I also wondered why people didn’t like his voice. To me, it was other-worldly and transportative. I’d never heard anyone sell a song like Dylan in a more unique way. It spoke to me a lot more than C&C Music Factory, who were having their moment in the sun at the time. I know because I used to cringe at every party I was at in high school when it came on.
In 1989, I read Anthony Scaduto’s Bob Dylan: An Intimate Biography, which was originally published in 1971. I became obsessed, but not so much with the man, but the music.
Favor for Dylan started warming up as 1989′s Oh Mercy album was released to critical acclaim and the Biograph box set soon followed. Though certainly not the treasure trove for Dylan diehards, Biograph was an amazing step for me away from Dylan ‘beginner’ to Dylan ‘intermediate.’ I have Dan Brookbank and blank cassettes to thank for that. Biograph opened my eyes up to the lesser-know (or lesser-respected) eras of Dylan’s career and turned me onto little gems like ‘Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window’ and ‘Abandoned Love.’ And I loved Biograph‘s odd contrasts of songs like ‘Every Grain of Sand’ and ‘Quinn the Eskimo’ sitting right next to each other on the cassettes. Or ‘Positively 4th Street’ followed by a live ‘Isis.’ Beautiful.
I started college and Dylan released the Oh Mercy follow-up album, Under the Red Sky to very lukewarm reviews and Dylan seemed to be forgotten about all over again. Again, Dylan wasn’t living up to what people wanted him to be. But I listened to the shit out of that album in ’91 and ’92, unconcerned with what social merit and poetic import it was ‘supposed’ to have. Again, I was the only one of my peers listening to Bob Dylan…well, except for Al Berger at Ohio State.
Ask somebody about Bob Dylan in the 90′s and a good percentage would wonder ‘oh, is he still alive?’ During those 90′s I discovered it all. And I saw Dylan in small theaters and state fairs. I saw shows where he was chatty and having a blast on stage and I saw shows where he came out, played the songs, and left the stage. But I was always in awe.
The first Bootleg Series release came out in ’91, which was utterly amazing and just furthered my obsession with the many sides of Dylan’s music. The two solo acoustic albums (Good As I Been to You, World Gone Wrong) also came out in the 90′s and I was the only one I knew that had them or even heard of them. I do remember them both being well-reviewed in Rolling Stone, but then again, that doesn’t really mean anything.
Then ’97 came along.
Dylan emerged from the studio under the co-production of Daniel Lanois, who had produced Oh Mercy back in the late 80′s. The album was Time Out of Mind and it was Dylan’s first album of original material since the critically and commercially-panned Under the Red Sky in 1990. It captured Dylan’s new ‘vibe’ and was the start of his big comeback. It was then that everyone caught up to me…people my age and people younger than me finally ‘got’ Dylan…and his voice.
I’m all the more happy to know that I was on the journey before it was a tourist attraction, ya know? Yes, I’m being douchey and taking credit for liking Dylan before it was cool. And though there are hardly any more record shops, people seem to understand now that Bob Dylan doesn’t belong in the ‘folk’ section.
Happy 70th, Bob!
High there, Bee-yawnders…
Halloween is fast-approaching, so I’m gonna dig out some great creepy jams for you this Thursday at noon eastern on my BBiB show. So what’s the best version of ‘Season of the Witch’ anyway?! I definitely have a contender…
I also will have some great tunes from vinyl that I just scored at the Record Fair on Sunday. Here’s a sneak peek…
AND, thanks to our good friends at Sundazed Records, I’ll also be playing some tunes off of Bob Dylan’s Self Portrait album, which Sundazed just released on vinyl on Tuesday. Bob has always put on a lot of different musical masks over his 45+ year career, and this album has always been one of his most baffling. But as a listener who loves variety, I’ve always dug this double album filled with oddities. Let’s listen to some of the best from it…along with some Halloweeny-style jams, and brand-new old vinyl…on Beyond Beyond is Beyond on East Village Radio on Thursday at noon eastern. Be there and be scared!
All right, you’s guys, I’ve got opinions about albums and since everybody likes to show off their super-important and highly-refined musical tastes by way of year-end lists, I’ve decided to join everyone…like a sheep to slaughter. I’m gonna have some oldies which I’ve just been turned onto in 2008 sprinkled in there too, so please don’t be alarmed that I don’t only listen to new music. In fact, it’s not healthy to only listen to new music.
After mine, you have to show me yours though…as creepy as that sounds. So start thinking about everything you heard in this last great year of our unruly despot’s reign, and be ready to list ‘em by the time you finish looking at mine.
In no particular order…
Frances – All The WhileOkay, yes, they are friends but this album is truly original and stands out in a sea of indie-rock music that is becoming more and more boring. Hooks abound, beautiful harmonies, and amazing arrangements…all with a good sense of humor too.
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MGMT – Oracular SpectacularHere’s an album I was all over when I got an advance copy. It’s totally trippy and neo-psychedelic and totally up my alley. Here’s me singing it’s praises last January…lalala. The backlash is already present but isn’t it always there for bands who get any kind of recognition for actually being good?! They sounded great at a super-packed McCarren Park Pool this past summer too! I look forward to a second album from these cats.
Black Mountain – In The Future
Here’s another one that I got an advance of and I picked it for my year-end list last year even though it came out in 2008. Trippy , heavy, ter’riff’ic! These guys have a great loud live show too. On the album, “Wucan” will hypnotize you…and live, “Wucan” will bewitch your skull. You’ve been warned!
*Picture courtesy of Lee Greenfeld of Dead Flowers Productions
We had a great time seeing the Master in a packed Prospect Park last night. My only complaint is that the level wasn’t loud enough on the lawn, and I believe that’s due to Park Slope noise ordinances. Umm, don’t you think they could make an exception when Bob Dylan’s in town! C’mon!! Lawn tickets weren’t exactly cheap.
Anyway, Bob gave us a great set and here’s the list, also courtesy of Lee Greenfeld. I pretty much just jacked his whole Myspace blog post. Thanks, Lee!
bob dylan, 8/12/08
prospect park bandshell
brooklyn, u.s.a.
set-list:
1. rainy day women 12 & 35
2. lay, lady, lay
3. lonesome day blues
4. girl of the north country
5. the levee’s gonna break
6. spirit on the water
7. honest with me
8. john brown (!!!)
9. highway 61 revisited
10. beyond the horizon
11. it’s alright, ma (i’m only bleeding)
12. nettie moore
13. summer days
14. masters of war
15. like a rolling stone (encore)
16. thunder on the mountain (encore)
17. blowin’ in the wind (encore)
What was Bob Dylan’s first book called?
Wow! Dylan isn’t one to talk much about anything, much less politics…at least since the early-60s when he unwillingly became the ‘voice of his generation’…and completely sabotaged it by the mid-60s. Well, Dylan had a lot of good things to say about Democratic Presidential nominee, Barack Obama, when he spoke to the London Times recently. Here’s how it went:
“Poverty is demoralising. You can’t expect people to have the virtue of purity when they are poor. But we’ve got this guy out there now who is redefining the nature of politics from the ground up…Barack Obama. He’s redefining what a politician is, so we’ll have to see how things play out. Am I hopeful? Yes, I’m hopeful that things might change. Some things are going to have to.”
My thoughts exactly, Bob!
Thanks to Lee for reminding me. As Lee says…”A holdiday in my world.” Mine too!
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-rn9z5viG30&hl=en]
Well, let’s start with something truly cool and original that I am just currently listening to for the first time and currently digging. These guys called We’re Late For Class make drug-induced stoner imprahv jahms and give them away for free on their blog. They just compiled this collection of their ‘best’ jams and you’ll definitely dig it if you’re into trippy, jammy stuff (i.e.- the first track is the Faust classic “It’s A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl”…and I say, what a great choice!) And how cool is that album art?!
Anyway, I bet you these guys never thought they’d be included in a same post with the likes of the Beatles, Pink Floyd, Bob Dylan, Thin Lizzy, and Conan O’ Brien! If you ask me, their shit is worthy. Go get it…and don’t feel guilty about it…
And MUSICNEWS brings you a deluxe Sgt. Pepper’s 6-CD bootleg of tasty outtakes and commentary…Get it!
Need more Classic-ness? Your wish is Recessed Filter‘s command…the Alternate Blood On the Tracks takes, known as the New York Sessions. Wow!
