[MUSIC]Bob Dylan

Dylan went to **** when he pick up that electric guitar!
He played acoustic and harmonica, he mumbled when he sang, and that's the way we liked liked it!

 

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right is one of my favorite all time songs.

Blood on the Tracks, Blonde on Blonde and the Freewheelin' Bob Dylan are always in my rotation

 

New Morning , Nashville Skyline, and John Wesley Harding are my three favorite Dylan albums when I am not choosing Blond on Blond, Blood On The Tracks, or any of the Bootleg Series, specifically Volume 4: Live in 1966

 

Have you spent much time with Planet Waves? You might dig that too. It's right in that same era (post-Blonde on Blonde/pre-Blood On The Tracks) and it's my favorite of all four. It's also the only studio album where he's backed entirely by The Band.

 

it's almost time to throw his christmas album on.

 

Slow Train Coming is much better Christian music.

 

I have everything from Bob Dylan to Slow Train Coming. No one can surpass him in songwriting, period. There have been some contenders, including Springsteen, Costello, Stipe, Townshend, and a few others, but he's still the king of lyrics. Highway 61 Revisited deserves to be in the top 5 of all time- not just lyrically, but musically. His voice doesn't bother me too much- then again, I like Dire Straits and Velvet Underground, two groups who you're definitely not listening to for vocals. His lyric writing, to me, supercedes any negatives about his voice or creativity in song structures. I would rank my favorite Dylans (yes, only through the early 80s, so not comprehensive, but I think his best work was truly up through Street Legal) like this:

1. Highway 61 Revisited
2. Bringing It All Back Home
3. Blonde on Blonde
4. John Wesley Harding
5. Freewheeling Bob Dylan
6. Desire
7. Blood on the Tracks
8. Another Side of Bob Dylan
9. Times they are a Changin
10. Planet Waves
11. Basement Tapes
12. Nashville Skyline
13. Pat Garrett...
14. New Morning
15. Street Legal
16. Bob Dylan

That's just off the top of my head. Most people wouldn't rank Blood that low, but it's just a personal thing- just never thought it cracked the top 5, and I do prefer Desire- to me, Hurricane is the best song on any of those 2 CDs.

 

The crowning achievement of Mr. Dylan lyrically, in my book:

DESOLATION ROW

They’re selling postcards of the hanging
They’re painting the passports brown
The beauty parlor is filled with sailors
The circus is in town
Here comes the blind commissioner
They’ve got him in a trance
One hand is tied to the tight-rope walker
The other is in his pants
And the riot squad they’re restless
They need somewhere to go
As Lady and I look out tonight
From Desolation Row

Cinderella, she seems so easy
“It takes one to know one,” she smiles
And puts her hands in her back pockets
Bette Davis style
And in comes Romeo, he’s moaning
“You Belong to Me I Believe”
And someone says, “You’re in the wrong place my friend
You better leave”
And the only sound that’s left
After the ambulances go
Is Cinderella sweeping up
On Desolation Row

Now the moon is almost hidden
The stars are beginning to hide
The fortune-telling lady
Has even taken all her things inside
All except for Cain and Abel
And the hunchback of Notre Dame
Everybody is making love
Or else expecting rain
And the Good Samaritan, he’s dressing
He’s getting ready for the show
He’s going to the carnival tonight
On Desolation Row

Now Ophelia, she’s ’neath the window
For her I feel so afraid
On her twenty-second birthday
She already is an old maid
To her, death is quite romantic
She wears an iron vest
Her profession’s her religion
Her sin is her lifelessness
And though her eyes are fixed upon
Noah’s great rainbow
She spends her time peeking
Into Desolation Row

Einstein, disguised as Robin Hood
With his memories in a trunk
Passed this way an hour ago
With his friend, a jealous monk
He looked so immaculately frightful
As he bummed a cigarette
Then he went off sniffing drainpipes
And reciting the alphabet
Now you would not think to look at him
But he was famous long ago
For playing the electric violin
On Desolation Row

Dr. Filth, he keeps his world
Inside of a leather cup
But all his sexless patients
They’re trying to blow it up
Now his nurse, some local loser
She’s in charge of the cyanide hole
And she also keeps the cards that read
“Have Mercy on His Soul”
They all play on pennywhistles
You can hear them blow
If you lean your head out far enough
From Desolation Row

Across the street they’ve nailed the curtains
They’re getting ready for the feast
The Phantom of the Opera
A perfect image of a priest
They’re spoonfeeding Casanova
To get him to feel more assured
Then they’ll kill him with self-confidence
After poisoning him with words
And the Phantom’s shouting to skinny girls
“Get Outa Here If You Don’t Know
Casanova is just being punished for going
To Desolation Row”

Now at midnight all the agents
And the superhuman crew
Come out and round up everyone
That knows more than they do
Then they bring them to the factory
Where the heart-attack machine
Is strapped across their shoulders
And then the kerosene
Is brought down from the castles
By insurance men who go
Check to see that nobody is escaping
To Desolation Row

Praise be to Nero’s Neptune
The Titanic sails at dawn
And everybody’s shouting
“Which Side Are You On?”
And Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot
Fighting in the captain’s tower
While calypso singers laugh at them
And fishermen hold flowers
Between the windows of the sea
Where lovely mermaids flow
And nobody has to think too much
About Desolation Row

Yes, I received your letter yesterday
(About the time the doorknob broke)
When you asked how I was doing
Was that some kind of joke?
All these people that you mention
Yes, I know them, they’re quite lame
I had to rearrange their faces
And give them all another name
Right now I can’t read too good
Don’t send me no more letters, no
Not unless you mail them
From Desolation Row

 

In my opinion his voice was just as much a part of his initial success as his lyrics. I shudder to think what Rock and Roll would be like without Highway 61
Revisted.

 

"Play ****ing loud!"

 

I haven't, actually. I was just researching both versions of Forever Young and The Wedding Song for possible wedding playlists and realized I probably should dive in to Planet Waves pretty soon.

my band performed a slower version of Forever Young at a church ceremony for a baptism, and we went with Joan Baez' version for my Son/Mother dance.


oh, and how could I miss Desire on my list?

the violin of Scarlet Rivera and background vocals by Emmy Lou Harris.

that whole Rolling Thunder Revue phase in the mid 70's is what I gravitate to.

 

I'd rather listen to GnR's version of 'Knockin On Heaven's Door'. GnR are "meh" to me.

 

Bob Dylan's tinny "Bob Dylan" voice in his early career was that of a character- he in his youth was trying to be an aged folk singer...

 

Not a bad list. I do count "Dylan" just because I love it. Worth the price of admission for "Sarah Jane" and "Mary Ann" alone but the additions of "Mr. Bojangles" and "Big Yellow Taxi" make it priceless.

It's surprising to me that people tend to rank "Oh Mercy" so high. I have it pretty near the bottom. "Ring Them Bells," "Shooting Star" and especially "Most of the Time" are great but otherwise not so much. Definitely not enough to get into the top half.

Then again, I have "Empire Burlesque," "Street Legal" and "Self Portrait" in my top 20. And few Dylan fans or critics would agree with me there.

I love the song "Mississippi" and I like the whole "Love and Theft" album pretty well, but otherwise "Time Out of Mind" is the only post-Infidels album I think is a masterpiece. There are great songs on "Modern Times" too, especially "Nettie Moore," "Workingman's Blues #2" and "Spirit on the Water."

"Under the Red Sky" and "Saved" are the only ones I find utterly unlistenable. Of course, I never took the plastic wrap off the Christmas album.

 

I also rank a few of the live albums and all of the bootleg collections (and Biograph) very high.

"Before the Flood," the live album he split with The Band, is one of my top albums ever. Best "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," "Just Like a Woman," "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright" and "Like a Rolling Stone" ever. If I could go back in time and see any tour it would have been that 1974 Dylan/Band tour.

My second choice would be The Rolling Thunder Revue, just to hear that incredible version of "Isis" (included on Biograph) live.

"Real Live" is also special for the very different lyrics in "Tangled Up in Blue." And "Live at Budokan," though mostly pretty silly, has great alt lyrics for "Simple Twist of Fate."

But Biograph and Bootleg Series 1-3 should be in any conversation on his best albums as they include soooooo many great outtakes. I don't think there's ever been an artist who so commonly left so many the best songs from a session off the album.

 

Good lord:

http://consequenceofsound.net/2011/...m-chimes-of-freedom-reveals-insane-tracklist/

Bob Dylan tribute album Chimes of Freedom reveals insane tracklist
BY ALEX YOUNG ON NOVEMBER 23RD, 2011 IN GUEST HEAVY, NEWS


Last month we told you of an upcoming Bob Dylan tribute album being put together in celebration of Amnesty International’s 50th anniversary. At the time, My Morning Jacket, Adele, David Matthews Band, and Ke$ha were among the confirmed participants. Now, the set’s entire tracklist has been revealed, and Ke$ha’s cover of ”Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” is just the beginning of the insanity.

Spanning four discs and 72 tracks (!!!), Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International packages together new or previously unreleased Dylan covers from artist of all different genres and generations. Obvious highlights include covers of “You’re A Big Girl Now” by MMJ, “Outlaw Blues” by Queens of the Stone Age, ”Not Dark Yet” by Silversun Pickups, “Drifter’s Escape” by Patti Smith, and “Lay Down Your Weary Tune” by Billy Bragg.

Other notable contributors include The Who’s Pete Townshend (“Corrina, Corrina”), Sting (“Girl from the North Country”), Bryan Ferry (“Bob Dylan’s Dream”), The Gaslight Anthem (“Changing of the Guards”), Elvis Costello (“License to Kill”), Mark Knopfler (“Restless Farewell”), Sinéad O’Connor (“Property of Jesus”), Joan Baez (“Seven Curses (Live)”), Fistful Of Mercy (“Buckets Of Rain”), Bad Religion (“It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue”), Cage the Elephant (“The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll”), and Pete Seeger (“Forever Young”). Dylan himself contributes the album’s namesake.

And just because, Ms. “On Melancholy Hill” (aka Miley Cyrus) takes on “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go” and Maroon 5 tackles “ I Shall Be Released”. Also, Seal and Jeff Beck randomly team up for a reworking of “Like A Rolling Stone” and actress Evan Rachel Wood contributes her cover of “I’d Have You Anytime”.

The collection is scheduled for physical and digital release in North America on January 24th, 2012 via Fontana Distribution. It will then be distributed internationally through Fontana International on January 30th. All profits will go to benefit Amnesty International.

Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan Honoring 50 Years of Amnesty International Tracklist:
Disc 1
01. Raphael Saadiq – Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
02. Patti Smith – Drifter’s Escape
03. Rise Against – Ballad of Hollis Brown
04. Tom Morello The Nightwatchman – Blind Willie McTell
05. Pete Townshend – Corrina, Corrina
06. Bettye LaVette – Most of the Time
07. Charlie Winston – This Wheel’s On Fire
08. Diana Krall – Simple Twist of Fate
09. Brett Dennen – You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere
10. Mariachi El Bronx – Love Sick
11. Ziggy Marley – Blowin’ in the Wind
12. The Gaslight Anthem – Changing of the Guards
13. Silversun Pickups – Not Dark Yet
14. My Morning Jacket – You’re A Big Girl Now
15. The Airborne Toxic Event – Boots of Spanish Leather
16. Sting – Girl from the North Country
17. Mark Knopfler – Restless Farewell

Disc 2
01. Queens Of The Stone Age – Outlaw Blues
02. Lenny Kravitz – Rainy Day Woman # 12 & 35
03. Steve Earle & Lucia Micarelli – One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)
04. Blake Mills – Heart Of Mine
05. Miley Cyrus – You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
06. Billy Bragg – Lay Down Your Weary Tune
07. Elvis Costello – License to Kill
08. Angelique Kidjo – Lay, Lady, Lay
09. Natasha Bedingfield – Ring Them Bells
10. Jackson Browne – Love Minus Zero/No Limit
11. Joan Baez – Seven Curses (Live)
12. The Belle Brigade – No Time To Think
13. Sugarland – Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You (Live)
14. Jack’s Mannequin – Mr. Tambourine Man
15. Oren Lavie – 4th Time Around
16. Sussan Deyhim – All I Really Want To Do
17. Adele – Make You Feel My Love (Recorded Live at WXPN)

Disc 3
01. K’NAAN – With God On Our Side
02. Ximena Sariñana – I Want You
03. Neil Finn with Pajama Club – She Belongs to Me
04. Bryan Ferry – Bob Dylan’s Dream
05. Zee Avi – Tomorrow Is A Long Time
06. Carly Simon – Just Like a Woman
07. Flogging Molly – The Times They Are A-Changin’
08. Fistful Of Mercy – Buckets Of Rain
09. Joe Perry – Man Of Peace
10. Bad Religion – It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue
11. My Chemical Romance – Desolation Row (Live)
12. RedOne featuring Nabil Khayat – Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
13. Paul Rodgers & Nils Lofgren – Abandoned Love
14. Darren Criss featuring Chuck Criss and Freelance Whales – New Morning
15. Cage the Elephant – The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
16. Band of Skulls – It Ain’t Me, Babe
17. Sinéad O’Connor – Property of Jesus
18. Ed Roland and The Sweet Tea Project – Shelter From The Storm
19. Ke$ha – Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right
20. Kronos Quartet – Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right

Disc 4
01. Maroon 5 – I Shall Be Released
02. Carolina Chocolate Drops – Political World
03. Seal & Jeff Beck – Like A Rolling Stone
04. Taj Mahal – Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream
05. Dierks Bentley – Senor (Tales of Yankee Power) (Live)
06. Mick Hucknall – One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later)
07. Thea Gilmore – I’ll Remember You
08. State Radio – John Brown
09. Dave Matthews Band – All Along the Watchtower (Live)
10. Michael Franti – Subterranean Homesick Blues
11. We Are Augustines – Mama, You Been On My Mind
12. Lucinda Williams – Tryin’ To Get To Heaven
13. Kris Kristofferson – Quinn The Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
14. Eric Burdon – Gotta Serve Somebody
15. Evan Rachel Wood – I’d Have You Anytime
16. Marianne Faithfull – Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Live)
17. Pete Seeger – Forever Young
18. Bob Dylan – Chimes Of Freedom

 

Really looking forward to hearing Floggy Molly, Rise Against, My Chemical Romance, and Ke$ha humiliate themselves.