Getting into an artist, especially an established one, is no easy task. There's often a daunting amount of material to sift through, along with the possibility of being called a bandwagon jumper. With this feature, I'll try to introduce you to the best aspects of an artist, with the hope that you'll hear something you like.
1. Like a Rolling Stone (Highway 61 Revisited) As I've written previously, "'Like a Rolling Stone' is probably Dylan's crowning achievement, the sort of song you instantly recognize even if you think you've never heard it before." It's a six-minute "I told you so", as Dylan excoriates a unwitting debutante after her fall from grace. Yes, there would seem to be a sense of smugness, of misogynist satisfaction in the singer's voice, but it's really more about a generation coming to terms with its bourgeoisie dreams being shattered by reality. Oh, and the guitar and keyboard work isn't half-bad either.
2. Maggie's Farm (Bringing it all Back Home) Like its musical twin on "Bringing it all Back Home", "Subterranean Homesick Blues", "Maggie's Farm" is dripping with social satire. It takes as its context a farm run by Maggie and her megalomaniac next of kin:
I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more. No, I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more. Well, I wake in the morning, Fold my hands and pray for rain. I got a head full of ideas That are drivin' me insane. It's a shame the way she makes me scrub the floor. I ain't gonna work on Maggie's farm no more...
I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more. No, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more. Well, he puts his cigar Out in your face just for kicks. His bedroom window It is made out of bricks. The National Guard stands around his door. Ah, I ain't gonna work for Maggie's pa no more.
An early electric version of the song ruffled feathers at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965:
3. Mama, You've Been on my Mind (Bootleg Series #2) This simple folk song, left off of "Another Side of Bob Dylan" at the last minute, is, for my money, Dylan's finest romantic moment. The sense of longing, of unrequited love, is simply unmatched. That being said, it's all filtered through that trademark Dylan cool and unwillingness to show vulnerability:
Perhaps it's the color of the sun cut flat An' cov'rin' the crossroads I'm standing at, Or maybe it's the weather or something like that, But mama, you been on my mind.
I don't mean trouble, please don't put me down or get upset, I am not pleadin' or sayin', "I can't forget." I do not walk the floor bowed down an' bent, but yet, Mama, you been on my mind.
Even though my mind is hazy an' my thoughts they might be narrow, Where you been don't bother me nor bring me down in sorrow. It don't even matter to me where you're wakin' up tomorrow, But mama, you're just on my mind.
In a soldier's stance, I aimed my hand At the mongrel dogs who teach Fearing not that I'd become my enemy In the instant that I preach My pathway led by confusion boats Mutiny from stern to bow. Ah, but I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now.
5. Masters of War (The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan) Dylan's most succinct indictment of the military-industrial complex and the ideologues in government that rationalize and drive it: one would have to be blind to not see the parallels between this song and current events:
Come you masters of war You that build all the guns You that build the death planes You that build the big bombs You that hide behind walls You that hide behind desks I just want you to know I can see through your masks
You that never done nothin' But build to destroy You play with my world Like it's your little toy You put a gun in my hand And you hide from my eyes And you turn and run farther When the fast bullets fly..
You fasten the triggers For the others to fire Then you set back and watch When the death count gets higher You hide in your mansion As young people's blood Flows out of their bodies And is buried in the mud
6. Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands (Blonde on Blonde) This eleven-minute epic is the perfect summation of the fantastic "Blonde on Blonde". It's a sprawling, hypnotic piece that Dylan composed to win the heart of Sara Lownds (the song's title is a play on her name). According to accounts of those in the studio at the time, Dylan gave very rudimentary instructions and then began playing. At several points in the song, you can actually hear the band play as if they believe the song is coming to its conclusion, yet Dylan just keeps singing, verse after eloquent verse:
The kings of Tyrus with their convict list Are waiting in line for their geranium kiss, And you wouldn't know it would happen like this, But who among them really wants just to kiss you? With your childhood flames on your midnight rug, And your Spanish manners and your mother's drugs, And your cowboy mouth and your curfew plugs, Who among them do you think could resist you? Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands, Where the sad-eyed prophet says that no man comes, My warehouse eyes, my Arabian drums, Should I leave them by your gate, Or, sad-eyed lady, should I wait?
Influence Note: Thom Yorke has cited this as one of his favorite songs.
7. Love Minus Zero/No Limit (Bringing it All Back Home) Easily one of the most tender moments of Dylan's middle period, yet "Love Minus Zero" never seems to get the attention it deserves. This song would lay the groundwork for many an indie ballad in the years to come: the music is a sort of breezy jingle-jangle; the lilting, circular melody is never interrupted by something so trivial as a chorus. The essence of folk rock, in other words.
8. Bob Dylan's 115th Dream (Bringing it All Back Home) Beginning with a false start and a (rare) crack-up from Dylan, this almost seven-minute absurdist fantasy is a light-hearted counterpoint to some of the heavier songs on "Bringing it all Back Home". After landing in America on the "Mayflower", the narrator gets into trouble:
Well, I rapped upon a house With the U.S. flag upon display I said, "Could you help me out I got some friends down the way" The man says, "Get out of here I'll tear you limb from limb" I said, "You know they refused Jesus, too" He said, "You're not Him"
9. If You See Her, Say Hello (Outtake Version) Although it will probably get me kicked out of the Bob Dylan fan club, I'll say that I can't stand "Blood on the Tracks", primarily for its production. A ghastly studio sheen obscures what are otherwise powerful songs. Fortunately, we have outtakes like this acoustic version of "If You See Her, Say Hello". Dylan, with more heartbreak and disappointment behind him, revisits the sentiments of "Mama You've Been on my Mind" with a tangible sense of pain in his voice:
I see a lot of people as I make the rounds And I hear her name here and there as I go from town to town And I've never gotten used to it, I've just learned to turn it off Either I'm too sensitive or else I'm gettin' soft.
10. Ballad of a Thin Man (Highway 61 Visited) A slow, lurching blues, "Thin Man" was probably Dylan's darkest recording up to that point. An act of metaphorical character assassination, not unlike "Rolling Stone", would seem to be the objective here: "Because something is happening here...But you don't know what it is...Do you, Mister Jones?"
"I Shall Be Released" was recorded September 6, 1992 with Barry Reynolds, Chris Cunningham, Michelle Kinney, Jeff Gordon in studio, Jeff Buckley vocal via telephone from Irwin Chusid's home in Hoboken, NJ. The impromptu performance was broadcasted on Nick Hill's "Music Faucet show" on WFMU 91.1 FM - East Orange, NJ.
A new exhibition by photographer Elliott Landy shows Dylan as he's never been seen before - a contented family man, relaxing, composing, and leaping through the air. My 60s - A Personal View by Elliott Landy is at the Exposure Gallery, 22-23 Little Portland Street, London W1 (020 7907 7130) until May 11
By the time of his death (by drowning) in 1997, singer-songwriter Jeff Buckley had released just one full-length studio album, 1994's astonishing Grace. But in the decade since then, seemingly unquenchable interest in his soaring folk-rock and evocative lyrics has led to several posthumous records — compiling everything from unfinished demo tracks to remixes to live performances. The latest from the Buckley audio archives: a never-before-released 1993 clip of Buckley at a poetry event, reading an apology letter he wrote to his idol Bob Dylan.
The reading is included on a CD accompanying the new book The Spoken Word Revolution Redux (out April 17 from Sourcebooks Inc.). In it, Buckley begs Dylan's forgiveness for having imitated him on stage once during a show. Though the imitation was meant to flatter, Buckley worries in his apology letter that he has offended his hero, who had championed his budding career: ''I have no way of knowing how my words were translated to you... It wasn't funny at all. And I f---ed up,'' he says.
This is a book about a song. A very important song, yes, but does it really merit its own treatment? Absolutely. "Like a Rolling Stone" is probably Dylan's crowning achievement, the sort of song you instantly recognize even if you think you've never heard it before. It is, according to the interpretation you accept, either about a debutante's fall from grace or someone realizing they're truly free for the first time.
Greil leads us through the song's conception in the studio. It began as a waltz; the take we hear on the final recording was a happy accident that the band could not reproduce. Al Kooper's defining organ part wasn't even supposed to be there: he snuck back into the studio after being pulled off lead guitar.
Once recorded, the song almost fell prey to the "experts" at Columbia records, who believed it was too long for radio. As a compromise, Columbia released a promo record that had one half of the song on each side. Attentive listeners realized the fade midway through the song was unnatural and began requesting the song in its six-minute glory. An artistic and commercial tidal wave followed, and it forced The Beatles and The Stones to raise their games.
The A.D.D. approach to Dylan's history (reversing to his first appearance at the Newport Folk Festival, fastfowarding to "Blood on the Tracks") would be confusing and unreadable in the hands of a lesser writer. As it stands, Marcus uses this technique to capture the dizzying excitement of the song and its effect on popular culture.
This is probably the best book about music I've read in years, so I can heartily recommend it.
Is this beginning of yet another, albeit unorthodox, celebrity spat? Responding to rumours, circulating from as far back as 2004, that Bob Dylan wishes to appear as a judge on American Idol, Simon Cowell has revealed to the world that Dylan "bores him to tears".
Not content with just one insult, the high-waisted one went on to say: "I've got to tell you, if I had 10 Dylans in the final of American Idol, we would not be getting 30 million viewers a week. I don't believe the Bob Dylans of this world would make American Idol a better show."
Perhaps it's the color of the sun cut flat An' cov'rin' the crossroads I'm standing at, Or maybe it's the weather or something like that, But mama, you been on my mind.
I don't mean trouble, please don't put me down or get upset, I am not pleadin' or sayin', "I can't forget." I do not walk the floor bowed down an' bent, but yet, Mama, you been on my mind.
Even though my mind is hazy an' my thoughts they might be narrow, Where you been don't bother me nor bring me down in sorrow. It don't even matter to me where you're wakin' up tomorrow, But mama, you're just on my mind.
I am not askin' you to say words like "yes" or "no," Please understand me, I got no place for you t' go. I'm just breathin' to myself, pretendin' not that I don't know, Mama, you been on my mind.
When you wake up in the mornin', baby, look inside your mirror. You know I won't be next to you, you know I won't be near. I'd just be curious to know if you can see yourself as clear As someone who has had you on his mind.
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All written material Copyright 2006-2008 Mike Kegler, unless otherwise noted.
The Story Behind This Performance:
