You know, sometimes people say to me “Jonathan, you may not agree with me but I really do think that Bob Dylan is over rated, and I just don’t get all the hoo-hah about him. He’s no Bowie, you know.” And, because I’m a fair minded person I take the time to reflect on what they’ve said and I find that I can only say that they are right – I don’t agree with them. And then I consider that Bowie wrote two songs about or for or drawing on Bob Dylan, and Dylan, well he never felt the need to respond in kind. I don’t know what that means. Something probably.
If you need convincing that Dylan matters – or mattered if you prefer – then take a look at this performance from the film of the 1964 Newport Folk Festival. Dylan for all his shy, self-effacing persona knows that he owns the place. He is it. And what a song – it is rolling and remarkable and poetic and defines what a lot of people wanted to be, they just didn’t know it “to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free / Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands / With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves / Let me forget about today until tomorrow.”
One of the (few) advantages of the last year has been the chance to fill in the blanks in my musical education. And one of the big blanks was Bob Dylan. How had I managed to not explore the premier poet of rock music in 56 years? Always more music…
Dave Stewart, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, Songwriter Hall of Famer, Eurythmics co-founder, producer, and renowned songwriter — has announced the album "Dave Does Dylan". Set as a limited-edition vinyl release for Record Store Day, the 14-song homage to Bob Dylan will be available at indie record stores on…
You may have forgotten the late Nineties American sitcom 'Dharma and Greg' which was built around a premise that has been revisited endlessly in the new 21st century world of Reality TV (The first rule of reality TV? None of this is real....). Basically, Hippie chick Dharma has a date…
Sure, I could climb high in a tree, or go to Skye on my holiday. I could be happy. All I really want is the excitement of first hearing The Byrds, the amazement of decades of Dylan's music, or the thrill of seeing a band like The Long Ryders live. That's not much to ask, is it?
I love this clip so much Jonathan! I’ve watched it scores of times already. I enjoy Bob’s concentration and benevolent intensity. Plus it’s most fitting ol Pete Seeger should be the man to introduce him. “All songwriters are links in a chain” – so true thank you for sharing Ryan
Jonathan, Thanks for posting this clip and the great write up. I agree with everything you wrote, except the suggestion that Dylan ‘mattered’ as if he doesn’t now. I am amazed at his recent songs; incredible. He still has the mojo.
Oh indeed – of course Dylan still matters, but as time goes on and we live in a world of poetic singer-songwriters with a folky edge it must get harder, I imagine, to fully appreciate what was so revolutionary about Dylan’s knitting together of folk, protest song in the Woody Guthrie style, rock and roll, and, sure, country and blues along with a Beat Poet mind set.
In the context of the clip we’re looking back sixty years, trying to imagine what it was like to be hearing this song maybe for the first time, and as a considerable contrast to the rest of the festival. What a time it was…
I love this clip so much Jonathan! I’ve watched it scores of times already. I enjoy Bob’s concentration and benevolent intensity. Plus it’s most fitting ol Pete Seeger should be the man to introduce him. “All songwriters are links in a chain” – so true
thank you for sharing 
Ryan
Jonathan, Thanks for posting this clip and the great write up. I agree with everything you wrote, except the suggestion that Dylan ‘mattered’ as if he doesn’t now. I am amazed at his recent songs; incredible. He still has the mojo.
Absolutely Michael. He contains multitudes
Oh indeed – of course Dylan still matters, but as time goes on and we live in a world of poetic singer-songwriters with a folky edge it must get harder, I imagine, to fully appreciate what was so revolutionary about Dylan’s knitting together of folk, protest song in the Woody Guthrie style, rock and roll, and, sure, country and blues along with a Beat Poet mind set.
In the context of the clip we’re looking back sixty years, trying to imagine what it was like to be hearing this song maybe for the first time, and as a considerable contrast to the rest of the festival. What a time it was…