Another Side of Bob Dylan The Freewheeling Bob Dylan Bringing it all back home Blood On the tracks Street Legal (A lot of people wouldn't agree with me there) Time Out of Mind
Brought up on Dylan by my dad, he came in around 1974 so Blood on the Tracks was his first new Dylan album. As a result I ended up hearing BOTT and Desire before ever hearing the great 60s albums, which my dad bought post 1977. Remember going to WH Smith’s in Orpington to get Street Legal with him the day it came out. He had just been to Earls Court to see Dylan live. We first heard Basement Tapes and Bringing it all back home in 1978 and then got Slow Train, Budokan, Saved and Shot of Love when they came out. I first got to see Dylan live with my dad at Earls Court in 1981.
Some great albums and some missed opportunities for greatness by missing off superior tracks on the eventual releases - including Trouble instead of Angelina and Groom Still Waiting on Shot of Love; Blind Willie Mctell left off Infidels. Luckily all those gems were finally made available on the Bootleg Series of albums starting in 1991.
Got a real soft spot for the two acoustic covers albums Good as I Been To You and World Gone Wrong and have been a fanatical convert to the wonderful Under The Red Sky.
Saw Dylan live again in 1993 (Hammy O), 1995 (Brixton Academy) and 2002 (NEC).
Favourite albums would be:
Blonde on Blonde John Wesley Harding Planet Waves Hard Rain Street Legal Oh Mercy Under the Red Sky World Gone Wrong Time out of Mind
Closely followed by:
Freewheelin Times they are Bringing it Highway 61 Blood on the tracks Desire Saved Shot of Love Good as I been to you
With the supposed forecast I think it would be rather apt to play a compilation of the following Dylan tracks:
Idiot Wind Hurricane Shelter From The Storm Buckets of Rain Blowin' In The Wind A Hard Rains Gonna Fall Rainy Day Women When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky Thunder On The Mountain Tempest
I can give you a list of my 5 favourites, but in what order I ask myself? How to choose between an album containing Tangled up in Blue and Idiot Wind against one containing Like a Rolling Stone; Ballad of a Thin Man and Desolation Row? Well I guess that Highway 61 was a pretty sensational statement in 1965 ffs ( 'bout the same month as the Stones lyrically primitive Out of our Heads and The Beatles emerging awareness on Help). Whereas Blood on the tracks is arguably by comparison more of an affirmation of his genius than the former's "culturally significant event" status. Anyway, my 5 choices:- Blood on the Tracks Highway 61 Revisited Desire Bringing it all back home Planet Waves
The early ones where he brings a freshness to trad folk songs are his best IMO. Once he turned Judas, he was just another songwriter with a bad voice....
The early ones where he brings a freshness to trad folk songs are his best IMO. Once he turned Judas, he was just another songwriter with a bad voice....
I feel completely the opposite. I was undoubtedly too young to fully appreciate Dylan when he first emerged. - though I was aware of how cool he seemed and how sophisticated and powerful his words were. However, even now, 25 verses each suffixed with a harmonica trill doesn't do it for me. In fact it reminds me of "enlightened" English teachers or Art teachers at school, with cheap acoustic guitars, cheap clothes, beards and skid-marks, belting out Blowin'in the Wind or Gates of Eden
The early ones where he brings a freshness to trad folk songs are his best IMO. Once he turned Judas, he was just another songwriter with a bad voice....
The "cool" album to pick would have been live at the Albert Hall 1966
The early ones where he brings a freshness to trad folk songs are his best IMO. Once he turned Judas, he was just another songwriter with a bad voice....
If ever there was an artist who had a bad voice it was certainly him.....but it never mattered for one moment, because it was all about the delivery, which was unquestionably superb. Such a huge talent, possibly as a composer/poet the greatest of the 20th Century. I much preferred his earlier stuff by the way.
The early ones where he brings a freshness to trad folk songs are his best IMO. Once he turned Judas, he was just another songwriter with a bad voice....
I feel completely the opposite. I was undoubtedly too young to fully appreciate Dylan when he first emerged. - though I was aware of how cool he seemed and how sophisticated and powerful his words were. However, even now, 25 verses each suffixed with a harmonica trill doesn't do it for me. In fact it reminds me of "enlightened" English teachers or Art teachers at school, with cheap acoustic guitars, cheap clothes, beards and skid-marks, belting out Blowin'in the Wind or Gates of Eden
So much opinion and we willl never agree. We all differ. There is no doubt that Dylan was influencial, important, and divided opinion (even in 66). A great, great artist.
The early ones where he brings a freshness to trad folk songs are his best IMO. Once he turned Judas, he was just another songwriter with a bad voice....
I feel completely the opposite. I was undoubtedly too young to fully appreciate Dylan when he first emerged. - though I was aware of how cool he seemed and how sophisticated and powerful his words were. However, even now, 25 verses each suffixed with a harmonica trill doesn't do it for me. In fact it reminds me of "enlightened" English teachers or Art teachers at school, with cheap acoustic guitars, cheap clothes, beards and skid-marks, belting out Blowin'in the Wind or Gates of Eden
Think my favourites are: bringing it all back home (I just love “Bob Dylan’s 115th dream and Love minus zero), Infidels and Blood On The Tracks. If live albums count then “At Budokan” has to be in there.
Think my favourites are: bringing it all back home (I just love “Bob Dylan’s 115th dream and Love minus zero), Infidels and Blood On The Tracks. If live albums count then “At Budokan” has to be in there.
Talking 115th dream; not enough is made of Dylan's humour (115th even has a punch line)
Comments
Then it’s a little group
Desire
Blonde on Blonde
Highway 61 Revisited
The Freewheeling Bob Dylan
Bringing it all back home
Blood On the tracks
Street Legal (A lot of people wouldn't agree with me there)
Time Out of Mind
Blood on the tracks
Highway 61 revisited
Desire
God what a list ...
Blood On The Tracks is my favourite and another album not mention yet.
John Wesley Harding would be in my top 5
Blood on the Tracks is my all time number one album by anyone.
I would go with John Wesley Harding and the Basement Tapes, partly as I'm a huge fan of the Band.
Some great albums and some missed opportunities for greatness by missing off superior tracks on the eventual releases - including Trouble instead of Angelina and Groom Still Waiting on Shot of Love; Blind Willie Mctell left off Infidels. Luckily all those gems were finally made available on the Bootleg Series of albums starting in 1991.
Got a real soft spot for the two acoustic covers albums Good as I Been To You and World Gone Wrong and have been a fanatical convert to the wonderful Under The Red Sky.
Saw Dylan live again in 1993 (Hammy O), 1995 (Brixton Academy) and 2002 (NEC).
Favourite albums would be:
Blonde on Blonde
John Wesley Harding
Planet Waves
Hard Rain
Street Legal
Oh Mercy
Under the Red Sky
World Gone Wrong
Time out of Mind
Closely followed by:
Freewheelin
Times they are
Bringing it
Highway 61
Blood on the tracks
Desire
Saved
Shot of Love
Good as I been to you
Idiot Wind
Hurricane
Shelter From The Storm
Buckets of Rain
Blowin' In The Wind
A Hard Rains Gonna Fall
Rainy Day Women
When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky
Thunder On The Mountain
Tempest
How to choose between an album containing Tangled up in Blue and Idiot Wind against one containing Like a Rolling Stone; Ballad of a Thin Man and Desolation Row?
Well I guess that Highway 61 was a pretty sensational statement in 1965 ffs ( 'bout the same month as the Stones lyrically primitive Out of our Heads and The Beatles emerging awareness on Help).
Whereas Blood on the tracks is arguably by comparison more of an affirmation of his genius than the former's "culturally significant event" status.
Anyway, my 5 choices:-
Blood on the Tracks
Highway 61 Revisited
Desire
Bringing it all back home
Planet Waves
I was undoubtedly too young to fully appreciate Dylan when he first emerged. - though I was aware of how cool he seemed and how sophisticated and powerful his words were.
However, even now, 25 verses each suffixed with a harmonica trill doesn't do it for me.
In fact it reminds me of "enlightened" English teachers or Art teachers at school, with cheap acoustic guitars, cheap clothes, beards and skid-marks, belting out Blowin'in the Wind or Gates of Eden
Such a huge talent, possibly as a composer/poet the greatest of the 20th Century.
I much preferred his earlier stuff by the way.
Loved the Band, the Last Waltz there farewell concert, for me the best concert movie ever made.
the Bootlegged live 1964 album at the Philharmonic Hall which incorporates alot of those early records is for me my favourite.