― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 18:21 (twenty-one years ago) link
― s woods, Wednesday, 19 March 2003 18:22 (twenty-one years ago) link
I don't think the story is as prosaic as Mark asserts. Self-Portrait stands as something of an abberation in his career. There's also the fact of its title and that it's a double record. I think contempt for the record company breathing down his neck, and probably just some free-floating perversity, enters into it.
― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 18:26 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 18:30 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 18:33 (twenty-one years ago) link
― s woods, Wednesday, 19 March 2003 18:37 (twenty-one years ago) link
just a point about the thin line between love & hate and all that. no need to get mad.
― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 18:54 (twenty-one years ago) link
― christoff (christoff), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 19:02 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 19:57 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Jess Hill (jesshill), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 20:08 (twenty-one years ago) link
― s woods, Wednesday, 19 March 2003 20:10 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 20:11 (twenty-one years ago) link
That pains my heart.
He did cut most of Self Portrait in Nashville--but he cut much of Blonde on Blonde there as well.
― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 20:25 (twenty-one years ago) link
I'm conflicted about BD. I know he's a great songwriter--really I do--and when someone plays me his '70s/'80s stuff or even his last few things, I go, oh yeah, hmm, I almost like it, but then I just get dragged by the backing. I just like all the things that everyone else likes pre-motorcycle wreck, and I do like the basement tapes an awful lot. It's one of those things, I have a few artists I know I should like more I guess, like Van Morrison, but there's something so boring about them, to me...
― Jess Hill (jesshill), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 22:01 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 22:01 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Jess Hill (jesshill), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 22:13 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 22:24 (twenty-one years ago) link
Plus he's like the Beatles--I'm sick of people telling me he's great. To me Faron Young or Booker T. and the MGs are great, I don't really care one way or the other about Bob Dylan. That's just me--as I say, I recognize his achievement.
― Jess Hill (jesshill), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 22:37 (twenty-one years ago) link
I like Nashville Skyline because it seems, musically at least, like a real engagement with country music. The arrangements are taut and well-thought-out, though of course the overall affect is fairly lazy.
― Amateurist (amateurist), Wednesday, 19 March 2003 22:47 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Jess Hill (jesshill), Thursday, 20 March 2003 12:23 (twenty-one years ago) link
Best suspension ever in a pop song: The Bailey Brothers' "Rattlesnake Daddy." You'll think your record is skipping!
― Amateurist (amateurist), Thursday, 20 March 2003 17:03 (twenty-one years ago) link
― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Thursday, 3 March 2005 07:33 (nineteen years ago) link
― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Thursday, 3 March 2005 08:42 (nineteen years ago) link
― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Thursday, 3 March 2005 08:43 (nineteen years ago) link
― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 3 March 2005 12:08 (nineteen years ago) link
― Johnney B (Johnney B), Thursday, 3 March 2005 12:47 (nineteen years ago) link
― Will(iam), Thursday, 3 March 2005 13:55 (nineteen years ago) link
1 track is offairly rough sound quality, the rest are Dylan of less intensity, but nothing is 'really bad' to my ears.
― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 3 March 2005 13:58 (nineteen years ago) link
― shookout (shookout), Thursday, 3 March 2005 13:59 (nineteen years ago) link
But nothing beats the "La la la la's" on Sarah Jane...a classic example of "so bad it's good."
― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Thursday, 3 March 2005 14:44 (nineteen years ago) link
― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 3 March 2005 14:49 (nineteen years ago) link
― mark grout (mark grout), Thursday, 3 March 2005 14:51 (nineteen years ago) link
from http://www.bsnpubs.com/elektra/asylumstory.html-- o. nate (syne_wav...), September 10th, 2004.
interesting. perhaps I misunderstood the records Bob was referring to in Chronicle?
― Will(iam), Thursday, 3 March 2005 15:22 (nineteen years ago) link
― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Monday, 14 March 2005 00:45 (nineteen years ago) link
― Stormy Davis (diamond), Monday, 14 March 2005 00:53 (nineteen years ago) link
-- Amateurist (-m-t--r-s...), March 17th, 2003.
An excellent question. And, of course, the answer is yes! (Which is not to say that I own this thing.)
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 14 March 2005 00:55 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 14 March 2005 01:01 (nineteen years ago) link
How good is "Copper Kettle"?
― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 14 March 2005 01:52 (nineteen years ago) link
― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Monday, 14 March 2005 02:00 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 14 March 2005 02:29 (nineteen years ago) link
― herbert hebert (herbert hebert), Monday, 14 March 2005 02:31 (nineteen years ago) link
i hope that made sense.
― Amateur(ist) (Amateur(ist)), Monday, 14 March 2005 06:51 (nineteen years ago) link
― Tim Ellison (Tim Ellison), Monday, 14 March 2005 07:03 (nineteen years ago) link
― Douglas (Douglas), Monday, 14 March 2005 07:06 (nineteen years ago) link
― monoplist action favoring the guilds, Monday, 14 March 2005 07:15 (nineteen years ago) link
― monoplist action favoring the guilds, Monday, 14 March 2005 07:18 (nineteen years ago) link
why is 'self-portrait' so maligned? is just like, cuz greil marcus & 'what is this shit?' i dunno, when i first got into bob and hwy 61, blonde on blonde, and all that, and then finally heard it, i guess i had some fun going along w/ all the critics' laughter and derision. but the more i listen to it the more i'm really confused by its status as 'worst dylan album' (or one of em).
i feel like it just as easily could've been called this great, loose, sprawling work of americana/folk/country/nashville/rock/gospel/ genius - which is kind of what i think it is now! - and could've since become a classic album!
― mark cl, Monday, 4 May 2009 18:09 (fourteen years ago) link
i mean it's a totally, totally different beast, but in terms of drawing from those influences in such a loose, laid-back, spontaneous and disparate way, i kind of see it in some ways as similar to 'exile on main street' - which received lukewarm/negative reviews at first but is now obv called a total classic. why hasn't the same happened to SP?
well, imho there are still some pretty bad tracks on SP. that's not a problem (for me) with Exile. i do get a kick out of a lot of the stuff there though. i do tend to skip tracks, but i've probably listened to Self Portrait more than John Wesley Harding
― nashville - spiritual home of the cougar (will), Monday, 4 May 2009 18:21 (fourteen years ago) link
bummer about the pricing but i'm really excited that this music is seeing release, especially the isle of wight stuff. i love this period.
tons of good discussion upthread. it sucks that greil marcus' review was reduced to "what is this shit" because it's actually a really long and thoughtful review, even if i disagree with some of his assessments.
― marcos, Tuesday, 16 July 2013 19:52 (ten years ago) link
http://expectingrain.com/dok/div/greilmarcusselfportrait.html
― waterface, Tuesday, 16 July 2013 19:54 (ten years ago) link
that is a wonderful review, one of his best ever imo -- love how all over the place it is.
― (The Other) J.D. (J.D.), Tuesday, 16 July 2013 20:17 (ten years ago) link
The four questions: The four sons gazed at the painting on the museum wall. "It's a painting," said the first son. "It's art," said the second son. "It's a frame," said the third son, and he said it rather coyly. The fourth son was usually considered somewhat stupid, but he at least figured out why they'd come all the way from home to look at the thing in the first place. "It's a signature," he said.
― waterface, Tuesday, 16 July 2013 20:26 (ten years ago) link
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/bob-dylans-lost-1970-gem-pretty-saro-premiere-20130807
lovin this
― usic for 18 magicians (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 7 August 2013 15:15 (ten years ago) link
This is damn great!
― EZ Snappin, Wednesday, 7 August 2013 15:22 (ten years ago) link
yeah that sounds awesome. kinda can't believe that they're not including the new morning version of "tomorrow is a long time" though. that one is great! (can't find it on youtube tho).
― tylerw, Wednesday, 7 August 2013 15:27 (ten years ago) link
#bootlegnerdgripe
― tylerw, Wednesday, 7 August 2013 15:30 (ten years ago) link
oh man these outtakes. "these hands" sounds like an early slow train coming demo
― reggie (qualmsley), Friday, 23 August 2013 16:41 (ten years ago) link
FYI: the super box is on sale at Popmarket for $82.99, Vinyl for $52.99 for next 20-odd hours. Still too expensive but tempting.
http://www.popmarket.com/details/28811265?feature_id=28808750
― EZ Snappin, Monday, 26 August 2013 17:45 (ten years ago) link
regardless of the Bootleg/Expanded Reissue version, this is a p funny record. Some great stuff, some terrible stuff, some goofy stuff. The two attempts at Little Sadie are both bad, The Boxer is so totally wtf, and the Isle of Wight performances are a mess. But Early Mornin' Rain is awesome! And a bunch of it is v pretty. It's strange that he does *all* his voices here, including the Nashville Skyline voice on "Let It Be Me". Such a hodge-podge, kind of his White Album except there's a bunch of shitty covers and not nearly enough decent song material.
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 7 September 2017 20:44 (six years ago) link
yeah self portrait itself is entertaining. the isle of wight stuff on there the most convincing argument that dylan was self-sabotaging — that "like a rolling stone" is the worst performance from the show. as a whole, it's a great set.
― tylerw, Thursday, 7 September 2017 20:46 (six years ago) link
"Let It Be Me" is as good as anything else on Nashville Skyline and New Morning
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 7 September 2017 20:56 (six years ago) link
I still don't get what's so unusual about The Boxer. Is it the fact that he's covering it at all? It sounds like bob Dylan covering The Boxer to me
― brimstead, Thursday, 7 September 2017 23:42 (six years ago) link
I vastly overrate this album, totally love it
― brimstead, Thursday, 7 September 2017 23:43 (six years ago) link
Re: the Boxer - it's the shitty overdubbed/doubled vocals
― Οὖτις, Friday, 8 September 2017 00:10 (six years ago) link
a side effect of getting really into self portrait is "days of '49" is stuck in my head forever
― american bradass (BradNelson), Saturday, 6 July 2019 12:33 (four years ago) link
RIP Poker Bill
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 6 July 2019 16:46 (four years ago) link
also another self portrait is def the best bootleg series installment i've heard
― american bradass (BradNelson), Saturday, 6 July 2019 16:48 (four years ago) link
yeah, it really makes a strong case for that era
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Saturday, 6 July 2019 16:50 (four years ago) link
I was skeptical about that one, but it definitely salvaged this era for me, with enough stuff to improve both New Morning and especially Self Portrait. I think there's a total of 16 studio cuts that are genuine Self Portrait recordings - i.e. the actual master takes without the orchestral overdubs or outtakes that would have been up for consideration - and just programming those together created an album that I mostly enjoyed. Maybe not his best work, but a hell of a lot better than the album he did release.
― birdistheword, Tuesday, 9 March 2021 06:16 (three years ago) link
The Isle of Wight show is fine, not one for the ages but much better than expected. The mixes released on Self Portrait sound incredibly shitty - they finally mixed it properly for the box set and it's a massive improvement. I'm not sure I'd listen to the whole thing again, but "Highway 61 Revisited" is the definite highlight. Greil Marcus's description of it is hilarious: "...[The Band] screamed “OUT ON HIGHWAY 61!” like PCP junkies hustling tourists into the worst whorehouse in Tijuana."
― birdistheword, Tuesday, 9 March 2021 06:28 (three years ago) link
Nice caption on this official DylanCorp Insta post (if you can't beat 'em...).
― like a d4mn sociopath! (morrisp), Tuesday, 8 June 2021 22:32 (two years ago) link
Haha I thought this revive was gonna be about the guy who returned a 48-years-overdue copy of Self Portrait to the library
https://heightslibrary.org/better-late-than-never-san-francisco-man-returns-bob-dylan-album-48-years-late/
― J. Sam, Tuesday, 8 June 2021 23:03 (two years ago) link
Chum finds Bob Dylan... then THIS happens pic.twitter.com/SXt86nzyfs— Pawn Stars (@pawnstars) January 16, 2020
― flopson, Saturday, 19 February 2022 19:56 (two years ago) link
Here’s a little more background on that episode… I saw it when it first aired, it was pretty funny
― punching the clock on a tambo (morrisp), Saturday, 19 February 2022 22:24 (two years ago) link
ah 2010. was kinda surprised how spry BD looks. 12 years ago makes a little more sense
― OG Bob Sacamano (will), Sunday, 20 February 2022 01:37 (two years ago) link
I like how this is obviously staged but Dylan does it so half-assed that you can almost believe they really did just randomly run into him on the street
― soref, Sunday, 20 February 2022 08:45 (two years ago) link
i think all of us vinyl buyers in 2010 can remember how hard it was to buy a used copy for less than $50
― Western® with Bacon Flavor, Sunday, 20 February 2022 08:57 (two years ago) link