― Burr (Burr), Sunday, 27 April 2003 20:24 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Hurr, Sunday, 27 April 2003 20:25 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Kenan Hebert (kenan), Sunday, 27 April 2003 20:34 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 27 April 2003 20:43 (twenty-one years ago) link
11. New Pony12. High Water (for Charley Patton)13. On the Road Again14. Foot of Pride15. I Want You16. One More Cup of Coffee17. Up To Me18. Love Minus Zero/No Limit19. Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat)20. We Better Talk This Over
nb. this list will change in five seconds time
― Alex K (Alex K), Monday, 28 April 2003 08:29 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Evan (Evan), Monday, 28 April 2003 08:49 (twenty-one years ago) link
it's all over now baby blueit's alright ma i'm only bleedingstuck inside of mobile with the memphis blues againIf you see her, say hellodesolation rowtangled up in bluesimple twist of fateyou're a big girl nowdon't think twice, it's alrightgirl of the north countryboots of spanish leatherlonesome death of hattie carollTo RamonaLove minus zeroVisions of Johana
― Fabrice (Fabfunk), Monday, 28 April 2003 08:58 (twenty-one years ago) link
positively fourth street- such incredibly spiteful lyrics wedded to such lovely music. even better organ than 'like a rolling stone'? evidence of dylan's conceptual genius: wasn't this one of the first songs to make the charts which had a title that did not reference the lyrics?
knockin' on heaven's door- so stark and sad and instantly classic. strikes me as being a particularly 'undylanesque' track, if that even means anything. chord progression must have been ripped off a million times by now (i.e. 'fade into you')
tell me that it isn't true- the backing band on 'nashville skyline' is absolutely grand. the drum fills on this song kill me every time.
you're a big girl now- the song title makes me cringe a little, but for me this song is far superior to the others on 'blood on the tracks' that everyone always raves about ('idiot wind', 'tangled up in blue', etc.) the chord progressions are gorgeous, and the depth of pain in his vocals is rivaled only by the harmonica solo. in overall feeling reminds me of fred neil's 'faretheewell', (compare 'i'm going out of my mind, oooooohhhhh!/with a pain that stops and starts/like a corkscrew through my heart' to neil's delivery of the lines 'woke up this morning/it was drizzling rain/& all around my heart/was an achin' pain'...such affecting lyrics and phrasing in both)
just like tom thumb's blues- i always thought dylan was overrated as a lyricist; esp. around 'blonde on blonde' period, where he seems to be just tossing out amphetamine & cannabis induced nonsense. all the stuff about 'jugglers' 'clowns' and so forth seems particularly corny/dated to my ears. this one's a notable exception, though; right from the start some brilliant (& dare i say truly poetic) lines...establishing a been-down-so-long-that-it's-gone-full-circle-to-looking-like-'down'-again-for-me mood. frustration and confusion has rarely sounded so beautiful or been borne with such a wicked sense of humor.
absolutely sweet marie- another 'blonde on blonde' one's whose lyrics i can deal with. plus it's got that thin wild mercury sound, mannnn.
lay lady lay- me as teenager, after hearing dj of some aor station announce "...and we just heard 'lay lady lay' by bob dylan" ... "whaaaaa???!! that's really, truly dylan? not jim nabors?!!" ...anyway, truly lovely song, despite somewhat cringe-inducing title. supposedly the nashville session guys thought dylan's 'bongos would go nice in this one' suggestion utterly daft, but then realized it was completely genius after hearing the results. i particularly love the bridge in this one, 'why wait any longer for the world to begin?/you can have your cake and eat it too/why wait any longer for the one you love?...when he's standing/right in front of you'
tonight i'll be staying here with you- another beauty off of 'nashville skyline'. sigh.
most likely you go your way and i'll go mine- ummm, see 'absolutely sweet marie', above.
i want you- ummm, see 'most likely...' above. (i don't know! i just like it! just makes me feel good).
― Dallas Yertle (Dallas Yertle), Monday, 28 April 2003 09:33 (twenty-one years ago) link
― gary k (gary k), Monday, 28 April 2003 09:59 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Paul (scifisoul), Monday, 28 April 2003 11:39 (twenty-one years ago) link
Visions of Johanna – well, this is probably my favourite song from the Dylan album I most admire (though it’s not necessarily my ‘favourite’ Bob LP). It’s just a magical piece of beautiful poetry, bursting with molten images which betray different nuances with each listen. From that first line, "Aint it, just like the night to play, tricks when you’re trying to be so quiet…" I’m completely seduced; yeah bob, my fuckin man, it sure is…tell me story to bring it down. It’s delicate and, humble too I think, Bob was flying by the seat of his pants when he wrote these songs and he had no idea how people were gonna take them, and I think you can hear it clearly here, in the fragile sound. The rush of fleeting images and twisted rendering of crashing on a brownstone floor somewhere downtown come on like a dream but it’s a dream that I always find some way of identifying; fragments and moments from the song reverberate with my own experiences and collide with own feelings, which is a something I find with many of my most treasured Dylan works.
Tangled Up In Blue/Idiot Wind (acoustic outtakes) – I can’t separate these two songs because they are both utter, utter genius. I prefer the acoustic versions (available on the Official Bootleg series or the Blood on the Tapes bootleg) to the ones which made it onto the album proper, but again, both of these songs are audacious, adroit renderings of people, places and situations that set off chains of memories and dreams for me.
Tangled: I mean, this is just awe-inspiring, a break up story, the story of a marriage, a journey through a relationship? I have no idea, but introspection pricks, and sometimes I’ll smile and sometimes I’ll cry. Fuck, his phrasing is just amazing and when he sets it off with that high guitar jangle, it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.
Idiot: Man, this song is epic, and I always feel it has so much of the man himself in, it’s vulnerable, it’s accusatory, aloof one moment, laid low the next. Bob was becoming more and more creative with his storytelling and poetics; the painting allusion has been used many times, but here it really is appropriate. The song is like scenes and snapshots rendered in such compelling, though inscrutable form, rich lyrical brushstrokes across a rough canvas, littered with signs and symbols which become more or less important depending on where I am in my life. What I see and hear in the song alters each time I listen to it, just as my perspectives shift each time I stand before a Rothko.
4th Time Around: Another of his most beautiful songs, and so simple – the story keeps rolling with that twinkling guitar lick in the treble which really does do it for me. Maybe the song is a rip of Norwegian Wood and a prod at John, but I’m not so sure – I just love the snappy exchanges and scene shifts, "She, buttoned her boot, and straightened her suit, and she said ‘don’t get cute…’"
I don’t Believe You: I love both versions of this song, the loping electric one he wheeled out in ‘66 and the original spangly version off Another Side Of. I just like the simplicity of it, boy meets girl, they have some fun, girl ignores boy, and I like Bob’s take on that, the details that stick out for him, and sense of humour; I mean, "if she ain’t feelin’ well…" Ha. I like that he can laugh about it.
Meet Me In The Morning: Now this song really is tidy as fuck. It’s a fuzzy haze, everything slowly coming in and out, before the sun sets on the song, "sinking like a ship." The guitar solo too, is class – how can you describe the sound he gets here? A nasty buzzing distorted phase, I have no idea what he’s doing but it really is something else.
It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding): Well, Bob literally brings it all back home on this one, and Jesus what an album this is, possibly my favourite overall. And this song, what? You mean someone actually wrote this? An actual person? It’s absolutely incredible, dark, loaded, angry; "money doesn’t talk, it swears" – who else could come up with that? It’s a flawless piece of politicised poetry, executed on a grand scale without ever coming on like its laboured or clichéd. And the great guitar riff, keeps it locked then rips on through on the chorus phrase.
As I went Out One Morning: Whoever plays bass on this song is a fucking God because it pops along beautifully, tying up the spartan guitar. It’s a great little story too, and Bob’s delivery is gorgeous.
It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry: Led by the sliding piano blues licks, this is a rocking number off a rocking album. Bob drops one of my favourite lines of all time in this, as the song builds for the final crescendo he wails, "well I wanna be your lover baby, I don’t wanna be your boss:" what an absolute classic.
Isis: Another huge swirling, abstracted narrative from Bob, drenched in earthy Egyptian images, pyramids, turquoise, there are so many great phrases in this: "I broke into the tomb, but the casket was empty. There was no jewels, no nothin’, I felt I’d been had."And I particularly love the line, "when he died, I was hoping that it wasn’t contagious." I love the relentless piano thumping throughout the whole goddamn thing and the drummer on Desire is a bit of a don too, decorating the songs with lush shimmering splashes.
Ballad of a Thin Man: The song Bob wrote for all the people who couldn’t get their heads around his decision to go electric and leave the protests behind. I love the chorus refrain, "you know something is happening here but you don’t know what it is," it’s a favourite slice of hipster sneering cool, delivered sideways on from behind huge aviators.
― Alex K (Alex K), Monday, 28 April 2003 12:49 (twenty-one years ago) link
To RamonaShe Belongs To MeIt Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to CryHighway 61 Revisited4th Time AroundLo and BeholdI Dreamed I Saw St. AugustineSign on the WindowTangled Up in BluePo' Boy
― o. nate (onate), Monday, 28 April 2003 13:12 (twenty-one years ago) link
― christoff (christoff), Monday, 28 April 2003 14:11 (twenty-one years ago) link
In no particular order:
1) Oh Sister (from the live 1975 album): This is the best version I've heard of a truly great song. For some reason the yearning comes through waaaay more than on Desire, which I always thought was a little flat on occasion. Marvellous
Line that jumps in my head: "Oh Sister am I not a brother to you, and deserving of affection?"
2) She's Your Lover Now: I don't have bootleg of this, I only have the half-complete version on the official bootleg album (only Dylan . . .), but this is still magnificant. He snarls and drools through a tirade of insults and spite, not levening the anger with thought or expression. A fabulous concoction of bile.
Line that jumps in my head: "You talk to her, (SNARL) she's your lover now."
3) Blind Willie McTell: Moving? Moving?!?! This batters you the way no other song, EVAH, could possibly hope for. "The world's still shit, but we can't see it these days." - a simple insight amazingly realised.
Line that jumps in my head:"Power and greed and corruptable seed, seem to be all there is."
4) To Ramona: The first Dylan song I learned to play, and it still fills my heart with gladness. Makes me wanna cuddle everyone.
Line: "From fixtures and forces and friends your sorrow does stem."
5) Tombstone Blues: Such a rush. This is what too much amphetamine sounds like when filtered through a blues guiter. Too many words, too many thoughts, just too much for one brain to cope with.
Line: "I wish I could write you a melody so plain that could hold you dear lady, from going insane."
6) Shelter from the Storm: Another cuddler. Redemption in the arms of the one you love - aaaaaah!
Line:"In a world of steel eyed death and men who are fighting to be warm, come in she said, I'll give you shelter from the storm."
7) Baby Let Me Follow You Down (Live 1966): Actually, I only need the first 20 seconds; the handclaps and the boos vs the harmonica. Tells you all you need to know about Bob's attitude in the mid sxities.
Line: Just the harmonica.
8) It Takes A Lot To Laugh etc (Live 1966): This is a bit flat on the record - it is AMAZING here. Bob sings like he's as tired of life as you imagine him to be, and he makes you believe.
Line: "I'm going back to New York City, I do believe I've had enough."
9) I Want You: When I only had the greatest hits, this seemed out of place at the end of the record - it was just too happy and silly compared with what went before. On Blonde on Blonde, it all makes sense. It may weel be happy and silly - how much does he want her?
Line: "I want you so bad" - maybe the finest piece of poetry ever uttered in the English language.
10) Desolation Row: Yes, I know EVERYONE likes this, but really, this IS one of the finiest things that you could ever stumble across.
Line: "Praise be to Nero's Neptune, the Titanic sails at dawn."
I could list the ones I missed out, but we'd be here for ever.
Okay, I'll stop now.
― Johnney B (Johnney B), Monday, 28 April 2003 14:23 (twenty-one years ago) link
― o. nate (onate), Monday, 28 April 2003 14:45 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Charles McCain (Charles McCain), Monday, 28 April 2003 15:19 (twenty-one years ago) link
It takes a lot to laugh was on my "Nearly" list . . . again, great song. "Can't buy a thrill" is a line I'm ALWAYS using in conversation . . . probably why I don't have a girlfriend . . .
― Johnney B (Johnney B), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 10:14 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Tico Tico (Tico Tico), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 14:31 (twenty-one years ago) link
This song's supposedly about Phil Ochs.
― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 29 April 2003 15:26 (twenty-one years ago) link
The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest4th Time AroundGirl from the North CountryI Pity the Poor ImmigrantI Threw It All AwayI Want YouIt's All Over Now, Baby BlueKnockin' on Heaven's Door Mr. Tambourine ManOne of Us Must Now (Sooner or Later)
― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 24 July 2003 16:34 (twenty years ago) link
― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 24 July 2003 16:36 (twenty years ago) link
I endorse this with either cubic millimeter of my cold black heart.
Man, she does he best to ruin that Bootleg Vol. 4 album.
The "Tonight, I'm Staying Here With You" on there is one my new all-time favorite.
Throw my tiiiicket in the wiiiind!
― ben welsh (benwelsh), Thursday, 24 July 2003 19:38 (twenty years ago) link
― amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 24 July 2003 20:15 (twenty years ago) link
― N. (nickdastoor), Thursday, 24 July 2003 20:49 (twenty years ago) link
― amateurist (amateurist), Friday, 25 July 2003 03:45 (twenty years ago) link
― Sym Sym (sym), Friday, 22 April 2005 00:10 (nineteen years ago) link
And I need an eleventh space, just for the way he says "I'm your friend" in "Tell Me Mama" from the "Royal Albert Hall" concert.
― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Friday, 22 April 2005 00:23 (nineteen years ago) link
― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Friday, 22 April 2005 00:37 (nineteen years ago) link
― Douglas (Douglas), Thursday, 28 April 2005 20:18 (nineteen years ago) link
― Scott CE (Scott CE), Thursday, 28 April 2005 20:28 (nineteen years ago) link
― Scott CE (Scott CE), Thursday, 28 April 2005 20:36 (nineteen years ago) link
― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Thursday, 28 April 2005 20:36 (nineteen years ago) link
I'd be really impressed if each one of those represented a different VERSION of the song.
― Scott CE (Scott CE), Thursday, 28 April 2005 20:44 (nineteen years ago) link
― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Thursday, 28 April 2005 21:00 (nineteen years ago) link
Foot of PrideI'm Not ThereTight Connection To My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love?)Day of the LocustDirgeJokermanLonesome Day BluesSign on the WindowMaybe SomedayBuckets of Rain
― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Thursday, 28 April 2005 21:02 (nineteen years ago) link
* - Is it about P.F. Sloan? I think it is. Look at the initials! Anyone else ever notice that?
― Mr. Snrub (Mr. Snrub), Thursday, 28 April 2005 23:37 (nineteen years ago) link
What can I say? If it's got to be OX, I like ballads, okay? And I'm bitter that there wasn't room for "Angelina"...+ Scott CE otm on the live "Isis," but I'll take either one
― rogermexico (rogermexico), Friday, 29 April 2005 05:59 (nineteen years ago) link
― Cunga (Cunga), Friday, 29 April 2005 06:12 (nineteen years ago) link
Of course, numbers 2 thru 10 are subject to change. (#1 boringly secure. You know, that thin wild mercury sound and etc.)
― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Friday, 29 April 2005 22:28 (nineteen years ago) link
― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Friday, 29 April 2005 22:39 (nineteen years ago) link
― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Friday, 29 April 2005 22:40 (nineteen years ago) link
― PB, Sunday, 20 November 2005 12:41 (eighteen years ago) link
― don, Sunday, 20 November 2005 16:12 (eighteen years ago) link
― j b goddamnfucking r (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 20 November 2005 16:24 (eighteen years ago) link
― Jason Dent (jason dont), Sunday, 20 November 2005 17:51 (eighteen years ago) link
― j b goddamnfucking r (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 20 November 2005 21:48 (eighteen years ago) link
― Charlie Howard, Monday, 30 April 2007 10:54 (seventeen years ago) link
its alright ma im only bleeding visions of johanna sooner or later ballad of a thin man positively 4th street she belongs to me shelter from the storm idiot wind blind willie mctell like a rolling stone
― Michael B, Saturday, 2 August 2008 15:20 (fifteen years ago) link
Did he ever have as great a rhythm section -- hell, rhythm sound -- on a song as he does on "Jokerman"? As for his voice -- how the hell does he manage to wring so much scorn and awe?
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Saturday, 2 August 2008 17:18 (fifteen years ago) link
sara blind willie mctell one too many mornings (live '66) like a rolling stone rita may the ballad of frankie lee and judas priest i don't believe you (she acts like we never have met) tombstone blues as i went out one morning lonesome death of hattie carroll
― J.D., Saturday, 2 August 2008 23:13 (fifteen years ago) link
can anybody tell me where the version of forever young in the new pepsi ads (the football one) is from? thanks in advance
― iago g., Monday, 18 January 2010 00:11 (fourteen years ago) link
Is it not just the "Continued" version from the PW album?
I.e. this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvTkspOc36Q
― Duke, Monday, 18 January 2010 19:32 (fourteen years ago) link
yes, that's it, thanks alot
― iago g., Monday, 18 January 2010 19:59 (fourteen years ago) link
love minus zero / no limiti want youmy back pagesmr tambourine mantell me mommaone of us must know (sooner or later)sad eyed lady of the lowlandsjust like a womanballad of a thin mandon't think twice, it's alright
― ET sippin the wig (spazzmatazz), Monday, 10 November 2014 20:24 (nine years ago) link
Just saw this morning that he's finishing a three-night residency in my city tonight. Looked at a setlist to see if it would be worth going:
Things Have ChangedShe Belongs to MeBeyond Here Lies NothingWorkingman’s Blues #2Waiting for YouDuquesne WhistlePay in BloodTangled Up in BlueLove SickHigh Water (For Charley Patton)Simple Twist of FateEarly Roman KingsForgetful HeartSpirit on the WaterScarlet TownSoon After MidnightLong and Wasted YearsBlowin’ in the WindStay With Me
― the man with the black wigs (Eazy), Monday, 10 November 2014 20:55 (nine years ago) link
(Setlist from Friday night.)
yeah... doesn't look like it
― ET sippin the wig (spazzmatazz), Monday, 10 November 2014 21:12 (nine years ago) link
Oh ho---"possibly as early as next week." Esp. curious about Bob/Eric tape w "nearly three LP sides" worth of material: http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/12/05/rare-dylan-recordings-set-for-release-in-copyright-extension-bid/?smid=tw-nytimesmusic&seid=auto&_r=0
― dow, Friday, 5 December 2014 17:56 (nine years ago) link
possible tracklisting; some of it rings a bell (thanx to ilxor tylerw for link)http://expectingrain.com/discussions/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=81484&start=125#p1535267
― dow, Friday, 5 December 2014 21:50 (nine years ago) link
my back pageslove minus zero/no limitabandoned loveyou're gonna make me lonesome when you gotell me, mommasad eyed lady of the lowlandsjust like a womanidiot windi want youspanish harlem incident
― flappy bird, Friday, 21 October 2016 06:51 (seven years ago) link
abandoned love
The one on Biograph or the unreleased version from The Bitter End?
― Sam Weller, Friday, 21 October 2016 09:04 (seven years ago) link
boots of spanish leatherqueen jane approximatelyvisions of johannaleopard-skin pill-box hatwent to see the gypsynobody cept youif you see her, say hellosomeone got ahold of my heartbrownsville girlsomeday baby (tell tale signs)
― difficult listening hour, Friday, 21 October 2016 09:30 (seven years ago) link
sweet list birdo
Isis (live biograph)Can You Please Crawl out Your WindowFoot of PrideClothesline SagaUp to MeVisions of JohannaOne of Us Must KnowIdiot Wind (live Hard Rain)Desolation RowLike a Rolling Stone
― his eye is on despair-o (Jon not Jon), Friday, 21 October 2016 15:37 (seven years ago) link
― Sam Weller, Friday, October 21, 2016 5:04 AM (eight hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink
the bitter end! better lyrics, and the Biograph version is too polished/sterile
― flappy bird, Friday, 21 October 2016 17:32 (seven years ago) link
stuck in the middle with yousultan's of swingin my time of dyinlike a rolling stoneblonde on blondepositively 4th streetlay lady laynew morningtears of ragethis wheel's on firelove sick
― brimstead, Friday, 21 October 2016 20:17 (seven years ago) link
xp
that Bitter End performance is so amazing, probably my favorite Bob for the last year or so. love the crowd, they know the moment.
― by the light of the burning Citroën, Friday, 21 October 2016 20:48 (seven years ago) link
the Live 66 recording of Tell Me, Momma - when it kicks in, might be one of the most exciting pieces of rock and roll i've ever heard
― flappy bird, Saturday, 22 October 2016 04:51 (seven years ago) link
Yeah, it's up there.
― Wig Wag Wanderer (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 22 October 2016 12:37 (seven years ago) link