I'm doing them in chronological order...very slowly!

Bob Dylan "Empire Burlesque (1985)"
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi..._Burlesque.jpg

I'm going to keep this short. Download Dark Eyes and skip the rest!

Favorite Song: Dark Eyes

I need to dig up Empire Burlesque, because I don't remember hating it that much. I know a lot of people can't stand the production...

I haven't listened to it for ages, though. I might be in for a nasty surprise.

So, I just pulled out Empire Burlesque because I haven't listened to it for ages and couldn't remember much about it except that it was very much of the 80's and had "Dark Eyes" on it. It's not that bad - but I have a strong tolerance for 80's production.

Strip some of these songs down, and you might have a pretty good album. But his voice and the production just doesn't mesh - it sounds awkward.

Far from his worst, though.

Dylan's my favorite artist, and Empire Burlesque is one of my favorite albums. The only dud track is Clean Cut Kid, and even that song has a cool riff. Most people who've heard the, um, alternate version (without Arthur Baker's overdubs) prefer it.

I've heard a lot of people saying Bob Dylan can't sing and that's like.. stupid. Hah. No, I respect their opinion, but Bob Dylan can sing, no doubt about it. Maybe they just think he sounds strange or something? Is it more teenagers that dislike him? (Ok, I am a teenager, but... I'm odd too so.)

Have anyone seen "I'm Not There"? Of course you have, it's a great movie and I really think all the characters made a fantastic job, especially the ones playing Bob Dylan himself. Cate Blanchett improved me the most. Maybe I went OT now, sorry..

Happy 67th birthday Bobby D.

Has this thread died? Is sleepy jack still recovering from Empire Burlesque?

"Knocked Out Loaded (1986)"
http://i201.photobucket.com/albums/a...doutloaded.jpg

What the fuck Bob?

Rating: I'd rather listen to a Bono Lecture/10

I like how I've done two reviews in two months and there's only three sentences between the two of them.

He just reviewed those...

It's not that bad. Sure, apart from Brownsville Girl, there's not much going on, but some of the songs really have potential. Have you heard Band Of The Hand? According to Al Kooper, there were a ton of outtakes that had that kind of sound. You Wanna Ramble superficially touches on that sound, but it comes up short. Driftin' Too Far From Shore could have been a great song - really! The riff is great and there are some clever lines there.

I am looking forward to seeing the moving on him coming out soon. our kate blanchett is playing his early days also heath ledger which sould be interesting. the thing with dylan is that his music is timeless. he spoke to a generation through his unique style. he never had the best voice but it was distinct and seemed to go with his lyrical style. i think its time their were more artists like him, cohen, guthrie and young. someone that will speak to us through music and move this new generation.

I saw `I`m Not There` two nights ago - its a trip!
You really have to know the ins and outs of Bob to appreciate it fully though, the actors playing various Bobs are great.

This is a terrific thread by the way, its hard not to like Dylan isn`t it?


Here`s a Dylan lyric that made me laugh out, whilst singing it last night...

"Don`t wanna wink at nobody, don`t wanna be winked at...."
Guess the song?


And here`s my true favourite, its a powerful verse...

"Then she opened up a book of poems
And handed it to me
Written by an italian poet
From the thirteenth century.
And every one of them words rang true
And glowed like burnin' coal
Pourin' off of every page
Like it was written in my soul from me to you..."

Its the way he sings it, rising in passion!

Must say, i thought Hayden Christensen did a good job in `Factory Girl` playing Bob. He really brought out the smugness that Bob oozed at that time, when he knew the cameras were rolling.

My favorite Dylan lyrics are this, this, this and this:
Old lady judges watch people in pairs
Limited in sex, they dare
To push fake morals, insult and stare
While money doesn't talk, it swears
Obscenity, who really cares
Propaganda, all is phony.

My eyes collide head-on with stuffed graveyards
False gods, I scuff
At pettiness which plays so rough
Walk upside-down inside handcuffs
Kick my legs to crash it off
Say okay, I have had enough
What else can you show me?

And if my thought-dreams could be seen
They'd probably put my head in a guillotine
But it's alright, Ma, it's life, and life only.

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

"There must be some way out of here" said the joker to the thief
"There's too much confusion", I can't get no relief
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth.

"No reason to get excited", the thief he kindly spoke
"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late".

A South politician preaches to the poor white man
"You got more than blacks, don't complain
You're better than them, you been born with white skin" they explain
And the Negro's name
Is used it is plain
For the politician's gain
As he rises to fame
And the poor white remains
On the caboose of the train
But it ain't him to blame
He's only a pawn in their game.

i think my favorite songs by him are these in this order:

It's Alright Ma
Summer Days
Tombstone Blues
Bye & Bye
Lonesome Day Blues
Highway 61
Bob Dylan's 115th Dream

i find it funny that Dylan thought the Beatle's song "I Want to Hold Your Hand" ment "I get high. i get high. i get high."

It sure sounds like that, doesn't it? Plus, that would make for a much better lyric.

Watched most of "Don't look back" yesterday on VH1. I was mesmerized how Dylan handled all the journalist and fans. He truly was an artist and I truly need to dig into his body of work more, I've only scratched the surface.

Don't look back was on VH1 last night... Dylan came across as a tough guy to talk to. I kinda liked how he handled the Journalists though... he really seemed to stay true to himself in times where most artist would sell themselves out.

my favorite album of all time

It's just a LITTLE bit on the weird side, innit? I mean, I've listened to some 60s folk albums and they're mostly a bit on the cloying side or a bit on the field-recording side. This at least has some idiosyncratic personality to it, and some rocknroll guts.

Not that I mean to say anyone should go out of their way to hear it, but it sure doesn't sound like Dave Van Ronk or Peter Paul And Mary, y'unnerstand.

I like how the rocknroll side is mainly goofball, or at least sounds like they're having fun, and then the "folk" side is transcendental, almost Coltrane-esque if you think of the words and sounds and mental reflections in a certain way.

Didn't he say he went electric cos he got tired of playing by himself? I can relate to that...

Well, yeah, Highway 61 it isn't.

I liked All The Tired Horses enough to cover it last December with an improvisatory rock band in Seattle.

The rest of it is nice to have on, occasionally beautiful, occasionally skippable.

The live Rolling Stone tho, I went and found the whole Isle Of Wight set from which it comes, and it's gorgeous! To me. Each his own. I love it. It starts the trend with which he continues today of reworking his songs to fit his mood, the band, the venue, so forth. Recent live shows of his (last ten years or so) make up a lot of my entertainment anymore.

Oh, but Robbie Robertson's guitar tones on "Going, Going, Gone," in fact that whole song, is like coppery-golden light coming through the stereo! {moan} Incidentally Richard Hell did an interesting cover of that same tune.

The overall sound of this album makes me happy, almost regardless of the actual content.

Possibly this one's so good as he'd already recorded most of it once, so he had it down and knew what he wanted to change and what he wanted to keep. The original takes are great listening, also, though not so much of a statement as the final versions.

Some great tunes on this one, I'll have to hear the remaster. Where Are You Tonight? haunts me, Senor is on this one, too, innit? I don't think anyone else could sing that tune and make it stick. (When the NAZZ laid it down, it STAYED there!)

Satisfied Mind and the Title Track are UNREAL good - I like to play this one on roadtrips. In The Garden is amazing too - the live version with Tom Petty just stomps.

I like the band on this one, esp Sly & Robbie on bass and drums and Mick Taylor on gtr. And I love his quote as to why "Infidels" got its title, something like how the last bunch of records had started with the letter S and he didn't want to get bogged down in the letter S so he called it Infidels.

About 4/5 of these songs make me happy.

The first new Dylan I remember coming out, I was probably 9 years old. I like most if not all of this record. Tight Connection To My Heart needs a Jimi-style cover, like his Rolling Stone from Monterey.



Brownsville Girl, yo.

True. He is even an inspiration to other greats such as John Lennon

hmm - re: Freewheelin
 

I never said that.

Someone's got it in for me. They're spreading stories on the net.

bob dylan has a lot of style.
he might not be my favorite but alot of bands use his lyrics in their songs just like knocking on heavens door. It was dylan who wrote the song originaly but then GNR came and knocked it out of the park. Bob dylan has helped to make music what it is today. MY favorite album is Bob Dylan-Modern Times. Great album if you are a true music lover. :)

Can someone tell me or give me an example as to why this guy is so great? I started performing and someone came up to me after I played my first original and said I had a very unique voice (which was awesome) and said I had the effect of Bob Dylan. I didn't know whether to take that as a complement or an insult. I know a guy who told me he's a great musician, I just don't know why, at all.

'And if my thought dreams could be seen, they'd probably put my head in a guillotine, but it's alright ma, it's life and life only'. That's why.

In opera the Germans have a term called Sprechgesang and that roughly translates as sing speak. Dylan was the premier performer to use this style of vocal successfully in popular music. He opened the door for this style of unconventional singing to become conventional. He also had to be a profoundly brilliant songwriter and a good musician to carry this through. Dylan's discography alone has some of the greatest albums in the history of music and the reviews on this thread are well worth reading.

I will quote allmusic who say

That's my favorite Dylan song. I love the way he performed it live.

My favorite:
My love she speaks like silence
Without ideals or violence
She doesn't have to say she's faithful
Yet she's true, like ice, like fire People carry roses
And make promises by the hours
My love she laughs like the flowers
Valentines can't buy her.

In the dime stores and bus stations
People talk of situations
Read books, repeat quotations
Draw conclusions on the wall
Some speak of the future
My love she speaks softly
She knows there's no success like failure
And that failure's no succes at all.

The cloak and dagger dangles
Madams light the candles
In ceremonies of the horsemen
Even the pawn must hold a grudge
Statues made of match sticks
Crumble into one another
My love winks, she does not bother
She knows too much to argue or to judge.

The bridge at midnight trembles
The country doctor rambles
Bankers' nieces seek perfection
Expecting all the gifts that wise men bring
The wind howls like a hammer
The night blows rainy
My love she's like some raven
At my window with a broken wing.

Dylan comes off as smug and arrogant in the documentary. I felt sorry Donovan because Dylan treated him so shabbily during his visit to Dylan's hotel room. Donovan played one of his work-in-progress compositions for Dylan who appeared to be bored. When the guitar gets passed to Dylan he plays perhaps his greatest song ever It's All Over Now Baby Blue just to trump Donovan's musicianship. It was sad to watch Donovan humbly voluteering to pick up the beer bottles Dylan's entourage had been throwing out the window like he's a roadie or hanger on.

The D.A. Pennebaker documentary is a classic and his fly-on-the-wall approach reveals a great deal about Dylan. Pennebaker had control over the final editing cuts and I'm surprised Dylan relinquished those rights to him because Pennebaker included a lot of scenes that weren't exactly flattering to Dylan.

That was a long time ago and undoubtably Dylan is older and wiser. I still think he's a enigma but he manages to share a small part of himself in his autobiogrpahy.

Donovan asked Bob to play that song. And wasnt it Donovan who was throwing the bottles in the 1st place?

Good call. The version on Live 75/Bootleg Series Vol. 5 is especially wonderful.

You're right... I never heard Donovan's request for Baby Blue because of the poor sound quality but I can hear it now that you mentioned it.

The glass throwing incident wasn't Donovan's doing. Dylan seems to have gotten into a agrugment with one of the hangers-on who was involved in the incident. It's not clear if the glass thrower was part of Donovan's group of people or another group.

Both Dylan and the glass throwing dude seem very drunk. Donovan's only words came when Dylan ordered the guy to clean up the glass and Donovan says "I'll help man." I think a lot of Dylan's surly behavior in the hotel room scene can be attributed to his inebriated state of mind. Still it was interesting that Dylan allowed Pennebaker to include that rather unflattering incident in the final cut.

You can view that section of film by going to You Tube and entering the search phrase Bob Dylan Pissed & Drunk. Sorry but I'm not able to post a direct link to the video.

I love the Basement Tapes-- I would have loved to have seen Dylan and The Band live-- The best musicians ever.

The Basement Tapes are available as an MP3 download or in the CD format at Amazon. Amazon.com: The Basement Tapes: MP3 Downloads: Bob Dylan & The Band

An edition of the Basement Tapes been in issue for several years but a lot of retailers don't carry it because it's not one of the better selling Dylan titles. What's really unusual about the Basement Tapes it's one of those rare occasions when Dylan seems relaxed and unenigmatic.

The full story on the Basement Tapes is that the 24 songs on the cd are only a small portion of the 125 or so songs recorded at Big Pink by Dylan and the Band. I'm hoping the Complete Basement Tapes get released as part of the highly successful Dylan "Bootleg" release project because a lot of the best stuff still hasn't been issued.

Bootlegs of the complete sessions have been floating around for years and I've heard a few dozen cuts that didn't make it to the 1975 Basement Tapes collection. Here's some of the material you won't find on the Basement Tapes:

All You Have to Do is Dream [version one is the better of the two]--one of Dylan's finest. Understated lyrics with an underlying depth that leave you second guessing each reading of the song. Beautifully performed by all involved.

Rock, Salt, and Nails--beautiful Utah Phillips' song. I've never heard a better vocal from Dylan or a more delicate performance from The Band.

Get Your Rocks Off--filthy lyrics, filthy performance. The lyrics remind me a bit of "Rainy Day Women" in that they front as a series of naughty puns but carry a greater weight. The song is just ideal. Dylan at his bluesy best.

Quinn the Eskimo--very fun song. And the two best versions of the song [un]available.

I'm not There (1956)--now available on the otherwise poor soundtrack for the film of the same title, many say it's the best song of all the Basement material. I don't, but it is beautiful and haunting.

Don't Ya Tell Henry--Dylan's version. Supremely better than The Band's. The lyrics remind me of "Ballad of a Thin Man," except, Dylan is having a poke at his own perceptions. I like to think of it as "Ballad of a Thin Man" ran through a deeply religious experience. The quirky brass reminds me a bit of some of Tom Waits' 80's material.

Too Much of Nothing V2--better than the version here. Great song either way.

I Shall Be Released--available on the Bootleg volume's 1-3 [disc 2], one of Dylan's greatest songs and greatest performances [the ultimate performance of the song].

Santa Fe--like "I'm not There," the lyrics are a bit difficult to make out at times, and like "I'm not There," the beautiful performance makes the lyrics almost unnecessary.

Silent Weekend--not my favorite, but a good number of people rate it as one of the better songs from the sessions. It's a good song.

Sing on the Cross--brilliant song. Dylan never wrote a more haunting chorus. It's very strange in that the verses and the drunken rant seem to be a good deal of nonsense swirling around that very pointed chorus, but it definitely works together.

I'm a Fool for You--starts beautifully and falls apart. Still worth hearing for said start.

Next Time on the Highway--great bluesy rock song. Clever lyrics, great performance by all involved.

See You Later, Allen Ginsberg--worth mentioning for its silliness.

Big River--after a warm up, Dylan out-man's Cash and out-sneers Lou Reed and Iggy Pop.

Ol' Roison Le Beau--beautiful drinking song. The distortion doesn't hurt any.

Eh...it's always been a vaguely guilty pleasure of mine, personally.

The official album is definitely more listenable as an "album experience". There are, however, a LOT of gorgeous moments in the complete sessions. However they are hard to sit and listen to as a whole. Better taken just a little bit at a time and mulled upon for days. Very low fidelity and very loose. Also does not include the Band tracks (minus Dylan plus Helm) from the official album, which are very much worth hearing. The complete session would make a good "Bootleg Series" entry, but the official album sequence was probably a good rocknroll call on someone's part.

Personally, I can NOT STAND his voice. I would be the last to deny that as a songwriter, he was probably the best. I love listening to covers of his songs, the lyrics are absolutely amazing. That said, I haven't really heard anything by him that wasn't a hit because of his voice. Are there any songs where he doesn't sound like such a whiny b****? Don't mean to offend anyone by that by the way just can't stand it.