Old folk guy you should love putting his ballads out there reforming lyrical writing for what's to come. Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde both great albums.

Tired of people always hating on his voice. He didn't have the best voice but it worked. It's not about how your voice sounds on the surface, its about the feeling that is within. There are plenty of untalented people on America who have a voice that sounds better than Dylan's on the surface, but does that make them better singers? No. Individuality counts for something, and having a unique voice means a lot. And like I said, the emotion and the sincerity that you put into your music is what counts the most. And Dylan had a lot of that

"If a man does not keep pace with his companions, perhaps it is because he hears a different drummer. Let him step to the music which he hears, however measured or far away."

As for his voice, it couldn't sound, keeping in mind his voice progressed with the true persona of the ages, even slightly different to be as powerful.

Not to be an ASSumptive individual, or even place an opinion in the form of fact, but if ever a circumstance were to arise in which I feel so strongly justified in doing so, this would be it. Every, and I don't take the word lightly, musician, songwriter, even artist alike can be considered a swimmer. Each is using whatever stroke suits their liking, yet each are swimming in the same direction, however indirect, in even desperate attempts to get to the shore of an island on which the population, to this day, is 1. His name is Robert Zimmerman. The island is known as Truth. Be it True inspiration, True innovation, True to the times, or True art, I don't feel it is too bold to say Bob holds the deed to such descriptions.

It is what it is.

Fight through it man. As you can tell, lots of people wanna see me, including myself.

This video of Dylan performing Tangled Up In Blue during the Rolling Thunder tour of 1974 should put to rest any complaints that the man can't sing. Look at the intensity of his facial expressions & listen to the raw emotions he conveys with his singing.

Bob Dylan is one of the best musicians that has been around for some time. I love his music and wish more years of great music to make.

Def an idol...the lyrics, his own voice he found and style...and great great songs and songwriting !!

Nothing but respect. I don't listen to him that much, but one has to respect the guy.

What can I say ,what a fantastic thread, reading all theses posts just fantastic ,I have 45 dylan albums , my favourite is Blood on the tracks, followed by Blond on Blond, my all time favourite song is desolation row.

If John Lennon wasn't ever born then i think this guy would be the best songwriter who ever lived. Blowing in the wind is a master piece.

I am picking this up again. I was sixteen when I started it and nineteen when I quit. I kind of considered re-starting it...but it's already taken me six years and will probably just take more. I have way different opinions on these albums even looking back at them now but oh well. HERE'S TO FINISHING IT!

Oh Mercy (1988)
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...-_Oh_Mercy.jpg
This album when it was released was hailed as a comeback of sorts, hahahaha. Dylan had just released the Traveling Wilbury's Vol. 1. Hiring Joshua Tree producer, Daniel Lanois, who would later produce Time Out of Mind, they made this...thing.
"Poltical World" is a dumb ****ing song. It was the first one on this album I was familiar with. Musically it's not that bad, Dylan sounds alright, the percussion is excellent, it's just the lyrics are so stupid and when it comes to Dylan part of the appeal is in the well written song. Something about describing the world as "political" is just so self-evident that I cringe. "Ring them Bells" is overly sentimental crap.
The second side things start to pick up a bit. "Most of the Time" has been praised for it's atmosphere and production in critical reviews at the time and it's easy to see why. It does sound nice, but again, it sounds like grown up eighties cheese to me. "Disease of Conceit" was picked by Lou Reed at one of his favorite songs of 1989 leading me to believe 1989 was a miserable year for Lou Reed.
"Shooting Star" is marred by terrible production but it's a good song. Or maybe I was happy it was over.
"Favorite" Lyric: "Roses are red, violets are blue / And time is beginning to crawl / I just might have to come see you / Where teardrops fall"
"Favorite" Song: ?!?! j/k listen to Shooting Star, but the MTV unplugged version. It's like sort of a song on this album.

Political World was easily the coolest song on that album

To me, Dylan is like the *gourmet* macaroni and cheese of music... comforting, simply delightful to the senses, and a musical staple that appeals to so many pallets, not to mention it works well with just about any mood. Even my kids love him...

This song is one of his more popular ones but with good reason... It's almost impossible to harbor any negative emotions while it's playing; the lyrics are pure perfection IMHO, with the tune itself soothing and befitting without detracting from the poetic genius:

How do you accurately described ... is no other words

There's been a lot of talk about "Modern Day Bob Dylan"s and he seems to be the one who a lot of people compare most singer/songwriters to.

I would like to know who people on here think fits that title. Obviously no one will be as great, but who do you think comes close?

I'm biased because I grew up with his music but Simon Joyner has Dylan-esque traits among others in his songwriting repertoire. Here are some quotes about Simon from people much more credible than myself:

Never heard of him! And Oberst is one of the ones I've heard compared to Dylan (I really like Oberst but I don't think he's THAT good). I'll have to check Simon out. What era?

The songwriters I feel are close to Dylan are Adam Duritz, Gregory Alan Isakov and maybe Tallest Man on Earth but he's more an exact Dylan ripoff than the "next Dylan"

Simon's been making music for 25+ years now. A Generation X'er like myself. We're in our 40's now. He's considered the Godfather of the Omaha music scene which Oberst helped elevate in its current incarnation. Oberst has said in the past "without Simon Joyner, there would be no Conor Oberst." A cliché, I know, but they're dear friends as well.

I don't really delve into "the next Dylan" debate these days. I have more pressing needs going on in my life. :p: But there was a time when that was a fun debate to have, but I've since come to the conclusion that there is only one Dylan. But there is also only one Leonard Cohen, Townes Van Zandt, John Prine, Gram Parsons, Warren Zevon, Randy Newman, Brian Wilson, Stephin Merritt and the list goes on and on...

At the end of the day, I enjoy music from all of those mentioned above. Sure there are some similarities between a few of those guys, but there is also some unique differences that sets them apart from one another.

I'll have to check him out, I'm 25, so I guess millennial? Not too sure. Musically and soulfully I'm more a Gen-Xer. Oberst is great, but I haven't heard too much about the Omaha music scene. I don't follow music in the history sense, I just jump from station to station on pandora and when I find a new artist I listen to them for weeks on end and the cycle repeats haha.

Nothing wrong with that. Enjoy the journey. Lots of great music out there to discover. :)

Re-reading all of this is interesting. Not sure I totally hold all of the same opinions on certain albums, tho I think the general cu

Time Out of Mind (1997)
http://assets.rollingstone.com/asset...235cf4efb5.jpg

Dylan's Grammy Award winning, much acclaim return to fame, is pretty much all it's hyped to be. He returned to working with Daniel Lanois, who's produced U2, Brian Eno, Neil Young, The Last of the Mohicans soundtrack, and would go onto work with such motha****er ballers as Dashboard Confessional.
Anyway, I haven't written something like this in years so reviewing is weird. Nothing on the album is really surprising, it has some beautiful tender moments (Standing in the Doorway) and then some terrible tender moments (The Garth Brooks covered Make You Fee My Love.) It's all kinda the same Dylan roots music but unlike basically everything in the 80's it seems like he's actually trying.
I think my favorite moments on the album are the most traditional songs, such as Dirt Road Blues or Cold Irons Bound. Not Dark Yet is the standout for me though.
Favorite Lyric: "Every nerve in my body is so naked and numb / I can't even remember what it was I came here to get away from / Don't even hear the murmur of a prayer / It's not dark yet, but it's getting there"
Favorite Songs: Not Dark Yet, Highlands, Dirt Road Blues

^ Congrats on returning to the daunting task of going through Dylan's discography! I haven't read the entire thread yet - I'm up to "Another Side of Bob Dylan", which, as you suggest, is the closest thing to a "forgotten album" in Dylan's oeuvre. In fact it's a great album imo: some of the songs have a careless freshness about them that makes them more vivid than his overplayed classics of that period. To Ramona is a surprisingly touching song from Bob, but, to copy your own "favourite lyric" idea I would prob highlight:

Black crows in the meadow across the broad highway
But it's funny, honey, I'm out of touch and don't feel much
Like a scarecrow today.

I also read your reviews of some more recent albums. TBH, I find "Time Out of Mind" to be a bit too sombre to enjoy; I liked "Oh Mercy" more. Incidently, in your review of "Oh Mercy", you seem to've made a mistake:-
^ Surely this is a typo and you meant to write, "Ring Them Bells is one of the most profound and moving songs of his later career." Perhaps you should back and correct that post. ;)

Anyway, Crowquill, keep up the good work. I'll look forward to your take on "Love and Theft," which is prob the next album to be reviewed, right?

Cool to bump into this thread. I was just browsing some Dylan albums today, wondering if I should take the jump and finally try to get into his music. Seems like this comes just on time.

There's several CD's I found down town and could buy one or more of next week. Oh Mercy, Bringing it All Back Home, Modern Times, Together Through Life, Blonde on Blonde, Highway 61 and a couple more, probably.

^ Of those albums, I'd say Oh Mercy, Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 are the best, but there's a thread here with about 650 replies, so you might find some more tips there:- https://www.musicbanter.com/country-...bob-dylan.html [*ahem* Blood On The Tracks]

I watched a video yesterday where a music reviewer joked that Blood on the Tracks would be the pretentious Dylan Fans' pick for best album :laughing:

Some years ago, I listened to some Dylan albums. I remember liking Desire the best. His music just somehow didn't quite get me on board back then, but I'd wager chances are better now. A lot has changed in my listening habits since then.

I still love Blood on the Tracks/Desire era Dylan best though obviously there's something clearly special and new happening in the sixties.
Yeah Love and Theft is up next. I might try and do it before the weekend. On the subject of going back and correcting things: given the years its taken to do this, when I was first re-reading through to jump back into it I kept wondering how much my opinions on all this has shifted. I use to enjoy folk and singer/songwriter stuff way more in high school so in some ways I think I was more critical of it back then but I've also lost a lot of pretensions I used to have so who knows.

So far, I generally like 70's Dylan better than 60's Dylan. The early albums shoplift a bit heavily from the past without necessarily adding much. Not that they're bad, but I'm having trouble really feeling excited about them either.

I think Bobs 60s stuff is the best :)

"Love and Theft" (2001)
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped..._and_Theft.jpg
Last time I did this, I went through and re-read all my reviews before writing it this time ima just put on the album and kind of go in blind. I'm kind of scared to read a lot of my old takes, and I started this well over ten years ago ;_; Anyway, many things dropped September 11th, 2001 least of all this album. I don't know how much I've waxed poetic about old man Dylan before but I have a lot of issues with it. Vocals haven't ever really been the high point of Dylan but like sometimes it's just so wack.
Anyway, this album is one of the most aware of his aging voice and seems to really work with it. The music fits it, from the blues tracks to the throwbacks to early rock and roll. The opening track sounds like he's genuinely having fun. Mississippi is one of the high points for me, it's a beautiful folk song and the lyrics dance between Dylan's funny surrealism and blunt poignanty. It's probably my favorite Dylan song of the modern era, maybe of almost any and if you're gonna listen to just one song listen to it.
Favorite Lyric: "I was dreaming I was sleeping in Rosie’s bed / Walking through the leaves, falling from the trees / Feeling like a stranger nobody sees / So many things that we never will undo / I know you’re sorry, I’m sorry too."
Favorite Songs:[/QUOTE] Mississippi, High Water (For Charley Patton), Po' Boy

The Thing with Dylan is his songs are all about the music..I thought it was the lyrics until I realised the music was it...

Yeah

Though my experience was quite different: when I was little I've always been listening to the music (because I couldn't understand English well enough to appreciate his lyrics), then I got drawn to his lyrics much more (because when I started learning guitar and bass I just thought it's to simple, so there must be this other part of his art that is what people crave for), and now I'm back at appreciating his music (even more than his lyrics).

It's simple, but pure, timeless and extremely personal

That's an interesting look behind the scenes at what was going on during those controvertial "Bob's gone electric!" concerts.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that both the words and the music have been important: that there can be more than just one thing about Dylan.

With his often scornful attitude at press conferences, especially in his early days, he gave the impression that he was a casual joker of an artist. But on the clip from Dianna, I notice that he was focused and working hard at his craft all the while. There's a similar revelation (different era) in his book Chronicles in which he lets slip a bit about the time, seclusion and effort he put into getting his Blood On The Tracks songs written.

I don't understand though what happened to him lately

I mean, Tempest is fine and nice
But from there on out it just seems so...uninspired?

What has happened to his Voice... The way he sang was often raspy, and that over time would damage vocals chords...
Age, he is 80 years old and most older peoples voices will really deteriorated and change the tones...
He smoked he live wild at times, so all will contribute to his voice being pretty bad now.
When he was in a car accident that affected his vocals also...
So all in all maybe he should go in for Poetry now....

That was an interesting comment, Mucha. It made me think of 2 things:-

1. Let me introduce you to something you may have heard of, but not experienced yet: old age !
Bob is no longer the angry, energetic powerhouse of ideas that he used to be. At age 80, that kind of intensity has probably disappeared for good - and with such a career behind him, it's not like he has to prove himself to anybody anymore.

2. Is it me or is it Bob? Someone sent me Tempest when it came out and I thought, "This is good!" and yet I haven't played it since. Same with Rough and Rowdy Ways. That's a total contrast to how I used to feel about his albums coming out. So yeah, either Dylan or me have lost some of that excitement.

Ok I've given my opinions on Bob Dylan often enough but I can't resist if you take the 1966 live recordings as an example, some of them are among my favourite music. Like hearing it for the first time was a revelation. To me both the lyrics and music are important, but the music more so, and i think the whole Poet pedestal Dylan is put on overrates him (and is also unfair to him; he can't compete with a great poet but there are other things he has to offer)

Yes, I haven't experienced "old age", I'm 21 as of now.
Still, there are things (music/movies/literature), that I find "inspired", that were not made by people of my age.
Look, just to make an example:

Keith Richards newest album ("Crosseyed Heart"), made me often feel like...I could understand what's it like to be old(?). I know who Keith is when he's my age, I know who he is, when he's my parents age. And then, thanks to "Keith evolving" I know what's it like to be him – still having the ideas, the verve, or whatever – when he's old.
Keith didn't age to my ears. He ad grown up (or "aged up"). He had understood who he is now, and what he was before, and now he's making music that is serene (in the sense that he knows he's old, but also he has the spirit to do things – I'm not sure if this is clear. It's kind of central to what I'm talking about).

With Dylan, I can't feel this. I just know he's old. But I don't feel it. I know he's eighty: and that should be the strong point of the albums.
Not the weak one.
But it is.
The weak spot is that he's 80 (like with McCartney – especially "McCarney III").
While it should be the strong spot.

And here with Dylan's albums, all I can hear is him being "weaker at making music".
I'm not one of those purists, who'd say that Dylan's only good when he's 19-21 and acoustic.

Far from it.

It's that his albums/songs have (in my personal opinion) less vigor, less internal energy. They are more like "trying to play that one song, that was to hard for you until now".
And I just don't find joy in it.

And don't get me wrong: I really like the track "I contain multitudes". But that's the thing: I really love the track the was one of the main singles. And no the other way around.

It just doesn't feel to me like "The Dylan" I'm accustomed to.
Or something.

You know what...I've known many albums that came to me "right away", and also many of those that "came in time".
But I don't think there as a Dylan album after Oh Mercy, that actually managed to "come afer some time". It's truly just like he'd had burned out himself.


I can always be proved wrong on this field, though.
[If you have something, that you think could change my mind – then send it right away; I'm truly open here]

Final Video...for now
Quite the most beautiful Bob Dylan song in my view......