Entertainment For Lively Minds
Steering a Dylan novice
Posted by Brianr on 15 January 2011 - 9:31pm.
I am that novice, only really ever played the obvious stuff. My top five would be
Rolling stone
Idiot wind
Tangled up in blue
It's all over now baby blue
One of us must know
Given I like those five where should I focus next?
I guess there are a few Dylan veterans here so advice is welcome seeing I am having a Dylan night tonight
- More from Brianr.
- Login or register to post comments
-
"You're A Big Girl Now (First Version)"
and "Up To Me". Not just the best "Blood On The Tracks" outtakes, nor the best Dylan outtakes even, but nothing less than the best sweepings-up by any rock artist ever.
'Up To Me' is...
one of the best songs I've ever heard. And it didn't make it onto Blood on the Tracks. And he's never played it live. Contrary git... that's why I love him!
Good tip.
Never heard Up to Me before, so thanks to you both.
I'd suggest maybe trying Desire or Street-Legal
Erm.....
......why?
Give the lad a break!
I'm no expert
But I really like Street Legal and Slow Train Coming - why not give them a spin ?
I started...
...with Bringing It All Back Home. It's still my favourite Dylan record.
Another Side of Bob Dylan
The 'overlooked one' (along with his debut).
Sounds spontaneous, sounds live, sounds drunk.
'To Ramona' and 'I Don't Believe You' actually make sense of the 'Judas' taunts of 1965 and 1966....'cos 'Another' is actually, perversely, more rock 'n' roll than 'Bringing All Back Home'.
Good advice
Keep em coming - I will list em all and follow up over the next few days to make sure I give all a few plays -playing You're A Big Girl at the moment Marvellous!
I find these to be a strange selection...
I don't like a lot of Dylan, but what I do like, I like a lot.
Of the above, I don't like any of them apart from Bringing It All Back Home.
I want to like more Dylan, but I just don't dig it - and I have tried. At length.
Personally, I'd go for, in order -
1. Highway 61 Revisited
2. Blonde On Blonde
3. Bob Dylan Live 1966 - The Bootleg series vol. 4. But only if you're into 1 & 2.
4. Blood On The Tracks
I always think I like Blonde On Blonde more than Highway 61, but when it comes down to it, I like pretty much everything on Highway 61 and there's a couple on Blonde that I can't be doing with.
After that, it's a different world to me. I don't mind the odd record from either side - especially The Freewheelin' from before and bits of Blood On The Tracks, but that's it.
However, it looks to me that you've got along with the 'finger pointing songs'. So, in terms of stand alone songs to get, I'd try;
1. Positively 4th St.
2. She's Your Lover Now
3. Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window - but be prepared for it to become apparent why he stopped writing them for a while after this.
After that, I don't get it. I know lots of people don't agree with me, but I think he lost it after the motorcycle crash and I don't think it ever came back. Perhaps it wasn't possible to be as he was before and not be dead.
I know a lot of people who like Desire best and that strikes me as being a bizarre idea, bearing in mind what came before, but each to their own, eh?
I'm a big fan of Desire
and definitely prefer the post-crash 'rock' Dylan to the earlier 'protest' Dylan, even though that's really when he made his reputation.
I think the 'Christian' Dylan is an underrated phase as well.
Absolutely
The live recordings I've heard from the born-again era are just stunning - on a par with the 66 tour.
And it also gave us 'Every grain of sand' which would certainly make my all-time Dylan top 5.
bob dylan greatest hits volume 2
esp when i paint my masterpiece and tomorrow is a long time
Individual songs...
Jokerman,
Senôr,
Boots Of Spanish Leather,
Trying To Get To Heaven,
You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
Wish I was starting all over again! Good luck.
Presuming you want songs not albums here's
five more of my favourites:
Visions Of Johanna
Love minus Zero (No Limit)
Mr Tambourine Man (but the Live At Budokan version which I seem to be alone in loving!)
Buckets Of Rain
Positively Fourth Street
You're not
completely alone there but we're an endangered species.
Fourth Street
Absolutely! Thought this might be a lively thread - reckon by tomorrow there will be 50 odd posts and Dylan's whole back catalogue listed - what's the bets someone recommends Must Be Santa before much longer!
Not a Dylan expert
but I would recommend 'Shelter From The Storm' and 'Knocking On Heavens Door'
Five By Dylan
My personal choices would be:
To Ramona
Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands
Love Minus Zero/No Limit
If You See Her, Say Hello
Blind Willie McTell.
(This list is subject to change)
I was pleased to hear Nick Park on DID*
choose Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands along with Four Strong Winds, a Neil Young fave of mine.
*Desert Island Discs.
Four Strong Winds
I love Neils version too but it is not his song - was written by Ian Tyson. The Searchers also did a pretty good version of it.
Favourite Dylan songs:-
Every Grain of Sand
Don't fall apart on me
I'll be your baby tonight
Sara
Mississippi
Four Strong Winds
And, to bring the whole topic full circle, Dylan himself covered 'Four Strong Winds' rather beautifully, with The Hawks in 1967.
I started going more off the Greatest Hits beaten track
with the 'Biograph' set.
Some cracking, less heard stuff on there. Not too obscure, though.
Some of the Bootleg Series stuff is great too, and now officially released and widely available.
Most of his 60s output and 'Blood On The Tracks' will see you right.
I think as a one-purchase
I think as a one-purchase introduction, the biograph box set is probably the best. Covers early 60's to mid-80's, all the big hits and some well-chosen rarities. A great listen.
Bootleg version of.....
Angelina. (drunkenly sings ..........Oooooooh Angelinaaaaaaaa)
And......
I was young when I left home.......no matter what mood I'm in in draws me to tears.........
Not big on Bob
But A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall is great and pretty essential I would imagine
Ooo, A subject I'm qualified for
At random, a few that might not be on a greatest hits:
I'm Not There (Bootleg or I'm Not There soundtrack)
Black Diamond Bay (Desire)
Sweetheart Like You (Infidels, bootleg version is better though.)
The Man In Me (New Morning)
and a second vote for She's Your Lover Now.
Good call.
Can I just chip in with a recommendation for Howard Devoto's cover of She's Your Lover Now. He was in a duo and I can't remember the name of the act but it's superb.
Luxuria
Howard Devoto and Norman Fisher-Jones (aka Noko) were in a band called Luxuria. Norman is the guitarist in the re-formed Magazine. It's a long way from his first band, Alvin the Aardvark and the Fuzzy Ants.
Despite been a Dylan obsesive
I have somehow never listened to The Basement Tapes all that much.
I started it at random on my ipod and the track was Katie Been Gone, which is a good one.
My top six
1.The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest
2.Lay Lady Lay
3.Love Sick
4.Ballad of a Thin Man
5.I Want You
6.Tomorrow Is A Long Time
Some great picks.
The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest would be my 2nd pick from John Wesley Harding. Dear Landlord is one of my all time top 10 Dylan songs.
As an aside I am dpping into the copy of Revolution In The Air that arrived last week and really enjoy the little I've read so far.
on a desert island with 6 Dylan records
If I was sent to a desert island and I was only allowed 6 of Bob's records I'd choose
1. Freewheelin Bob Dylan (the apogee of his folk period)
2. Bringing it all Back Home (one of best mid 60s guitar rock'nroll records)
3. Live Bootleg 1966 (amphetamine fuelled piss and vinegar on stage)
4. Blood on the Tracks (widely acknowledged as the best of his introspective albums and a masterpiece).
5. Love and Theft (my favourite of his late period rhythm and blues albums)
6. Time out of Mind (a piece of modern art).
Once you've digested these albums, then delve into each of their contemporaries. For me the 80s were a rather thin period for Bob so nothing really stands out that i could recommend. Leave that to later.
for a rougher edge
rolling thunder
shelter
idiot wind
Idiot Wind
Is one of the tracks the OP mentions he likes and wants suggestions for by the way.
You have picked two of my least favourite tracks from Blood On The Tracks there. Although I have strange weakness for Jerry Maguire and the version of Shelter on there is very nicely used.
yes
however the versions are remarkably different from blood on the tracks
Own:
I'm not the biggest fan in the world, but I'd personally reckon that everybody should listen to the following at least once:
Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde On Blonde and Blood On The Tracks.
I know they're the obvious ones, but they're obvious for a reason.
People around these parts talk about The Beatles being influential on music over the years, but these albums have had a lasting influence that I think is just as important. Costello and Springsteen for instance, but any songwriting, lyric chewing frontman who puts on a guitar and adopts a pose owes probably more to Dylan than yer Lennons and McCartneys.
Surely, SURELY...
...this has got to be the right answer for a novice, hasn't it? Some of the answers on here, and excuse my impoliteness, seem a bit like hardcore obsessives not seeing the wood for the trees. No offence intended, but some of this is a bit like recommending Dead Letter Office to someone looking for a steer on R.E.M. !
Agree with SimonL
The above 4 are the essential cannon.
Could not pick individual tracks.
I would also strongly recommend the live album with the Band - Before the Flood - massive album - Dylan and band really on the money.
Albums such as Desire, John Wesley harding, Time Out of Mind and Long Train Coming have many essential Tracks, but the above 5 are pretty flawless.
Before The Flood
I love the title of this album. I love the idea of this album. And I love Bob Dylan. But I cannot disagree with this capsule review (somebody else might be able to give credit where it is due): "Bob Dylan shouts his way through his greatest hits".
I forgot
about 'Before The Flood'.
The singing is truly extraordinary, isn't it? I'd add that one to the list for entertainment value.
The absolute must have
Is the first Bootleg Series. One of my treasured possessions in a vinyl box set. Almost everything from the golden period often in alt take format.
Stand out is the seven minute poem 'Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie' which would melt the heart of bastard and bring tears from a stone.
Albums wise, there are few right out turkeys, even the oft-decried Infidels is well worth a spin.
I think in many ways it is perhaps best to start with one of the lesser thought of albums and then mainline 1964-1969.
I concur
on 'Last Thoughts..'. Have you ever tried to recite it yourself? I have fantasies where I've written it and astound my friends in the pub with the recitation.
You'll have guessed that I don't have many friends :-)
I love almost everything Dylan has ever recorded
but if I have to select a few favourites, these are the ones I would recommend:
Meet Me In The Morning ( from Blood On The Tracks )
Day Of The Locusts ( from New Morning ) - of course...
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right ( The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan )
Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum ( Love And Theft )
Desolation Row ( Highway 61 Revisited )
Only A Pawn In Their Game ( The Times They Are A-Changin' )
Talking World War III Blues ( ...Freewheelin'... )
Bob
rock Bob - The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar
Christian Bob - Every Grain of Sand
"Protest" Bob - Hattie Carroll
If it were just one album, I'd get the 1966 bootleg one
A lot of grand choices so far.
Here's five choices from 6:55 a.m. Sunday.
Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again.
Ballad Of A Thin Man.
From A Buick 6.
Forever Young.
Gates Of Eden.
Sunday morning Bob.............
As I Went Out One Morning (John Wesley Harding)
Going Going Gone (Planet Waves)
Shooting Star (Oh Mercy)
Every Grain Of Sand (Shot Of Love of the first Bootleg Series for added dog barking)
Not Dark Yet (Time Out Of Mind)
Echo the view of stimpy that his singing during the religious years is probably his best ever.
indeed indeed
toronto massey hall -fantastic gospel era
when people say he can't sing I tend to put on
love minus zero then when he returns and I believe from slow train
Absolutely..............
Some of the best shows by anyone - ever. Really should be a future volume of the Bootleg Series especially as two of the shows were recorded and filmed for possible release.
Couldn't agree with you more about the singing - wonderful stuff.
A couple of things
I sometimes like to convince myself that I'm not the Dylan nut that I used to be, but I always go back to him. I can't possibly begin to sum up what I like about him here, but I will share something that I discovered only this week: Street Legal is one hell of a lot better than I remember it to be - 1999 remix essential - and Slow Train Coming isn't nearly as good as I thought it was. I'm not sure I can listen to 'Precious Angel' ever again.
Personally, my indispensable eras, and the ones that keep me coming back, are 1965-1969, 1973-1976 (although let's extend that to 1978 to include the above point), 1989-1989 and 1997-2006.
One? I'll go for this version of this song
http://open.spotify.com/track/5kq8eHXoS63VlKt4ABFTle
Or, if you can find it, the version from the following night - the final 1966 show, where he introduces it as "not a drug song".
The Essential Bob Dylan.....
The Sony compilation of 5/6 years back is an excellent overview. All the well known stuff that will send you off investigating more. Top 5 current Bob tracks...
Not Dark Yet
Blind Willie McTell
Masters of War
Desolation Row (alternate verses from No Direction Home)
Hurricane (from the Rolling Thunder Revue album)
This one?
It's a 3cd compilation and is pretty damn good at summing up a long and sometimes contrary career. I recommend it as a decent starting point
http://www.find-cd.co.uk/cds/B000TP4FX4-Bob-Dylan-Dylan-3CD.htm
Everything that's been mentioned above...
...plus 'Most of the Time' from Oh Mercy (or the High Fidelity soundtrack).
As an alternative to Biograph, the red 'Dylan' box set that was released a few years ago is another good starting point.
And in the Bootleg Series, I spend a lot of time with Number 5, the Rolling Thunder Review tour.
I went to HMV yesterday....
....to buy The Rolling Thunder Revue but they didn't have it. I got LIVE 1966 VOL 4 The Royal Albert Hall Concert instead. This is the tour where he went electric. I listened to it last night...it's great!
HMV had most of the bootleg series for £8 each so I might go back again next week.
CD2 of that set is good, but
CD2 of that set is good, but for my money he sounds completely bored during CD1, the acoustic set. Especially during Mr. Tambourine Man, sounds like he's about to nod off.
well he was on the nod a bit
wasn't he
6 month tour with no sleep living on speed and cigarettes
Mr Tambourine Man 1966
I think that's the best version that he's released of that song.
The version of Forever Young from The Last Waltz
is wonderful.
EVERYTHING
From The Last Waltz is wonderful. Watching that film at the age of fourteen was the single most life-changing musical experience for me. I feel a new thread coming on. Any fellow travellers?
Some Great Choices So Far
it's Alright Ma I'm Only Bleeding
Who Killed Davey Moore
Isis
The Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest
Everything Is Broken
are a few of my other favourites
Another few...
Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat) - from Street Legal
I Am A Lonesome Hobo - from John Wesley Harding
Saving Grace - from Saved
Ain't Gonna Go To Hell For Anybody - from a Toronto 1980 bootleg*
Someone's Got A Hold Of My Heart - from The Bootleg Series vol 1 - 3
Things Have Changed - from "Wonderboys" soundtrack
* not officially released