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Old 05-15-2009, 02:12 PM   #168 (permalink)
Mirrorball95
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Quote:
Originally Posted by S. Flavious Mercurius View Post
I've heard the later stuff, though i ADMIT NOT AS MUCH, he just seems so tired and depressed a lot of it.
Yeah just out of interest, what stuff have you heard?
As for the 'tired & depressed' it is probably just him getting older and his voice changing (or getting better IMO).

Albums I recommend you check out are 'Infidels', 'Oh Mercy' & if your up for some of the same but with soulful backing singers thrown in check out 'Knocked Out Loaded' & 'Empire Burlesque'.
These are his 4 best albums for me (post Desire/Blood On The Tracks periods).
Quote:
Originally Posted by SystemRob View Post
Johnny Cash was mediocre from start to long-awaited finish. I will concede that Dylan has made some stinkers in comparision to Blood on the Tracks. BUt he is indefatigable, he keeps changing his stuff and trying things. I thought the majority of Oh Mercy was painful but there are several gems in the dross- Man in the long black coat is superb for instance.

He has his off-days/weeks/months/years/decades but the guy is only human. I remember when I saw him a few years back just after the release of Love and Theft. The first half of his show was just dull but then he kicked off and relaxed a bit and you could feel the energy. I think the reason geniuses crack so often is because normal people like us expect so much of them without ever knowing how much they put into their work.

Dylan= great, but also he is human and suffers like the rest of us. Frankly if I'd done as much as he has I'd having a hard time matching the exploits of my youth as age and death creep onwards
On Cash:
Please explain to me why people keep banging on about Johnny Cash?
This is a thread to discuss Bob Dylan. Ive already said before that Dylan's opinion on Johnny Cash is totally irrelevant when either
a) listening to his music
b) forming opinions on him
To do so would be so ridiculous that i would have to actually eat one of his albums to cure myself .

On Dylan:
Also people who keep expecting for a new 'Blood On The Tracks' or 'Desire' or whatever will be waiting forever.
His new music, fair enough isnt as good as Desire or BOTT but it is still good music in its own right!
Thats what I think is important when listening to artists later work, is to judge it not by comparison but just for what it is.

Also Dylan isn't a 'genius'.
He has a very good talent in songwriting & is a natural performer.
People use the term 'genius' too often and obviously like you said he is only human and will crack under this ridiculous pressure that us so called 'normal' people put on him.

The main cause is that expectations are set way too high and if they had been lowered/even reset then im sure his latest albums would have been much more appreciated for what they are rather than put down due to comparisons to albums he made 30 odd years ago.

So make your mind up, he either a 'genius' or hes 'only human' (as you stated in quick succession) as to me 'genius' is a term massively overused and only detatches an individual from the rest of us 'normal' people as you put it.
He definitely deserves recognition but you dont need to 'dehumanize' him with terms such as 'genius' etc.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mr. goth glam View Post
The new album is definitely a minor affair, but I'm still enjoying it.

This is routinely regarded as blasphemy by most, but I honestly relate to his last four albums more than just about anything else he's ever written. I love the classics, and I listen to them constantly, but as a person and even a writer, I go to those last four albums (particularly, the trilogy of albums that Dylan claims isn't a trilogy at all) a whole lot more. Even now, I still find a wealth of imagery and concepts to relate to. That also goes for vol. 8 in the bootleg series collection (Tell-Tale Signs).

That's just me.
All his albums since he went 'gospel' have been 'minor' affairs.
The media basicaly just wrote him off and people now dont care.
Yet another example of the way people shockingly read the papers and will believe anyway they read and use that as a basis for forming opinions (instead of forming their own).
But you dont want it to be all overblown and mass hyped and commercialised.
Dylan proved himself many many years ago and now is in the 'comfort zone' if you like and its much more interesting to listen to him now than say back in the 60s.
As for this album, I dont usually bother about the charts at all, but I think its worth noting that his album went to No1 on the charts and knocked some Lady GooGoo or whatever off the top spot.

Also i must add that;although I aint really ever payed any serious attention to the charts; when things like this crop up and you hear such nonsense was actually No1(the last ridiculous thing I heard was that 'Bob the ****1ing builder' was at no1) then it just confirms that the charts is a total joke.

P.S. Oh Mercy is a fantastic album!!! How can it be 'painful'??? I actually cringe more at his earlier 'Like A Rolling Stone' period usually.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mr. goth glam View Post
The new album is definitely a minor affair, but I'm still enjoying it.

This is routinely regarded as blasphemy by most, but I honestly relate to his last four albums more than just about anything else he's ever written. I love the classics, and I listen to them constantly, but as a person and even a writer, I go to those last four albums (particularly, the trilogy of albums that Dylan claims isn't a trilogy at all) a whole lot more. Even now, I still find a wealth of imagery and concepts to relate to. That also goes for vol. 8 in the bootleg series collection (Tell-Tale Signs).

That's just me.
I noticed you have the excellent Mr Tom Petty is your sig. You may(or may not) be interested to know that the song you quoted 'I Won't Back Down' was actually covered by Johnny Cash(with Tom Petty on backing) on one of his so called 'mediocre' American Recordings albums: 'American II: Solitary Man'.
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Originally Posted by JayJamJah View Post
Watch what happens when we change just a three little words (by my doorstep)
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mirrorball95Doppelganger
Yeah if I could get a big one, say from Neil Young or something, id stick it in. I'd just get sick.

Last edited by Mirrorball95; 05-15-2009 at 02:24 PM.
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