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Music : Bob Dylan
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Rating: 
- On Inventing Bob Dylan
In reviewing Bob Dylan's 1965 classic album Bringing All Back Home (you know, the one where he went electric) I noted that it seemed hard to believe now that both as to the performer as well as to what was being attempted that anyone would take umbrage at a performer using an electric guitar to tell a folk story (or any story for that matter). I further pointed out that it is not necessary to go into all the details of what or what did not happen with Pete Seeger at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 to know that one should be glad, glad as hell, that Bob Dylan continued to listen to his own drummer and carry on a career based on electronic music.
Others have, endlessly, gone on about Bob Dylan's role as the voice of his generation (and mine), his lyrics and what they do or do not mean and his place in the rock or folk pantheons, or both. Here we are going back to the early days when there was no dispute that he had earned a place in the folk pantheon. The only real difference between the early stuff and the later electric stuff though is- the electricity. Dylan's extraordinary sense of words, language and word play has been a constant throughout his career. If much later (in the 1990's) he gets a bit repetitious and a little gimmicky in order to stay "relevant" that is only much later after he had done more than his share to add to the language of music.
In this selection we have some outright folk classics that Dylan covered as well as a couple of his own that will endure for the ages like those of his early hero Woody Guthrie's have endured. In fact this album is as much a tribute to Woody as it is a wake up call that a new folk talent has come on the scene. Dylan gets better in latter albums as he develops his own voice but this mainly cover debut album shows his raw talent coming out of the gate. We have the traditional House of the Rising Sun, Pretty Peggy-o, Man of Constant Sorrow, Elizabeth Cotton's Freight Train and a very good cover of Blind Lemon Jefferson's See That My Grave is Kept Clean. Song to Woody though kind of expresses what Dylan is trying to do as he first hits the New York folk scene and see if he can stay in Woody's company. We know the answer was eventually yes.
Rating:
- Historically Important, Musically Not So Much
This album is more of a curiosity than anything else. Every great artist has to start somewhere, and while Dylan hardly distinguishes himself from the rest of the folk-singing pack in his debut, he certainly doesn't embarrass himself either. He's not the "Dylan" everybody thinks of today, although it wouldn't be all that long till he'd emerge - after he worked through his growing pains on this effort, he would mature as few other artists ever had into an accomplished singer/songwriter with his second album ("The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan"). There are basically no standout performances on "Bob Dylan," and had he never followed it up, this album certainly would've faded into obscurity and been completely forgotten by the time of the British Invasion. That didn't happen, of course, but for all the genius that he'd show on subsequent albums, there are only occasional hints on this album that he'd develop into a legend. The only two original songs are "Talkin' New York," which almost can be taken literally since he talks most of the song rather than sings it, and "Song to Woody," which never really comes together as a song but at least is interesting. Most tellingly, the only song on this album that made it onto his "Biograph" career retrospective was "Baby, Let me Follow You Down," which is a fine song, well played and sung by Dylan, but was his take on another guy's take on somebody else's song. To put this album into historical context, play it all the way through, then listen to "Freewheelin'" and then consider that the second album came out just a year after this debut. And then look at those young eyes staring back at you on the cover, which seem to be saying, "I'm not going to be singing about Pretty Peggy-O for much longer."
Rating:
- He was great from the beginning!
Just bought the remastered 'Bob Dylan'. Really great, one of the best from the beginning and it sounds amazing! There are so many good songs on it and Dylan's voice is so strong... It's a crime to say he couldn't sing, some people just don't get it. I'm totally pleased and riding along.
Rating: - Outstanding Music by The Minnesota Kid Who Helped Wake Up a Country
Back in 1962 I was a high school sophomore at Lakewood High School in Lakewood, California, a bed city just north of Long Beach and East of L.A. Bob Dylan was only a kid then too. The music he made wasn't a bit like what they'd been playing on the top forty and none of the songs on this record made the hit parade, but the record made it to my house, as I was kind of into folk music. Man, like I was digging the Kingston Trio and Glenn Yarborough back then, but right from the get go I knew this was different.
I fell in love with Bob Dylan's voice and even though my dad told me he stole the composition of "House of the Rising Sun" from Dave Van Ronk, I didn't care. My dad, a long time Frank Sinatra fan was into music big time, all kinds. He knew stuff and one of the things he knew was that this kid from Minnesota was going places. My dad was from Minnesota.
When I listen to this record, I try to take myself back to the world the way it was then. Lots of people think things were better back in the day. Life was simpler. Well, no it wasn't and one of the people who was going to help wake us all up to the fact that there were plenty of things wrong in the land of the free and the home of the brave was going to be this Minnesota kid.
All of the songs on this record stand out, but that maybe somewhat controversial version of "House of the Rising Sun" really shines, as does my personal favorite, "Song to Woody." That wasn't always my favorite track on this record, but when I heard Dylan's live performance of it on the Tribute Record I went back and listened to this record with a fresh ear. It had been awhile. This record still takes me back. Life was good. It was hard, it wasn't fair, but it was good nevertheless.
Rating:
- A Hint Of Better Things To Come
This album includes 11 traditional blues and folk tunes and only 2 originals. Of the original songs I consider "Song To Woody" to be the better effort. It's a ode to not only Woody Guthrie but also other musical influences such as Leadbelly and Cisco. It is still far from his best songwriting but a good place to start. On the other hand I really don't care for "Talkin' New York". It's a satirical stab at his early struggles in the New York folk scene. But the truth is that Dylan was able to sign a major label record deal within a couple years while many of his talented musical peers continued to perform, some for decades, in relative obscurity. So to me this song is a whiny expression of Dylan's large and hypersensitive ego. I should also mention that Dylan is my favorite musical artist of the last 50 years. But he, like all of us, is only human. So it's best to be aware of his flaws and not fall into mindless "hero worship".
As for his covers of traditional songs I find it to be a mixed bag. The young Dylan clearly had tremendous energy and many of these songs are raved up versions with Dylan practically snarling some of the lyrics. Remember that Dylan had discovered Elvis and Buddy Holly before he got into folk music and the signs that he would someday "go electric" are evident even on this first album. I enjoyed "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and a few others. But I hate how he turned the beautiful Scottish folk ballad "Pretty Peggy-O" into a weak effort at humor and parody. Pretty much all of these traditional songs are great classics. But I would encourage listeners to seek out the original artists, such as Rev.Gary Davis, or at least versions more faithful to the source material such as those by Doc Watson.
Of course, it is also interesting to hear them done by Dylan and Dylan completists will want to add this to their collection. Fortunately, Dylan would later find his true voice as rock's greatest songwriter and go on to make some of the best music of the latter half of the 20th century. This, after all, was only the beginning.
- On Inventing Bob DylanIn reviewing Bob Dylan's 1965 classic album Bringing All Back Home (you know, the one where he went electric) I noted that it seemed hard to believe now that both as to the performer as well as to what was being attempted that anyone would take umbrage at a performer using an electric guitar to tell a folk story (or any story for that matter). I further pointed out that it is not necessary to go into all the details of what or what did not happen with Pete Seeger at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 to know that one should be glad, glad as hell, that Bob Dylan continued to listen to his own drummer and carry on a career based on electronic music.
Others have, endlessly, gone on about Bob Dylan's role as the voice of his generation (and mine), his lyrics and what they do or do not mean and his place in the rock or folk pantheons, or both. Here we are going back to the early days when there was no dispute that he had earned a place in the folk pantheon. The only real difference between the early stuff and the later electric stuff though is- the electricity. Dylan's extraordinary sense of words, language and word play has been a constant throughout his career. If much later (in the 1990's) he gets a bit repetitious and a little gimmicky in order to stay "relevant" that is only much later after he had done more than his share to add to the language of music.
In this selection we have some outright folk classics that Dylan covered as well as a couple of his own that will endure for the ages like those of his early hero Woody Guthrie's have endured. In fact this album is as much a tribute to Woody as it is a wake up call that a new folk talent has come on the scene. Dylan gets better in latter albums as he develops his own voice but this mainly cover debut album shows his raw talent coming out of the gate. We have the traditional House of the Rising Sun, Pretty Peggy-o, Man of Constant Sorrow, Elizabeth Cotton's Freight Train and a very good cover of Blind Lemon Jefferson's See That My Grave is Kept Clean. Song to Woody though kind of expresses what Dylan is trying to do as he first hits the New York folk scene and see if he can stay in Woody's company. We know the answer was eventually yes.
Rating:
- Historically Important, Musically Not So MuchThis album is more of a curiosity than anything else. Every great artist has to start somewhere, and while Dylan hardly distinguishes himself from the rest of the folk-singing pack in his debut, he certainly doesn't embarrass himself either. He's not the "Dylan" everybody thinks of today, although it wouldn't be all that long till he'd emerge - after he worked through his growing pains on this effort, he would mature as few other artists ever had into an accomplished singer/songwriter with his second album ("The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan"). There are basically no standout performances on "Bob Dylan," and had he never followed it up, this album certainly would've faded into obscurity and been completely forgotten by the time of the British Invasion. That didn't happen, of course, but for all the genius that he'd show on subsequent albums, there are only occasional hints on this album that he'd develop into a legend. The only two original songs are "Talkin' New York," which almost can be taken literally since he talks most of the song rather than sings it, and "Song to Woody," which never really comes together as a song but at least is interesting. Most tellingly, the only song on this album that made it onto his "Biograph" career retrospective was "Baby, Let me Follow You Down," which is a fine song, well played and sung by Dylan, but was his take on another guy's take on somebody else's song. To put this album into historical context, play it all the way through, then listen to "Freewheelin'" and then consider that the second album came out just a year after this debut. And then look at those young eyes staring back at you on the cover, which seem to be saying, "I'm not going to be singing about Pretty Peggy-O for much longer."
Rating:
- He was great from the beginning!Just bought the remastered 'Bob Dylan'. Really great, one of the best from the beginning and it sounds amazing! There are so many good songs on it and Dylan's voice is so strong... It's a crime to say he couldn't sing, some people just don't get it. I'm totally pleased and riding along.
Rating:
- Outstanding Music by The Minnesota Kid Who Helped Wake Up a CountryBack in 1962 I was a high school sophomore at Lakewood High School in Lakewood, California, a bed city just north of Long Beach and East of L.A. Bob Dylan was only a kid then too. The music he made wasn't a bit like what they'd been playing on the top forty and none of the songs on this record made the hit parade, but the record made it to my house, as I was kind of into folk music. Man, like I was digging the Kingston Trio and Glenn Yarborough back then, but right from the get go I knew this was different.
I fell in love with Bob Dylan's voice and even though my dad told me he stole the composition of "House of the Rising Sun" from Dave Van Ronk, I didn't care. My dad, a long time Frank Sinatra fan was into music big time, all kinds. He knew stuff and one of the things he knew was that this kid from Minnesota was going places. My dad was from Minnesota.
When I listen to this record, I try to take myself back to the world the way it was then. Lots of people think things were better back in the day. Life was simpler. Well, no it wasn't and one of the people who was going to help wake us all up to the fact that there were plenty of things wrong in the land of the free and the home of the brave was going to be this Minnesota kid.
All of the songs on this record stand out, but that maybe somewhat controversial version of "House of the Rising Sun" really shines, as does my personal favorite, "Song to Woody." That wasn't always my favorite track on this record, but when I heard Dylan's live performance of it on the Tribute Record I went back and listened to this record with a fresh ear. It had been awhile. This record still takes me back. Life was good. It was hard, it wasn't fair, but it was good nevertheless.
Rating:
- A Hint Of Better Things To ComeThis album includes 11 traditional blues and folk tunes and only 2 originals. Of the original songs I consider "Song To Woody" to be the better effort. It's a ode to not only Woody Guthrie but also other musical influences such as Leadbelly and Cisco. It is still far from his best songwriting but a good place to start. On the other hand I really don't care for "Talkin' New York". It's a satirical stab at his early struggles in the New York folk scene. But the truth is that Dylan was able to sign a major label record deal within a couple years while many of his talented musical peers continued to perform, some for decades, in relative obscurity. So to me this song is a whiny expression of Dylan's large and hypersensitive ego. I should also mention that Dylan is my favorite musical artist of the last 50 years. But he, like all of us, is only human. So it's best to be aware of his flaws and not fall into mindless "hero worship".
As for his covers of traditional songs I find it to be a mixed bag. The young Dylan clearly had tremendous energy and many of these songs are raved up versions with Dylan practically snarling some of the lyrics. Remember that Dylan had discovered Elvis and Buddy Holly before he got into folk music and the signs that he would someday "go electric" are evident even on this first album. I enjoyed "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean" and a few others. But I hate how he turned the beautiful Scottish folk ballad "Pretty Peggy-O" into a weak effort at humor and parody. Pretty much all of these traditional songs are great classics. But I would encourage listeners to seek out the original artists, such as Rev.Gary Davis, or at least versions more faithful to the source material such as those by Doc Watson.
Of course, it is also interesting to hear them done by Dylan and Dylan completists will want to add this to their collection. Fortunately, Dylan would later find his true voice as rock's greatest songwriter and go on to make some of the best music of the latter half of the 20th century. This, after all, was only the beginning.