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The Official Bob Dylan Thread


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  • 2 weeks later...

Dylan's most recent album...the Christmas one, the one for charity....

 

I gave it a listen in the car tonight on the way to Thanksgiving dinner. Yikes!!!!!

 

A few things off the top;

Did he sing after the other tracks were done or what? It has that incredibly well put together sound of an album that someone did the arrangements, instrumentals, and background vocals and then the singer just came into the studio and laid down the vocal tracks, after all was said and done. This is really not a bad a not album considering and some of the song selection is brilliant and funny. Otherwise it is just shy of a bad joke.

 

Second, Dylan's voice now resembles an old 78 that is somewhat degrooved. In that respect latter day Dylan's vocals are an art form in and of themselves. They now do resemble the ancient and long dead blues singers he has always emulated throughout his career. Except now his voice quite literally sounds like those old records, all scratchy and missing some of fidelity and sections of the sound. With his instrument sounding this ruined ( la Tom Waits) he needs to figure out how to incorporate different dynamics to make is sound even more unusual.

 

I guess since this is all for charity none of us can complain. I suspect it will get played once a year from here on out just for the hell of it.

 

LouieB

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  • 2 weeks later...

Joan Baez (American Masters)

 

I watched it last night. It is a pretty moving documentary. There are a few recent interviews with Dylan in the film. They also show some Rolling Thunder/Renaldo & Clara footage.

 

I've been catching bits and pieces of these over the past week, and I really have to see the whole thing. Joanie is so awesome. I'd love to hang out with her.

The Bob/Joan performance footage that looks like early videotape - the Hard Rain stuff: that's post-R&C, Rolling Thunder, right? They used it when talking about Rolling Thunder, but I thought Bob in the white doo-rag was after all that.

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I've been catching bits and pieces of these over the past week, and I really have to see the whole thing. Joanie is so awesome. I'd love to hang out with her.

The Bob/Joan performance footage that looks like early videotape - the Hard Rain stuff: that's post-R&C, Rolling Thunder, right? They used it when talking about Rolling Thunder, but I thought Bob in the white doo-rag was after all that.

 

That was from the second RTR, I think. It took place in 1976. I think that footage is from Florida, and was used for the Hard Rain TV special.

 

I suppose they cleaned up her language somewhat, as I recall, she dropped a lot of F-bombs in the Dylan documentary a few years ago.

 

I was actually watching her take on Farewell, Angelina again on Youtube last night.

 

What is interesting is that Dylan sort of apologizes to her in his brief interview segment. She also did a tour with him sometime in the early 1980s.

 

(I may be off on the dates - but there was two RTR tours.)

 

Ok, here we go -

Rolling Thunder Revue

 

Also - this a mighty powerful tune:

A Song For David

Edited by Analogman
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I did not realize the tour documented by the Hard Rain TV special/album was considered a Rolling Thunder dealie. Cool. The wiki page says "filmed" but that really looks like video.

Yeah, that was downright shocking to hear Dylan say about their relationship "it ended there, and I'm sorry it did" or words really close to that. I wonder how much of that interview footage is out there.

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I did not realize the tour documented by the Hard Rain TV special/album was considered a Rolling Thunder dealie. Cool.

Yeah, that was downright shocking to hear Dylan say about their relationship "it ended there, and I'm sorry it did" or words really close to that. I wonder how much of that interview footage is out there.

 

I was wondering the same thing. There must be more.

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Here is an interview with Dylan where he talks about his Christmas album. I listened to it a few times and I think its great. I like the backup singers and I think the production is great. It's bit funny that Dylan's producer moniker has been "Jack Frost".
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I laid the Christmas album on my fifth grade students the other day in art class. Blew their minds. It was the funniest thing ever. Many of them had the best WTF look ever. I wish I had video taped it. Seriously, it was the first time they all got quiet and listened intently. No one said anything for a minute or two. The went nuts when Must be Santa came on. It was really fun in the art room that day.

 

Many great quotes:

 

Kid #1 "what's wrong with his voice"

Kid #2 "Shut up, that's a real man's voice."

 

"Is he okay?"

 

"When is he going to start singing?" (Said after we were about 3 songs in)

 

"He sounds creepy."

 

I also creeped them out with the Music Tape's Singing Saw album. I think they're all scared of now of a few Christmas songs. They called it scary. I am going to let them listen to Bright Eye's Christmas album this week. Now, that will scare them too.

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I didn't buy it. I think it is the first new Dylan release I have not bought in a long time. I am not really a Christmas music fan, so I didn't really see any sense in buying it.

If my family weren't Christmas fans I would have passed this up, but it is for charity after all. Considering (as I have mentioned before) it sounds heavily arranged and then Bob just showed up to croak out the lyrics, it really isn't so much fun. Had it been really sloppy and stupid it would have been far more fun; sort of a drunken Christmas thing with lots of mistakes and off pitch stuff, well then it would have been a classic.

 

LouieB

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If my family weren't Christmas fans I would have passed this up, but it is for charity after all. Considering (as I have mentioned before) it sounds heavily arranged and then Bob just showed up to croak out the lyrics, it really isn't so much fun. Had it been really sloppy and stupid it would have been far more fun; sort of a drunken Christmas thing with lots of mistakes and off pitch stuff, well then it would have been a classic.

 

LouieB

 

Well, that is another reason - I think it is awful.

 

If I actually get a notion to hear Christmas songs, I am apt to listen to my Beach Boys Christmas album.

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Considering (as I have mentioned before) it sounds heavily arranged and then Bob just showed up to croak out the lyrics, it really isn't so much fun. Had it been really sloppy and stupid it would have been far more fun; sort of a drunken Christmas thing with lots of mistakes and off pitch stuff, well then it would have been a classic.

 

LouieB

 

 

From the interview:

BF: You’re a lot more loyal to these melodies than you are to the melodies of the songs you’ve written. Do you figure these tunes can’t be messed with?

 

BD: If you want to get to the heart of them they can’t be, no.

 

I guess that is why I like the album, it is heavily arranged/produced. I am a bit of sucker for Xmas music, though.

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I actually like the new Christmas album but I think it could have been a classic if he would have done more "Must be Santa" and less "Silver Bells".

 

:yes

 

Must Be Santa makes me laugh every time i hear it.... it shows that he's not a miserable old bastard when he doest want to be :lol

 

the thing to remember with Dyaln is that he seems to put more care into songs that he didnt write. he just turns on autopilot when he's doing he's own stuff these days

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I laid the Christmas album on my fifth grade students the other day in art class. Blew their minds. It was the funniest thing ever. Many of them had the best WTF look ever. I wish I had video taped it. Seriously, it was the first time they all got quiet and listened intently. No one said anything for a minute or two. The went nuts when Must be Santa came on. It was really fun in the art room that day.

 

Many great quotes:

 

Kid #1 "what's wrong with his voice"

Kid #2 "Shut up, that's a real man's voice."

 

"Is he okay?"

 

"When is he going to start singing?" (Said after we were about 3 songs in)

 

"He sounds creepy."

 

I also creeped them out with the Music Tape's Singing Saw album. I think they're all scared of now of a few Christmas songs. They called it scary. I am going to let them listen to Bright Eye's Christmas album this week. Now, that will scare them too.

Scare the hell out of the little lads: Lay the Twisted Sister Christmas album on them - with video!

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