Bob Dylan at Budokan

Treeship - I wasn't really saying that there's no way to enjoy the actual music on this, but rather than if this was a random album by a random souped up 70 rocker I don't think anyone would pay attention. This album is special cuz of the narrative that accompanies it it. Anyway I quite like All I Really Want on this but can't remember anything else

If it was a random album by a random 70s person I would be pretty intrigued about who this dude is who writes complex, evocative lyrics but performs them in this strange lounge style.

that argument has bothered me ever since douglas wolk used it -

http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/12979-together-through-life/

The ultimate test of a Dylan album, though, is to try to consider it outside the imposing context of his career--to imagine that the bramble-voiced old dude who co-wrote and sang these songs isn't the man who wrote Highway 61 Revisited and Blood on the Tracks and Love and Theft, but Random Blues Journeyman #843.

like, i don't know how that is even like metaphysically possible, to think of anything bob dylan related as not bob dylan related.

listening for the first time to budokan today i was really struck by the time scale.

you can hear the rolling thunder band on 'live 1975' before 'desire' came out, and they're so great.

then on 'hard rain', 1976, without having looked it up i wouldn't even have imagined they were the same rhythm section (rob stoner on bass and howard wyeth on drums). but it's the same band.

then 'budokan' in 1978, different band, and obviously, difft arrangements. from a different planet.

like, that's music - that you could have that much continuity, and the same singer, and lots of the same songs, in such a short span of time, and have the performances be SO different. how could you leave the performer out of that?

it's a sunny day, and maybe my brains fried from lockdown, but i'm enjoying this a bunch today. the enemy of enjoying Bob has always been people telling you what he is, what his music means, what it should sound like etc. so yeah, Bob trying his best to do Elvis In Vegas is a lot of fun!

A lot of Dylan for me is about the humor (intentional and not) and it doesn't get much funnier than Budokan.

there's a lot of joy in this record, and journos can often hate joy. Bob is meant to be serioues! women have hurt his feelings! he did protest songs! stop having fun bob please!!!

*serious