Bob Dylan: A Class Act

[Ataraxia]

And my skin is losing its elasticity.

[Ataraxia]

 [asin]B008LZHA3G[/asin]

[Karl Henning]

Oh, good! I've my teapot here . . . .

[Ataraxia]

HEY! 

[Karl Henning]

Don't think of it singing, think of it as a sort of performance.

Heck, I feel this way about PG when he was with Genesis.

[Ataraxia]

Rolling Stone: five stars
MOJO: five stars

Tempest now streaming on iTunes for free.

"I'm going to have to take my head and bury it between your breasts."

[SimonNZ]

A heads-up for anyone who may be interested (and has deep pockets):

Volume 12 of the Bootleg Series is to be an 18cd set of all the sessions from Bringing It All Back home, Highway 61 and Blonde On Blonde:



http://www.bobdylan.com/us/thecuttingedge_completetracklisting

[(poco) Sforzando]

It's a timbre all its own. Don't think of it singing, think of it as a sort of performance.

If you need to understand what Schoenberg meant by Sprechstimme, listen to Dylan.

[San Antone]

A heads-up for anyone who may be interested (and has deep pockets):

Volume 12 of the Bootleg Series is to be an 18cd set of all the sessions from Bringing It All Back home, Highway 61 and Blonde On Blonde:



http://www.bobdylan.com/us/thecuttingedge_completetracklisting

His best period IMO, but I am happy with the official releases.

[Jo498]

Did Schoenberg also specify holding one's nose and not properly articulating sounds for Sprechstimme...?

Pierrot Lunaire with Dylan, now this would definitely add to the weirdness of the piece...

[Elgarian]

A heads-up for anyone who may be interested (and has deep pockets):

Volume 12 of the Bootleg Series is to be an 18cd set of all the sessions from Bringing It All Back home, Highway 61 and Blonde On Blonde:



http://www.bobdylan.com/us/thecuttingedge_completetracklisting

Crikey, talk about marketing strategy!

There's the Super-duper limited collectors' edition of 18 CDs and a heap of stuff in a box for a bit less than a million pounds.
Then there's the De Luxe edition with 6 CDs and a smaller heap of stuff for less than the above.
Then there's the bog standard 2 CD version for you and me for a few quid.
Then there're the vinyl edition, the edition manufactured from fragments of the original rolling stone, the edition that can only be bought from the special kiosk on Highway 61, the edition that can automatically bring itself back home, etc etc.

Remortgage your house and collect 'em all, boys. Me ... I'll be saving up for the 2 CD bog-standard set.

[(poco) Sforzando]

Did Schoenberg also specify holding one's nose and not properly articulating sounds for Sprechstimme...?

Details, details.

[Karl Henning]

Canard!  Produce one photo of Dylan holding his nose!

[Jo498]

Apparently he did not have to hold his nose but sounded . I have probably heard only a small section of his music (too young to really be a fan), I think I own one best-of-CD of his and there are some pieces where his strange way of articulation and declamation works quite well (e.g. Like a Rolling Stone).

But generally, I prefer his songs being sung by other musicians and I quite like the collections with Dylan songs by Joan Baez or the Byrds (I got to know the song from my signature (Lay down your weary tune) on one of their albums). Although, to be honest, I only listen to that stuff once in a blue moon, 95% of my listening is classical and a little Jazz tends to come before that 60s folksy stuff.

[Karl Henning]

Apparently he did not have to hold his nose but sounded . I have probably heard only a small section of his music (too young to really be a fan), I think I own one best-of-CD of his and there are some pieces where his strange way of articulation and declamation works quite well (e.g. Like a Rolling Stone).

But generally, I prefer his songs being sung by other musicians and I quite like the collections with Dylan songs by Joan Baez or the Byrds (I got to know the song from my signature (Lay down your weary tune) on one of their albums).

I'm somewhere in between . . . I'm not a fan (in fact, I once had a housemate who was a huge fan, and it was several years again before I could tolerate eve the thought of trying to listen to Dylan).  But, a few of the albums, I like very well . . . and (possibly in the contrarian minority—I mean, among those who are not genuine enthusiasts) as a rule, I prefer to hear Dylan sing his own material.  Though I've a soft spot for Geo. Harrison singing "If Not For You."

[Artem]

These two albums can renew one's interest in Dylan or make a new fan of somebody who hadn't explored his catalogue beyond a few well known albums from the 60s:

[asin]B000002C2E[/asin] [asin]B00026WU3M[/asin]

[SimonNZ]

A heads-up for people who know the eccentric genius of Michael Gray's books on Dylan "Song and Dance Man" and "The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia".

A 350-page roundup of his uncollected writings on Dylan over 50 years from various magazines and elsewhere.

The 60-page essay on "Rough And Rowdy Ways" is already getting much praise and has people rushing back to relisten.

[SimonNZ]

Things that give me hope in the future:  Bob Dylan is touring again.

His first concert 48 hours ago in Milwaukee:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yt-NH0WDuNY

Including eight songs from Rough And Rowdy Ways

[SimonNZ]

Only now pivking up on this:

Bob Dylan Announces New Book 'The Philosophy of Modern Song'

"Bob Dylan has announced a new book titled The Philosophy of Modern Song, which will be released on Tuesday, November 8 via Simon & Schuster. It marks his first book of new writing since 2004's Chronicles: Volume One and his first since winning the Nobel Prize for literature in 2016.

Dylan began working on The Philosophy of Modern Song in 2010. The collection includes over 60 essays that Dylan wrote about artists like Stephen Foster, Elvis Costello, Hank Williams, and Nina Simone. According to a press release, Dylan "analyzes what he calls the trap of easy rhymes, breaks down how the addition of a single syllable can diminish a song, and even explains how bluegrass relates to heavy metal. These essays are written in Dylan's unique prose. They are mysterious and mercurial, poignant and profound, and often laugh-out-loud funny. And while they are ostensibly about music, they are really meditations and reflections on the human condition. Running throughout the book are nearly 150 carefully curated photos as well as a series of dream-like riffs that, taken together, resemble an epic poem and add to the work's transcendence.[...]"

[Spotted Horses]

So happens I was listening to two Dylan albums from late in his career, Tempest and Rough and Roudy Ways. I like Dylan best when he is being sarcastic and/or surrealistic and there are some tracks that rank with his best, such as Narrow Way, Long and Wasted Years, Tin Angel, False Prophet, Black Rider, Crossing the Rubicon.