all kinds of pop and schmaltz on Self Portrait
Making a long and hard-to-follow movie
Playing evangelical music
Speaking up for American farmers during a concert to raise money for
starving Africans
Changing the arrangements to his songs so they don't sound like they do on the records
Allowing a Canadian bank to use one of his songs
Advertising ladies underwear
Advertising a gas guzzling Cadillac
Selling a deluxe version of Tell Tale Signs at a ludicrously high price
Using and adapting melodies and lyrics from a wide range of sources
Recording a Christmas album

This list is off the top of my head and far from complete. Did he have good reasons for doing all of these things? No doubt they seemed good enough to him.

Personally, I am not sure that Live Aid was the place to speak up for relatively well off American farmers; I feel the Cadillac ad was in poor taste (I know the company sponsored his radio show, but that doesn't justify it); and charging £100 for the 3CD set of Tell Tale Signs seems inexcusable.

Should any of this affect my appreciation of one of the greatest artists of our age? Well, we all have our limits. If he were arrested as a child molester, for example, I might well find it hard to separate the fact from my enjoyment of his art.

But a Christmas album? I think I can handle that. I have heard Christmas songs recorded by Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and many other great singers, and while those recordings rank low on their artistic achievements, they have not lessened my love or regard for their work.

And I imagine Bob would be delighted to see the bile he has stirred up.

More on: The Christmas album: so long, Bob

2009-09-03T00:01:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Jonathan Greenwood:

“While I respect Chris’s right to junk Dylan, I welcome the idea of the Christmas album.

“To me, it’s yet another example of Dylan’s espousal of diverse musical styles – surely his trademark across the years.

“And it shows Dylan moving even further into the mainstream. He clearly craves the mass popular acceptance which has been steadily growing since TOOM. I think it’s churlish for aficionados to wish to keep him boxed into a Counter Culture niche to be enjoyed only by a backward-looking small cult.

“I’ll be buying the CD; if I don’t like it I’ll simply file it (like a few other Dylan albums over the years) and give praise that the man is still developing, and always in bewilderingly unpredictable ways.”

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Thanks to Chris Walker:

“I’m surprised that no Dylan Daily readers have recoiled in horror at the very idea of Dylan releasing an album of Xmas songs.

“Xmas albums are for lame brains. I wouldn’t have one given for free. Whoever recorded it. For whatever charity. Xmas albums are strictly for sentimental bozos.”

“I’ve been an ardent Dylan fan for many years, but I’m afraid this kind of showbiz bullcrap is the final straw – I ain’t gonna sing Dylan’s praises no more: the greatest creative artist of the 20thC has lost it: so long, Bob.”

Dylan's literary context

2009-09-02T00:11:00.000+01:00

I’ve been catching up with the writers documenting instances of Dylan writing which is similar to that of earlier work by other writers.

Readers will be familiar with the well-documented similarities of phrases on Modern Times with Henry Timrod’s writing, and of “Love And Theft" fragments with Japanese writer Junichi Saga’s Confessions of a Yakuza, but many might not have seen the work of zealous scholars scrutinising Chronicles.

Writers whose prose, it’s alleged, find echoes in Chronicles are: Marcel Proust, Mark Twain, Mezz Mezzrow, Jack London, RL Stevenson, Henry Rollins, Hemingway and Pynchon.

Dylan fans and literati alike differ in their reactions to these textual similarities. My own instinct is that they add a new dimension to Dylan’s rich art, placing it ever more firmly in high culture, but that I need to delve far more deeply.

Fascinating stuff…

The literary detectives studying these textual similarities include Edward Cook and Scott Warmuth, mainly on Cook’s blog, Ralph the Sacred River (especially September 2006 and August 2009):

http://ralphriver.blogspot.com

Gerry Smith

New: rare 1966 limited edition photographs

2009-08-28T11:43:00.001+01:00

Serious Dylan fans will be familiar with the photographs of the leading Dylan chroniclers – Elliott Landy, Daniel Kramer and half a dozen more.

But new names keep appearing on the radar – photographers whose work is little known outside collector circles.

One such is Charles Gatewood, whose photographs, shot in Stockholm in 1966, are about to published in limited edition book format. (They’re also available as single images.)

The press release follows.

Gerry Smith

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MEDIA INFORMATION
For immediate release

A COMPLETE UNKNOWN
- Deluxe Artist’s Book Available Sept 1 2009 –
- Limited to 61 Signed and Numbered Copies -

Each 11 x 14-inch handmade book contains quality reproductions of rare Dylan photos, shot in Stockholm, Sweden on April 29, 1966 by renowned photographer Charles Gatewood. Most of these extraordinary photographs have never been seen or published until now. This edition is designed and published by Dana Dana Dana Limited Editions.

“I was 23 years old, and had been photographing for two years. It was my first published photograph,” recalls Gatewood, referring to his now-iconic image ‘Bob Dylan With Cigarette,’ which was taken on April 29,1966. “Dylan was in his prime. He’d just released Blonde on Blonde and his song Like a Rolling Stone was a huge hit. The picture became a best-selling poster.”

Only 61 copies of A Complete Unknown (plus 5 artist proofs) will be printed. This exciting signed and numbered Bob Dylan collectible--showing Dylan at the peak of his musical career--will sell out quickly.

For complete information and to view a maquette of the book, please visit:

http://danadanadana.com/gatewood/

as well as

http://acompleteunknown.com

The book will be available starting September 1, 2009.

New Illustrated Biography: fine book, misleading title

2009-08-27T12:30:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Phil Stokes’ timely tip, I duly picked up a copy of Bob Dylan: The Illustrated Biography, for £4.99, at a local branch of The Works.

It’s a fine album of Dylan photographs from across the ages, with brief textual commentary. In fact, it’s the finest career-spanning Bob photo album available: if you only need one book of Zimpics, this is the one to go for.

The title, Bob Dylan – The Illustrated Biography, is an own goal by publisher Transatlantic Press, though. The subtitle – A Unique Collection of 200 Classic, Rare and Unseen Photographs – is more accurate, even if the “Rare and Unseen” proportions are small.

A must-buy? Certainly. Especially at £4.99.

Gerry Smith

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New Illustrated Biography @ £4.99!

Thanks to Phil Stokes:

"Just bought this said hardback book, from The Works, in Sutton Coldfield (near Brum) for... £4.99! They have the same titles available for the Stones and Led Zep as well @ £4.99."

(The Works is an extensive chain of discount bookshops. To locate your local branch, check out:

www.theworks.co.uk

Gerry Smith, Ed)

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New this week - Bob Dylan: The Illustrated Biography

New this Thursday, another book for the groaning Zim shelves - Bob Dylan: The Illustrated Biography.

Regular readers will know that I’m an addicted buyer of Dylan books - and I’ll be buying this one and scrutinising with interest. But I have to wonder whether the world needs yet another Dylan biography. The main appeal of this bio is its “dazzling array of never-been-seen images”.

Best price I’ve seen (£11.89, saving £5+ on cover price, is at Amazon.co.uk)

Author Chris Rushby is “marketing director for a major UK book wholesaler”, so you can expect the book to get an extraordinary PR/promo push.

Gerry Smith

New this week - Bob Dylan: The Illustrated Biography

2009-08-24T23:22:00.000+01:00

New this Thursday, another book for the groaning Zim shelves - Bob Dylan: The Illustrated Biography.

Regular readers will know that I’m an addicted buyer of Dylan books - and I’ll be buying this one and scrutinising with interest. But I have to wonder whether the world needs yet another Dylan biography. The main appeal of this bio is its “dazzling array of never-been-seen images”.

Best price I’ve seen (£11.89, saving £5+ on cover price, is at Amazon.co.uk)

Author Chris Rushby is “marketing director for a major UK book wholesaler”, so you can expect the book to get an extraordinary PR/promo push.

Gerry Smith

Mainstream Dylan

2009-08-21T23:48:00.001+01:00

It never ceases to amaze me how, in the last decade, the Dylan brand has been transformed into a mainstream commodity.

This week’s evidence, from the two leading local supermarket chains:

* Tesco has the new starter compilation CD, Bob Dylan: The Collection on its value racks, at £3!

* Sainsbury’s is stocking the paperback edition of Dylan On Dylan, the latest book of interviews, edited by Jonathan Cott, on its high volume sales racks – at a giveaway £4.99.

For those of us who grew up regarding Dylan as a cult figure, this mass market visibility – and the positioning of Dylan product as impulse buys alongside the BOGOF foodstuffs and discounted cases of beer – is little short of amazing.

And not a little challenging.

Gerry Smith

Ovid – better than Viagra

2009-08-20T23:45:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Renata Schultz:

“If you’ve a Dylan fan in your life whose enthusiasm for the pleasures of the night are, er, waning, I strongly recommend that you buy him a copy of Ovid’s Erotic Poems, The Art Of Love.

“If he resists reading highbrow classics, just remind him that Dylan himself is a follower of Ovid. I bought Erotic Poems for the overtired Dylan fan in my life and I’ve had a smile on my face ever since…Ovid - better than Viagra!”

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Dylan and Ovid

Thanks to Anne Ritchie:

“Forgive me if this is common knowledge among Dylan Daily readers, but in delving into Zim’s debt to Classical culture, I’ve just come across another striking example which I haven’t seen noted anywhere else.

“In Erotic Poems, The Art Of Love Book 1, line 346, Ovid uses the phrase ”Draw a blank…”.

“Dylan’s exhibition of paintings, developed from his 1990s book of drawings, was, of course, entitled Drawn Blank.

“Seems to me Bobby has been a closet Latin scholar for some years.”

Dylan songs withdrawn from Spotify

2009-08-18T23:49:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Jason C:

“Are any other readers annoyed that Dylan’s tunes have been pulled from the great new streaming service, Spotify?”

(I’m not! In fact, I’m surprised that ANY rights owners allow Spotify to stream their music: I can’t think of a surer way of losing sales. Only last week, I was going to replace old vinyl with a CD comp of Dory Previn material but, after listening a few times on Spotify, decided not to bother. Gerry Smith, Editor)

Rome interview, late 2001

2009-08-17T21:28:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Anne Ritchie:

“Can anyone here direct me to a full transcript of Dylan’s Rome interview, held in late 2001 to promote “Love And Theft”?

“I’ve seen the extracts published in The Times Magazine, La Repubblica and Dagens Nyheter, but none of these has the full transcript of the long interview with a collection of journalists I heard on CD some years ago. They’re all tantalisingly informative, though.

“A link to a full transcript (in English) would be appreciated.”

Dylan and Ovid

2009-08-14T22:22:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Anne Ritchie:

“Forgive me if this is common knowledge among Dylan Daily readers, but in delving into Zim’s debt to Classical culture, I’ve just come across another striking example which I haven’t seen noted anywhere else.

“In Erotic Poems, The Art Of Love Book 1, line 346, Ovid uses the phrase ”Draw a blank…”.

“Dylan’s exhibition of paintings, developed from his 1990s book of drawings, was, of course, entitled Drawn Blank.

“Seems to me Bobby has been a closet Latin scholar for some years.”

Elliott Landy’s Woodstock photographs

2009-08-12T23:59:00.001+01:00

Though the current Woodstock 40th anniversary “celebrations” (aka commercial exploitation) leave me cold, the new edition of Elliott Landy’s book, Woodstock Vision, looks like a must-have.

It’s a feast of 300 of Landy’s wonderful photographs. The famous Dylan shot – hat, guitar, vintage car – dominates the cover.

It’s not obvious how many Dylan pics are in the book, but the Landy website has 50 Dylan thumbnails, many of which were new to me:

http://landyvision.com

Thanks to Jim Linderman whose blog alerted me to the new Landy book:

http://dulltooldimbulb.blogspot.com

Gerry Smith

Dylan “too selfish”, according to female singer-songwriter

2009-08-10T23:31:00.001+01:00

Singer-songwriter Dory Previn regards Bob Dylan as selfish. In an interview with Jonathan Wingate published in Record Collector (Jan 2008?*), she tells of a gig she performed where Dylan asked to meet her backstage:

“Yes that was the worst… you can’t have a chat with him because he’s too selfish, so he won’t give you anything…“

Dory Previn was a cult favourite in the early 1970s. Her bleak confessional lyrics documented her mental health problems, marital breakdown, and a world going wrong.

In my list of favourite women rockpop artists from the 1970s, I’d place her second only to Joni Mitchell, and well ahead of every other female writer/performer.

(* The interview, pulled out the monthly mag Record Collector, looks as if it promoted the Jan 2008 release of The Art Of Dory Previn, a must-have compilation CD summarising the gifted singer-songwriter’s legacy.)

Gerry Smith

Dylan, Virgil, Ovid et al

2009-08-07T23:14:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Anne Ritchie:

“I’ve been following your unique recent coverage of new Dylan Studies books - I’m particularly interested in Dylan’s debt to Classical writers, especially Ovid.

“I can recommend to readers of The Dylan Daily with similar interests a series of articles available free on the web site of an academic journal, Oral Tradition.

“Oral Tradition Volume 22 no 1 2007 was a special Dylan issue. Among a lot of very meaty articles, there’s one by Harvard Prof Richard F Thomas, The Streets Of Rome – The Classical Dylan (pp30-56), examining Dylan’s references to Ovid, Virgil, Homer et al in depth.”

http://journal.oraltradition.org

Another new compilation CD - Bob Dylan: The Collection

2009-08-06T11:46:00.000+01:00

Though it’s not aimed at readers of specialist web sites such as this one, Bob Dylan: The Collection - yet another new official compilation CD – demonstrates that Sony are keenly developing the Dylan market among younger listeners.

The new CD was on sale last night in my local supermarket on the bargain “CDs from £3” racks – suggesting it’s targeted at older cheapskates as well as new converts.

But can you represent Dylan’s vast songbook in just 12 tracks? Well, Sony/Camden have had a fair crack, resisting the temptation to treat Dylan as a 1960s museum piece by including songs from four decades – but note, there’s nothing from the
1980s:

Blowin' In The Wind
The Times They Are A-Changin'
Mr. Tambourine Man
Like A Rolling Stone
Positively 4th Street
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
Lay, Lady, Lay
Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Tangled Up In Blue
Hurricane
Not Dark Yet
Things Have Changed

Gerry Smith

Bob v Richard

2009-07-31T21:58:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Liam Mogan:

“It’s been interesting to read the Bob v Van debate, especially the seriousness with which some of your (admittedly fine) contributors take it.

“I find any barbs at Dylan quite humorous really and take it all with a pinch of salt. His genius is unquestionable and his longevity to be marvelled at. Sure there are fallow periods, even within albums, never mind over decades, but ultimately you will always find moments of unparalleled insight and humanity.

“Similarly, I listen to Van on a regular basis and enjoy the majority of his work. The only criticism I can really level at him is there is a certain homogeneous quality to a lot of his albums especially on the later ones which can be boring after a while.

“Listen to any of his songs independently from this period you'll find almost all perfectly acceptable. However, if you try a whole album, you'll soon be twiddling your thumbs, looking out the window or reaching for a good read.

“The debate though has got me thinking about other artists in the post-60s era who could possibly compare to Dylan.

“Springsteen? - certainly as a performer but not as a writer; Neil Young? - possibly but again suffers from a Van-like late period decline; Costello? - musically he may be more adventurous, but where's the human connection?.

For me only that quintessential British talent, Richard Thompson comes even close. After starting out with Bob covers, he dropped the 'dylanisms' of his early songs to concentrate on creating a stunning body of work which encompasses folk/pop/rock/country and any other genre you care to name.

“At least 3 of his albums 'I Want to See the Bright Lights..', 'Shoot Out the Lights' (the nearest thing to the passion Blood on the Tracks I've ever heard) and 'Rumor and Sigh' are genuine classics.

“Whilst the quality does soar and dip throughout the catalogue, even some of the poorer releases contain their moments. He even has an advantage on Dylan of being able to match his brilliant song writing with almost peerless guitar playing - anyone who has heard his live epic 'Can't Win' on the 'Watching the Dark' box set can vouch for that.

“If you also take into account his time with Fairport Convention (the best Dylan covers band ever?), his constant touring schedule and his sterling session guitar work, you have an artist who deserves to be named in the same breath as Dylan. Even if it is just for a moment.”

Highway 61 Revisited, new University of Minnesota book: recommended, B+

2009-07-29T14:07:00.000+01:00

Highway 61 Revisited: Bob Dylan’s Road From Minnesota To The World is an intermittently fine addition to the Dylan bookshelf.

Inevitably in a collection of 20 essays (originally delivered as papers at a 2007 symposium), it’s patchy, its chapters veering from the must-read to the, frankly, risible.

Half a dozen of Highway 61 Revisited’s articles cover important aspects of Dylan’s art, and do it with enviable expertise.

The star piece is Bob Dylan’s Memory Palace by Robert Polito, a minute dissection of Dylan’s literary references on the last few albums - from Ovid, Timrod, but oh so many more.

David Yaffe on Dylan’s debt to black musics, Charles Hughes on Civil Rights, Marilyn Chiat on the Jewish settlement of the Iron Range and Anne Waldman on the Beats are original and illuminating.

A second group of papers is solid, workmanlike, without adding much to the knowledge or perspective of the seasoned Dylan buff, though they will inform the book’s primary (student) market.

Several contributions are so peripheral that it crossed my mind that they might be put-ons.

As the Dylan book market grows, the rock scribes with limited horizons who used to rule the roost are being elbowed out by salaried intellectuals; many of them, bright and well-educated, have a lot to offer the seeker after Zim Truths.

Highway 61 Revisited is a welcome addition to the library. Place its best pieces alongside the pick of the recently published Cambridge Companion (reviewed on The Dylan Daily on 29 May) and it’s clear that Dylan Studies is coming of age, successfully addressing the mass market as well as the callow strollers in the Groves of Academe.

Recommended: B+.

Highway 61 Revisited: Bob Dylan’s Road From Minnesota To The World, edited by Colleen J Sheehy and Thomas Swiss, Minneapolis, University Of Minnesota Press, May 2009, pbk, 278pp, $22.95. ISBN 978-0-8166-6100-8

Gerry Smith

Take 2: Van Morrison - a greater talent than Dylan?

2009-07-23T23:11:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“Need to take issue with Andrew from Adelaide on a couple of points:

1) Dylan v Van

I'm not sure you can compare Van's "Astral Weeks", "Moondance", "St Dominic's Review" and "Veedon Fleece" (released over a 6 year period) with Dylan's "rolled gold" classics as selected by Andrew, "Freewheelin’", "Bringing It All Back Home", "Highway 61 Revisited", "Blonde on Blonde" which were not only released over just 4 years, but the last three were recorded and released over a ridiculously tight time frame:

* Bringing It All Back Home (14 and 15 Jan 1965); (2 days)
* Highway 61 (15 June, 29/30 July, 2/4 August 1965 (5 days)
* Blonde on Blonde (14 -17 Feb, 8/9 March 1966 (6 days)

So, three undeniable classic LPs recorded in 13 days over a 14 month period! Can anyone else match that? And wasn't he touring during that time too...?

2) Dylan's second golden era

Planet Waves 1973
Blood on the Tracks 1974
Desire 1975
Hard Rain 1976
StreetLegal 1978

3) Classic songs

I would suggest that Dylan has more classic songs in his songbook than Van that are more well known to the public at large eg Blowin in the wind, lay lady lay, knockin on heaven's door etc

4) Sustained sequence of clunkers

Can anyone top Van's output of clunkers from 1995 to the present?

· Tell Me Something: The Songs of Mose Allison (1996)
· The Healing Game (1997)
· Back on Top (1999)
· The Skiffle Sessions - Live in Belfast 1998 (2000)
· You Win Again (2000)
· Down the Road (2002)
· What's Wrong with This Picture? (2003)
· Magic Time (2005)
· Pay the Devil (2006)
· Live at Austin City Limits Festival (Live) (2006)
· Keep It Simple (2008)
· Astral Weeks Live at the Hollywood Bowl (Live) (2009)

That's not to deny the brilliance of "Astral Weeks" which is unique in the Van canon, and possibly one of the greatest albums of all time.

Van Morrison - a greater talent than Dylan?

2009-07-22T23:16:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Andrew Robertson:

No surprise that Oh Mercy was rated the best Dylan album of this period (1978-89) – it was, indeed, the only album of that period that I would rate as a classic Dylan album or potentially a Desert Island Disc.

To provoke debate among other music lovers (and perhaps to annoy Dylan Diehards) I would like to repeat my previously expressed view that this confirms Van Morrison as the greater music talent, and indeed, the greatest in contemporary music.

The same period (1978-89) was Morrison’s second golden era in which he produced 6 “rolled gold” classics, as follows (in chronological order):
Into The Music
Common One
Beautiful Vision
No Guru No Method No Teacher
Poetic Champions Compose
Avalon Sunset

In addition, several other worthy additions to his canon (also in chronological order):
Wavelength
Inarticulate Speech of the Heart
Live at the Belfast Grand Opera House
A Sense of Wonder
Irish Heartbeat (with the Chieftains)

And not one weak album, not one that is not a worthy addition to my music collection.

A very significant difference to Dylan’s output from the same years, as your reader poll confirms.

Ah, but what of Dylan’s early years, do I hear you – and Bernard McGuinn – say (defiantly)?

OK, ignoring Bob Dylan, on which he only wrote 2 tracks, Dylan’s only golden era comprised 7 albums of which 4 were “rolled gold” classics:
Freewheelin’
Bringing It All Back Home
Highway 61 Revisited
Blonde on Blonde

While 3 were simply excellent:
The Times They Are A-Changing
Another Side
John Wesley Harding

In Van Morrison’s case, ignoring Them and the Bang output, his first golden era also comprised 7 albums of which, similarly, 4 were “rolled gold” classics:
Astral Weeks
Moondance
Saint Dominic’s Preview
Veedon Fleece

While 3 were simply excellent:
His Band and the Street Choir
Tupelo Honey
Hard Nose the Highway

I would argue that Morrison’s “best of the best” (namely Astral Weeks) is better than Dylan’s but putting arguably subjective judgments aside, my point is that Morrison had two golden eras compared to Dylan’s one (not that Dylan hasn’t had other great albums – Oh Mercy being a case in point – however he hasn’t, in my opinion, had another sustained period of such extraordinary excellence).

Let the debate begin…

Andrew in Adelaide

The ‘80s: a “lean period” for Dylan albums?

2009-07-21T22:10:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“Interesting to see the voting on this period of Dylan's releases.

“Not sure about "lean years" though (if you disregard weaker contractual obligation albums).

“Compare:
Street 78
Slow Train 79
Saved 80
Shot of Love 81
Infidels 83
Empire Burlesque 85
Oh Mercy 89

(all very strong albums, in my opinion), with:

TOOM 97
L and T 01
Modern Times 06
Together Through Life 09

“Which is the leaner?”

Top Dylan albums of the 1980s: the fans’ ratings

2009-07-20T23:53:00.001+01:00

Oh Mercy is easily the most popular album from 1978-1989 among Dylan fans.

The Daniel Lanois-produced album, released at the very end of the period, is the clear favourite among the Dylan Daily readers who ranked the 13 releases of these relatively lean years.

Street-Legal, Slow Train Coming, Infidels and Biograph also enjoy substantial support, but the other eight albums from the period have very few supporters among Dylan Daily readers.

Dylan albums 1978-1989 rated by fans

1. Oh Mercy (108 points)
2. Street-Legal (75)
3. Slow Train Coming (67)
4. Infidels (58)
5. Biograph (56)
6= At Budokan (8)
6= Saved (8)
6= Shot of Love (8)
9. Dylan and the Dead (6)
10. Empire Burlesque (5)
11. Down in the Groove (3)
12. Real Live (2)
13. Knocked out Loaded (1)

Seventy readers submitted entries in a competition to win a copy of the new DVD - Bob Dylan 1978-1989: Both Ends Of The Rainbow. The winner has been informed, and the two-disc set will be sent tomorrow.

Competition entrants were asked to rank their three favourite albums from the period. Each nomination in first position was assigned 3 points, second place nominations got 2 points, and third choices were given one point. Scores were then aggregated to produce the ranked table, above.

Thanks to all 70 readers who voted.

Gerry Smith

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Knocked Out Loaded: least popular Dylan album?

Is Knocked Out Loaded the least popular Dylan album?

It certainly seems so, according to a preliminary analysis of fan rankings of the 13 albums released between 1978 and 1989, Dylan’s least popular decade.

Knocked Out Loaded managed to pick up only a single nomination and it was the respondent’s least favourite of three albums selected.

So which are the most popular albums of the period? Come back to The Dylan Daily on Monday for a full analysis of the impressive response to this competition.

Gerry Smith

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Win new DVD - Bob Dylan 1978-1989: Both Ends Of The Rainbow

Thanks to MVD Entertainment Group’s Clint Weiler for supplying Bob Dylan 1978-1989 on DVD as the prize in a new Dylan Daily competition.

To win a copy of the new Special Edition 2 Disc Set of Bob Dylan 1978-1989: Both Ends Of The Rainbow, all you have to do is rank your three favourite Dylan albums released in the period covered by the DVD – number your three favourites 1, 2 and 3 – in an email sent to info@dylandaily.com, with the subject header “DVD comp”.

All entries will be put into a (virtual) hat and the winner will be drawn this Friday, 17 July, @ 1600 GMT and announced on The Dylan Daily (unless the lucky winner has specified “privacy” in his/her email entry).

Here’s a reminder of the albums to consider in your ranking:

Street-Legal (1978)
At Budokan (1978)
Slow Train Coming (1979)
Saved (1980)
Shot of Love (1981)
Infidels (1983)
Real Live (1984)
Empire Burlesque (1985)
Biograph (1985)
Knocked out Loaded (1986)
Down in the Groove (1988)
Dylan and the Dead (1989)
Oh Mercy (1989)

Good luck!

Gerry Smith

Knocked Out Loaded: least popular Dylan album?

2009-07-17T23:38:00.001+01:00

Is Knocked Out Loaded the least popular Dylan album?

It certainly seems so, according to a preliminary analysis of fan rankings of the 13 albums released between 1978 and 1989, Dylan’s least popular decade.

Knocked Out Loaded managed to pick up only a single nomination and it was the respondent’s least favourite of three albums selected.

So which are the most popular albums of the period? Come back to The Dylan Daily on Monday for a full analysis of the impressive response to this competition.

Gerry Smith

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Win new DVD - Bob Dylan 1978-1989: Both Ends Of The Rainbow

Thanks to MVD Entertainment Group’s Clint Weiler for supplying Bob Dylan 1978-1989 on DVD as the prize in a new Dylan Daily competition.

To win a copy of the new Special Edition 2 Disc Set of Bob Dylan 1978-1989: Both Ends Of The Rainbow, all you have to do is rank your three favourite Dylan albums released in the period covered by the DVD – number your three favourites 1, 2 and 3 – in an email sent to info@dylandaily.com, with the subject header “DVD comp”.

All entries will be put into a (virtual) hat and the winner will be drawn this Friday, 17 July, @ 1600 GMT and announced on The Dylan Daily (unless the lucky winner has specified “privacy” in his/her email entry).

Here’s a reminder of the albums to consider in your ranking:

Street-Legal (1978)
At Budokan (1978)
Slow Train Coming (1979)
Saved (1980)
Shot of Love (1981)
Infidels (1983)
Real Live (1984)
Empire Burlesque (1985)
Biograph (1985)
Knocked out Loaded (1986)
Down in the Groove (1988)
Dylan and the Dead (1989)
Oh Mercy (1989)

Good luck!

Gerry Smith

Win new DVD – final call for entries

2009-07-16T19:06:00.000+01:00

This is the final call for entries to the competition to win a copy of Bob Dylan 1978-1989: Both Ends Of The Rainbow.

Entries close tomorrow, Friday 17 July, @ 1600. Details of how to enter: below.

Thanks to all readers who have already entered.

Gerry Smith

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Win new DVD - Bob Dylan 1978-1989: Both Ends Of The Rainbow

Thanks to MVD Entertainment Group’s Clint Weiler for supplying Bob Dylan 1978-1989 on DVD as the prize in a new Dylan Daily competition.

To win a copy of the new Special Edition 2 Disc Set of Bob Dylan 1978-1989: Both Ends Of The Rainbow, all you have to do is rank your three favourite Dylan albums released in the period covered by the DVD – number your three favourites 1, 2 and 3 – in an email sent to info@dylandaily.com, with the subject header “DVD comp”.

All entries will be put into a (virtual) hat and the winner will be drawn this Friday, 17 July, @ 1600 GMT and announced on The Dylan Daily (unless the lucky winner has specified “privacy” in his/her email entry).

Here’s a reminder of the albums to consider in your ranking:

Street-Legal (1978)
At Budokan (1978)
Slow Train Coming (1979)
Saved (1980)
Shot of Love (1981)
Infidels (1983)
Real Live (1984)
Empire Burlesque (1985)
Biograph (1985)
Knocked out Loaded (1986)
Down in the Groove (1988)
Dylan and the Dead (1989)
Oh Mercy (1989)

Good luck!

Gerry Smith

London signing for new book tomorrow (Wednesday)

2009-07-14T23:29:00.000+01:00

If you’re in central London tomorrow evening (Wednesday 15 July, 6-9pm), you’re warmly invited to attend the signing event for my new book, Music For Grown-Ups.

Dylan will doubtless be mentioned – he’s one of the book’s central characters!

I’ll be signing copies from the numbered limited edition; Music For Grown-Ups is not available from High St bookshops.

The evening is hosted by AMUTi, the specialist collectable and book dealer, at its delightful gallery/shop near King’s Cross/St Pancras/Euston railway stations.

I’ll be giving a short talk about music for grown-ups, before enjoying a drink with the audience.

You’ll be able to marvel at AMUTi’s unique selection of music-related rare books and collectables.

If you manage to make it, please ensure that you ID yourself to me as a reader of this website - I look forward to seeing you tomorrow evening!

Details:

www.amutionline.com

Gerry Smith

Win new DVD - Bob Dylan 1978-1989: Both Ends Of The Rainbow

2009-07-13T23:49:00.001+01:00

Thanks to MVD Entertainment Group’s Clint Weiler for supplying Bob Dylan 1978-1989 on DVD as the prize in a new Dylan Daily competition.

To win a copy of the new Special Edition 2 Disc Set of Bob Dylan 1978-1989: Both Ends Of The Rainbow, all you have to do is rank your three favourite Dylan albums released in the period covered by the DVD – number your three favourites 1, 2 and 3 – in an email sent to info@dylandaily.com, with the subject header “DVD comp”.

All entries will be put into a (virtual) hat and the winner will be drawn this Friday, 17 July, @ 1600 GMT and announced on The Dylan Daily (unless the lucky winner has specified “privacy” in his/her email entry).

Here’s a reminder of the albums to consider in your ranking:

Street-Legal (1978)
At Budokan (1978)
Slow Train Coming (1979)
Saved (1980)
Shot of Love (1981)
Infidels (1983)
Real Live (1984)
Empire Burlesque (1985)
Biograph (1985)
Knocked out Loaded (1986)
Down in the Groove (1988)
Dylan and the Dead (1989)
Oh Mercy (1989)

Good luck!

Gerry Smith

London signing for new book next Wednesday

2009-07-09T19:48:00.000+01:00

If you’re in central London next Wednesday evening (15 July, 6-9pm), you’re warmly invited to attend the signing event for my new book, Music For Grown-Ups. (Bob Dylan is the key musician featured in the book.)

I’ll be signing copies from the special numbered limited edition; Music For Grown-Ups is not available from High St bookshops.

The evening is hosted by Amuti, the specialist collectable and book dealer, at its delightful gallery/shop near King’s Cross/St Pancras/Euston railway stations.

I’ll be giving a short talk about music for grown-ups, before enjoying a drink with the audience.

You’ll be able to marvel at Amuti’s unique selection of music-related rare books and collectables.

If you manage to make it, please ensure that you ID yourself to me as a reader of this website - I look forward to seeing you next Wednesday!

Details:

www.amutionline.com

Gerry Smith

Roger McGuinn, ex-Byrd, tells his Dylan stories

2009-07-08T22:50:00.000+01:00

Completing a short English solo tour in St Albans last week, Roger McGuinn spared us his born-again folkie stuff and focused mainly on the luminous Byrds legacy.

His likeable 90-minute performance thrilled the crowd of 500 ageing pop-pickers, well up for a night of comforting nostalgia. In delivering it, McGuinn, using only his 12-string Rickenbacker and his 7(!)-string Martin HD-7 acoustic, demonstrated that he’s a fine multifaceted musician and singer, and an engaging, generous-minded raconteur.

His debt to Dylan was all over the evening. As well as My Back Pages, the opener, McGuinn explored the Zim locker with Mr Tambourine Man, All I Really Want To Do and You Ain’t Going Nowhere, plus the Dylan-influenced Ballad Of Easy Rider.

He recounted his story of the writing of The Ballad Of Easy Rider – how Dylan, too busy to supply a song for the movie soundtrack, scribbles a few lines of lyrics on a paper tissue, gives it to lead actor Peter Fonda, tells him to fly coast-to-coast and hand it personally to Roger - “Give it to McGuinn, he’ll finish it…”.

McGuinn also recounted how, when The Byrds first played Dylan their version of All I Really Want To Do in the studio, he expressed a liking for the song - before being reminded that he’d written it!

Gerry Smith

Hattie Carroll quoted on Question Time: Dylan in the ether…

2009-07-06T12:12:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Andrew Kelly:

“I can't have been the only fan watching Question Time last Thurs (BBC TV, 2 July).

“In answering a question about Jack Straw's recent intervention in the matter of Ronnie Biggs' parole, columnist Peter Hitchens described the Justice Secretary's statement as calling "strongly, for penalty and repentance".

“The 21st century Weltanschauung is permeated!”

New Heylin book – signed copies and 25% discount if you buy direct

2009-07-02T18:31:00.001+01:00

Thanks to publishers Constable Robinson for offering Dylan Daily readers limited signed copies of Clinton Heylin’s new book, Revolution In The Air, at 25% discount.

Access the web page below and enter promo code Dylan1.

http://www.constablerobinson.com/?section=books&book=signed_revolution_in_the_air_9781849011549_hardback

Gerry Smith

“Bob Dylan Speaks”: new issue of MOJO has Flanagan interview

2009-07-01T23:55:00.001+01:00

“Bob Dylan Speaks” is the banner headline on the cover of the new (UK) issue of MOJO, the achingly beautiful heritage rock monthly.

But if you printed off Flanagan’s three-part promo interview for Together Through Life from the official Sony site in March/April, you might not need the “Ultimate MOJO Interview”.

When I copped a quick glance in the supermarket tonight, it looked like the same interview – worth checking before buying.

Gerry Smith

Clinton Heylin’s new Dylan book: challenging… essential

2009-06-23T23:10:00.001+01:00

Clinton Heylin’s challenging new book, Revolution In The Air, is a welcome addition to the burgeoning Dylan library.

The first volume of a pair, Revolution In The Air covers Dylan’s songs from the juvenilia of 1957’s Song to Brigit to the grown-up angst of Planet Waves’ Wedding Song. A second volume, Still On The Road, bringing the story up to 2006, is promised for next year.

Covering 300 songs – in the order they were written, thus imposing narrative and context – the book is a potted history of each title, focusing on composition, recording and/or performance. It eschews in-depth analysis of either lyrics or music and evaluates the songs’ quality only in passing.

Heylin adopts a scholarly approach to his mammoth task. His sources include recording logs, manuscripts, performance set lists, published works and other utterances by Dylan, the testimony of collaborators and eye-witnesses, and a handful of favoured websites.

Heylin’s strengths are the depth of his expertise, based on half a lifetime of heavy-duty research, and a lively, literate writing style.

Weaknesses? Not many. You need to be a dedicated fan to welcome the level of detail here, but the book is targeted at precisely such readers. And there’s bound to be an element of speculation in such a work, though Heylin’s musings are worth your attention.

Revolution In The Air: Bob Dylan’s Songs is, according to the publishers, “informative, opinionated, packed with new insights and revelations….”

Pretty fair summary, I’d say – it’s an essential purchase; volume two is eagerly awaited.

Heylin’s legacy now includes three key Dylan books, the new volume standing proudly alongside Behind The Shades (biography) and Behind Closed Doors (recording sessions). He’s a nuanced guide to Dylan and his peerless art.

Revolution In The Air: The Songs Of Bob Dylan vol. 1: 1957-73, by Clinton Heylin, Constable, 2009, 482pp, £20.

www.constablerobinson.com

Gerry Smith

“Dylan” DVD series from Wienerworld: what do you think?

2009-06-19T11:46:00.001+01:00

This week’s review on The Dylan Daily of the new DVD Bob Dylan - Never Ending Tour Diaries attracted loads of interest.

I’ve yet to see the rest of the “Dylan” DVDs in the series from Wienerworld, so I would value your opinions: are they worth buying?

If you’ve seen any of five DVDs in the series, listed below, please let The Dylan Daily know what you think – info@dylandaily.com:

* Bob Dylan - Never Ending Tour Diaries (Winston Watson)

* Bob Dylan - 1966 World Tour – The Home Movies (Mickey Jones)

* Bob Dylan World Tours 1966 – 1974 (Barry Feinstein photos)

* Bob Dylan – 1975 – 1981: Rolling Thunder & The Gospel Years

* Inside Bob Dylan's Jesus Years

Thanks in advance.

Gerry Smith

Drummer Winston Watson reflects on the Never-Ending Tour in the 1990s

2009-06-16T00:03:00.001+01:00

Such is the hunger for Dylan-related product, a whole new genre of unofficial DVDs has recently found a ready audience. Lacking official Dylan performances and appearances, they either focus on the testimony of former sidemen and associates or gather the opinions of critics and writers.

They’re aimed at the hardcore fan who’s exhausted all the official releases (and the best of the bootleg performance footage).

So the new DVD from Wienerworld, Bob Dylan: Never Ending Tour Diaries: Drummer Winston Watson’s Incredible Journey, was approached with a degree of scepticism.

Watson, Dylan’s flamboyant drummer in the mid-1990s, performed over 400 shows in five years. He saw enough to be able to tell an interesting tale, though he remains respectful and discreet.

This charming 100-minute film quickly won me over. Given the limited resources at his disposal – interview with Watson, the drummer’s rough video footage, fan bootleg videos, graphics and footage of their Dylan tribute band – director Joel Gilbert has worked wonders in creating a very watchable, occasionally revealing, documentary.

Gilbert was lucky in his subject – Watson’s an engaging, disarming, likeable character who’s walked the walk but is still modest enough to be thrilled by the memories. He was, and is, a big Dylan fan.

You share his triumphs, then sympathise that he lost the gig (and his wife), and that he’s now earning his living working as an electrician back in Tucson, Arizona. When a film draws you in like this, you know it works.

Bob Dylan: Never-Ending Tour Diaries is enjoyable and informative. Watson’s anecdotes and reflections help to flesh out what we know about Dylan the working, touring musician.

Recommended.

I’ll be exploring the rest of the Wienerworld Dylan DVDs.

Info: www.highway61ent.com

Gerry Smith

Highway 61, Beyond Here, Heylin, Barker, Watson DVD

2009-06-10T14:41:00.001+01:00

Thanks to readers who sent three interesting links:

* To Larry:

“The new Dylan Watch is a re-interpretation of some songs on Highway 61 Revisited. I thought you'd find the approach interesting:

http://thebestamericanpoetry.typepad.com/

* To Patrick:

“Pretty interesting video and interview on Behind Here Lies Nothin:

http://pitchfork.com/news/35479-directors-cut-bob-dylans-beyond-here-lies-nothin/

* And to Stav for a link to a Catholic Herald review of new Heylin and covers books, and Winston Watson DVD:

http://www.catholicherald.co.uk/reviews/r0000464.shtml

If you some across links you think other Dylan Daily readers might appreciate, please let me know – info@dylandaily.com

Gerry Smith

The Basement Tapes: debt to TS Eliot?

2009-06-09T20:12:00.001+01:00

The “Say hello to Valerie…“ verse in The Basement Tapes song Too Much Of Nothing always struck me as very clever, and very funny. But it had never occurred to me that it referenced another great writer.

Until Saturday’s TS Eliot Arena programme on BBC2, when I stumbled upon the connection – Vivienne and Valerie were the names of Eliot’s two wives.

Crowing about my discovery, I smugly turned to Gray’s Encyclopedia, entirely confident that there’d be no mention - that I was the very first fan to get the connection.

Lo and Behold!

The redoubtable Gray had been there before me. He credits recent Dylan Daily contributor Matthew Zuckerman with the discovery, first aired years ago in an article in ISIS fanzine.

Gray, Zuckerman: respect!

Gerry Smith

Your Dylan book recommendations #4 & #5

2009-06-09T20:06:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Peter Mackie:

“It all depends what is meant by analytical but, after Ricks and Gray, I think Mike Marqusee - Wicked Messenger, and Betsy Bowden - Performed Literature are well worth reading.”

And to Martin Cowan:

“Heylin – Behind The Shades”

TS Eliot TV doc uses Desolation Row, With God On Our Side

2009-06-08T19:15:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“I'd commend the superb BBC2 documentary shown Saturday night about TS Eliot, as part of the BBC's celebration of poetry.

“It opens with a generous snatch of Desolation Row and should be of interest to all Dylan fans.

For those that missed it, it can be viewed (for seven days after broadcast) on the BBC iPlayer here:

www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/

And thanks to Peter Mackie:

“The excellent Arena programme on Eliot featured Desolation Row and also the first verse of With God on Our Side. Could that verse really have been written with Eliot in mind?”

Your Dylan book recommendations #2 & #3

2009-06-05T21:10:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Gerald Bamford:

“I would recommend the Paul Williams series of books to Jonas and everybody else for that matter, dealing with Bob Dylan as a 'Performing Artist' from 1960 onwards and these together with his book of Dylan related essays - 'Watching The River Flow' - make for a wonderful assessment of Bob as the most extraordinary artist of our time and are essential to an understanding of what makes Bob tick.

“The three 'Performing Artist' volumes can often be found very reasonably priced at 'The Works' bookshops.”

And thanks to Bernard McGuinn:

“Whilst I agree wholeheartedly with the Gray recommendation, I find, personally, that Ricks' style, and his obsession with puns, makes for rather painful reading.

“And the latest offering from Heylin - Revolution in the Air - totally eclipses his previous worthy efforts. It's a great read, and I await volume 2 with eager anticipation.

“I also think that any serious student could do far worse than begin with the three volumes of Paul Williams’ Performing Artist series. He never fails to re-ignite my urge to dig out the appropriate recordings whenever I dip back into his writing.”

Your Dylan book recommendations #1

2009-06-04T23:43:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Martin Cowan:

“To add to your list:

* I have always enjoyed dipping into "Oh No Not Another Bob Dylan Book" by Patrick Humphries and John Bauldie;

* the Anthony Scaduto biography is worth seeking out because although very out of date now, he did at least get to interview Dylan;

* and Nigel Williamson's Rough Guide to Bob Dylan is intelligently written and provides a good overview of the man and his music.”

Louis Armstrong’s canon more important than Dylan’s?

2009-06-01T22:29:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Matthew Zuckerman:

“As much as I value Dylan's art, I think many would argue otherwise, and with powerful ammunition. Arguments could surely be made for Louis Armstrong's 'canon' being the most important in 20th century music.

“I would argue, come to that, that Armstrong's musical influence is pervasive in every strand of music -- jazz, blues, pop, classical, gospel, r&b, rock, country and most facets of world music -- and that he may be the most important musical figure since JS Bach.

“Bob may just be the key jazz musican to follow in the wake of Armstrong (as opposed to Parker, who is generally mentioned in that regard) but that's another story.”

> Editor Kevin Dettmar¹s Introduction is a wide-ranging survey of the field of
> DylanLit. But, even here, I found myself challenging basic premises: according
> to Dettmar, ³Dylan¹s is arguably the most important canon in all of twentieth
> century American popular music².
>
> Arguably? Who would argue otherwise? Dettmar could safely delete ³arguably²,
> ³American² and ³popular² and his assessment might still undervalue Dylan¹s
> art. And the Editor¹s depiction of Dylan¹s voice as ³unlovely², the voice of a
> ³crow², rather than a nightingale, also raises questions.

New Dylan Studies textbook: adequate, good in parts, grade B-

2009-05-29T23:44:00.001+01:00

The new Dylan Studies textbook, The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan, is good in parts. While the book’s aim – to showcase the range of thinking about Dylan’s art - is admirable, its execution is only partly so. As you’d expect from a book by almost twenty academics and writers, it’s uneven.

Editor Kevin Dettmar’s Introduction is a wide-ranging survey of the field of DylanLit. But, even here, I found myself challenging basic premises: according to Dettmar, “Dylan’s is arguably the most important canon in all of twentieth century American popular music”.

Arguably? Who would argue otherwise? Dettmar could safely delete “arguably”, “American” and “popular” and his assessment might still undervalue Dylan’s art. And the Editor’s depiction of Dylan’s voice as “unlovely”, the voice of a “crow”, rather than a nightingale, also raises questions.

The book is split into two parts. The first, Perspectives, has nine short thematic chapters. David Yaffe’s location of Dylan in the poetic tradition, particularly his detailing of Zim’s debt to Ovid, is a key piece. Anthony Decurtis is engaging on Dylan’s songwriting.

Lee Marshall is perceptive on Dylan Studies, warning against treating him merely as a lyricist – the music and vocal performances are also important. But Marshall’s assertion that you can’t study high and popular culture in the same terms makes me slightly uneasy: it’s perfectly feasible to compare and contrast, say, Puccini and the Everly Brothers.

The fourteen-page piece on religion has some insights, but I’d have welcomed more. Few of the other thematic chapters ring bells in this parish. Wild horses couldn’t persuade me to read the chapter on Dylan and gender politics, though I wouldn’t expect many in the book’s fresh-faced, right-on audience to share my prejudice.

Part 2 reviews eight “landmark” albums. The book would have been better doubling the thematic coverage, instead. Dylan’s catalogue has already been reviewed to death and these new pieces add little to the mountain of press and fan evaluations. Except, that is, the essays on “Love And Theft” and Highway 61 Revisited. They’re both insightful, rapping on the magnitude of Dylan’s achievement.

Having graduated from the academy well before deconstruction, structuralism and the like took root, I was disappointed not to find a detailed, readable assessment of Dylan’s art filtered through the Post-Modernist lens. I suspect that PoMo academia has much to offer the seeker after Dylan Truth.

As is traditional in books about Dylan, you encounter erroneous rock-ist clichés – “first to release a themed album”; “first pop writer with grown-up lyrics”: er, no - in both cases. (I didn’t come across their sibling, the hoary claim that Dylan was the first musician to be bootlegged, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find it.)

The sub-editorial rigour you expect from a CUP book is fitful – for example, we encounter a Martin “Scorcese”, and find Dave Van Ronk in “Mcdougal” Street. If the book emanated from a Squirrel Press of Nether Wapping, it wouldn’t matter much, but it’s published by one of the world’s great university presses. Time to reassess the “Cambridge” brand?

Dylan’s great body of art can withstand rigorous, high-minded scrutiny, placing him in the wider flow of both high and popular culture: I much prefer BobLit by intellectuals with writing skills to the musings of brain-lite rock hacks. But earlier, admittedly more extensive, academic studies by profs such as Ricks, Marshall and Negus are not matched by The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan.

For a Dylan book to have lasting value, it needs to enrich our understanding of the man’s work - as creative artist, songwriter, thinker, performing musician and curator of American music. The Cambridge book does it intermittently, but not enough.

So, The Cambridge Companion to Bob Dylan achieves a grade of B-. It’s adequate, good in parts, but it needs more analysis and less narrative.

Gerry Smith

Info: www.cambridge.org

Together Through Life – “a stinker that’ll soon be forgotten”

2009-05-27T18:47:00.000+01:00

I suspect I’m not the only Dylan Daily reader who’s yet to make up his mind about Together Through Life.

But I doubt there’s be many who share the views of a certain Russ Smith (no relation - honest!), who’s posted a very dismissive review on Splice Today.

Not all Dylan Daily readers think that the Sun shines out of Dylan’s a**e. Russ Smith certainly doesn’t. I enclose a few extracts, below - just to whet your appetite!

You can see the full review online at

www.splicetoday.com

Gerry Smith

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Nothing Is Delivered, by Russ Smith

* Together Through Life, Bob Dylan’s latest recording, is a stinker that’ll soon be forgotten.

* the last time Dylan released an exciting bunch of new songs was in early ’75, Blood on the Tracks, and that coincided with my most recent cavity. And, let’s be honest, that record, while a step up from Planet Waves and New Morning, hasn’t aged all that well, with the clunkers “Meet Me in the Morning” and “Simple Twist of Fate,” getting in the way of his two gold-standard 70s songs “Idiot Wind” and “Tangled Up in Blue.”

* his last 20 or so records, including his latest, Together Through Life, really stink, and I imagine that once this article is complete I’ll relegate the CD to the pile of near-discards, maybe next to Imagine or anything Morrissey released after he and guitarist Johnny Marr broke up the Smiths, the best band of the 1980s.

* Dylan’s value today is as an archivist (of his own songs and those artists he admires)

* Listening to Together Through Life, it’s possible, I suppose, to believe that Dylan really thinks he’s making exceptional new music… the songs, mostly co-written with Robert Hunter (immediate tip-off), have little lyrical merit and while reviewers have somehow fallen for the singer’s p.r. that he’s incorporating his love for old Chess Records classics with his own tweaks and observations, this record’s a bust. Not wholly embarrassing, but a bust.

* David Hildago’s brain-numbing accordian…

* with very few exceptions (maybe “Catfish,” “Seven Days” and “Jokerman”), the songs he’s composed since the mid-1970s are half-baked and would never even be considered by the staff who help him compile the playlist for his radio show…

Cover painting of Dylan special edition of Rolling Stone (France)

2009-05-25T22:56:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Eric Wolfe:

“Thought you'd like to know that the painting by Scott Laumann accompanied the review of Tell Tale Signs in the American edition last fall.”

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Article of 22 May:

The French Rolling Stone has a delightful new 100-page Collector’s Special Edition (Hors-Serie) devoted to Dylan.

Beautiful cover portrait by Scott Laumann… 15 articles… many great photos… a magnificent addition to the library – allez, allez – vite!

NB1: it’s in French.
NB2: the content is nothing like the recent Dylan-covered issue (no 1078) of the US edition of Rolling Stone, though I’m going from info supplied by RS - I’ve yet to see issue 1078 on the racks where I get my occasional fix…

Vive le Rolling Stone francais!

www.rollingstone.fr

Gerry Smith

Delightful Dylan special edition from Rolling Stone (France)

2009-05-22T23:35:00.001+01:00

The French Rolling Stone has a delightful new 100-page Collector’s Special Edition (Hors-Serie) devoted to Dylan.

Beautiful cover portrait by Scott Laumann… 15 articles… many great photos… a magnificent addition to the library – allez, allez – vite!

NB1: it’s in French.
NB2: the content is nothing like the recent Dylan-covered issue (no 1078) of the US edition of Rolling Stone, though I’m going from info supplied by RS - I’ve yet to see issue 1078 on the racks where I get my occasional fix…

Vive le Rolling Stone francais!

www.rollingstone.fr

Gerry Smith

Before The Flood: encore

2009-05-21T21:15:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Jon Talbot in Seattle, Washington:

“I enjoyed reading your take on Before the Flood. I bought the re-mastered CD last month, but hadn't listened to it yet. Your comments encouraged me to play it last night. You are right - the sound is much better, even when comparing it to the original CD.

“But I wouldn't recommend it for the average Dylan fan. Despite what you called an impressive set-list, the songs for me are delivered in a rushed and robotic fashion that strips them of their integrity and potency. They come from his lips in a spitted-shouted-spoken flurry.

“Others have also noted how Dylan whizzed through them, deliberately in a hurry. The monks often say, "hurry is the death of prayer," and on Before the Flood, hurry is nearly the death of Dylan on this live performance.

“But I would recommend the CD for those serious about Dylan (and fans of the Band), for there are a few bright moments. Some aspects of "Just Like a Woman" become less rushed and hurriedly delivered to show its truthful intent, and you feel that Dylan's heart is in the singing.

“ "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" works very well for a number of reasons. First, its staccato-type format fits Dylan's need to hurry things along. Secondly, the crowd is following each stanza carefully (all the words are clearly articulated--no lyric sheet needed there) and they explode over the line about the President of the United States. Lastly, there's an audience member who ought to get royalties as he (maybe she, as the re-mastered CD gives this person a higher voice) cheers almost rhythmically in response to a number of the lines of the song. There's one place where it appears Dylan is a bit distracted, but immediately gets back on track.

“Of the final Dylan pieces on disc two, "Highway 61 Revisited" is my vote for the best performance. I also enjoyed the warm-up and introduction to "All Along the Watchtower," which could have been dynamic if Robbie Robertson did an extended guitar solo, but as soon as you get into their Hendrix-infused groove the song immediately ends.

“The Band glowed; my favorite moments are two: "The Shape I'm In," exceptionally sung by Richard Manuel, despite his hoarse voice, and played equally well by the top-notch musicians. And "When You Awake", with lead singing by Rick Danko--lovely.

“Ironically, it was my first Dylan concert. I attended the evening concert at The Forum (now the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, February 14--I think the year was 1973, my ticket doesn't show the year. The price of the concert was cheaper than the re-mastered CD: $8.50!

“I believe it was the last leg of the tour, and that most of the CD's tracks were taken from the afternoon concert of that same date. (Your faithful readers can verify and/or correct that.) I think Dylan and the Band also performed a track or two from Planet Waves, "Forever Young," sticks in my memory.

“The experience of the concert outmatched the CD, of course, but my lasting impression wasn't the music. It was the manner in which Bob Dylan left the stage and bowed: he held up his harmonica in one hand and the guitar in the other, as if to say, you could do this too...or maybe to say "you're right from your side, I'm right from mine; we're just one too many mornings and a thousand miles behind."

“Thanks Gerry, for encouraging these thoughts.”

The Roy Silver interview DVD: encore

2009-05-20T23:38:00.001+01:00

Thanks to Steve Rostoski:

“I was involved in a project related to No Direction Home and got to read all the interview transcripts (except Bob's!) before it was released.

“I remember the Roy Silver interview and I doubt they would have gone to the trouble of transcribing all the retakes and asides if it were staged. The guy did sound like a character, so I'm not surprised some think he's an actor.

“Another thing I remember about the interviews was that most of them were rough and broke down when they had to change film or something needed rephrasing.

“Except for Greil Marcus. His interview read like one of his essays with not one word out of place. The only time he stopped was when he asked if the skateboarding kids outside were making too much noise.”

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(8 May): The Roy Silver interview DVD

Watching the Roy Silver interview on DVD, one of the bonus discs in Together Through Life, I thought at first it was a spoof.

Never having heard of Silver and conscious of the hammy presentation style (Groucho Marx?), it seemed like a well-executed Dylan put-on.

My suspicions were strengthened when a check of the Trager and Gray encyclopedias failed to turn up Silver. Ditto Heylin’s bio, Behind The Shades Take 2.

But then I found him in a biography I’ve rather neglected – Howard
Sounes’ Down the Highway: the life of Bob Dylan (Black Swan, 2002, paper, 624pp). Sounes documents in some detail Silver’s early association with Dylan in the Village, before he was signed by Albert Grossman.

Bravo, Howard Sounes. I’ll have to read him rather more carefully.

And I’ll have to watch the Roy Silver DVD again – but as a factual interview this time, not an elaborate joke.

Gerry Smith

Euro Tour 2009: final thoughts

2009-05-19T22:30:00.000+01:00

Thanks to Gerald Bamford:

“Bob has been here and gone once more at a time when his stock is as high as it has ever been what with his new album at the highest reaches of the album charts both sides of the pond and all manner of media programmes dedicated to all aspects of his unbelievable career. Must be the end game.

“One thing is for certain: Bob is still the spokesman for our generation gently leading us to understand what it feels like to be getting old.

“But not infirm - the energy needed to sustain a tour of recent proportions must be enormous, so all power to Bob.

“I like to organise my part in the tour by selecting shows where I think my wife might like to visit, so we went off to Tuscany and Florence in particular where Bob and the band played in the Nelson Mandela Forum - which did Bob no favours since the sound, at least where we were seated to the left of the stage, was atrocious - hurtful to my ears at times.

“The acoustic songs were much easier to listen to so these were the highlights of a frustrating experience.

“The sound at the O2 was very much better and even though the set list was strangely similar to Florence and the huge arena makes for a dislocated feel, I really enjoyed the concert sitting in the infamous Block 101.

“So we went to Scotland and, even though we stayed in Glasgow, went only to the Edinburgh Playhouse, which is a fine Victorian theatre at the end of Prince's Street and one of those more intimate venues that Bob seems to like to fit in.

“Of course this was the highlight for me, setting me in mind of the two fantastic shows at the Portsmouth Guildhall in 2000 and a wonderful show in Oporto some years back, also in a small theatre.

“Song tour highlights for me were:

Hollis Brown - Florence and O2
'Till I fell in Love with You - O2
Return To Me - Fl (just a jester's gesture)
Working Man's Blues #2 - Florence & O2
Just Like A Woman - Edinburgh (actually most of Edinburgh from Pill Box Hat onwards)

“Strange how we view and assess the shows - our enjoyment depending on so many external and internal factors (as Leonard Cohen said about the financial and geographical inconvenience of attending his concert at the O2, or simply what we had for lunch having some effect on mood), and our built-in desire to criticise having come out so far with so many expectations.

“Let's hope that familiarity does not breed a degree of contempt, since Bob seems very happy with his current band and sound. I guess most of us were hoping for at least a song from Together Through Life but he saved that for Dublin - the luck of the Irish indeed.

“Still, all things being equal, Bob will be back touting his wares once again in a town near us very soon.

“It's all good!”