sleepy jack

Talkin' Bob Dylan



Bob Dylan is arguably (or inarguably) the best songwriter of all time and if he's not the best he's easily one of the greatest. His career has spanned several decades and he's covered a variety of genres throughout it and recorded some of the greatest albums ever. This going to be my attempt to review his discography, from his debut to Modern Times. I'm only doing the official studio releases, though I may do all the bootlegs afterwards. Wish me luck, first review is going to be up in probably an hour =x

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Urban Hat€monger ?

Funnily enough Desire is on my to-do list for the Urban 1000.

Good luck.

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sleepy jack

I can't wait to get to Desire, it's my friend Chloe's favorite album by him. I heard it once and liked it but for some reason I only ever listened to Blood on the Tracks and Blonde on Blonde as well as a few random songs and that was all.

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jackhammer

This should be an interesting thread. I am not a huge Dylan fan but who knows whether I will be swayed? I have three of his albums although I won't be adding THE TRAVELLING WILBURYS to my collection anytime soon!

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TheBig3

because its bad music of because it costs an arm and a leg to get the CD?

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I've moved to a new address

jackhammer

It's just uninspiring music.

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sleepy jack

"Bob Dylan (1962)"


The albums kicks off with a fast paced, lo-fi rambling folk song and part of you can't help but wonder "What? Is this the same guy that recorded Highway 61 Revisited?" Not to say it's bad just that it's kind of shocking the guy who would years later stand up on stage and play Like a Rolling Stone 'fucking loud' to the shock of hundreds of folk fans to be so amateur, it's a charming album but if it wasn't for Dylan's trademark nasally vocals you wouldn't think this was the same guy who even sung the line "How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?"

The album consists of a variety of old folk covers and a few originals that while are good, are nothing special, though Song To Woody is a great song and the obvious highpoint in the album. This debut isn't the cancer on his career fanatics insist it is, but you have to wonder what would've happened if his recording contract had come later, would his debut have been stronger and less rough? Probably. This avid Guthrie fan shows to be a good folk artist, a bit obsessed with death, but there's no real hints here at the genius to come. It just seems like another 60s folk album, a good and enjoyable one, but just another one.

Favorite Lyric: "Here's to Cisco an' Sonny an' Leadbelly too / An' to all the good people that traveled with you / Here's to the hearts and the hands of the men / That come with the dust and are gone with the wind."
Favorite Songs: Song To Woody, Talkin' New York, Pretty Peggy-O

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Laces Out Dan!

Im stoked to see your Discog review.

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sleepy jack

"The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)"


How many roads must a man walk down before you call him a man? One of the most famous lines in music history opens this album and it sets the mood immediately. This album is kind of scary in the sense nearly every song is a classic and if you'd re-titled it "The Essential Bob Dylan" or "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits" you probably wouldn't get much argument. From the sad romantic songs Girl From the North Country and Don't Think Twice, It's Al; Right to the political Masters of War, Oxford Town to the comic Talking World War III Blues and all the way to the poetic Blowin' in the Wind. This albums shows Dylan as the brilliant lyricist he was that wasn't as easy to see on his debut.

This album is probably one of the greatest folk albums ever recorded, it's topical as it is romantic and always poetic and real. Bob Dylan shows himself a much more comfortable folk artists here and a much much more powerful musician.

Favorite Lyric: "So if you're travelin' in the north country fair / Where the winds hit heavy on the borderline / Remember me to one who lives there / She once was a true love of mine."
Favorite Songs: Girl From the North County, Don't Think Twice It's All Right, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, Blowin' in the Wind, Talkin' World War III Blues

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Urban Hat€monger ?

Here's an idea for you

As he's got such an extensive discography & been around 6 decades why not (say every 5 albums or so) do a brief round up commenting on the way his career was going at the time, patterns you've noticed emerging in the album's you've heard. Look at them as a body of work rather than individual albums.. that sort of thing.

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