tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-28139315703164889332024-03-14T07:45:11.436-07:00Talkin' Bob DylanTim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-2395558373343176662023-04-13T09:42:00.010-07:002023-04-13T11:40:31.276-07:00(Un)Important Words: "Truckin'" in Tokyo 2023<div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;">At a show just yesterday in Tokyo, Japan, Bob Dylan and His Band surprised the audience (and fans following events from overseas) by performing a cover of the Grateful Dead song “Truckin’”. Unexpected covers were once a big part of the Never Ending Tour, but in recent years they have become much rarer. Since the beginning of the Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour in 2021, there have been just three: another Dead song, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZj3pjskjPU" target="_blank">“Friend of the Devil,”</a> in Oakland, California last June (played twice more in Los Angeles); Jerry Lee Lewis’ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jMzGGs0qOa0" target="_blank">“I Can’t Seem to Say Goodbye”</a> in Nottingham, England last November; and finally, “Truckin’” in Tokyo.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iS0AIFfZCUA?start=00" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />The biggest difference between “Truckin’” and the earlier covers is that Bob seems somewhat unsure of the words, switching the order of verses and sometimes singing off-mike to conceal a forgotten lyric. But it doesn’t matter; he and the band are having a great time, and their joy at performing this song is infectious. It’s possible that they’ve only played "Truckin'" before at rehearsal, and may have only decided to perform it while the show was in progress. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Strangely, Bob has a long history of covering songs that he doesn’t know the words to. For example, the famous performance of Sonny Boy Williamson II’s “Don’t Start Me to Talkin’” on <i>Late Night with David Letterman</i> in 1984 contains very few of that song’s actual lyrics. Bob remembers the chorus (“Don’t start me talkin’/I’ll tell you everythin’ I know/I’m gonna break up this signifyin’/Somebody’s got to go”) and the phrases “beauty shop” and "two dollars," but that’s basically it; everything else is coming straight off the top of his head.</span><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_FWwqnrnQnQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/IoJM8Vymj9k" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Similarly, a bootleg called <i>The 1985 Rehearsal Tape</i> – featuring Bob backed by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and The Queens of Rhythm – includes a moment where Dylan begins singing wordlessly, almost to himself. You can hear the other musicians listening intently, trying to figure out if this is a new song or something they should know. Eventually, it turns out that Bob is singing Merle Haggard’s “Sing Me Back Home,” the twist being that he knows none of the words except some of the chorus and a few phrases like “guitar playing.” Nevertheless, it’s beautiful, perfectly capturing the plight of that song’s doomed narrator. Bob would later perform word-perfect versions of “Sing Me Back Home” in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zYsB5DT2mlw" target="_blank">2004</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mj9DBU5Uw3M" target="_blank">2005</a>. </span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sW9H96WRIEE?start=1980" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />The early years of the Never Ending Tour feature several great “forgotten lyric” covers. One of my all-time favourites is a performance of Townes Van Zandt’s “Pancho and Lefty” from Peoria, Illinois in 1989. Not only is Bob deeply unfamiliar with words of the song, but he is also on a mission to outfox his band, repeatedly catching them off guard by jumping ahead of the beat or unexpectedly launching into the chorus. It’s as though Dylan is acting out the part of the outlaw Pancho, with the band as the federales on his tail: each time they think they’ve caught up with him, he slips out of their grasp once again. The drums of this performance sounds like galloping horses, and I can’t help picturing Dylan as the intrepid adventurer who appeared on the cover of <i>Desire</i> 13 years before.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/PQKwsVFVOd8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />1989 also brings us lyrically-jumbled-but-brilliant (to me, at least) performances of Jimmy Cliff’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P_Pj2jXG4nY" target="_blank">“The Harder They Come”</a> and Van Morrison’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gGLaLYpjDjY" target="_blank">“And it Stoned Me.”</a> I don’t think Bob’s unfamiliarity with the words can be put down to laziness; this was a different time, and Dylan is a spontaneous man. In the absence of the internet - and unless he happened to have the album containing the song with him on tour - procuring lyrics would probably involve sending someone to a music shop in search of either a copy of the album or the printed music and words. Once that had been accomplished, enthusiasm for performing the song may have already been and gone. <br /><br /></span></div><div><div><span style="font-size: large;">As the Never Ending Tour became a more polished operation throughout the '90s and into the 21st Century, the chances of Bob spontaneously covering a song that he only half-remembered the lyrics to became less and less. However, this ramshackle but loveable performance of “Truckin’” in Tokyo shows that it can still happen when the mood takes him. <br /></span><br /> </div></div></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-49451413932201264362022-12-11T12:45:00.008-08:002023-04-24T04:44:40.294-07:00Bob Dylan, Stu Kimball, and The Art of Rhythm Guitar<div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/AU-bre3D3ws" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><i>Stu impersonates Tom Waits, 2009</i><br /><br /><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Bob Dylan has had many guitarists in his band over the years: Robbie Robertson, Fred Tackett, GE Smith, Larry Campbell and Charlie Sexton, to name just a few. Dylan’s longest-serving guitarist, however, is also the one who tends to get the least recognition. I’m talking about Stu Kimball, who played guitar with Bob for an incredible 1,323 concerts between 2004 and 2018. <br /><br />Kimball joined the band in June 2004, replacing Freddy Koella as co-lead guitarist alongside Larry Campbell. It didn’t take long for the new bandmember to make an impression, as Peter Stone Brown reported in <a href="https://www.boblinks.com/060604r.html" target="_blank">his BobLinks review</a> of that month’s show in Atlantic City, Kimball’s third show with Dylan: <br /><br /> <div><i>“A great guitar player not only knows what to play, but equally important when to play, and when not to play. A great guitarist isn't only about speedy licks, it's about taking all the licks and guitar tricks you've learned and knowing when and where to use them. Like Larry Campbell, Stu Kimball is a walking catalog of great guitar licks. And like Larry Campbell, though they have very different style, Stu Kimball knows when and how to use those licks and use them with taste. Now reports from the first two shows of this tour basically had Kimball holding back. However, tonight he did anything but. He shined, bringing back to this band a feeling and a power that's been missing for a long time. In fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say Kimball can take his place as one of the top five guitar players to play on-stage with Bob Dylan - easily. There was no stumbling about looking for a groove, searching for that magic thing that might lead somewhere. Every time out he hit it. It fit, it was right, and it was soulful.”</i></div></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">This paragraph might sound hyperbolic, but there’s something to it. Go back and listen to the shows from the second half of 2004, and you’ll find a band in which Stu Kimball is often the lead guitarist, with Campbell serving as more of a rhythmic anchor. The show from St Etienne, France, on 5th July 2004 is a great showcase for the unfortunately short-lived Kimball/Campbell guitar team</span><span style="font-size: x-large;">.</span></div><div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/m-3e4wwllC4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">The arrival of Denny Freeman as Larry Campbell’s replacement in 2005 led to Kimball assuming the role of the band’s rhythm guitarist. And this is how it stayed for the rest of his tenure. Other guitarists came and went in the lead guitar position – Charlie Sexton, Duke Robillard, Colin Linden, Charlie Sexton again – but Stu remained in a background role, only occasionally called upon to step out of the shadows. <br /><br />Rhythm guitar is often seen as an unglamorous position in a band, but the truth is it’s an important role; one that goes all the way back to the 1920s, when the guitar gradually replaced the banjo in the big bands. As a rhythm guitarist, your role is to fill out the sound, provide harmonies to support the melodic instruments/vocals, and to lock into a groove with the rest of the rhythm section. There are some bands where the rhythm guitar player is the timekeeper who everyone else follows, like The Rolling Stones in their younger days. Another function of rhythm guitar is to accompany yourself while singing alone, as Bob Dylan himself did once upon a time. It may often be portrayed as a thankless task, but rhythm guitar is an art that relatively few have been able to master. <br /><br />The nature of the role means that rhythm players tend to fly under the radar, but they’re worth paying attention to. Take Leon Warren, for example, rhythm guitarist in B.B. King’s band from the early 1980s all the way to the early 2000s. King rarely played chords, and from the early ‘70s onwards relied on another player to augment his solos (his original second guitarist was the excellent Milton Hopkins). Leon Warren’s playing was jazzy, in the mould of players like Charlie Christian and Wes Montgomery, and he would occasionally step out to play <a href="https://youtu.be/mIrg92burTc?t=64" target="_blank">a precise, unflashy solo</a> that provided an interesting contrast to the inimitable style of his boss.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/UZjaEVbFJ0Q?start=34" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />We can’t talk about rhythm guitar without mentioning New Orleans legend Danny Barker. Born in 1909, Barker’s professional career began in the early 1930s, several years before the guitar became firmly established as a lead instrument. As such, Barker remained a devoted practitioner of rhythm guitar (and banjo) throughout his life; it would be fair to say that he knew every variation of every chord under the sun. Nearly 30 years after his death, a music festival is still held in Mr Barker’s honour <a href="https://www.neworleans.com/event/danny-barker-banjo-and-guitar-festival/3679/" target="_blank">every year in New Orleans</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/e21_psaMzvQ?start=231" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Keith Richards, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=761yzGz4HzQ" target="_blank">himself one of the great rhythm guitarists,</a> took the time in his autobiography to praise the rhythm playing of Don Everly of The Everly Brothers. He was right to do so: you need only to listen to Don’s acoustic guitar intros to hits like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I65PxlOlHA4" target="_blank">‘Bird Dog’</a> or <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMzGyspFXUk" target="_blank">‘Claudette’</a> to hear that the elder Everly knew what he was doing.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I would argue that the best showcase for Don’s talents is the 1983 live album <i>The Everly Brothers Reunion Concert</i>. This album makes it clear that Don’s rhythm playing was the bedrock of the Everly Brothers sound: songs often begin with just his acoustic guitar strumming, the rest of the band gradually falling in behind him. If you watch the video of the concert, you’ll notice that while Phil Everly is playing along quite capably with his brother, his guitar is neither miked nor plugged in – the guitar you’re hearing is Don’s.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7cEHJcOaek0?" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />Moving to the present day: if you’re following London’s vibrant jazz scene, you’ll know that one of the best rhythms players around right now is Shirley Tetteh, who has played in the band Nerija and with many other London Jazz performers.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_3sAIQjh5Mk?" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Bob Dylan himself is a fine rhythm player, which (as mentioned earlier) is probably borne from the years spent accompanying himself solo. Several songs in Dylan’s discography, from <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kbdF4hBfQiE" target="_blank">‘Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream’</a> to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IcB8KPc9wHk" target="_blank">‘Saved’</a> to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxDU9Q2RDBc" target="_blank">‘Highlands’</a>, begin with him setting the pace with his guitar before the band picks up the beat. In concert, some great Dylan rhythm guitar playing can be found throughout 1989 and into early 1990: check out the video of that famous concert at the Hammersmith Odeon in February 1990 to see how he drives the band forward with his guitar.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CFtPYQdXnVw?" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />We could talk about great rhythm guitarists all day (for the record, some more of my favourites are <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9K7xPw3JqpY" target="_blank">Joan Armatrading</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0SHAcK7uVeI" target="_blank">Black Francis/Frank Black</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm58U1BZM-M" target="_blank">Steve Van Zandt</a></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">).</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span> But let’s get back to Stu Kimball. I would say that Stu’s finest hour as Bob’s rhythm player is on the 2015 album </span><i>Shadows in the Night</i><span>. This album is almost entirely drumless (or at least, the drums are so quiet as to be inaudible most of the time), leaving Kimball’s guitar as the main percussive instrument. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">If you’ve attempted to learn these songs on guitar, you’ll be painfully aware that they use a lot of jazz chords that aren’t easy to play. Stu’s playing on <i>Shadows</i> might not draw attention to itself, but it’s rock steady, and the perfect foundation for the delicate electric guitar/pedal steel work of Charlie Sexton and Donnie Herron. You'll need a good pair of speakers or headphones to hear it, but there's some great, subtle acoustic playing going on here.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0SZmKJgx0hU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Stu’s acoustic rhythm playing was also a big part of Dylan’s live sound around this time, contributing to the quieter performance style Dylan had initiated in 2013. You could say that it also extended an olive branch to fans who might have been less familiar with Bob's latter-day performance style: at least <i>someone</i> onstage was playing an acoustic guitar, even if Dylan himself wasn't.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ywHfDkLLWAM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Stu Kimball was notable by his absence when I caught the Dylan band in performance in July 2019. Curiously, Bob took a full year to replace him, leaving the remaining bandmembers working overtime to fill the gap in the sound. That's the thing about even the best rhythm guitar players: you often notice them more when they're gone.</span></div></div></div></div></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-19173884929746860002022-10-26T04:49:00.018-07:002023-09-18T05:42:00.642-07:00Tour Diary Part 1: London Palladium, 23rd and 24th October 2022<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlPG7Vr5yMAUZjVmXOz6GIjEQ5lzfGo67b3GOFEB0HhYdh1R2z_-D4aanB25edNrcwsZPBaK-wOYitclAqZJqNwESe4fViY15AAIekjIKsvYufPvv3nrgXoOoAW8mYmk2c05N0BrJrC-puGsDzaJ0QUZuOSRYNNUNaZ1gW6cjbinm1GnKhZdZ9GKhww/s2560/IMG_20221023_221554.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2560" data-original-width="1920" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAlPG7Vr5yMAUZjVmXOz6GIjEQ5lzfGo67b3GOFEB0HhYdh1R2z_-D4aanB25edNrcwsZPBaK-wOYitclAqZJqNwESe4fViY15AAIekjIKsvYufPvv3nrgXoOoAW8mYmk2c05N0BrJrC-puGsDzaJ0QUZuOSRYNNUNaZ1gW6cjbinm1GnKhZdZ9GKhww/w300-h400/IMG_20221023_221554.jpg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><span style="font-size: large;">I was lucky enough to be in the audience at the last two shows of Bob Dylan's London Palladium residency. Here are some thoughts about what I heard and saw...<br /><br /><b>23rd October</b></span><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">If I had to use one word to describe this show, I would say “absorbing”. It took a few songs to find the groove, but, much like a David Simon TV drama, it gradually pulled you in. The first four songs were good (I particularly loved watching Bob leaning into the microphone, one arm draped over the top of his upright piano, delivering a tender ‘I Contain Multitudes’), but things really started to fall into place on ‘When I Paint My Masterpiece’. </span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">When I saw this song performed <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2022/04/down-to-new-orleans-again-bob-dylan-and.html" target="_blank">in New Orleans earlier this year</a> it didn’t make much of an impression on me. Here, however, it came alive. The musicians transformed into an old-time southern mountain string band straight off a 1950s Folkways album: Bob Britt switched to acoustic guitar, Donnie Herron picked up his fiddle and Tony Garnier played double bass. Drummer Charley Drayton, meanwhile, largely sat the song out, springing into action here and there to add the occasional percussion flourish. <br /><br />Speaking of Charley: you need to see him play the drums on ‘Black Rider’ if you haven’t already. Frankly, I’m not entirely sure “playing the drums” is an accurate description of what he does here. He has a box of percussion devices that he dips into throughout the song, including what appeared to be a pearl necklace that he dragged across the cymbals. This man is a master of his craft: you could spend the entire show watching only him and go home a happy customer. <br /><br />The success of ‘When I Paint My Masterpiece’ set the tone for the rest of the evening, in that (from my perspective at least) the older tunes were the highlights of the set. ‘To Be Alone With You’ had a great gospel style intro, with Bob playing solo piano before the band shifted the song into the acoustic stringband format from ‘Masterpiece’. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">‘Gotta Serve Somebody’, which also features a solo piano intro, highlighted how important the visuals are to these shows, featuring some dramatic moments where guitarist Doug Lancio – who up to this point had been rooted to the spot directly behind Dylan – suddenly rushed centre stage to trade guitar riffs with Britt. ‘I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight’ was also warmly received, morphing from another solo piano introduction to a rocking middle section, and then into a slow blues finale. <br /><br />All three of these songs had a real gospel flavour to them. Standing behind the piano, Bob now resembles a John Bunyan-esque preacher holding forth from the pulpit. <br /><br />‘Every Grain of Sand’, while not quite on the level of the rendition I saw in New Orleans, was a fitting end to the show. As Bob sang, I could see his left hand crawling across the top of the piano towards his tray of harmonicas. Would he play it? Yes! And he really played – I’ve seen shows where the harmonica playing felt like more of a gesture than anything else, but this powerful, heartfelt solo was the real deal. <br /><br />Let’s talk about the <i>Rough and Rowdy Ways</i> songs. They were performed well, but – except for ‘Black Rider’, which was excellent – I got the impression that Bob was struggling to get into them on this night. ‘Key West’ in particular felt a little off: Bob stumbled over the words at the beginning and never seemed to entirely get the song back on track. ‘False Prophet’ still felt like it was adjusting to its recent rearrangement, and ‘Crossing the Rubicon’ had been toned down compared to the huge, lumbering monster I witnessed in New Orleans. Having said that, it was fascinating to watch Dylan wrestle with these songs and try to find a way into them. <br /><br />As Bob stood centre stage at the end of the show, I got the feeling he might have been slightly frustrated with his performance. This is the <i>Rough and Rowdy Ways</i> tour after all: those songs are presented as centrepieces, and for them to be overshadowed by the older material may have bothered Dylan. It was something he would seek to rectify the following night. <br /><br /> <br /><br /><b>24th October </b><br /><br /> <br /><br />I knew this was going to be a very different show just from the manner of Dylan's arrival. Before the lights had even gone down, or the sound man had time to cue the intro music, Bob strode onto the stage looking like a man on a mission, followed by his band. They looked like a bunch of 1930s gangsters on their way to carry out a mob hit. <br /><br />Once the music started, things were again different from the previous night. Like the day before, we got a quiet piano overture from Bob, followed by Bob Britt cueing Charley into ‘Watching the River Flow’, but this time Dylan remained seated behind the piano, the lights still down while the band jammed and we (both audience and band) waited for him to start singing. <br /><br />But he didn’t - at least not for a while. Instead, he spun around and beckoned Doug Lancio to come closer to him. This led to the strange yet thrilling sight of Lancio playing a solo while literally leaning over Dylan’s shoulder, just inches away from him. The interaction between the two became one of the themes of the night: Bob would suddenly turn and point to Doug, who would oblige with a deft, restrained solo. Watching this play out reminded me of how <a href="https://youtu.be/1C0wqltUKgY?t=170" target="_blank">Dylan would single out Freddy Koella</a> when he was a guitarist in the band, and I really hope Bob’s connection with Doug continues in this direction. <br /><br />The entire show felt as though Bob had sat in his hotel room and reviewed a tape of the previous night’s performance, identifying areas for improvement. Whereas that concert had taken a while to start cooking, on this night Bob was razor sharp from the beginning. He also seemed to be on a mission to ensure that the <i>Rough and Rowdy Ways</i> songs were the standout tracks: ‘I Contain Multitudes’ swelled beautifully, ‘False Prophet’ finally found its feet in the new arrangement, and by the spooky double header of ‘Black Rider’ and ‘My Own Version of You’, you could tell that Dylan knew he was on a roll. <br /><br />‘Crossing the Rubicon’ also came across better than it had done the previous night, and highlighted another striking aspect of the show: Dylan’s unconventional piano playing. It struck me during this concert that Dylan’s piano is the main rhythmic instrument in the band, more so even than the drums or bass. Everyone onstage is following Bob, and he leads with his piano. <br /><br />As I mentioned before, I felt that 'Key West' – with its relatively new, ultra-minimalist arrangement - hadn’t quite worked on the 23rd. On the 24th, however, it was nothing less than sublime. To listen to this performance was to fall under the spell of a master storyteller, and the hushed atmosphere in the theatre as Bob went into full ‘Shakespearean soliloquy mode’ was something to behold. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The momentum continued with excellent, tenderly sung versions of ‘I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You’ and ‘Mother of Muses’ (which featured an extended intro that sounded to me like the traditional ‘Shenandoah’), plus a strong ‘Goodbye Jimmy Reed’ on which Bob once again sought out the lead guitar services of Doug Lancio.<br /><br />All the older songs were well performed, but with this concert they resumed their intended place as supporting actors rather than the stars of the show. Once again, I loved ‘Gotta Serve Somebody’ and the accompanying theatrics from the guitarists, and Bob also delivered an excellent performance of the standard ‘That Old Black Magic’ (which, incidentally, is the only song remaining in the setlist from the first time I saw him at the Palladium in 2017). We were treated to another virtuoso harmonica solo at the end of Every Grain of Sand – plus Bob playfully singing the first two lines of ‘Friend of the Devil’ at the start of the song – and that, it seemed, was that.<br /><br />But it wasn’t! As you have doubtless already heard, Bob’s final bow was greeted by an incredible standing ovation which never abated, leading to him and the band returning for not one but two extended curtain calls. It looked like he was tempted to play another song, but eventually decided against it (possibly because the crew had already removed the guitars and some of the amps from the stage). <br /><br />I don't think I've ever witnessed an outpouring of love from an audience to a performer quite like this, and Dylan appeared moved. The message being transmitted by both parties was clear: nobody has to ask Bob Dylan how he feels about this town, and nobody has to ask this town how it feels about Bob Dylan.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>You can find parts 2 and 3 of my tour diary on Ray Padgett's Bob Dylan newsletter </i><a href="https://dylanlive.substack.com/" target="_blank">Flagging Down the Double E's</a>:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://dylanlive.substack.com/p/last-night-in-nottingham-by-tim-edgeworth" target="_blank">Part 2 (Nottingham)</a></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://dylanlive.substack.com/p/last-night-in-oxford-by-tim-edgeworth" target="_blank">Part 3 (Oxford)</a><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">
</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></p></div></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-78915417570549349512022-09-02T10:54:00.025-07:002022-09-03T14:06:20.933-07:00Centre Stage: Charlie Sexton<br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"There aren’t any of my songs that Charlie doesn’t feel part of and he’s always played great with me." - Bob Dylan, 2020</span></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><br /><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">When I started this blog, one thing I meant to do was a recurring series profiling various Bob Dylan band members. I did one (<a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2020/10/a-tribute-to-larry-campbell.html" target="_blank">on Larry Campbell</a>) and then forgot about the whole thing for two years. But now I’ve remembered! And who better to take a closer look at than another beloved Dylan guitarist, Mr. Charlie Sexton …<br /><br />Born in San Antonio, Texas, in 1968, Charles Wayne Sexton arrived in Austin at the age of four, with his younger brother (Will Sexton, also a future guitarist) and their mother, and soon found himself immersed in the city’s famous music scene. "</span><span style="font-size: medium;">[M]y Mom was a huge fan of everything from blues and rockabilly to R & B and rock and roll," Charlie <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-04-06-8601250528-story.html" target="_blank">told the <i>Chicago Tribune</i> in 1986</a>. "[S]he'd drag me along to all these shows and clubs."</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">“Little Charlie” watched and learned from guitarists like Jimmie Lee Vaughn (and his sons Jimmie and Stevie), Denny Freeman, John Lee Hooker, and W.C. Clark, and played his first professional gig the day before his eleventh birthday. By the age of thirteen, Sexton was touring with Joe Ely, and by fourteen was sitting in with The Clash at Dallas’ Memorial Auditorium. Charlie was also in a few bands of his own around this time, including The Eager Beaver Boys:</span></div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MioLlDyKRn0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">This swift rise did not go unnoticed by the major labels, and Charlie was quickly snapped up by MCA. His debut album, <i>Pictures for Pleasure</i>, was released in 1985. Slightly before this, Charlie had his first encounter with Bob Dylan, meeting him while doing some session work with Ron Wood and Keith Richards. Bob and Charlie also recorded some demos around this time, which Charlie briefly describes during the 1986 <i>Chicago Tribune</i> interview:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">''[Bob would] just pick up his guitar and start singing and playing without any introduction of explanation--no key, no chords, nothing. And my job was to figure out all the charts and produce it on the spot. We must have cut about 9 or 10 songs, and I`d keep asking him, `Is this one of yours?` and he`d just mumble in this gravelly voice, `Nah, it`s from the Civil War.` With Dylan, you never quite know for sure. They`ll probably all surface on one of his albums about 20 years from now.''</span></i></div></div></blockquote><div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/uCRtHVEroQ0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Dylan had some encouraging, if slightly foreboding, words for Charlie in the interview included with the 1985 box set <i>Biograph</i>. “I’d like to see Charlie Sexton become a big star,” said Bob, “but the whole machinery would have to break down right now before that could happen.” <br /><br />Regrettably, Dylan was right, and Sexton’s decade at MCA was marked by repeated attempts to reinvent him. There was ‘80s Charlie, who released two solo albums and opened for David Bowie on the Glass Spider Tour; early-‘90s Charlie, who formed the supergroup Arc Angels with Doyle Bramhall II and Stevie Ray Vaughn’s rhythm section Double Trouble; and mid-‘90s Charlie, repackaged as a roots-rock singer-songwriter with the 1996 album <i>Under the Wishing Tree</i> (credited to The Charlie Sexton Sextet). All these projects are well worth investigating, but none of them led to the massive breakout success MCA were looking for. <br /><br />Helen Thompson of <i>Texas Monthly</i> summarised the issue in an article called <a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/little-boy-lost-3/" target="_blank">‘Little Boy Lost’</a> in February 1996: <br /><br /></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“So what went wrong? Part of the problem seems to have been the nonstop efforts to make Sexton into a star; he was positioned and repositioned so many times that his fans never knew which Charlie they were looking at.” </i></span></div></div></blockquote><div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qtLw_53C95M" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bIEjQWizSfk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Through all of this, Bob Dylan had remained an interested observer of Charlie’s career, featuring him as a special guest at shows in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1nO0alrv4JA" target="_blank">1991</a> (in Tulsa, Oklahoma), <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I91EHJicmsE" target="_blank">1995</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Og_icsVW7BY" target="_blank">1996</a> (both in Austin, Texas). A 2005 profile on Charlie <a href="https://www.nodepression.com/charlie-sexton-the-austin-kid/" target="_blank">in <i>No Depression</i></a> noted that Dylan had attempted to recruit Sexton for his band more than once during that decade. It wasn’t until mid-1999, however, with no clear path forward in his solo career, that Charlie accepted Bob’s offer. “It was either be a carpenter or go on the road with Bob Dylan," Charlie <a href="https://www.chron.com/entertainment/music/article/Charlie-Sexton-exceeds-all-expectations-1925855.php" target="_blank">told <i>Chron</i> in 2005</a>. <br /><br />Charlie’s arrival in the Dylan band prompted a change in the dynamic of a well-established touring group. Whereas it had previously been Dylan and Larry Campbell playing duelling electric guitars - with Bucky Baxter providing colour and texture on pedal steel and other instruments - now Campbell became the multi-instrumentalist, while also forming a formidable guitar partnership with Sexton. Bucky's position as ‘atmospherics man’, however, stayed with Charlie, who fulfilled this role through his subtle yet masterly use of effects pedals, and a unique style that stretched far beyond the bounds of traditional lead or rhythm guitar.<br /><br />Charlie commented enigmatically on his position in the band during the 2005 No Depression profile. “My role in Bob’s band is between him and me,” he reflected. “He knows what I was there for, and I knew what I was there for.” <br /><br />Check out this performance of ‘Standing in the Doorway’ to get a sense of what Charlie was doing during this period (you’ll need headphones to get the full effect – Charlie’s guitar is mixed to the right) </span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JBEnI7rLbME" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Charlie’s influence was also felt strongly on Dylan's 2001 album <i>“Love and Theft”</i>, perhaps most prominently on the closing track ‘Sugar Baby’, on which the eerie sounds coming from Charlie’s guitar deftly shadow Dylan’s vocal. (Charlie's guitar is mixed to the left)</span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zzk1_T6yMHE" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /> <br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Another favourite of mine from this era is the instrumental break from the 2001-02 performances of ‘Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door’, with Charlie expertly playing around Dylan’s own lead guitar. Charlie never played this break the same way twice, as you can see/hear from the clips below.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Gkl-_qGNWaI?start=133" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZDFIg4TAFVQ?start=145" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WGavpmRFEbs?start=160" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">(I've often wondered whether Charlie might have been influenced around this time by Bill Frisell, the only other guitarist I can think of who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldPT42AM0b0" target="_blank">plays in something close to this style</a>.)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Charlie still knew how to rock out, too, as the performance of 'Cold Irons Bound' in Dylan's 2003 film <i>Masked and Anonymous</i> (filmed in summer 2002) demonstrates (Charlie is mixed to the left).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9hO-83CIVKM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />Sexton left the Dylan band in November 2002, following that year’s celebrated fall tour. Bob would have a hard time replacing him. In the meantime, Charlie concentrated on building up his resume as a producer - working with artists like Lucinda Williams (on her album <i>Car Wheels on a Gravel Road</i>) - and released his fourth solo album, the Williams-produced <i>Cruel and Gentle Things</i> in 2005, plus a duets album with Shannon McNally called <i>Southside Sessions </i>the following year</span>. <span style="font-size: medium;">He also briefly reformed the Arc Angels with Doyle Bramhall in 2009.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2pLamihiJ4Q" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BlsBb7qWajI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">Eventually, however, Charlie found himself drifting back into Dylan’s orbit once again. It all started in Round Rock, Texas, on 4th August 2009: Bob was playing a show in town and invited Charlie to sit in (incidentally, Dylan’s band by this point included Sexton’s Austin mentor Denny Freeman). Reports from the show indicated that Dylan seemed inspired by the presence of his former guitarist. <br /><br />Michael Nave’s review of the concert on Boblinks captured an intriguing post-show interaction between Charlie and Bob: <br /><i><br /></i></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>“Halfway through [the closing song], I moved back to my spot beside the </i><i>stage where I could view the backstage area as Bob and the band walked down from </i><i>the stage. As they came down the stairs sure enough Bob and Charlie were </i><i>walking side by side talking. They walked toward centerfield, then stopped and </i><i>continued to talk for a few moments, as if they were saying goodbyes; about to </i><i>part.. But then they continued walking together talking, all the way out of </i><i>the Dell Diamond. One could only hope the conversation was something like, </i><i>“sure Bob, I would be glad to do the rest of the Texas dates with you while </i><i>Stu, Denny, and Donnie take a well deserved few days off. .. .”</i></span></blockquote><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> <br />Mr Nave’s reading of the situation turned out to be prophetic. By the end of the month, <i>Rolling Stone</i> magazine <a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bob-dylan-welcomes-guitarist-charlie-sexton-back-into-his-band-250177/" target="_blank">had announced</a> that Charlie Sexton would be returning to the Bob Dylan band beginning that October. “I love and respect Bob and am very happy to be reunited with my friend onstage,” said Charlie. <br /><br />For this stint in Dylan’s band, Charlie filled more of a traditional ‘lead guitarist’ role, adapting his playing to suit the blues-rock style Dylan favoured at this time. With Bob mostly on keyboards, Charlie often became the visual focal point of the show, prowling the stage and frequently interacting with Dylan. For a taste of what things looked and sounded like onstage circa fall 2009, have a look at this 'Stuck Inside of Mobile' from that tour:</span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h6etCb7DDfU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Things stayed this way from late 2009 to mid-2012. By the end of 2012, however, Charlie’s role had been noticeably reduced, and – although it’s easy to forget looking back – he departed the band once again at the end of the year (one day shy of the 10th anniversary of his first departure). This turned out to be a temporary break: things didn’t work out with Sexton’s replacement, Duke Robillard, and Charlie was back in his old position by the end of the summer 2013 tour. <br /><br />Charlie was back, but things weren’t going to revert to what they had been in 2009-12. Dylan’s sound was changing, with the rockier style that had dominated most of the preceding decade now replaced with a hushed, delicate sound that brought Bob’s voice and lyrics back to the forefront. In hindsight, this change was more gradual than it initially appeared; it’s already in evidence on much of the 2012 album <i>Tempest</i>, which would serve as the core of Dylan’s live show for much of the 2010s. Charlie’s restrained solo on the track ‘Scarlet Town’ is a good example of what would be required of him over the next few years.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/USMXW8rtZlQ?start=249" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">This period segued neatly into Dylan’s extended exploration of The Great American Songbook, which encompassed the albums <i>Shadows in the Night</i> (2015), <i>Fallen Angels</i> (2016), and <i>Triplicate</i> (2017). The band’s playing on <i>Shadows in the Night</i>, in particular, is so subtle that it sometimes sounds like Dylan is backed only by Donnie Herron’s pedal steel. As always, though, Charlie’s playing (mixed to the left) rewards close attention: just listen to how he weaves around and responds to Bob’s vocal on ‘Full Moon and Empty Arms’.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/6S7nTLeMdAk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><br />By 2018, Dylan had returned to concentrating on his own material, and was reintroducing songs that had been absent from his show for some time. Charlie Sexton, a 40 year veteran at 50 years old, had by this point acquired the aura of an old master, able to anticipate every sudden left turn that Dylan might take during a song. In 2019, the fall tour contained what might be Charlie’s finest contribution to Dylan’s live show: a stunning reworking of ‘Not Dark Yet’, in which Charlie conjures an atmosphere filled with ghosts and shadows while Bob’s voice floats over it all like mist across a lake. My favourite performance of this arrangement is the one from University Park, Philadelphia - particularly the last verse, where Charlie’s guitar answers Bob’s vocal at the end of each line.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RTuC9Paa1wM?start=200" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;">Following that well-received tour, the band reconvened with Bob in early 2020 to record the album that would become <i>Rough and Rowdy Ways</i>, which was released in June. In the interview with Douglas Brinkley that accompanied the album, Dylan – somewhat uncharacteristically – went out of his way to heap praise on his long-serving guitarist: <br /><br /> <br /></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b><span style="font-size: medium;">DB: Charlie Sexton began playing with you for a few years in 1999, and returned to the fold in 2009. What makes him such a special player? It’s as if you can read each other’s minds.</span></b></i></span></div></div></blockquote><div><i><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></i><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-size: medium;">BD: As far as Charlie goes, he can read anybody’s mind. Charlie, though, creates songs and sings them as well, and he can play guitar to beat the band. There aren’t any of my songs that Charlie doesn’t feel part of and he’s always played great with me. “False Prophet” is only one of three 12-bar structural things on this record. Charlie is good on all the songs. He’s not a show-off guitar player, although he can do that if he wants. He’s very restrained in his playing but can be explosive when he wants to be. It’s a classic style of playing. Very old school. He inhabits a song rather than attacking it. He’s always done that with me. </span></i></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /> <br />It certainly sounds like Charlie playing the guitar solos on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2QPBpFAKTGo" target="_blank">‘False Prophet’</a>. On most of the record, however, I believe Charlie can be heard shimmering away on the far left-hand side of the mix. It’s hard to describe this incredibly subtle style of playing: the phrase that springs to my mind is ‘sound effects.’ It’s particularly effective on some of the quieter, slower tracks like ‘I Contain Multitudes’, ‘I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You’, and ‘Mother of Muses’. Once again, you need headphones to really zero in on what’s going on here.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pgEP8teNXwY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xqJNgO5Caf4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rwcsZNwaiHM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>Rough and Rowdy Ways</i> turned out to be Charlie’s last stand to date with Bob. Shortly afterwards, of course, came the Covid-19 pandemic, and once the dust had settled and Dylan was able to resume touring, Charlie had moved on to pastures anew. By this point it had been 22 years since Charlie played his first show as a member of Bob’s band, and 38 years since the two had met for the first time.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: medium;">While I was writing this article, I was watching videos on YouTube of Bob and Charlie playing together. In many of them there are moments when Charlie is soloing, and Bob seems to be communicating with him through nothing more than<a href="https://youtu.be/BaJOlF6oFO8?t=117" target="_blank"> a series of little nods and glances</a>. This reminded me of something, and I couldn't figure out what it was. Then I remembered: it was a video of Billie Holiday singing accompanied by Lester Young on saxophone. Lester takes a solo, but the camera stays on Billie as she reacts to what Lester is playing. Her expression seems to be saying "that's it - that's what I want to say." So it is with Bob Dylan and Charlie Sexton: when Charlie plays, he's saying what Bob wants to say - the parts that can't be communicated by words alone. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/NKXhYucWPm4?start=80" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p><span style="font-size: medium;">BONUS VIDEOS:</span></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">If you like Charlie Sexton but wish he played a bouzouki instead of a guitar, then this is the video for you!</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-SziAEUufLA" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">I'm not sure what song Charlie is singing in this video from 2017, but his playing is fascinating. As a couple of the comments note, it's very much in the 'desert blues' style prevalent in Mali, West Africa, popularised by the late<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82XU95D0EBY" target="_blank"> Ali Farka Toure</a>.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MAA_2ufZcWE" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: medium;">And finally, this:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/15gLh_oFyPQ?start=295" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br /></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Sources:</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><a href="https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1986-05-18-ca-20902-story.html" target="_blank">'CHARLIE SEXTON -- SEXY AND 17'</a> by Steve Pond, Los Angeles Times, 18th May 1986</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1986-04-06-8601250528-story.html" target="_blank">'CHARLIE SEXTON, IN THE BIG TIME AT 17, IS THROWING ALL HIS PASSION INTO WORK'</a> by Iain Blair, Chicago Tribune, 6th April 1986</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><a href="https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/little-boy-lost-3/" target="_blank">'Little Boy Lost'</a> by Helen Thompson, Texas Monthly, February 1996</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><a href="https://www.nodepression.com/charlie-sexton-the-austin-kid/" target="_blank">'Charlie Sexton - The Austin Kid'</a> by Don McLeese, No Depression, 1st September 2005</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><a href="https://www.chron.com/entertainment/music/article/Charlie-Sexton-exceeds-all-expectations-1925855.php" target="_blank">'Charlie Sexton exceeds all expectations'</a> by Kim Curtis, Chron., 3rd November 2005</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><a href="https://www.sacurrent.com/music/changing-hats-2282633" target="_blank">'Changing hats'</a> by Chris Parker, San Antonio Current, 19th March 2008</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><a href="https://www.boblinks.com/" target="_blank">Reviews: Round Rock, Texas, The Dell Diamond, 4th August 2009</a> - BobLinks</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><a href="https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bob-dylan-welcomes-guitarist-charlie-sexton-back-into-his-band-250177/" target="_blank">'Bob Dylan Welcomes Guitarist Charlie Sexton Back Into His Band'</a>, by Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 26th August 2009</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><a href="http://guitarinternational.com/2011/08/08/charlie-sexton-interview-part-i-how-to-session-with-bob-dylan/" target="_blank">'Charlie Sexton Interview Part I: How to Session with Bob Dylan'</a> by Arlene R. Weiss, Guitar International, 8th August 2011</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><a href="https://gato-docs.its.txst.edu/jcr:e0ee6c06-28e1-432e-a89d-8b4f3a57cfa1/19_4_Sexton_Jason-Crouch.pdf" target="_blank">'Charlie Sexton: Too Many Ways to Fall'</a> by Jason Crouch, 2019</i></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i><br /></i></p></div></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-86278317207838369252022-04-26T15:21:00.012-07:002023-07-04T11:49:40.169-07:00It's Getting There: 'Not Dark Yet' in the Key of Bob<div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Is there an artist more restless than Bob Dylan? Probably not. The most compelling evidence of this is how he treats his songs onstage: <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2022/02/walking-in-shadows-after-dark-bob.html" target="_blank">as we’ve seen with ‘Key West’</a>, to use the most recent example, a Dylan song is never finished. There is always a chance that it will be completely overhauled either lyrically or musically (sometimes both). <br /><br />It's easy to forget that this process of reinvention often begins in the studio. As we’ve heard on various installments of the Bootleg Series, Dylan might experiment with entirely different melodies, alter keys and time signatures, and extensively rework the lyrics before choosing which version to release. Once the song makes it to the stage, the process continues: it’s common for Bob to stick very closely to the studio version of a song for early performances, only to gradually take it in other directions over time. <br /><br />One of the 'song evolutions' I find most interesting is ‘Not Dark Yet’, the centerpiece of Dylan’s 1997 album <i>Time Out of Mind</i>. On the surface, it seems to have enjoyed an unusually stable history – the live arrangements were very faithful to the studio version for many years, until Bob unveiled a drastic rearrangement in the fall of 2019. However, the journey of this song has featured more twists and turns than might be apparent at first glance, going right back to its birth in Oxnard, Los Angeles, in late 1996. <br /><br />In his 2011 book <i>The Ballad of Bob Dylan</i>, Daniel Mark Epstein quotes keyboardist Jim Dickinson talking about the genesis of the song: </span><br /><br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>“Dylan had started the sessions at Oxnard,” Dickinson recalled. “It was just a trio, the way Lanois wanted to do it, obviously.” Then some Columbia executives heard </i>[an early version of]<i> “Not Dark Yet” and got excited, smelling the money. “The management had heard over the phone a version from Oxnard with Dylan singing in a higher register, and this quick and spare guitar stuff that Lanois was playing, and it had stuck in somebody’s head.” </i></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">As Dickinson tells Epstein, this led to an uncomfortable situation – during the later sessions held at Criteria Studios in Miami – in which Lanois, at the behest of the executives, put pressure on Dylan to return to the earlier version of the song. </span><br /><br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>“We do the song and they keep changing keys,” Dickinson recalled. “Daniel said, ‘Bob, will you try it in another key?’ Nobody will say this thing about putting his voice up, right?” What the management really wanted was for Dylan to sing the song in a higher, brighter register. “So we did it in three or four different keys [….] And finally Dylan was just obviously pissed off.” </i></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Dylan held his ground and got his way: the version of ‘Not Dark Yet’ that appears on <i>Time Out of Mind</i> is in the key of E, which is as low as you can get while remaining in standard guitar tuning. However, the question of which key to play the song in is one that continued far beyond the sessions for the album. <br /><br />Engineer Mark Howard, who worked on <i>Time Out of Mind</i>, touched on Dylan’s relationship with keys during <a href="https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/bob-dylan-tell-tale-signs-special-mark-howard-37964/" target="_blank">his 2008 interview in <i>Uncut</i></a>: <br /><br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The way Bob works is, he kind of writes on a typewriter, so he has no idea where these songs lie, in what key they live in, what tempo – anything of that. Musically, there’s no chords written. So it’s like, he’ll say, “I got this song, and maybe this is how it goes,” and you try a couple of different versions of it in different keys, and he just finds where it sounds best, where it sounds best for his voice, where it’s comfortable. And that’s usually the open you end up going with. </i></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><br />When ‘Not Dark Yet’ made its live debut in Columbus, Georgia, on 30th October 1997, it was once again played in the key of E. However, the performance was a one-off, and the song was not played again that year. (Bob would sing it in this key just once more, when he performed it <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qtWZWdCsv-k" target="_blank">with Eric Clapton and his band at the 1999 Crossroads Festival.</a>)</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Not Dark Yet in the key of E</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SlRPwIl3f50" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />‘Not Dark Yet’ re-emerged in January 1998, now being played in the key of C, and was performed three times before disappearing once again. It turned up one more time that year, at a show in Berlin on 3rd June, where it was played for the only time in the key of D.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Not Dark Yet in the key of C</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/I3WFmK2kbQk?start=270" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br /><i>Not Dark Yet in the key of D</i><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lO1mwzm6jTw" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">In 1999, ‘Not Dark Yet’ became a setlist regular for the first time (played 56 times that year), now in the key of G. Bob must have been fairly happy with this key, as he stuck with it all the way through to 2002, although by this point the song was once again being performed only sporadically.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Not Dark Yet in the key of G</i><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sP_2ubZj2xs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />‘Not Dark Yet’ sat out the whole of 2003, but reappeared in the spring of 2004. It was now being played in the key of C-sharp, where it would remain through 2005.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Not Dark Yet in the key of C-sharp</i><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Z9m_e5m9src" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />In 2006 Dylan shifted the key of ‘Not Dark Yet’ to G-flat, where it would remain for the next six years. I have a special fondness for the 2011 performances – despite the ravaged state of Dylan’s voice during this period, these versions have a sweeping, majestic quality that’s hard to resist.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Not Dark Yet in the key of G-flat</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yd5FALQ5kwI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />The various performances of ‘Not Dark Yet’ between 1997-2012 reveal how altering the key of a song can give it a noticeably different feel, even if the arrangement itself barely changes. You can see why Dylan would spend a lot of time trying to find the ‘right key’ for the song. <br /><br />‘Not Dark Yet’ is yet to make an appearance on the Rough and Rowdy Ways World Tour. The question I have is not ‘Will it be back?’, but ‘If it does come back, what key will it be in?’</span></div></div></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-13302327738921484762022-04-17T15:59:00.024-07:002022-10-26T13:19:32.137-07:00Down to New Orleans Again: Bob Dylan (and Me) at the Saengar Theater, March 2022 <span style="font-size: large;"><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><b><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtZajTc5CN4mfQoEMUvEAtCtpFFoFJS4p6T5kYLl8qxwj-prOemV-0_PJ1AN8pV7N1_AsgVhArusSNs9isgABFOLk_QMRqQCsIQW4cX212DW_rfGD7BQqbefq3V7dl7bhTmBp7xxYhqecm0AFBw5KoksEQ79BMGIf226I5CUvfBKRlDN8BFefKF7DFNw/s1200/NATIONAL-1200X628.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="1200" height="209" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtZajTc5CN4mfQoEMUvEAtCtpFFoFJS4p6T5kYLl8qxwj-prOemV-0_PJ1AN8pV7N1_AsgVhArusSNs9isgABFOLk_QMRqQCsIQW4cX212DW_rfGD7BQqbefq3V7dl7bhTmBp7xxYhqecm0AFBw5KoksEQ79BMGIf226I5CUvfBKRlDN8BFefKF7DFNw/w400-h209/NATIONAL-1200X628.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i><br /></i></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>"New Orleans, unlike a lot of those places you go back to and that don’t have the magic anymore, still has got it" - </i>Bob Dylan<i>, Chronicles Volume One</i></b></div><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Last month, I had the pleasure of seeing Mr Bob Dylan and his band play a show at the Saengar Theater in New Orleans. This was a big deal for me: the last Dylan show I saw was at Kilkenny, Ireland in the summer of 2019 – less than three years ago, but also a lifetime ago, before Everything Changed Forever. During the worst of the pandemic, I had remained hopeful of seeing Dylan in concert again, but also quietly acknowledged the possibility that this was not going to happen. If you’d told me in March 2020 that, precisely two years later, I would be sitting in a theatre in New Orleans (a place I’ve dreamed of visiting for a while) watching Bob Dylan perform nine out of ten songs from his latest album, <i>Rough and Rowdy Ways</i> – well, I think I would have spontaneously combusted. <br /><br />However, thanks to the stars aligning a certain way, that’s exactly what happened (seeing Bob in New Orleans, not the spontaneous combustion). I’m going to try to write about what it was like in the Saengar Theater that night, and what it meant for me to be there. But first – and so that I can stall for a bit more time to get my thoughts together – let’s take a look at Bob Dylan’s long history with the Big Easy. <br /><br />The earliest Dylan/New Orleans connection, unless I'm mistaken, is on his first album, in the form of the traditional song ‘House of the Rising Sun’. There was some distant hope that Dylan might sing this at the Saengar, seeing as the show took place on the 60th anniversary of <i>Bob Dylan</i>, but (not surprisingly) it wasn’t to be. Bob has revisited 'Rising Sun' very occasionally over the years – most recently <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4oxZkIOv_OM" target="_blank">in 2007</a> – but for me the most interesting performance is the one Dylan gave at the home of Eve and Mac MacKenzie in April 1963. In this version, Bob sings the alternate melody favoured by the likes of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uX_bEDqxHFw" target="_blank">Woody Guthrie</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5tOpyipNJs" target="_blank">Leadbelly</a>. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/0QxhZiXibtQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />During the early sessions for <i>The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan</i> in 1962, Bob recorded a traditional song called ‘Going Down to New Orleans’. The song is a close relative of the blues standard ‘Rollin’ and Tumblin’’, which Dylan reworked on his 2006 album <i>Modern Times</i>.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TzUgosCOUaI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br />New Orleans was still on Dylan’s mind a year later. During the sessions for <i>The Times They Are A-Changin’</i>, Bob recorded several takes of an original song called ‘Bob Dylan's New Orleans Rag’, which he also performed at his famous Town Hall concert in New York City in April 1963. ‘New Orleans Rag’ mentions the historic Rampart Street several times (coincidentally, the Saengar Theater is on the corner of North Rampart Street and Canal Street), although, curiously, all mention of Rampart has been removed from t<a href="https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/bob-dylans-new-orleans-rag/" target="_blank">he official published lyrics</a>. <br /><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iBcSQuViOvA" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Not content with simply writing about New Orleans, Dylan visited the city the following year while on a road trip with friends, just in time for Mardi Gras. This trip is detailed in Robert Shelton’s No Direction Home, and <a href="http://joeb-tallyho.blogspot.com/2009/12/bob-dylan-at-mardi-gras-new-orleans-feb.html" target="_blank">by Joe B. Stuart</a>, who was there. My favourite version of this story, however, appears in Anthony Scaduto’s 1971 Dylan biography <i>Bob Dylan</i>, and contains this exchange: <br /><br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Out in front of one bar they came across a young white street singer who was busking – playing for the coins of passersby – his guitarwork and singing style a fusion of Leadbelly and Guthrie. “Hey,” Dylan said, “can I borrow your guitar?” The singer handed it over and Dylan began to sing a couple of things off his first album. “Man, the kid exclaimed, “you sound just like Bob Dylan.” Bob’s face was impassive. “Saw Dylan once,” he said. “A place in the village. He’s alright, I guess.”</i></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Dylan didn’t play a show in New Orleans until the second leg of the Rolling Thunder Revue in 1976, when he played two shows (one afternoon, one evening) on 3rd May at The Warehouse on Tchoupitoulas Street. Since then, he’s been back many times, playing a variety of venues: the Saengar Theater in 1981, 1991 and 2015 (and now 2022); the Lakefront Arena in 1989, 1999, 2002, and 2011; the House of Blues in 1994; McAlister Auditorium in 1995; the Municipal Auditorium in 2003; and appearances at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival at the Fairgrounds Racecourse in 1993, 2003 and 2006. In 1988, Dylan even played a show at the Pavilion at Audubon Zoo, just a stone’s throw away from the animal enclosures. There may still be some elephants at the zoo that remember this performance.<br /><br />It was during this visit to New Orleans that Bob met Daniel Lanois for the first time, stopping into the studio while Lanois was producing the Neville Brothers’ album <i>Yellow Moon</i>. A few months later Dylan would be back in the city again, holed up with Lanois at a house in the Garden District to work on the album that would become Oh Mercy. Jeff Hannush reported in the May 1989 issue of Rolling Stone Magazine that Dylan had been spotted about town: <br /><br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Dylan’s presence in New Orleans has caused a stir among the locals. Residents are abuzz with reports of various Dylan sightings, and a gossip columnist for the local newspaper, the Times-Picayune, has gone so far as to install a semiregular Dylan Watch as part of a daily column. But one local hairdresser claimed that no one in the city could possibly recognize Dylan — because to disguise him, she had cut off all of his hair. </i>(The haircut story turned out to be false, thankfully - TE)</span></blockquote><p><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></p><p><span style="font-size: large;">Bob writes about this period at length in <i>Chronicles Volume One</i>, sharing his impressions of the city.</span></p><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>New Orleans, unlike a lot of those places you go back to and that don’t have the magic anymore, still has got it. Night can swallow you up, but none of it touches you. Around any corner, there’s a promise of something daring and ideal and things are just getting going. There’s something obscenely joyful between every door, either that or somebody crying with their head in their hands A lazy rhythm looms in the dreamy air and the atmosphere pulsates with bygone duels, past-life romance, comrades requesting comrades to aid them in some way. You can’t see it but you know it’s here. Somebody is always sinking. Everyone seems to be from very old Southern families. Either that or a foreigner. I like the way it is.</i></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Scott Warmuth’s 2008 essay <a href="http://swarmuth.blogspot.com/2008/10/dylan-doodlebug.html" target="_blank">'The Dylan Doodlebug'</a> revealed that Dylan had borrowed several phrases from a New Orleans travel guide by Bethany Bultman, incorporating them into both <i>Chronicles</i> and the song ‘Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee’ on <i>“Love & Theft”</i>. In 2016, Dylan held <a href="https://noma.org/exhibitions/bob-dylan-new-orleans-series/#about" target="_blank">an exhibition of his paintings</a>, entitled <i>The New Orleans Series</i>, at the New Orleans Museum of Art. He has mentioned New Orleans in his songs ‘Tangled Up in Blue’, ‘Blind Willie McTell’ and ‘Tryin’ to Get to Heaven’, plus the elusive mid-1980s outtakes ‘Nothing Here Worth Dying For’ and ‘Won’t Come Back Til They Call Me Back Again’ on the bootleg <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHPXz-0qudo" target="_blank"><i>After the Empire</i></a>. New Orleans also features in the traditional song 'The Lakes of Ponchartrain' which Dylan performed frequently in the early years of the Never Ending Tour.<br /><br />There is a big New Orleans connection in Bob’s band, too: bass player Tony Garnier, who is the grandson of early New Orleans jazz musician D’Jalma Garnier. Tony’s older brother, multi-instrumentalist D’Jalma Garnier III, is still active on the city’s zydeco scene. In 1998, Tony was interviewed by the <i>New York Times</i>, where he shared <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1998/01/21/dining/twice-a-year-it-s-a-gumbo-gig.html" target="_blank">his recipe for an authentic Louisiana gumbo</a>. Between 2002 and 2019, Dylan’s band featured a genuine New Orleans rhythm section, as drummer George Receli also hails from the Big Easy. <br /><br />In 2017, Dylan enlisted New Orleans author Tom Piazza, author of <i>Why New Orleans Matters</i> and the novel <i>City of Refuge </i>(amongst many other books), to write the liner notes for the album <i>Triplicate</i>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-large;">*</span></div></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">That brings us to the Saengar Theater, 19th March 2022.</span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I was struck by the manner in which this show began. You may have attended theater shows that have been proceeded by an announcement advising the audience that the show will begin in ten minutes, and could everyone please take their seats. Well, that didn’t happen here: Bob and the band simply appeared onstage at the stroke of 8 o’clock and began cranking out the vortex-like intro to 'Watching the River Flow', leaving bewildered audience members stumbling around in the dark trying to find their seats. On top of that, the sound (at least from where I was sitting) was cranked up insanely loud for the first two songs, forcing people to yell at each other as they tried to figure out seat number mix-ups. <br /><br />It might sound like I’m complaining, but I loved all of this. There’s something very appropriate about Bob Dylan arriving and immediately throwing everything around him into chaos - may he continue to do so for a long time to come. <br /><br />Seated in the balcony, I felt like I could appreciate the huge amount of thought that has gone into the visual presentation of this show. It’s very surreal: you’re looking at the musicians mostly in silhouette, with all the lighting coming from the floor beneath them and the curtain behind them. Guitarist Bob Britt has become a visual focal point, positioned at the back of the stage in the centre, often adopting a gunslinger stance. Bob Dylan, meanwhile, surveyed the crowd from behind an upright piano. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The other musician who frequently caught my eye was drummer Charley Drayton. Everything he does is fascinating. I’ve written before about how I suspect that Bob likes to have at least one person in the band with a lot of stage presence that he can play off, and it feels like Charley is fulfilling that role right now. <br /><br />There were many highlights. ‘False Prophet’ swung hard, so much so that the studio version now sounds too slow in comparison. ‘Crossing the Rubicon’ was a revelation – surprisingly quiet and menacing, sometimes feeling like a Shakespearean soliloquy, and a showcase for some great rhythm section work by Tony and and Charley. I wasn’t sure about the recordings of the totally reworked version of ‘Key West’ I had heard before the show, but it clicked for me hearing it in person, with Bob in full storyteller mode. Doug Lancio nailed the short guitar solo on ‘I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You’ (which always strikes me as the core of that song), and then had a chance to stretch out on ‘Melancholy Mood’, the one song that remained from my first Dylan show at the London Palladium in 2017. Multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron, meanwhile, watched Bob like a hawk from his riser overlooking Dylan's piano.<br /><br />There were some moments in the show that had a comical feel to them. Bob sometimes walked out from behind his piano to soak in the applause – curiously, he often did this while the lights were down, which prompted huge roars from the first couple of rows who could see him, and confusion from everyone else. At one point a guitar tech solemnly walked onstage to present Bob Britt with a Gibson Flying V. Some of the audience leaned forward in anticipation of some hard rock, only for Dylan and the band to launch into the serene ‘Key West’. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Despite all of that, the best was saved for last. 'Every Grain of Sand', much like 'I Believe in You' and some of Dylan's other religious songs, has the effect of making it feel as though the band and the audience have disappeared, and you are left to witness an intensely private moment between Dylan and the object of his faith. The band achieved a rare kind of unity with this song, where they ceased to be six individuals and temporarily morphed into a single being. Moments like this are what it's all about.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />My only complaint about the show was that it flew past in a blur. Before I knew it, I was back on Canal Street with everyone else, excitedly discussing what we had just seen. We were interrupted by the tour buses pulling away – everybody waved and cheered, and The Bob Express responded with a happy honk as it set off on its way. <br /><br />It's taken me a long time to get here, but the bottom line is this: if you have the opportunity to see Bob Dylan and his band on the Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour, don't hesitate! What we're seeing here is something precious and fleeting. Bob Dylan, unlike some performers you go to see who don’t have the magic anymore, still has got it.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Recording and concert dates from </i></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>http://bjorner.com/still.htm</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Last year I wrote about Bob's performance at the 2003 New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival - you can read that <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/01/down-to-new-orleans-bob-dylan-at-jazz.html" target="_blank">here</a></i><br /></span><br /> </div></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-61559402215363472492022-02-28T10:30:00.006-08:002023-07-04T11:52:08.294-07:00Walking in the Shadows After Dark: Bob Dylan's 'Key West' in Chicago<p><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">After spending over a year living with the studio version of ‘Key West’, I still can’t believe that we now have 21 live versions to enjoy as well, each one slightly different from the last. When Dylan finally unveiled it live for the first time (in Milwaukee, at the first show of the Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour) there was almost a sense of relief about the performance, like someone exhaling after holding their breath for a long time. You can tell the audience felt the same way: one of my favourite things about the recording is that you can hear a collective gasp sweep through the crowd as Bob sings “McKinley hollered…”.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TVC1cs9HYzY?start=270" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">As beautiful as the live debut of ‘Key West’ is (and it’s still the version that moves me the most), I’ve become even more partial to the performance of the song Dylan gave a day later in Chicago. While this version is a departure from Milwaukee, it’s also very different from the new arrangement that began to take shape at the following show in Cleveland. It occupies its own little island, which I guess is appropriate for a song called 'Key West.' <br /><br />Where the drums, pedal steel and Dylan’s piano were the most prominent instruments in Milwaukee’s ‘Key West’, in Chicago the dynamic gets reversed - it’s all about the guitars, played by Bob Britt and Doug Lancio. Britt, on lead guitar, is particularly impressive, playing the same role Charlie Sexton specialised in during his years in the Dylan band, conjuring an atmosphere that serves as a backdrop for Dylan’s singing.<br /><br />And the atmosphere is worth talking about, because – in sharp contrast to the celebratory debut a day earlier, and the ‘dreamier’ versions that followed – this ‘Key West’ is positively menacing. Some of more sinister lines in the song suddenly come into sharp focus: “China blossoms of a toxic plant/ They can make you dizzy, I’d like to help you but I can’t”, “The fishtail ponds and the orchid trees/ They can give you that bleedin’ heart disease”, “Walkin’ in the shadows after dark”, “It’s hot down here”. Even the refrain about “looking for immortality” suddenly seems shrouded in darkness. <br /><br />The role of the narrator in the Chicago 'Key West' is also different from the other versions. Rather than being a benevolent guide to this wonderland, here he comes across as more of a snake-oil salesman, trying to tempt us down a wrong path - not unlike the 'Black Rider' Dylan sings about earlier in the song cycle. <br /><br />That’s the musical side of things, but thanks to a YouTube channel called Bird that Flew on the Avenue, we also have a video of this performance. A key part of Dylan’s live shows that often gets overlooked is the visuals, and how the very deliberate choices of lighting and the positioning of the band can often be a key part of the performance. For Chicago's 'Key West', the stage is in almost total darkness, with the lighting – all from below – giving Bob and the band a strange and otherworldly appearance. Everyone (besides Bob) is wearing black, which makes the band look like disembodied faces looming out of the shadows. The final dramatic device is Bob’s new smoke machine, which by the end of the song has nearly consumed the whole stage in fog. All of this ties in with the new, darker interpretation of the song: a literal Shadow Kingdom.</span><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cxAISdIcNmc" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br />After this performance, Bob took ‘Key West’ in a new direction. Donnie Herron switched to the accordion he had played on the album, the foreboding tumble into the chorus became a heavenly ascent, and the chord sequence for the chorus itself was altered. There’s a lot to recommend about the subsequent ‘Key West’ performances, but Chicago is the one I keep coming back to. <br /><br />I do want to say a few words about one of the other versions, though: the performance from 21st November at the Beacon Theatre in New York City. This is the only other ‘Key West’ that we have a complete video of (so far), and, once again, it really underlines just how much the visual drama playing out onstage can add to a performance. This time around, a lot of the intrigue is provided by new guitarist Doug Lancio. Doug has a music stand positioned at the back of the stage; at first I thought it might be sheet music or chord charts, but on closer inspection it appears to be lyric sheets for ‘Key West’. During the verses, Doug hovers over the music stand, spider-like, studying the lyrics intently. As the music shifts into the chorus, Doug moves centre stage to face fellow guitarist Bob Britt, and gives a nod in the direction of drummer Charley Drayton (presumably to cue him into the chorus). When the chorus ends, Doug drifts back to his position over the music stand, and the whole process repeats itself throughout the song. I don’t know exactly what's going on here, but as a visual device I find it weirdly fascinating, especially combined with the hypnotic guitar riff that runs through the song.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4oAjRdhweEI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Where will Dylan take 'Key West' next? Will the arrangement stay the same, or perhaps revert back to something more like Milwaukee or Chicago? Maybe it will become something completely different again, or maybe (and this is an absolute worst case scenario) it will simply disappear. Whatever happens, the fact that this remarkable song has been performed at all is nothing less than a gift. </span></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-37694240344201435332021-12-29T10:04:00.023-08:002023-02-10T08:18:12.507-08:00The (In)Complete History of Bob Dylan and the Accordion<span style="font-size: large;"><p> </p></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: center;"><i style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">"It’s a perfect instrument in a lot of ways. It’s orchestrative and percussive at the same time. Actually accordion players were the first musicians that I had seen a lot of growing up." - Bob Dylan, 2009</span></b></i></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Did you know that the diatonic accordion is the official instrument of the state of Louisiana? That’s just one of several fairly useless facts I’ve picked up since I became obsessed with the accordion, thanks in no small part to its prominent role on Bob Dylan's song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-oOCo1Y1bw" target="_blank">'Key West'</a> and in his concert film <i>Shadow Kingdom</i>. I’d love to share more accordion facts with you, but this blog is called Talkin’ Bob Dylan, not Talkin’ Accordions (note to self: start blog called ‘Talkin’ Accordions’). So, as a compromise, let’s take a look at Bob Dylan’s history with the accordion.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />The accordion’s first appearance on a Dylan album is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RoaouyaHpVg" target="_blank">‘On a Night Like This’ </a>from <i>Planet Waves</i>, played by The Band’s Garth Hudson (who, three years earlier, had also played accordion on The Band’s version of Bob's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efLy6wH4fWk" target="_blank">‘When I Paint My Masterpiece’</a>). However, ‘On a Night Like This’ wasn’t the first time Bob had been backed by an accordionist on record. That honour goes to Doug Sahm’s <i>Doug Sahm and Band</i> (1973), where Bob appears as co-lead vocalist on three songs, two of which - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mu6iAjkF8j8" target="_blank">'(Is Anybody Going) to San Antone'</a> and the Dylan original 'Wallflower' - include an accordion.<br /><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eaqWtN3YZtY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The accordion here is played by Flaco Jiminez, who would reunite with Dylan at the 1990 Montreux Jazz Festival to play ‘Across the Borderline’:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Lku3ewF7wWM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />The next appearance of the accordion on a Dylan record comes on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xew67ZHWwLA" target="_blank">‘Joey’</a>, track 6 of <i>Desire</i> (1976). In a great musical moment, the accordion drifts into the song just after Bob sings “Opened up his eyes, to the tune of an accordion”. On this album, the instrument (which can also be heard on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uF35V9zDrNg" target="_blank">‘Romance in Durango’</a>) is played by Dominic Cortese, a musician whom Allmusic.com describes as “the quintessential Italian accordion player”. Here he is in action:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4jFWVkOkEwM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />The accordion took an extended absence from Dylan’s albums for the rest of the '70s and most of the 1980s, with the exception of ‘Where Teardrops Fall’ from 1989’s <i>Oh Mercy</i>. On this track, Dylan is accompanied by legendary New Orleans zydeco accordionist and singer Rockin’ Dopsie and his band. Unfortunately, although Dopsie is credited with accordion on the track, his playing seems to have been removed from the final mix. Hopefully there’s an alternate take/mix somewhere in the vaults where Dopsie can be heard. Here he is playing in 1984, with several of the same players who appear on 'Where Teardrops Fall' (including saxophonist John Hart, whom Dylan describes so vividly in <i>Chronicles</i>).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/RJw2Cp_wnkk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">(<i>Update 21/02/2022</i> - After listening very, very closely to 'Where Teardrops Fall' on headphones, I believe you can just about make out a few faint snippets of Rockin' Dopsie's accordion on the far right of the mix.)</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Fans clamouring for more accordion on Dylan’s albums didn’t have to wait long, and this time they were in for a special treat. 1990’s <i>Under the Red Sky</i> is the first (and, to date, only) album to feature Bob himself on the accordion. He’s only credited on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qcHtGX34rk" target="_blank">‘Born in Time’</a>, but you can pick out his playing on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjThU5i8Zrc" target="_blank">‘Under the Red Sky’</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zavoUgNt61E" target="_blank">‘Handy Dandy’</a> and ‘Cat’s in the Well’, too. I wonder if he still plays.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">(<i>Update 13/08/22 -</i> In <i>Song & Dance Man III: The Art of Bob Dylan</i>, Michael Gray writes: "At the 1990 sessions for "Under the Red Sky, [Dylan] had this unexplained box in the corner of the studio day after day; then one day, producing from it a new accordion still in its sealed polythene bag, he unwrapped it and recorded the accordion part to 'Born in Time' in one take. No one knew it was an instrument he could even half-play." p.860)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wR1nNXPO6nQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />As Dylan entered the 1990s, he began to occasionally incorporate the accordion into his live sound, too. In April 1991, Dylan was joined onstage in New Orleans by accordionist Jo-El Sonnier, who played accordion on 'Maggie's Farm' (Bob had performed Sonnier's hit song 'No More One More Time' several times in 1990). </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">During Dylan’s Winter 1993 tour of Europe, Bob's resident multi-instrumentalist Bucky Baxter began playing occasional accordion during the acoustic numbers. I’ve mentioned <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y0ZCnNrYs717Cu37NfpTA0kwcpgi_J1E/view" target="_blank">the glorious accordion version of ‘Jim Jones’</a> from Pentange, Luxembourg before, but Bucky sometimes played the instrument on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ygRj72Y5gMk" target="_blank">other songs</a> too – including the performance of ‘Hard Times’ during Willie Nelson’s 60th Birthday TV special. During the same show, Nelson’s harmonica player Mickey Raphael can be seen playing accordion during <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fd41cVwl9FY" target="_blank">Willie and Bob’s ‘Pancho and Lefty’ duet</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QRx3jNw202c" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br />The next person to play the accordion live with Bob was none other than Sheryl Crowe, who sat in with Dylan and his band to play four songs </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span>in New Orleans</span><span> on 16th October 1995. She would reappear two years later in Los Angeles, playing accordion on 'Knockin' on Heaven's Door' at the fourth show of Dylan's El Ray Theater Residency. </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t8zv3DlWZsY" target="_blank">Speaking to Sirius XM in 2019</a></span><span><span style="font-size: large;">, Crowe recalled sending a taxi back to her hotel to retrieve the accordion at Bob’s request.</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lOepiJDIG7o" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span> </span></div><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/JR1q69mOkNM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Meanwhile, back in the studio, keyboardist Augie Meyers contributed subtle accordion to the tracks <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KENlCuJsdns">‘High Water (For Charley Patton)’</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzk1_T6yMHE" target="_blank">‘Sugar Baby’</a> on Dylan’s 2001 album <i>“Love and Theft”</i>. Meyers had also played on <i>Time Out of Mind </i>in 1997 - there was no accordion on that record, but Meyers did play the instrument on the outtake ‘Red River Shore’. Two takes of the track appeared on <i>The Bootleg Series Volume 8: Tell Tale Signs</i> in 2008.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2R7_yPdpUGk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />The following year saw Bob unveil his most accordion-centric work yet: <i>Together Through Life</i>, which features David Hidalgo of Los Lobos playing the instrument on almost every track. The accordion on this album is the lead instrument, playing the same role occupied by Scarlet Rivera’s violin on <i>Desire</i>. Dylan spoke a little about his decision to use the accordion so prominently in the <a href="https://beatpatrol.wordpress.com/2009/04/07/bill-flanagan-interview-with-bob-dylan-part-2-2009/" target="_blank">interview with Bill Flanagan </a>that accompanied the album:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>A lot of accordion on this record – in places where we might expect to hear harmonica or organ or lead guitar.</i></b></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Yeah, I guess so. The accordion can sound like all those instruments. Actually, I wished I had used it more on some of my past records.</i></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Who’s playing that?</i></b></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>David Hidalgo.</i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Have you guys ever played together before?</i></b></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>I think so. Los Lobos played some shows with me in Mexico a while back. </i></span><i><span style="font-size: large;">I remember playing some things with David and Cesar then.*</span></i></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Is there a chance you’ll add an accordion on stage?</i></b></span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Well sure, if I could fit it into my rhythm section.</i></span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>Did you write any of these songs with the accordion in mind or did it come up during the sessions?</i></b></span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>I use an accordion player when I play off-road shows. It’s a perfect instrument in a lot of ways. It’s orchestrative and percussive at the same time. Actually accordion players were the first musicians that I had seen a lot of growing up.</i></span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i>“Opened his eyes to the tune of the accordion.”</i></b></span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Precisely.</i></span></div></blockquote></div><p> </p><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">(* The shows in Mexico Bob refers to here took place on <a href="https://www.bobdylanisis.com/product/dylan-los-lobos-mexico-1991/" target="_blank">1st and 2nd March 1991</a>, where Los Lobos were the opening act. Unfortunately, no tapes circulate from either show, so it's unclear whether any Los Lobos members - or accordions - appeared during Bob's set.)</span> </p></div></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><p style="text-align: left;"> </p></div></blockquote><div><div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Hidalgo returned for <i>Christmas in the Heart </i>(2009) and <i>Tempest</i> (2012), but only plays 'lead' accordion on a couple of tracks (‘Must Be Santa’ on <i>Christmas</i>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6T1d3STzwh0" target="_blank">‘Early Roman Kings’</a> on <i>Tempest</i>.)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a8qE6WQmNus" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />Although Hidalgo played on <i>Christmas in the Heart</i>, he did not appear in the music video for ‘Must Be Santa’. The accordion player in the video is Robert ‘Smokey’ Miles, who might be better known as Count Smokula, the accordion-playing vampire. Here’s an excerpt from the bio on the Count’s <a href="http://www.countsmokula.com/home.htm" target="_blank">official website</a>: <br /><br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Count Smokula, it is believed, was born 496 years ago in the town of Yabatubursk, near Glipsch, in Smokesylvania. Yet through an old series of family remedies, medicinal plants and herbs, he has retained his boyish vigor, and most people can't imagine he is a day over 380. </i></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Even as a boy, The Count was known to possess miraculous powers of entertainment and was much in demand as a singer of Smokesylvanian songs of joy and for his exquisite playing of the SqveezeBox, which he performed at many Shlabans and other social events throughout the Shmear Province. </i></span></blockquote><span style="font-size: large;"><br />And here’s the Count in action:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SdEp4ik-Re8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />The only live appearance of Bob with an accordion player in the 2010s came at the 2011 Grammys, when Mumford & Sons accordionist Ben Lovett played as part of <a href="https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x791wwa" target="_blank">the huge crowd of people backing Bob on ‘Maggie’s Farm’</a>. However, nine years later, Dylan’s decision to feature the accordion on 'Key West' appears to have sparked a renewed interest in the instrument on his part. When Bob devised <i>Shadow Kingdom</i>, the streamed concert film that combined pre-recorded audio with separately filmed visuals, the accordion assumed a prominent position throughout. Some of the most effective playing is on this version of ‘Queen Jane Approximately’ where the accordion (as it does on 'Key West') acts almost like a drone, similarly to how its relative <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBvSB1DbsCQ" target="_blank">the shruti box</a> is used. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/bivn4QnX-9s" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />All of this leads us to the first leg of Bob Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy Ways World Tour, and the long-awaited live performances of ‘Key West’. Donnie Herron’s accordion didn’t make an appearance until the third show of the tour, and since then it has taken on a noticeably different role than on the album version – as James Adams put it in his <a href="https://dylanlive.substack.com/p/charleston-moon-township-and-hershey" target="_blank">must-read tour diary</a>, “circl[ing] the song like a curious bird”. Part of me would like to see Donnie play accordion on other songs too, but, on the other hand, saving it for ‘Key West’ just makes the song feel even more special. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MC0eTvZodrw" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I stopped short of calling this post 'The Complete History of Bob Dylan and the Accordion' because a) I've probably missed something, and b) I'm hoping that Bob will continue to feature the instrument in his live shows. Maybe - if he's been listening to <i>Under the Red Sky</i> over Christmas - he'll get the urge to play some accordion onstage! You never know...</span></div></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">UPDATE - 25/01/2022: <i><b>Some things I missed...</b></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>'I Pity the Poor Immigrant', Live at the Isle of Wight Festival, 30/08/1969</i> - Many thanks to reader Robert who told me about this performance, which may be the first time Bob was accompanied by an accordion. Dylan is backed by The Band, and the accordionist is, of course, the legendary Garth Hudson.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/h5HFw0iHzqY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><i><span style="font-size: large;">Mr. Tambourine Man, Live at The Forum, Inglewood, Los Angeles CA, 14/02/1974</span></i><span style="font-size: large;"> - I was delighted to discover something I'd never heard before while l</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span>istening to </span><a href="https://mail.google.com/mail/u/0/#inbox/FMfcgzGmtNldQTnpSvwcdqggWCwWFlbX" target="_blank">Ray Padgett's recent compilation of 1974 performances</a><span>: a version of 'Mr. Tambourine Man' where Bob is accompanied by Garth Hudson on accordion. According to Wikipedia, Dylan performed this song (which was only played on one other occasion that year) as a Valentine's Day present for his wife.</span></span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1TqqQ0fA47o" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Another reader commented to draw attention to the 2008 album<i> Bob Dylan: Artist's Choice</i>, a collection of Dylan's favourite tracks compiled by Bob himself for Starbucks. Bob chose to highlight not one but two accordionists on the collection: Belgian-French musician Gus Viseur, and the aforementioned Flaco Jiminez.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The Gus Viseur track is 'Flambee Montalbanaise', which was released on Columbia Records in 1940. Says Bob in the liner notes, "Whenever I hear a song like this, it doesn't matter where I am or what the weather is like. Suddenly I'm on a rain-soaked street in Paris underneath an awning drinking an espresso noir with a beautiful raven-haired Parisian."</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iHy9OADopMc" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The Flaco Jiminez track is 'Victimas Del Huracan Beulah', a tribute to the victims of the 1967 natural disaster. In the liner notes, Bob explains that Flaco is a second-generation accordionist following in the footsteps of <a href="https://youtu.be/d2ZSxu8NcPU?t=51" target="_blank">his father, Flaco Sr.</a>, whom Dylan identifies as "the father of <i>cojunto </i>music". Of the younger Flaco, Bob simply writes, "I love Flaco Jiminez."</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1Q0FnClizC8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">UPDATE 2 - 08/02/2022: <b><i>Some more things I missed...</i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">In Ray Padgett's <a href="https://dylanlive.substack.com/p/drummer-christopher-parker-on-the" target="_blank">recent interview with original Never Ending Tour drummer Christopher Parker</a>, Parker mentions that the initial choice for bass player was T-Bone Wolk, also (along with Parker and G.E. Smith) a member of the Saturday Night Live house band. Parker reveals that early rehearsals in 1988 frequently featured Wolk switching to accordion, and that recordings of these sessions do exist in the Columbia vaults. Unfortunately, no tapes have found their way into circulation, so we'll just have to hope they get released someday.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">There is, however, a bootleg from the previous year circulating called 'The G.E. Smith Audition Tape', featuring one of the guitarist's early jams with Dylan (backed by Steve Jordan on drums and Randy Jackson on bass). The biggest surprise on the tape arrives when G.E. picks up an accordion for 'Trail of the Buffalo' - I didn't know he was an accordion player, but he plays very well.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/SD0ZfFsYTDI?start=3162" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Another possible accordion appearance can be found on the colossal Dylan/Grateful Dead rehearsal bootleg, also from 1987, where keyboardist Brent Mydland is credited with accordion on 'Folsom Prison Blues'. I'm pretty sure it is an accordion, but there are moments when it sounds more like a synthesiser. Perhaps an accordion with some kind of effect on it? Anyway, here it is: you be the judge.</span><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iw3MJ4EAMYo?start=79" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Lastly, what would you say is the Dylan song that should feature an accordion, but doesn't? My pick would be the take of 'Tell Me' that appears on <i>The Bootleg Series Volume 16: Springtime in New York</i>. Can't you just hear it?</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_9PqzDQHIz4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">UPDATE 3 - 10/02/2023: <i><b>More Time, More Mind</b></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><b><br /></b></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The recent release of <i>The Bootleg Series Volume 17: Fragments - The</i> <i>Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-1997)</i> yielded another accordion-based performance. This time it's 'Mississippi' - one of at least five different versions that didn't make the cut for that album. As was the case with 'Red River Shore', the accordion here is played by San Antonio's own Augie Meyers.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZMo5DG5jTrQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-76816759723813218652021-11-22T08:01:00.005-08:002023-07-04T11:59:29.830-07:00Bob Dylan's "Big Band Orchestrated Riffs"<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />Bob Dylan is back on the road. In a world where everything is more than a little scary and uncertain right now, there’s a lot of comfort to be taken from the fact that Dylan is out there doing what he does: playing, singing, performing. Another bonus is that, thanks to technology, it’s possible to follow the tour almost in real time via speedily-uploaded recordings. There’s been a lot to take in: a new drummer (<a href="https://youtu.be/uMApoMgGw5M" target="_blank">Charley Drayton</a>), a new guitarist (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPgUky2uMLE" target="_blank">Doug Lancio</a>) and an intriguing new stage setup. What’s captivated me the most, however, are the performances of ‘Key West (Philosopher Pirate)’, one of eight songs premiered from last year’s album <i>Rough and Rowdy Ways</i>. <br /><br />The first performance, in Milwaukee, was probably the closest to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-oOCo1Y1bw" target="_blank">the studio version</a>. Since that night, ‘Key West’ has been tweaked with each show, with both the vocal delivery and musical backing morphing from one concert to the next. The continuing evolution of the song is fascinating, but I’m still drawn back to the Milwaukee version – particularly the last part of the performance, when Bob’s piano and Donnie Herron’s pedal steel guitar combine to create a spontaneous riff:</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TVC1cs9HYzY?start=485" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe><br /><br />This is something I’ve seen/heard them do in the past, and it doesn’t always work this well. It does, however, seem to be something that Dylan wants people to notice, since he’s gone out of his way to call attention to it at least twice: <br /><br /><b>Bill Flanagan interview, 2009</b><br /><br /><i>BF: At the end of JOLENE I noticed that those riffs start happening. I’ve seen you do that live, but I’ve never heard that on any of your records. I assume that’s Donnie playing with you. <br /><br />BD: Yeah, it is. The organ sound and steel guitar combined make those riffs </i><br /><br /><b>Bill Flanagan interview, 2017 </b><br /><br /><i>BD: [W]hen the piano gets locked in with the steel guitar, it’s like big band orchestrated riffs. That doesn’t happen when I’m playing guitar. When I play guitar it’s a different band. </i><br /><br />The “big band orchestrated riffs” Bob is referring to are the kind that were pioneered by bandleaders like Count Basie and Duke Ellington during the early part of the Swing Era in the 1930s. Different sections of the orchestra would lock in with each other to produce these "riffs", a term that music historian Ted Gioia defines in his book <i>The History of Jazz</i> as “a repeated phrase over changing harmonies”. Here’s the Basie Orchestra’s ‘Riff Interlude’ from 1939, which features the band’s soloists playing over a succession of riffs:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/vm9TQsToDGo" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">And, as another random example, here's the riff-based ending of 'The Donkey Serenade' by Artie Shaw and his Orchestra, also from 1939:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C83AVEri61I?start=145" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br />Going back to Dylan’s comments from the 2017 interview: it’s interesting that he says that these kinds of riffs don’t happen when he’s on guitar, because he has occasionally attempted it with some success. One example is <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1v76EzhGq28OYNEXDZW6oFmnDiLQb9PpM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">a performance of ‘Tangled Up in Blue’ from Port Chester in 2012</a>, where Bob immediately finds a guitar riff and locks in with Donnie to rebuild the whole song around it. <br /><br />There’s also ‘Narrow Way’ from Bob's 2012 album <i>Tempest</i>. I’m pretty sure that’s Dylan himself blasting out the song’s main riff on guitar (locked in with Donnie once again), and that, if we had access to the session tapes, we would probably find an earlier take in which Bob stumbled upon this riff and decided to make it the focal point of the song. </span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/rbdj8JyaWQA" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">A large part of Donnie Herron’s role in the band appears to be homing in on these riffs that Dylan finds. Onstage, Donnie sits on a riser directly overlooking Dylan’s keyboard, which allows him to immediately zero in on any motifs that Bob might chose to pursue.<br /><br />When did Bob start working these riffs into his shows? Surprisingly, it can be traced as far back as the early/mid 1990s, when Dylan’s band consisted of John ‘J.J.’ Jackson (guitar), Bucky Baxter (pedal steel/various), Winston Watson (drums) and Tony Garnier (bass) - an era of shows perhaps best remembered for long, experimental jams. For instance, check <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mQFq4gzRhwPwI2j05QCAjsRSoc5k_RqQ/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">out this performance of ‘Rainy Day Women’</a> (from Pentage, Luxembourg in April 1993) from the 3:00 </span><span style="font-size: large;">mark onwards. You can hear Bob pick out a riff on his guitar, which is then picked up by J.J. (at 3:35) and then by Bucky at (4:03).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Perhaps the most pressing question of all is: what is the point of these riffs? Well, only Dylan himself knows for sure, but my guess is that it’s a way of keeping the music alive and breathing, keeping the musicians on their toes, and avoiding playing the same thing by rote night after night. If that is what Bob is going for, I’d say it’s been a success. <br /><br />Here's Bob and Donnie at work, locking in to create a riff during a recent performance of 'Goodbye Jimmy Reed':<br /> <br /><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/citDmzcE-8s" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></span></div></div></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-40853230359803439942021-09-24T12:16:00.016-07:002022-06-12T02:31:58.089-07:00Exploring Bob Dylan's Great American Songbook Arrangement Sources - Part 5<div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div>If you haven't already, don't forget to check out <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/exploring-bob-dylans-great-american.html">Part 1</a>, <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/exploring-bob-dylans-great-american_11.html">Part 2</a>, <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/exploring-bob-dylans-great-american_14.html">Part 3</a> and <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/exploring-bob-dylans-great-american_17.html" target="_blank">Part 4</a> of this series. Thanks for reading!</i></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Day In, Day Out </b><br /><br />Written by: Rube Bloom (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics), 1939<br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Billy May,1958 <br /><br />Surprisingly, considering how often he arranged for Sinatra, this is only the second Billy May arrangement to appear on one of Dylan’s standards albums (after 'It Had to Be You'). This is probably because May specialised in up-tempo swinging numbers, which Bob avoided altogether on <i>Shadows in the Night</i> and <i>Fallen Angels</i>. On <i>Triplicate</i>, however, Dylan steps outside his comfort zone by recording a number of ‘swingers’, including this one to open disc three. Before including 'Day In, Day Out' on 1959's <i>Come Dance With Me</i>, Sinatra had previously recorded <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWkdBQ3gvWk" target="_blank">a very different, much slower Nelson Riddle arrangement</a> for the 1955 EP <i>Melody of Love</i>.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Also, just because I've never seen this mentioned anywhere else: I'm positive that the photo of Sinatra on the front of <i>Come Dance With Me</i> is the inspiration for <a href="https://www.marvel.com/comics/issue/12168/wolverine_1982_1" target="_blank">the cover of <i>Wolverine #1</i></a>. <br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/4pTyLslaR08" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /> <br /><br /><b><br />I Couldn’t Sleep a Wink Last Night</b><br /><br />Written by: Jimmy McHugh (music) and Harold Adamson (lyrics), 1943 <br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">Arrangement used by Bob written by: Nelson Riddle, 1956 <br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">There are at least three different Sinatra versions of this song from the early 1940s alone: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c36BriQzCsc" target="_blank">a studio version</a> (recorded acapella with The Bobby Tucker Singers due to the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1942%E2%80%931944_musicians%27_strike" target="_blank">1942-1944 musician’s strike</a>),<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Depz5gU-Qx8" target="_blank"> a V-Disc for the Armed Forces</a>, and a recording for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VPbxa0QenA" target="_blank">the soundtrack of the film <i>Higher and Higher</i></a> (Sinatra’s second film role, and first starring role). Bob bypasses all of these in favour of Sinatra’s 1956 recording with the Hollywood String Quartet for <i>Close to You</i>. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a_whpU34cRo" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><b>Sentimental Journey </b><br /><br />Written by: Les Brown & Ben Homer (music) and Bud Green (lyrics), 1944 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Billy May, 1961 <br /><br />I can’t help but think of Ringo Starr when I hear this song. Ringo r<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50bJ8yMJPII" target="_blank">ecorded 'Sentimental Journey' in 1969</a>, as the title track for what turned out to be the first in a long line of Great American Songbook albums by rock and pop superstars not usually associated with the genre. The same year Ringo released his standards album, Sinatra recorded his first Beatles song: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmcH6zDe9M0" target="_blank">'Yesterday'</a>, for the <i>My Way </i>album. Frank also went on to record 'Something' twice, in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5S7kI5xZ050" target="_blank">1970</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f82CRhjajCE" target="_blank">1979</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/sCh6CSg-PE4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><b>Somewhere Along the Way </b><br /><br />Written by: Kurt Adams (music) and Sammy Gallup (lyrics), 1952 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Axel Stordahl, 1961 <br /><br />‘Kurt Adams’ is another alias for Jimmy Van Heusen. Sinatra recorded this song for his final album for Capitol, the appropriately titled <i>Point of No Return</i>, which reunited him with arranger Axel Stordahl for the first time since 1953. Stordahl was excited to work with Sinatra again, but was left dismayed when Frank – who was already recording for his newly-founded label Reprise – made no attempt to hide the fact that he wanted to <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fs3bXmPVy-U" target="_blank">get in and out of the studio as quickly as possible</a>. Nevertheless, Sinatra’s lack of interest is never evident on the recordings, which are sublime. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5rZinfgTPVg" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><b>When the World was Young </b><br /><br />Written by: Philipe-Gerard (music), Angele Vanier (original French lyrics) and Johnny Mercer (English lyrics), 1950 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Axel Stordahl, 1961 <br /><br />Another song and arrangement from Sinatra’s <i>Point of No Return</i>. As was the case with 'Autumn Leaves', Johnny </span><span style="font-size: large;">Mercer penned almost entirely new words for the English version of the song, taking just one phrase (“Ah, the apple trees”) from Angele Vanier’s French lyrics. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kEq6p8FQ8vY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><br /> <br /><b>These Foolish Things </b><br /><br />Written by: Jack Strachey (music) and Holt Marvell (lyrics), 1935/36 (Harry Link is also sometimes credited, but it’s not entirely clear what his contribution to the song was – Wikipedia suggests he might have written an alternative middle-eight.) <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Axel Stordahl, 1961 <br /><br />The third straight song from <i>Point of No Return</i>. While 'These Foolish Things' was eventually absorbed into the Great American Songbook, it was written by two Englishmen: Jack Strachey and Eric Maschwitz (writing as 'Holt Marvell'), for a show called, appropriately enough, <i>Spread it Abroad</i>. Besides being a songwriter, Maschwitz also happened to be Head of Variety at the BBC, and the song only began to gain traction when singer Leslie Hutchinson found the sheet music lying around in Maschwitz’s office and decided to record it. <br /><br />Grenada-born Hutchinson, better known “Hutch”, had come to England from New York in 1927 and quickly become a huge cabaret star, with 'These Foolish Things' going on to be <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHePfLq6oyU" target="_blank">one of his biggest hits</a>. Hutch’s life story - as a black man whose massive success was tempered by devastating racism in the Britain of the ‘20s and ‘30s - is fascinating, and is movingly told by historian David Olusoga in the fourth episode of his BBC documentary series <i>Black and British: A Forgotten History</i>. In the episode, Olusoga unveils a plaque in Hutch’s honour outside Quaglino’s restaurant in Mayfair, London, where Hutchinson often performed in his later years. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_mhweD_r5QY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><b>You Go to My Head </b><br /><br />Written by: J. Fred Coots (music) and Haven Gillespie (lyrics), 1938 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Axel Stordahl, 1945 <br /><br />Sinatra recorded this song twice: first for Columbia in 1945, and then again in 1960 f<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0NJMYTxnLI" target="_blank">or the Nelson Riddle-arranged album <i>Nice & Easy</i></a>. Bob goes for the earlier Axel Stordahl arrangement. The same year Dylan released his version of the tune on <i>Triplicate</i>, another interpretation was released <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EXfk1ekacOg" target="_blank">by Bob’s hero Chuck Berry</a>, on his final, posthumous album <i>Chuck</i>. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/G1m4v2rnLWM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><b>Stardust </b><br /><br />Written by: Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Mitchell Parish (lyrics), 1927</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Arrangements used by Bob performed by The Harry James Orchestra (1939), Artie Shaw & His Orchestra (1940), and Glenn Miller & His Orchestra (1940)<br /><br />Possibly the most recorded song on all three of Dylan’s standards albums, it could be said that 'Stardust' is the tune that started the entire project. <a href="https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/celebrities/info-2015/bob-dylan-magazine-interview.html" target="_blank">In 2015</a>, Bob revealed that he had first been inspired to record a standards album after hearing Willie Nelson’s LP <i>Stardust </i>in 1978. Columbia Records chief Walter Yetnikoff was less enthusiastic. “You can go ahead and make that record,” he told Bob. “But we won’t pay for it, and we won’t release it. But go ahead and make it if you want to.” Ice cold. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The Harry James/Frank Sinatra recording comes from an August 1939 live performance at New York’s Roseland Ballroom, and wasn’t released commercially until 1994. Coincidentally, 1994 was also the year Bob Dylan played <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYX6o_yw4W0" target="_blank">a memorable residency at the same venue</a>. Sinatra recorded another version of the song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zGwR9LLKhpM" target="_blank">with Tommy Dorsey in 1941</a>. (He also technically recorded 'Stardust' with Don Costa <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gfv9_WjQR-k" target="_blank">for Sinatra & Strings 1961</a>, although this version consists only of the song's seldom-heard introductory verse)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">While Bob's version seems to have been influenced by Sinatra's 1939 performance, it also bares a striking resemblance to Artie Shaw's instrumental recording of the tune from 1940 (the intro in particular). Meanwhile, the ending of Bob's version appears to have been borrowed from another instrumental recording by Glenn Miller, also from 1940.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">(Both Shaw and Miller have Sinatra connections: Shaw was married to Sinatra's future wife, actress Ava Gardner, from 1945-6, while Sinatra recorded Miller's 'Moonlight Serenade' for his 1966 album <i>Moonlight Sinatra</i>)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Harry James Orchestra featuring Frank Sinatra, 1939</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VJ5TQRL9Mrc" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><i>Artie Shaw and his Orchestra, 1940</i><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/CUCe-b1IQeU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The ending of Glenn Miller's 1940 recording</i></span></div><div><b style="font-size: x-large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/E14vqk9XeXI?start=184" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></b></div><div><b style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></b></div><div><b style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></b></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">It’s Funny to Everyone But Me</span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Written by: Jack Lawrence (music & lyrics), 1939 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob performed by the Harry James Orchestra, 1939 <br /><br />Another of the very few songs on these albums (and across the Great American Songbook in general) written by just one person. ‘It’s Funny to Everyone but Me’ <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7-BMmEMvNo" target="_blank">was first performed by the vocal group The Ink Spots</a>, whose lead singer Bill Kenny had joined the group three years earlier after winning one of the Harlem Apollo Theatre’s famous Amateur Night contests. Bob adapts the version by the Harry James Orchestra (featuring Frank Sinatra), which was recorded just three months after the release of the Ink Spots' version.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LhtoCRF7LoA" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><b>Why Was I Born? </b><br /><br />Written by: Jerome Kern (music) and Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics), 1929 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Axel Stordahl, 1947 <br /><br />'Why Was I Born?' was originally written for Broadway show <i>Sweet Adeline</i>, and went on to be performed by the likes of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo1UPHfMo44" target="_blank">Ella Fitzgerald</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O4LQr59rZko" target="_blank">Billie Holiday</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo--w_2GZoo" target="_blank">Lena Horne</a>. Sinatra recorded just one version of the song, for Columbia in 1947. The song’s refrain, “Why was I born to love you?”, makes an appearance in Bob Dylan’s 2006 song <a href="https://youtu.be/YVFkd7E3MVw?t=255" target="_blank">‘Someday Baby'</a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/FNdTNa3jSOg" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">SPECIAL BONUS TRACK:</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>He's Funny That Way</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Written by: Neil Moret (music) and Richard Whiting (lyrics), 1929</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Arrangements used by Bob performed by Gene Austin (1929), and Emmett Miller (1929)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Bob Dylan recorded 'He's Funny That Way' for <i>Universal Love: Wedding Songs</i> <i>Reimagined</i>, a 2018 EP celebrating LGBT marriage. It has been recorded many times as both 'He's Funny That Way' and 'She's Funny That Way', and even 'I'm Funny That Way' by Marion Harris in the 1931 film <i>Gems of MGM.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">As was the case with 'Stardust', Bob's interpretation is a combination of more than one arrangement. The strings intro of Dylan's version is taken from Gene Austin's hit 1929 recording of 'She's Funny That Way'. (This isn't the first time Bob has borrowed from Austin: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzk1_T6yMHE" target="_blank">'Sugar Baby'</a> from <i>"Love and Theft"</i> is adapted from Austin's <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A5AM8xtl-uU" target="_blank">'The Lonesome Road'</a>). </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Gracie Fields also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lENsyP2s0I4" target="_blank">recorded the same arrangement</a> in 1929. Interestingly, where most female singers perform the song as 'He's Funny that Way', Fields sings it as 'She's Funny That Way', although she does change "I've got a woman, crazy for me" to "I've got a <i>someone</i>, crazy for me".</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qc5RlZHJYgg" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The intro to Dylan's version is, however, a red herring, as the rest of his take on the song is based on another 1929 recording of 'She's Funny That Way' by Emmett Miller. A blackface minstrel performer, Miller was a big influence on early country performers like Jimmie Rodgers, Hank Williams and Bob Wills, all of whom Dylan is known to adore.</span></div><div><br /></div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/a6it10VGQ5M" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Frank Sinatra was one of the many singers to record 'She's Funny That Way', doing so in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3DuamKQKxg" target="_blank">1944</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRdXGgokCSw" target="_blank">1951</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=msYlQemALuM" target="_blank">1960</a>.</span></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-26275469166956097782021-09-17T16:11:00.015-07:002022-06-17T09:56:12.201-07:00Exploring Bob Dylan's Great American Songbook Arrangement Sources - Part 4<p><br /></p><span style="font-size: large;"><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>If you haven't already, don't forget to check out <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/exploring-bob-dylans-great-american.html" target="_blank">Part 1</a>, <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/exploring-bob-dylans-great-american_11.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a>, and <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/exploring-bob-dylans-great-american_14.html" target="_blank">Part 3</a> of this series.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>This post is dedicated to the memory of <a href="https://twitter.com/normmacdonald/status/751141570729025536" target="_blank">Norm Macdonald</a></i></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><u><b>Triplicate Disc 2: 'Devil Dolls'</b></u></i></span></div><br /><br /><b>Braggin’ </b><br /><br />Written by: Artie Manners, Jimmy Shirl and Robert Marko, 1940<br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob performed by: The Harry James Orchestra, 1941 <br /><br />Disc two of <i>Triplicate</i> opens with another arrangement performed by The Harry James Orchestra, and one that, like 'Skylark', was recorded after Sinatra had left the band. The singer here is Dick Haymes, who went on to replace Sinatra again in The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra in 1942. 'Braggin’' is such an obscure song that it’s almost impossible to find any information about it – the only other version I could track down was recorded by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kn_KUQhjYW8" target="_blank">Tony Pastor and His Orchestra</a>, also from 1941. </span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wZVkbDvP6kg" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><b>As Time Goes By </b><br /><br />Written by: Herman Hupfield (music & lyrics), 1931 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Axel Stordahl, 1962 <br /><br />From a very obscure song to a very famous one. 'As Time Goes By' was written for the Broadway show <i>Everybody’s Welcome</i> in 1931, but didn’t really take off until it appeared in the film <i>Casablanca</i> 1942, <a href="https://youtu.be/7vThuwa5RZU?t=80" target="_blank">sung by Dooley Wilson</a>. Since then, it has never stopped being recorded. Sinatra didn’t get around to tackling the song until his 1962 album <i>Point of No Return</i>, which, appropriately enough, was his final album for Capitol. Dylan chooses to adapt this version, making this the first Axel Stordahl arrangement he’s used since <i>Shadows in the Night</i>. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n5uRG15T7kE" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><b>Imagination </b><br /><br />Written by: Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics), 1940 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob performed by The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, 1940 <br /><br />According to Wikipedia, 'Imagination' was one of the earliest compositions of Jimmy Van Heusen, who had been carrying the tune around since he was a teenager before finally allowing Johnny Burke to write lyrics for it in 1940. Sinatra released two versions of this song, 21 years apart: first in 1940 with Tommy Dorsey, and again <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfMOwiliUjE" target="_blank">in 1961 for his Dorsey tribute album <i>I Remember Tommy</i></a>. Dylan chooses the earlier arrangement. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DzQJXbtKdi4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><br /> <br /><b>How Deep is the Ocean? </b><br /><br />Written by: Irving Berlin (music and lyrics), 1932 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Nelson Riddle, 1960 <br /><br />This is another case where Dylan seems be to combining the musical backing of one Sinatra performance with the vocal stylings of another: the arrangement is from the version found on Sinatra’s <i>Nice & Easy</i> album, while the vocal sounds like it was heavily influenced by Frank’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q5U3uQ1-QDA" target="_blank">1946 recording for Columbia</a>. Sinatra also recorded another version of the song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhFvRhgKiww" target="_blank">for the 1951 film <i>Meet Danny Wilson</i></a>.<br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oqNR3WB2HMM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><b><span style="font-size: large;">P.S. I Love You</span></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Written by: Gordon Jenkins (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics), 1934 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Nelson Riddle, 1956 <br /><br />'P.S. I Love' You shares a title with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MA5DkiVKSlM" target="_blank">an early Beatles song</a>, and also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rqqidmUmSk" target="_blank">a 2007 film</a>, which stars Gerard Butler as a dead man who communicates with his wife from beyond the grave (this sounds like the premise for a horror film, but apparently it’s a ‘romantic drama’). The Sinatra album this song appears on, 1957’s <i>Close to You</i>, is notable for Frank being backed by the Hollywood String Quartet as opposed to the usual large orchestra. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QjccKBJlQX4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><b>The Best is Yet to Come </b><br /><br />Written by: Cy Coleman (music) and Carolyn Leigh (lyrics) <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Quincy Jones, 1964 <br /><br />‘The Best is Yet to Come’ features on the 1964 album <i>It Might as Well Be Swing</i>, Sinatra’s second album with the Count Basie Orchestra (after 1962’s <i>Sinatra-Basie</i>) and first to be arranged and conducted by Quincy Jones, who would later perform the same role on <i>Sinatra at the Sands </i>in 1966, and return to conduct and produce <i>L.A. is My Lady </i>in 1984. A few of the songs on this album – 'Fly Me to the Moon', 'I Wanna Be Around', 'The Good Life', and, indeed, 'The Best is Yet to Come' – either already were or went on to become signature tunes for the great Tony Bennett. <br /><br />Aside from recording this arrangement of ‘The Best is Yet to Come’, Bob Dylan has crossed paths with Quincy Jones several times. Jones produced the ‘We Are the World’ single in 1985 (<a href="https://youtu.be/1UfVmJBF-OY?t=120" target="_blank">which featured Bob</a>), conducted the band at Bill Clinton's inauguration in 1993 (where Bob performed 'Chimes of Freedom'), and also gave Dylan a<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=569OXdhqslo" target="_blank"> warm introduction to the stage</a> at the 2012 Montreux Festival. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Ge9_5KQHRw4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><b>But Beautiful </b><br /><br />Written by: Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics), 1947 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Axel Stordahl, 1947 <br /><br />Another Jimmy Van Heusen song written for a film, but not for one that starred Sinatra: 1947's <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBYiOO1jZks" target="_blank">Road to Rio</a></i> featured Sinatra’s idol-turned-friendly-rival Bing Crosby, who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brQw6uAErwA" target="_blank">performed ‘But Beautiful’ in the film</a>. Wasting no time, Sinatra recorded the song for Columbia later that year. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-BPdbJ3utYo" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><b>Here’s That Rainy Day </b><br /><br />Written by: Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics), 1953 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Gordon Jenkins, 1959 <br /><br />'Here’s That Rainy Day' was originally written for the 1953 Broadway musical <i>Carnival in Flanders</i>. Sinatra recorded it just once - the 1959 recording for <i>No One Cares</i>, which Bob adapts - but someone who enjoyed a much longer association with the song was legendary <i>Tonight Show</i> host Johnny Carson. According to former <i>Tonight Show</i> guitarist Gene Bertoncini on <a href="https://classicalguitarinsider.libsyn.com/episode-47-gene-bertoncini" target="_blank">a 2015 episode of the <i>Classical Guitar Insider</i> podcast</a>, Carson fell in love with the tune when he saw jazz singer Ethel Ennis sing it on the show. This performance inspired Carson to learn the guitar*, with the goal of playing and singing 'Here’s That Rainy Day' live in front of his audience. And guess what? He did! That old Simpsons gag about <a href="https://twitter.com/dailysimpsons/status/1260759960088186885?lang=en" target="_blank">Johnny Carson being able to do anything</a> was obviously true.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/zrZVkFEiAC0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Johnny performed the song again </span><a href="https://youtu.be/R78BB5y7xRY?t=355" target="_blank">as a duet with Bette Midler</a><span> on the second-to-last edition of his show in 1992, and his former musical director Doc Severinson led </span><a href="https://youtu.be/f6FF1zk6c0w" target="_blank">a performance of the song</a><span> on </span><i>The Late Show with David Letterman</i><span> after Carson’s death in 2005</span></span><span style="font-size: x-large;">.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />* In another random Sinatra link, the guitarist who taught Carson to play 'Here’s That Rainy Day' was Tony Mottola (also a <i>Tonight Show</i> band member), who recorded with Sinatra in 1949, and went on to become a permanent member of Sinatra's band in 1980.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/j7x-doauSi0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Where is the One? </b><br /><br />Written by: Eddie Finckel (music) and Alec Wilder (lyrics), 1947 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Gordon Jenkins, 1957 <br /><br />Sinatra recorded this song twice: once <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3kcf40uYs6A" target="_blank">in 1949 for Columbia</a> and again in 1957 for <i>Where Are You?</i>, which is the arrangement Bob chooses to adapt. Interestingly, the 1957 recording was also the second attempt at the song for Gordon Jenkins, who had also released <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8znpE3kZuo" target="_blank">a version in 1949</a> with his orchestra, featuring Dick Haymes on vocals. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KpsT6uHVgoI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>There’s Flaw in My Flue </b><br /><br />Written by: Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics), 1956 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Nelson Riddle, 1956<br /><br />This is a comedy song that Sinatra recorded to see if the quality control department at Capitol were paying attention. They weren’t, because no one raised an eyebrow or said anything. Frank was forced to admit that it was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxD3pT8C9-A" target="_blank">a joke</a>, and the recording remained on the shelf until 1978, when it was released on an album of Capitol-era outtakes and rarities called <i>The Rare Sinatra</i>. <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/1990/10/07/magazine/under-my-skin.html" target="_blank">A 1990 article in <i>The New York Times Magazine</i></a> revealed that Sinatra had originally heard the song being performed by Bing Crosby on Crosby’s radio show; the only recording I could track down is <a href="https://youtu.be/i5T62bj14ns?t=240" target="_blank">Crosby singing the tune with Ethel Merman</a>, which may be the performance Sinatra was referring to. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nnz26wkIG4I" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/exploring-bob-dylans-great-american_24.html" style="font-size: x-large;" target="">Part 5</a></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-12465009806121893432021-09-14T12:40:00.015-07:002022-06-06T07:01:25.004-07:00Exploring Bob Dylan's Great American Songbook Arrangement Sources - Part 3<br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><u><br /></u></i></b></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>If you haven't already, don't forget to check out <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/exploring-bob-dylans-great-american.html">Part 1 of this series</a>, which features the arrangement sources for Shadows in the Night plus an introduction explaining what this is all about, and <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/exploring-bob-dylans-great-american_11.html" target="_blank">Part 2</a> for the Fallen Angels arrangement sources.</i></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>As noted in Part 1, <a href="https://www.bjorner.com/DSN37305%20-%202016%20Triplicate%20Sessions.htm" target="_blank">Olof Bjorner's notes on the Triplicate songs</a> were extremely useful in writing this section. </i></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><u><br /></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><u><br /></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><u><br /></u></i></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><u>Triplicate, Disc 1 - 'Til the Sun Goes Down</u></i></b></span><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan</b><br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">Written by: Arthur Schwartz (music) and Howard Dietz (lyrics), 1929 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Nelson Riddle, 1956 <br /><br />This song has an interesting history: it started life as a tune called 'I Like to Lay Awake in Bed', composed by Arthur Schwartz with lyrics by Lorenz Hart (who would go on to write the words to songs like ‘Blue Moon’ and ‘My Funny Valentine’ with Richard Rodgers) while they were both counsellors at a summer camp in 1920. Ten years later, Schwartz and Howard Dietz had just completed work on the score for the Broadway musical <i>The Little Show</i>, when leading man Clifton Webb told them he wanted another song. Schwartz resurrected the melody for ‘I Like to Lay Awake in Bed’, and Dietz wrote new words to transform it into ‘I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan’.</span><div><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Dylan has adapted the arrangement recorded by Sinatra on the 1957 album <i>A Swingin’ Affair</i>.</span></div><div><div><br /></div><div> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/79ydQTPO7co" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>September of My Years </b><br /><br />Written by: Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics), 1965</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Arrangement used by Bob written by: Gordon Jenkins, 1965 <br /><br />Cahn and Van Heusen wrote this track as the title song for Sinatra’s <i>September of My Years</i> album, which was released just three months before the singer’s 50th birthday in 1965. It’s a very personal song, and one that can't help but be filtered through the life experiences of the person singing it – whether that person is 49-year-old Frank Sinatra, or 76-year-old Bob Dylan. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Surprisingly, SecondHandSongs reports that 'September of My Years' has only been recorded nine times, and mostly as an instrumental. Bob is only the third person to record it with the words; the second being the late German singer <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJzDS_7s-gQ" target="_blank">Roger Cicero in 2015</a> (Cicero, like Bob, sticks faithfully to the original Gordon Jenkins arrangement).</span> </div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/oD87obuUgUk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /> <b><br /></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b>I Could Have Told You </b><br /><br />Written by: Arthur Williams (music) and Carl Sigman (lyrics), 1953</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Nelson Riddle, 1953 <br /><br />‘Arthur Williams’ is a pseudonym for none other than Jimmy Van Heusen, who, according to Discogs, also wrote under the aliases Ada Kurtz, Kirk Adams and Eward Chester Babcock (which was his real name). While Sinatra recorded this song in December 1953 (at the same session he laid down 'Young at Heart') it didn't see the light of day until 1959, when it was featured on the singles compilation <i>Look to Your Heart.</i> Bob Dylan selected 'I Could Have Told You' as the lead-off single for <i>Triplicate </i>in January 2017 - he had already been performing it onstage since <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ex3OwDNSbK8" target="_blank">the previous summer</a>.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ppfVAOzKJxs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><b><br /></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Once Upon a Time </b><br /><br />Written by: Charles Strouse (music) and Lee Adams (lyric), 1962</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Nelson Riddle, 1965 <br /><br />Bob premiered his version of this song at <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbcGK7kzhTw" target="_blank">Tony Bennett’s 90th birthday TV special </a>in 2016. Although Ray Bolger and Eileen Herlie originally performed 'Once Upon a Time' in the 1962 Broadway musical <i>All American</i>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lO50lq2h4Gw" target="_blank">Bennett was the first singer to record </a>the song, on his classic album <i>I Left My Heart in San Francisco</i> in June of that year. Dylan, however, was performing the arrangement from Frank Sinatra’s <i>September of My Years</i> album.</span></div><div><br /></div><div> <iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lTqI7Y7vm2c" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br />Stormy Weather </b><br /><br />Written by: Harold Arlen (music) and Ted Koehler (lyrics)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Gordon Jenkins, 1959 <br /><br />Olof Bjorner’s notes state that Frank recorded this song no less than five times between <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dKgLl6laPcs" target="_blank">1944</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edpTeuX-H2w" target="_blank">1984</a>, but Bob has chosen what is arguably the definitive arrangement: Sinatra’s 1959 recording for the <i>No One Cares</i> album. 'Stormy Weather' is possibly the bleakest song on a collection of extremely dark tunes. The intro, with Frank almost singing against the music, is genuinely unsettling.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"></span><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2xnlWkJWYLY" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><b><br /></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b>This Nearly Was Mine </b><br /><br />Written by: Richard Rodgers (music) and Oscar Hammerstein III (lyrics), 1949</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Arrangement used by Bob written by: Nelson Riddle, 1963 <br /><br />Sinatra recorded 'This Nearly Was Mine' – which came from the 1949 Rodgers & Hammerstein musical <i>South Pacific</i> – for the 1963 Reprise album <i>The Concert Sinatra </i>(which, despite its name, is a studio album). This was one of Sinatra’s most ambitious recording projects, placing him at the centre of a 76-piece orchestra and reuniting him with Nelson Riddle after five years apart.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2etEOUCF16A" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>That Old Feeling </b><br /><br />Written by: Sammy Fain (music) and Lew Brown (lyrics), 1937</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Nelson Riddle, 1960 <br /><br />'That Old Feeling' was written for the film <i>Walter Wagner’s Vogues of 1938</i>, which, confusingly, came out in 1937. The song was duly nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, but lost to Bing Crosby’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tA6ZkvEkA2k" target="_blank">'Sweet Leilani' </a>from the film <i>Waikiki Wedding</i>. Composer Sammy Fain went on to be nominated for the same award another eight times, winning in 1953 and 1955. Sinatra recorded the song twice, in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eDrmHUc0OxI" target="_blank">1947</a> and 1960, with Dylan adapting the latter version. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2KPS1R-hD-I" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><b><br /></b><span style="font-size: large;"><b>It Gets Lonely Early </b><br /><br />Written by: Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics), 1965</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Gordon Jenkins, 1965 <br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Another Van Heusen/Cahn song, written especially for Sinatra’s <i>September of My Years</i> album. There is very little information available about this song, and Dylan appears to be only the second person to record it. The only other version of 'It Gets Lonely Early' I could locate is <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ns7jSGHy-9c" target="_blank">a 2020 recording by singer Elijah Nisenboim</a> for his album <i>Standards </i>(which, incidentally, is almost entirely comprised of songs that also appear on <i>Triplicate</i>)</span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ReNtmQEeywk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>My One and Only Love <br /></b><br />Written by: Guy Wood (music) and Robert Mellin (lyrics), 1952</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Nelson Riddle, 1953 <br /><br />Like 'I Guess I’ll Have to Change My Plan', 'My One and Only Love' began life as an entirely different song. When 'Music from Beyond the Moon', with music by Guy Wood and lyrics by Jack Lawrence, failed to catch on, Robert Mellin wrote a new set of lyrics and renamed the song 'My One and Only Love'. The first singer to record the new version of the tune was Frank Sinatra, who used it as the B-side to his Capitol single 'I’ve Got the World on a String' in 1953. Bob chose 'My One and Only Love' as the second single to be released from <i>Triplicate</i> in February 2017.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"></span><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QHo-6mJsbCI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Trade Winds </b><br /><br />Written by: Cliff Friend and Charles Tobias, 1940</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Arrangement used by Bob performed by The Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, 1940<br /><br />Sinatra’s recording of 'Trade Winds' with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra was apparently only the second recording of the song, put to wax just one month after the original recording by Ray Herbeck. This is another very obscure song choice by Dylan: of the ten other versions of 'Trade Winds' listed on SecondHandSongs, eight of them are from 1940, and one from 1942. Pianist Bill Carruthers <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d3XImNbWZFs" target="_blank">resurrected the song in 2013</a>. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/jhE_sjbSYsw" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/exploring-bob-dylans-great-american_17.html" style="font-size: x-large;" target="">Part 4</a><br /><br /><br /></div></div></div></div></div></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-1538112530688605712021-09-11T13:42:00.014-07:002022-06-17T09:54:29.875-07:00Exploring Bob Dylan's Great American Songbook Arrangement Sources - Part 2<div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><i>If you haven't already, don't forget to check out <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/exploring-bob-dylans-great-american.html" target="_blank">Part 1 of this series</a>, which features the arrangement sources for Shadows in the Night, plus an introduction explaining what this is all about.</i><i><u><b><br /></b></u></i></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><u><b><br /></b></u></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><u><b>Fallen Angels</b></u></i><br /><b><br /></b></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Young at Heart </b><br /><br />Written by: Johnny Richards (music) and Carlolyn Leigh (lyrics), 1953 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Nelson Riddle, 1953<br /><br />Despite Nelson Riddle arguably being Frank Sinatra’s most famous arranger, none of his arrangements appear on <i>Shadows in the Night -</i> the first Riddle appearance in Dylan’s standards project arrives here, with the opening track of <i>Fallen Angels</i>. </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span>'Young at Heart' was written and recorded for the 1953 </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFWG0iR3DYc" target="_blank">film of the same name</a><span>, which starred Sinatra and Doris Day. Ten years later, Sinatra recorded the song again (in </span><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPT1oV-vEJM" target="_blank">a slightly different Nelson Riddle arrangement</a><span>) for </span><i>Sinatra’s Sinatra</i><span> – an album of Capitol-era hits re-recorded for his new label, Reprise.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/L0ivcZYilsE" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Maybe You’ll Be There </b><br /><br />Written by: Rube Bloom (music) and Sammy Gallop (lyrics), 1947 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Gordon Jenkins, 1957 <br /><br />Dylan returns to the <i>Where Are You?</i> album, which provided three of the arrangements on <i>Shadows in the Night</i>. While the arrangement Bob is using dates from 1957, Gordon Jenkins had arranged 'Maybe You'll Be There' once already, for <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kRUS8qn_YPM" target="_blank">a 1948 recording with his orchestra</a> featuring Charles Lavere on vocals. His 1957 arrangement, while quite different, clearly draws from his earlier work, particularly the string section flourish after “Each time I see a crowd of people”.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/xEPPQxHR1S4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><b><br />Polka Dots and Moonbeams </b><br /><br />Written by: Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Johnny Burke (lyrics), 1940<br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob performed by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra, 1940 <br /><br />For the first time across the three Songbook albums, Bob dips into Sinatra’s 1939-42 tenure with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. I haven’t been able to find out who actually wrote this arrangement, but it’s very representative of the role singers played in large orchestras at the time – they were often just another instrument, and the long intro here (faithfully reproduced by Bob) makes it clear that trombonist Dorsey was the star of the show. Nevertheless, this was Sinatra’s first hit song. He re-recorded it, with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s2FS8BOIuEA" target="_blank">an arrangement by fellow Dorsey alumnus Sy Oliver</a>, for the 1961 Reprise album <i>I Remember Tommy</i>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/fCjp2GVV-_k" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><b>All the Way </b><br /><br />Written by: Jimmy Van Heusen (music) and Sammy Cahn (lyrics), 1957 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob: Nelson Riddle, 1957 <br /><br />In the 1950s and well into the ‘60s, Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn served as a kind of in-house songwriting team for Sinatra, often tasked with penning songs for single releases and film soundtracks. 'All the Way' was written for the Sinatra vehicle <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJmhk-S4Df8" target="_blank">The Joker is Wild</a></i>, and then served as the title track on the fourth Capitol compilation of Sinatra singles in 1961. Like 'Young at Heart', this song was also <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSv-sMAnByI" target="_blank">re-recorded for the 1963 album </a><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSv-sMAnByI" target="_blank">Sinatra's Sinatra</a>, </i>with Nelson Riddle supplying a very-slightly-tweaked version of his earlier arrangement.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WxxDK0sFENo" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><b>Skylark </b><br /><br />Written by: Hoagy Carmichael (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics), 1941<br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob performed by The Harry James Orchestra, 1942 <br /><br />Here it is: the first song on Bob’s Songbook albums that was never recorded by Sinatra. However, there is a strong Sinatra link here. Dylan is using an arrangement by the Harry James Orchestra, in which Frank served as vocalist between July-November 1939. The singer on this track is Helen Forrest, who, besides her work with Harry James, also sang in the orchestras of Artie Shaw, Benny Goodman, and Lionel Hampton. In another Sinatra connection, Forrest was touring with Frank Sinatra Jr at the time of the younger Sinatra’s kidnapping in 1963.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/pFFGOhTLivo" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><b><br />Nevertheless </b><br /><br />Written by: Harry Ruby (music) and Bert Kalmar (lyrics), 1931 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Nelson Riddle, 1960 <br /><br />'Nevertheless (I'm in Love with You)' was recorded by three artists in 1931: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6JmScJARx8&t=11s" target="_blank">Jack Denny & his Orchestra</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw7oBpP_Two&t=6s" target="_blank">Ruth Etting</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIMEzCJmsYE" target="_blank">The Radiolites</a>. It was then forgotten about for the next two decades, before being featured in the 1950 Fred Astaire film <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pd6suTj5wQ0" target="_blank">Three Little Words</a></i>, which was itself a biopic of songwriters Ruby and Kalmar. After that, everyone wanted to record it - including Sinatra, who recorded the song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FFaPrU28WRs" target="_blank">for Columbia in October 1950</a>. Bob, however, goes for the arrangement Sinatra used when he revisited the song ten years later for the Capitol album <i>Nice 'n' Easy</i>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/_v67rDn_wl4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><b>All or Nothing at All </b><br /><br />Written by: Arthur Altman (music) and Jack Lawrence (lyrics), 1939 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Andy Gibson, 1939 <br /><br />We’re back with the Harry James Orchestra again, and this time Frank is here too! Although the James/Sinatra recording of 'All or Nothing at All' was originally released in 1939, it only became a million-selling hit when it was reissued by Columbia in 1943. Unusually for the time period, this performance does not relegate the singer to a supporting role – Sinatra is front and centre all the way through. He would rerecord 'All or Nothing at All' <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fFIdCUKSs-w" target="_blank">in 1961</a> (arranged by Don Costa) for <i>Sinatra and Strings</i>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IAN_jLnD_Q8" target="_blank">in 1966</a> (arranged by Nelson Riddle) for <i>Strangers in the Night</i>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9_CJv3ACLg" target="_blank">in 1977</a> (in a truly surreal disco version arranged by Joe Beck).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/u7klm1GS3v8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <b><br /><br /><br />On a Little Street in Singapore </b><br /><br />Written by Peter DeRose (music) and Billy Hill (lyrics), 1939<br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Andy Gibson,1939 <br /><br />Another Harry James Orchestra arrangement. It’s fascinating how this era of Sinatra’s career has such a presence on <i>Fallen Angels</i> but doesn’t feature on <i>Shadows in the Night</i> at all. 'On a Little Street in Singapore' is a good example of a song that never quite caught on but has never gone away either: it was recorded a handful of times in 1939-40 (the Harry James version being the first) before disappearing, only to re-emerge in the '50s and '60s (often as an instrumental) before vanishing again. It had an unexpected comeback when it was released as a single by <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKTGIjTov3o" target="_blank">the Manhattan Transfer</a> in 1978, but then went unrecorded for another 22 years. Bob's version is the third of the 21st Century, after Katya Gorrie (2004) and Marina Xavier (2010).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ipF6osdJFto" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><b><br />It Had to Be You </b><br /><br />Written by: Isham Jones (music) and Gus Kahn (lyrics), 1924 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by Billy May, 1979 <br /><br />Transporting us from the earliest period of Sinatra’s recording career to the latest, Dylan’s version of 'It Had to Be You' uses the arrangement found on Sinatra’s 1980 album <i>Trilogy: Past, Present, Future</i>. An ambitious three-disc set (sound familiar?), this album was designed as Sinatra’s triumphant return to long-playing records after a six-year hiatus. 'It Had to Be You' appears on disc 1, a selection of standards arranged by Billy May. Disc two is comprised of contemporary songs arranged by Don Costa, while disc three is devoted to an experimental song suite written and arranged by Gordon Jenkins. The album received a mixed reception, but is well worth investigating.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BXmEJL1mnuU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><b>Melancholy Mood </b><br /><br />Written by: Walter Schuman (music) and Victor Knight (lyrics) <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Andy Gibson, 1939 <br /><br />The fourth Harry James Orchestra arrangement on <i>Fallen Angels</i>. James’ instrumental intro on this track (faithfully transposed to guitar on Dylan's version) is great, as is the outro. This is one of the most obscure songs on any of Bob’s songbook albums: according to secondhandsongs.com, Dylan was first the person to record it since 1959.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ujpaMq1aY5I" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><b><br />That Old Black Magic </b><br /><br />Written by: Harold Arlen (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics), 1942 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob performed by Louis Prima and Keeley Smith, 1958 <br /><br />This is probably the most left-field arrangement choice on all five discs of Dylan’s songbook albums. Bob had a choice between Sinatra’s <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVOILvwAvUo" target="_blank">1946 Columbia recording</a>, which appeared on the album<i> Songs by Sinatra</i> the following year, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ie8CJUJ8pE" target="_blank">the more famous 1961 recording</a> that was featured on the Capitol album <i>Come Swing With Me!</i>. He chose …. neither of them, instead opting to adapt the arrangement performed by Louis Prima and Keely Smith on their hit version of the tune from 1958. <br /><br />But wait! There are Sinatra connections to be found. The most obvious one is that Sinatra, Prima and Smith were all on the same label, Capitol, at the time. But there’s more: 'That Old Black Magic' apparently had a huge fan in none other than John F. Kennedy. When Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1962, Prima and Smith were invited to perform their version of the song at the Pre-Inaugural Gala, an event that was produced and hosted by … Frank Sinatra. <a href="https://calendar.songfacts.com/january/19/18868" target="_blank">Some sources</a> report that Sinatra also performed his version of the tune at the event, while Wikipedia alleges that Sinatra and Prima performed it together. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Keely Smith also holds the distinction of being the only singer to record duets with Sinatra during the Capitol era ('Nothing in Common' and 'How Are Ya Fixed for Love'). Smith released a Sinatra tribute album in 2001 entitled </span><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_nBmtwH46PEfp4I-CxkacgB2sHAIvEtlAo" target="_blank">Keely Sings Sinatra.</a></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Qpjxx9BOm-0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><b><br />Come Rain or Come Shine </b><br /><br />Written by: Harold Arlen (music) and Johnny Mercer (lyrics), 1946<br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">Arrangement used by Bob written by: Axel Stordahl, 1946<br /><br />'Come Rain or Come Shine' was originally written for the Broadway musical <i>St Louis Woman. </i>The more famous Sinatra recording of the song is probably the one that appears on the 1962 album <i><a href="https://youtu.be/yQLrLBQaJXg" target="_blank">Sinatra and Strings</a></i>, arranged by Don Costa. Bob, however, adapts Sinatra’s 1946 Columbia recording, which was released as a 'V-Disc' for the armed forces serving in World War II. <br /><br /></span><br /></div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KqWKfsajevk" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/exploring-bob-dylans-great-american_14.html" style="font-size: x-large;" target="">Part 3</a></div><div><br /></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-64590821556444303852021-09-10T05:57:00.042-07:002022-07-25T13:46:38.108-07:00Exploring Bob Dylan's Great American Songbook Arrangement Sources - Part 1<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Intro:</b><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Lately I’ve been listening to an album called <a href="https://www.covermesongs.com/2021/08/in-the-spotlight-peter-stampfel.html" target="_blank"><i>Peter Stampfel’s</i> <i>20th Century in 100 Songs</i></a>. On this 5-disc epic, Americana legend Peter Stampfel covers a song from each year of the 20th Century (which, as this album taught me, spans 1901-2000, rather than 1900-1999 as I had previously thought) to demonstrate the evolution of American music over that time. <br /><br />It’s a quite a ride, but the music is only half the story. In his liner notes, Stampfel unpacks some of the history behind each song, offers biographical information about the songwriters, and tells personal anecdotes about the part these songs have played in his life. Reading Peter’s notes got me thinking: what if Bob Dylan had written liner notes for his three Great American Songbook albums? <br /><br />It could be said that he did exactly that: there is a case to be made that Dylan’s interviews on the subject in <a href="https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/celebrities/info-2015/bob-dylan-magazine-interview.html" target="_blank">2015</a> and <a href="https://www.bobdylan.com/news/qa-with-bill-flanagan/" target="_blank">2017</a> are actually <a href="https://twitter.com/scottwarmuth1/status/1426194024134709248" target="_blank">liner notes disguised as interviews</a>. Even though Bob doesn't talk about each song individually, what he does say is fascinating, particularly when he gets onto the subject of arrangements during the 2015 conversation. When asked if he arranged the songs himself, Dylan answers: <br /><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>“No. The original arrangements were for up to 30 pieces. We couldn’t match that and didn’t even try. What we had to do was fundamentally get to the bottom of what makes these songs alive. We took only the necessary parts to make that happen. In a case like this, you have to trust your own instincts.” </i></span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />A little later on, Bob talks about the arrangers Frank Sinatra - who was presumed to have been the inspiration for these albums - had worked with: <br /><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>“People talk about Frank [Sinatra] all the time — and they should talk about Frank — but he had the greatest arrangers. And not only that, but he brought out the best in these guys. Billy May and Nelson Riddle or Gordon Jenkins. Whoever they were. They worked for him in a different kind of way than they worked for other people. They gave him arrangements that are just sublime on every level.” </i></span></div></blockquote><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />While Dylan included songwriter credits on <i>Shadows in the Night</i> (he discontinued the practice for <i>Fallen Angels</i> and <i>Triplicate</i>, although credits can be found on his website), none of the albums cite arrangement sources. Since many of these songs had been recorded by a wide variety of artists, I was curious about which arrangements Bob had chosen to adapt. As a result, I decided to see if I could track down the arrangements used by Bob on all three of his songbook albums, with the intention of trying to write my own Peter Stampfel-style liner notes. <br /><br />(While I did check the web to see if anyone had attempted to track down Bob's arrangement sources for these albums before, I stupidly only remembered to check Spotify after I had finished compiling my list. As far as I can see, two people have previously attempted this task, with slightly different results to both me and each other: Pete Trallhatten’s ‘<a href="https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7ejqgC759v7qSIkguOS0ZN" target="_blank">Dylan’s Great American Songbook: Where he heard them...</a>’, and 12655544451’s ‘<a href="Dylan/Sinatra: Original Versions of Frank Sinatra Songs" target="_blank">Dylan/Sinatra: Original Versions of Frank Sinatra Songs</a>) <br /><br />While the vast majority of Dylan's versions of these songs are derived from Sinatra arrangements, this isn't quite as clear-cut as it sounds. Sinatra often recorded the same song multiple times throughout his career, in various arrangements, and Bob often bypasses a well-known Sinatra performance in favour of a much more obscure recording. <br /><br />Fascinatingly, while a handful of the songs on <i>Fallen Angels</i> and <i>Triplicate</i> were never recorded by Sinatra, the arrangements chosen by Dylan always reveal a link to Frank, occasionally in surprising ways. Despite not explicitly promoting these albums as Sinatra tributes, every arrangement on these five discs is either adapted from a Sinatra recording, or from a recording by someone Frank was strongly associated with in some way. <br /><br />And that wasn’t all. Even though Bob was adapting arrangements previously used by others, I assumed he would still have had to alter the key of each song to accommodate his vocal range. Incredibly, this is not the case: of the 52 songs Dylan recorded for his standards project, 50 of them are sung in the keys the arrangements were originally performed in by Sinatra and others. Only ‘All the Way’ and ‘Day In, Day Out’ have been lowered by half a step, presumably out of absolute necessity. <br /><br />As Bob was keen to point out in his interviews, this is not a copy-and paste job. These arrangements were mostly written for massive orchestras and big bands, and paring them down for just five instruments – without really losing anything – is no small feat.</span><div><br /></div><div><div><span style="font-size: large;"> </span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Before we get started, here’s a quick list of sources: <br /><br /><i>Sinatra! The Song is You: A Singer's Art</i> by Will Friedwald</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The Rough Guide to Frank Sinatra</i> by Chris Ingham</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://sinatraguide.com/" target="_blank">Sinatra! The Complete Guide</a></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />Richard Cook and Steve Albin’s <a href="http://www.jazzdiscography.com/Artists/Sinatra/" target="_blank">Sinatra Sessionography</a><br /><br /><a href="http://greatamericansongbook.net/pages/cat_pages/title.html" target="_blank">The Café Songbook Catalogue of the Great American Songbook</a><br /><br /><a href="https://sinatra.fandom.com/wiki/Frank_Sinatra_Wiki" target="_blank">Frank Sinatra Wiki</a><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.bjorner.com/DSN37305%20-%202016%20Triplicate%20Sessions.htm" target="_blank">Olof Bjorner's notes on the <i>Triplicate</i> songs</a><br /><br />YouTube channels like <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC43oS1vZRDBWr3f2N7m8B8g" target="_blank">the78prof</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLrVVGg55v33dUcSmYqX_Mw" target="_blank">tommy194970</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCs4GsoQ0K-xOnGiOQZPp0PQ" target="_blank">catman916</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCarlwOS5Y4viawcTOKHaxEQ" target="_blank">MrRJDB1969</a>, all of who provide detailed and informative descriptions to accompany their Sinatra videos. <br /></span><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b><i><u>Shadows in the Night</u></i></b></span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>I’m a Fool to Want You </b><br /><br />Written by: Jack Wolf (lyrics), and Joel Herron (music), </span><span style="font-size: large;"><span>Frank Sinatra (lyric rewrites),</span><span> 1951</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Arrangement used by Bob written by: Gordon Jenkins, 1957 <br /><br />Frank Sinatra recorded this song twice, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hOKdDwMxfOc" target="_blank">in 1951</a> (with the Ray Charles Singers) and 1957 – both years in which he got divorced. Bob goes for the 1957 arrangement, from the album <i>Where Are You?</i> (albeit with a slightly shortened intro), although it sounds like some of his vocal inflections have been influenced by Sinatra’s 1951 take. The intro to Jenkins’ arrangement also sounds like it was inspired by the earlier recording.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">This song also marks a rare writing credit for Sinatra, as he changed some of Jack Wolf’s lyrics during the 1951 recording session. Sinatra was the second artist to tackle the song (just one month after Billy Eckstein recorded <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb3e8FIy5h4" target="_blank">his version</a>) and the tune has been recorded frequently ever since. 'I'm a Fool to Want You' was also the opening track to Billie Holiday's 1955 Columbia album <i>Lady in Satin.</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wV9OcYhk4CU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>The Night We Called it a Day </b><br /><br />Written by: Matt Dennis (music) and Tom Adair (lyrics), 1941 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Axel Stordahl, 1942 <br /><br />This was the first song recorded by Sinatra at his very first session as a solo artist on the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IR_jS2rfC2g" target="_blank">Bluebird label in January 1942</a>, and this arrangement, which Sinatra re-recorded for Columbia in 1947, is the one Bob chooses to adapt. Dylan also had the option of Sinatra’s 1957 Capitol recording, which appeared with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cvXLey6Lw28" target="_blank">an arrangement by Gordon Jenkins on <i>Where Are You?</i></a>.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>The 1947 version: </i></span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/7U_EAf1pJMU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Stay With Me </b><br /><br />Written by: Jerome Moross (music) and Carolyn Leigh (lyrics), 1963 <br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Arrangement used by Bob written by: Don Costa, 1963 <br /><br />Sinatra recorded ‘Stay With Me’ in 1963 for the soundtrack of the film <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FfXlg1yVaRY" target="_blank">The Cardinal</a></i>, and two years later it appeared on the Reprise singles compilation <i>Sinatra ‘65</i>. In the context of the film - which concerns a newly-ordained priest suffering a crisis of faith - the lyrics of the song take on a religious meaning. The lyrics and sentiment of 'Stay With Me' are also quite similar to the hymn 'Stand By Me' (published in 1905 by Rev. Charles Albert Tindley), which Bob Dylan <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AjwR1LoS-BE" target="_blank">performed in 1990</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_X4VeSZgJx8" target="_blank">recited</a> during his MusiCares speech in 2015.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Barring Dylan’s previous performances of ‘That Lucky Old Sun’, 'Stay With Me' was the first song from <i>Shadows in the Night</i> to be performed live (in October 2014, several months before the release of the album.) It's</span><span style="font-size: large;"> also an extremely obscure song choice – SecondHandSongs reports that Bob is only the third person to record it, the second being <a href="https://www.allmusic.com/album/a-womans-view-through-child-eyes-mw0000507766" target="_blank">Jackie Richardson in 2003</a>.</span> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VvWXt5rDANQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Autumn Leaves </b><br /><br />Written by Joseph Kosma (music), Jacques Prevert (French lyrics) and Johnny Mercer (English lyrics), 1945 (Mercer’s lyrics first sung by Jo Stafford in 1950) <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Gordon Jenkins, 1957 <br /><br />Bob must be a big fan of the <i>Where Are You?</i> Album, as he returns to it here for this stirring arrangement of 'Autumn Leaves'. Interestingly, although the original French lyrics were written by Jacques Prevert, the English lyrics are not a translation - Johnny Mercer wrote entirely new words that retained only the ‘falling leaves’ from the original.</span> </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/TrG6AAPPujQ" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Why Try to Change Me Now?</b><br /><br />Written by: Cy Coleman (music), Joseph McCarthy Jr. (lyrics), 1952 <br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Arrangement used by Bob written by: Gordon Jenkins, 1959 <br /><br />Another song that Sinatra recorded twice: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lYRwQKqM-2g" target="_blank">once for Columbia in 1952</a>, and again for Capitol in 1959 for the album <i>No One Cares</i>. As the title suggests, <i>No One Cares </i>is perhaps Sinatra's bleakest album. Once again, although Dylan chooses to adapt Gordon Jenkins’ 1959 arrangement, his phrasing sounds like it owes more to the 1952 performance. </span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9oCH60w1gPs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Some Enchanted Evening </b><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Written by: Richard Rogers (music), Oscar Hammerstein II (lyrics), 1949 <br /></span><span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Arrangement used by Bob written by: Axel Stordahl, 1949</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br />According to a the78prof, a YouTube channel that specialises in these matters, Sinatra was the very first artist to record this very popular song, beating Perry Como by one day in February 1949. Frank recorded it again in 1967 in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHgSPfkm1Z0" target="_blank">a very unusual arrangement</a>, but Bob sticks with the 1949 original. According to <a href="https://www.bjorner.com/DSN11010%20-%201990%20Spring%20sessions.htm" target="_blank">Olof Bjorner</a>, Dylan previously attempted 'Some Enchanted Evening' during the sessions for <i>Under the Red Sky </i>in 1990, an outtake that is yet to see the light of day.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/KW7v6cnYYmM" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Full Moon and Empty Arms</b></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Written by: Buddy Kaye (music) and Ted Mossman (lyrics)</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Arrangement used by Bob written by: Axel Stordahl, 1945</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I can still remember that surprise that greeted Bob Dylan releasing this song, out of nowhere, in May 2014. While it was acknowledged that the track was from an upcoming studio album scheduled for later in the year (it was subsequently pushed back to make way for the Basement Tapes Bootleg Series release), no one knew at the time that Dylan was planning a full album - much less three - of Great American Songbook standards. Besides the choice of song, the other surprise was Dylan's voice; where his singing on 2012's <i>Tempest</i> had been more gravelly than ever, here he was two years later singing better than he had for decades. </span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The melody of 'Full Moon and Empty Arms' is derived from <a href="https://youtu.be/IbG2Uf2GdxY?t=100" target="_blank">the third movement of Rachmaninov's Piano Concerto No. 2</a>. Bob's version is based on Sinatra's 1945 recording for Columbia.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iBALtbVRaq8" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><b><br /></b></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><b>Where Are You? </b><br /><br /><br />Written by: Jimmy McHugh (music), Harold Adamson (words), 1937 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Gordon Jenkins, 1957 <br /><br />The title track from what appears to be one of Dylan’s favourite Sinatra albums. In <i>The Rough Guide to Frank Sinatra</i>, author Chris Ingham quotes Sinatra as saying that arranger Gordon Jenkins was “the one man that I felt I could almost leave alone – just let him work by himself. I think he was probably the most sensitive man about orchestrations.”</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/n0aPYXAn3u0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>What’ll I Do </b><br /><br />Written by: Irving Berlin (music & lyrics), 1924 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Axel Stordahl, 1947 <br /><br />Irving Berlin was one of the few Great American Songbook writers who wrote both music and lyrics. Peter Stampfel, in his notes for the album <i>Peter Stampfel’s 20th Century in 100 Songs</i>, writes that Berlin “didn’t believe in inspiration, but was said to write a song every day, from after dinner until 4 or 5 am, implying that for every hit he accomplished there were many, many hundreds of misses (or more).” One of Berlin’s earliest hits was 1911’s ‘<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9VGvaDRxNQ" target="_blank">Alexander’s Ragtime Band</a>’, which is all about “the best band in the land” - the same phrase Bob Dylan sometimes used to <a href="https://youtu.be/8ODzoEfKx3I?t=5778" target="_blank">introduce his band</a> during the Larry Campbell-Charlie Sexton era. <br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Written in 1924,‘What’ll I Do’ is the oldest song on <i>Shadows in the Night</i>, and one of the oldest songs on all three of Bob's standards albums. Here in the U.K., this song is probably best known as the theme tune of the sitcom <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPDV7EQt7J8" target="_blank"><i>Birds of a Feather</i></a>, which makes it slightly strange to hear Dylan singing it. Nevertheless, he does a great job, using Sinatra’s 1947 Columbia recording as a template. In 1962, Sinatra would rerecord 'What'll I Do' <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhuQxF9Ta_o" target="_blank">for the Reprise album <i>All Alone</i></a>, a record comprised entirely of songs in 3/4 time.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DID9ruqhzUA" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><b>That Lucky Old Sun </b><br /><br />Written by: Beasley Smith (music) and Haven Gillespie, 1949 <br /><br />Arrangement used by Bob written by: Jeff Alexander, 1949 <br /><br />Dylan first performed 'That Lucky Old Sun' at the original Farm Aid event in 1985. It went on to appear frequently during his 1986 tour with Tom Petty, before making the occasional surprise appearance on the Never Ending Tour between 1991 and 2000. Although his love for the tune has always been clear, it could be argued that he never truly got to grips with the song until he recorded it for <i>Shadows in the Night</i>. This version is based on Sinatra’s recording from 1949 (the same year the song was written). It made three post-<i>Shadows</i> Never Ending Tour appearances: once per year in 2015, 2016 and 2017.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/88xBkT6w1gI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe> <br /><br /><br /><br /> <a href="https://talkinbobdylan.blogspot.com/2021/09/exploring-bob-dylans-great-american_11.html" style="font-size: x-large;" target="">Part 2</a><br /><br /><br /> </div></div></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-73701199227009794532021-07-22T15:45:00.009-07:002022-02-24T05:46:07.782-08:00The 'John Brown' Paradox<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/v8ON0jxxZEI" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br />Every Bob Dylan fan has a few songs they look forward hearing Bob perform live in concert or on a bootleg recording. Conversely, everyone has at least one song they don’t care for at all that has somehow become a concert regular. ‘Silvio’ was this for many fans in the 1990s (personally I quite like ‘Silvio’), while in 2017 I witnessed several people immediately get up and head for the bar/toilets as soon as Bob started playing ‘Spirit on the Water’. </span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I also have a song that I never look forward to hearing, but – unlike the two previous songs mentioned, both of which Dylan tended to coast through - this is a song that he has almost always performed well. The song is ‘John Brown’, written in 1962 and performed 170 times since then. But if Bob always performs it well, why do I never look forward to hearing it? <br /><br />At first, I thought the lyrics might be the problem. The vast majority of Dylan songs contain a lot of room for different interpretations; even songs that tell straightforward narratives (like ‘The Ballad of Hollis Brown’ or ‘The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll’, dating from the same time period as ‘John Brown’) are somehow able to mean vastly different things depending on how they are performed. A song like ‘Masters of War’ can be confrontational and in-your-face (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4elJyxDxzHk" target="_blank">Berkley ‘88</a>) or quiet and seething, overflowing with barely-supressed rage (<a href="https://youtu.be/XX52JMfGqiE?t=2055" target="_blank">Woodstock ‘94</a>). ‘John Brown’, the story of a soldier who goes off to war only to return horribly wounded to the horror of his mother, does not possess this this malleability. No matter how much it is rearranged, it can never grow beyond what it is. <br /><br />It’s possible that Dylan wasn’t quite happy with the song when he wrote it: it was not recorded for <i>The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan</i>, and only turned up on an obscure ‘various artists’ album on the Folkways label called <i><a href="https://folkways.si.edu/broadside-ballads-vol-1/american-folk-struggle-protest/music/album/smithsonian" target="_blank">Broadside Ballads Vol 1</a></i>, where Bob was credited as ‘Blind Boy Grunt’. Onstage, meanwhile, the song received just two outings – once at the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UmXAM-tZ94" target="_blank">Gaslight Café</a> on 15th October 1962, and then once again at New York’s Town Hall on 12th April 1963 (plus a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTjSQFqGYPQ" target="_blank">performance on a Chicago radio show</a> on 26th April) – before being retired, seemingly for good. </span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Bob did, however, record the song as a Witmark demo in August 1963, but The Staple Singers were the only major act to cover the song during that decade, for their album<i> Pray On </i>in 1967<i> </i>. Aside from covers by British folk band <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEYlKEbrAxY" target="_blank">Heron</a> in 1971, and future <i>Time Out of Mind</i> alumnus <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oEYlKEbrAxY" target="_blank">Jim Dickinson</a> in 1972, no one appears to have recorded a cover of ‘John Brown’ for the remainder of the 20th Century. For all intents and purposes, the song had been forgotten.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/3Sbtap8j66I" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></span><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">It’s possible that Dylan had forgotten about ‘John Brown’ too, when, in the summer of 1987, it unexpectedly re-entered his life. He was rehearsing for his tour with The Grateful Dead, and they wanted to play old songs; the “seldom seen ones”, as Dylan calls them in <i>Chronicles</i>. One of them was ‘John Brown’, and, sure enough, Bob performed it for the first time in over 24 years at the first Dylan & The Dead show on 4th July in Foxboro, Massachusetts, with the song making two other appearances on the six-show tour.</span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/dIb0zk2ocl4" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">It’s here that the life of ‘John Brown’ truly begins. The song made regular appearances on Dylan’s ‘Temples in Flames’ tour with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers later in 1987, and went on to become a recurring feature of the Never Ending Tour. Whilst never becoming a setlist mainstay, it was performed in every year of the NET from 1988 to 2012, with the exception of the years 1993 and 2003. <br /><br />There are many performances of ‘John Brown’ that I love. The intense performance with the Heartbreakers from <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-VdFPkBzAdlHKn07f1qDbxHAZbfJLmCC/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Jerusalem in 1987</a>; the even more intense performance with G.E Smith from <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/15dEvPD9Akvrrzytt8hF2OzOSzSFernHS/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Berkley 1989</a>; the great acoustic version from Bob’s <i>Unplugged</i> album, which for my money is the best thing on the disc. Recently, I found an amazing ‘John Brown’ from <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ENXU5I-NOjTI747Nl7auHB2FeTpUjpEz/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">Tokyo on 4th March 2001</a>, which finds Dylan starting the song alone on acoustic guitar, the band gradually slipping in behind him as the story builds to its crescendo. <br /><br />So, what is it with the weird disconnect between my feelings for these performances and my feelings for the song itself? I stumbled upon a possible answer to that question while reading Paul Williams’ book about Neil Young, <i>Love to Burn</i>. Taking a moment to draw a comparison between Young and Dylan, Williams writes on page 88: <br /><br />“Neil Young and Bob Dylan are performing artists, and it is incomplete to consider their song creations as pieces of writing that express the intentions of the songwriter. They also express the intention of the performer, at the moment of performance.” <br /><br />And on the next page: <br /><br />“Which is to say, don’t take the performer’s art for granted. The songwriter may have been inspired (or not). But the most important thing now is whether the <i>performer</i> is inspired (in relation to this, song, this performance) tonight.” <br /><br />So, Bob Dylan the songwriter might not been especially inspired when wrote ‘John Brown’, but Bob Dylan the performing artist is nearly always inspired when he sings ‘John Brown'. Bob usually sings very clearly when he performs this song, and the arrangements tend to be sparse – he wants make sure the words are heard and the message gets across. <br /><br />I’m not sure that I’ve really solved the mystery of my mixed feelings for this song. However, the next time I see ‘John Brown’ on the tracklisting of a bootleg recording, maybe I'll be more inclined to give it a chance.</span></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i>Concert/recording dates from bjorner.com and bobdylan.com</i></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="height: 0px; overflow: hidden; padding-bottom: 56.25%; position: relative;"> <iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="100%" src="https://www.dailymotion.com/embed/video/x32of39" style="height: 100%; left: 0px; overflow: hidden; position: absolute; top: 0px; width: 100%;" type="text/html" width="100%"> </iframe> </div></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-13775242246365860352021-06-28T13:49:00.006-07:002023-03-09T08:04:49.043-08:00The Only Bob Dylan Bootleg I Own<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCs8XCv_16Eedz7bA9keD90K1jJSeHvIa-uywrLc2yjyC82rve5NHa2L6JJlgQ-n8cFrS4r6Sjpe6QsDbTUUjoDqs5wiQu25uxAFn_JalsWuW_3Cs1OzBlzM8n2TsTE6ssIEJ8TGJUPUhn/s595/R-6064517-1410131937-9947.jpeg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="580" data-original-width="595" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCs8XCv_16Eedz7bA9keD90K1jJSeHvIa-uywrLc2yjyC82rve5NHa2L6JJlgQ-n8cFrS4r6Sjpe6QsDbTUUjoDqs5wiQu25uxAFn_JalsWuW_3Cs1OzBlzM8n2TsTE6ssIEJ8TGJUPUhn/s320/R-6064517-1410131937-9947.jpeg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div></span><span style="font-size: large;">Despite having numerous live Dylan recordings stored away on my computer, the only Bob Dylan bootleg I own in a physical format is a mysterious CD entitled <i>Bob Dylan and the Never Ending Tour Band</i>. It claims to have been “Recorded in Florida, USA, in November 1992”, but <a href="http://www.bobsboots.com/CDs/cd-b40.html" target="_blank">Bobsboots.com reveals</a> that the show really took place in Pentange, Luxembourg on 21st February 1993. Bob is credited as "The Irresistible Maestro Bob Dylan" (a title I really wish he had used for his stage introduction back in the day).</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Had I simply downloaded this show, I probably would have listened to it once and then forgotten about it forever. However, there’s something about owning music on physical media that forces me to devote a little more time to it than I might otherwise. I've been listening to this CD every so often for a while, and over time I’ve come to enjoy it a lot. <br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Early 1993 was a time of transition for Bob Dylan. The previous year had seen him add multi-instrumentalist and pedal steel extraordinaire Bucky Baxter to the band, bringing a variety of new textures to what had previously been a hard rocking garage band sound. There was also increasingly prominent Grateful Dead influence: not only had Bob hired a second drummer (originally Charlie Quintana, who was then replaced by Winston Watson in September 1992) to play alongside the soon-to-leave Ian Wallace, but by the end of '92 he was also stretching the songs out with ever-expanding instrumental jams. <br /><br />This particular trend would continue into 1993, and arguably become the defining feature of the year's performances. Just looking at some of the track times on the back of this CD gives you a taste of what was going on: ‘Tangled Up in Blue’ (11:32), ‘Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again’ (10:38), ‘It Ain’t Me, Babe’ (9:11). These songs were being stretched to the limit, and sometimes beyond.<br /><br />I initially found the long track times and endless jamming off-putting, but over time I’ve come to see that that there was a certain logic to it. A possible explanation for it can be found in the Winston Watson documentary <i>Bob Dylan Never Ending Tour Diaries: Drummer Winston Watson’s Incredible Journey</i>. At one point Winston is talking about band chemistry, remarking that real bands are people who grow up playing music together for years. How do you replicate that kind of chemistry when you’ve been hired to play with people you’ve never met before? Winston explains that, when you’re being paid, that chemistry just has to happen. <br /><br />I think that these long jams were Dylan’s way of making sure that it <i>did</i> happen – and it worked. Within a year, the John Jackson /Bucky Baxter/Tony Garnier/Winston Watson line-up had evolved into one of the tightest, most cohesive bands Bob would ever play with. Early 1993 shows like this one were simply the first tentative steps towards getting to that point. <br /><br />Another interesting aspect of this show is Bob’s general onstage demeanour. He seems laser-focused, as if he knows exactly what he’s doing onstage and what he’s hoping to achieve. The difference from a couple of years earlier is remarkable; where 1991 often found Bob looking lost and engaging in strange between-song patter, this 1993 show finds him silent and stern, completely locked into the task at hand. You definitely get the sense that he’s hearing a sound in his head that he wants the band to reproduce – they aren’t quite there yet, but they will be. <br /><br />Dylan is also doing interesting this with his voice. Playing around 100 shows every year had taken a swift and dramatic toll on Bob’s vocal chords, and Bob appears to have concluded that, if he was going to continue doing this, he needed to find a new way to sing. Here, we find him pushing himself beyond the limits of his range, using the melody of a song as a jumping off point from which to experiment. Once again, the fruits of this new approach would be revealed long-term, with the vocal renaissance of 1994-5. Dylan was playing the long game. <br /><br />But what about the performance itself? Well, there’s not much particularly noteworthy about this show – it’s good, but perhaps best listened to in the context of what came afterwards. It does, however, contain my all-time favourite version of the Australian folk song ‘Jim Jones’ from Dylan’s 1992 album <i>Good as I Been to You</i>, with Bucky Baxter’s accordion giving the song even more of a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3-mjqQ6BIc" target="_blank">nautical</a> flavour than it already possesses. You can listen to it <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y0ZCnNrYs717Cu37NfpTA0kwcpgi_J1E/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I'm very fond of this show, even though there are many NET performances I would listen to ahead of it. As a physical object, it feels like a possession, a souvenir of an age (that I’m too young to have experienced) where CDs like this would have been like gold dust, a rare document of a Bob Dylan show that had taken place in some faraway country. I’m grateful to live in a time where live recordings are much more accessible, but that doesn’t stop discs like <i>Bob Dylan and the Never Ending Tour Band</i> from having a strange aura of magic about them.</span></div><br />Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-39527006559812211582021-06-01T06:11:00.005-07:002021-06-01T09:53:18.753-07:00The Changing Face of 'Idiot Wind'<br /><br /><span style="font-size: large;">When I was originally getting into Bob Dylan back in 2013, one of the first things I did (being blissfully unaware of Spotify at the time) was go to the library and take out a bunch of Dylan CDs. If I remember correctly, I came home with <i>Blood on the Tracks</i>, <i>Good as I Been to You</i>, <i>Together Through Life</i>, and <i>Tempest</i> – a pretty random selection, but one that offered a sampling of three distinct periods in Dylan’s career. I loved <i>Tempest</i>, and liked parts of <i>Good as I Been to You</i> and <i>Together Through Life</i> (my appreciation for them would grow over time), but the one that made the strongest impression was <i>Blood on the Tracks</i>, and one song in particular: 'Idiot Wind'. <br /><br />I had never heard anything like 'Idiot Wind' before. In hindsight, I think this was the first time I had heard a song that was <i>angry</i>. The voice was hissing, spitting and snarling, soaked in sarcasm and contempt. What was this? More than anything I had heard up to that point, 'Idiot Wind' felt real, almost frighteningly so. Listening to it almost felt uncomfortable, as though I were intruding on a private conversation. <br /><br />At the time, I had no idea about the convoluted backstory to this song and the album as a whole, and even less of an idea about the existence of studio outtakes and live versions of 'Idiot Wind' that cast the song under a new light altogether. But now that I am aware of all of that, I find the way this song evolved over time absolutely fascinating, to the point where I now hear each version as complementing the others, with all of them telling a larger story when considered as a whole. My own personal 'Idiot Wind series' is comprised of a) the album version b) a studio outtake recorded at the earlier New York sessions, commonly known as ‘the organ version’ thanks to Paul Griffin's haunting keyboard work c) the live performance from Fort Collins in 1976, which was featured as the final track of the <i>Hard Rain</i> album, and d) a live performance from 5th May 1992 in San Francisco. <br /><br />The atmosphere of the album track is one of bitterness and recrimination, but the ‘organ version’ could not feel more different. This take has a peacefulness about it, as if the narrator has taken a walk after an argument with their spouse and, now that the initial anger has died down, is staring thoughtfully at the stars, thinking it all over. There’s a surprising tenderness in this version of the song – even the “you’re an idiot, babe” line is softer here, sometimes directed inwards, sometimes outwards, sometimes both – coupled with a deep sadness and confusion. He can see it’s all slipping away, but he doesn't know what to do about it. He's scared. This really hits home in a verse that didn’t make it onto the album, which is gut-wrenching in its portrayal of the narrator's bewilderment and fear: <br /><br /><i><br />Figured I’d lost you anyway <br /><br />Why go on, what’s the use? <br /><br />In order to get in a word with you <br /><br />I’d have had to come up with some excuse <br /><br /></i></span><div><i><span style="font-size: large;">And it just struck me kind of funny... </span></i><br /><br /><br /></div><div><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/eBLViMLws10" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The Fort Collins/Hard Rain version of 'Idiot Wind' once again offers us another mood altogether. It still feels like the same narrator from the previous two versions, but now he’s in a totally different frame of mind. He knows his marriage is broken beyond repair, and now he’s taking a perverse, drunken glee in demolishing what’s left of it. Of all of the performances of the song I’ve heard, this one is the most unsettling. It has a self-destructive quality about it: it makes me think of things spectacular moments of destruction like a star imploding, or the death throes of some enormous sea creature. This is the end of the road set to music.</span></div><div><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5E4ytUW8g_0" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">Except it wasn’t the end of the road. Sixteen years later, Bob unexpectedly returned to this song and this character, unveiling a new arrangement in Melbourne on 2nd April 1992, which remained in the setlist for the next several months and arguably peaked during May of that year. For a long time, my favourite performance of Idiot Wind from this period was <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxCIfyfwWYI" target="_blank">the spectacular rendition from San Jose</a>, but this has recently been knocked off the top spot by the version from 5th May in San Francisco, which has the added bonus of Jerry Garcia sitting in on electric guitar. <br /><br />I often think that Garcia might have been the best sideman Dylan never had. As Andrew Muir remarked in <i>One More Night: Bob Dylan’s Never Ending Tour</i>, the Grateful Dead frontman was “one of the few who could walk onto Dylan’s stage and instantly be in tune to what was going on and able to add, almost immediately, something to the overall sound.” Jerry certainly does that here; just the way his guitar dances around Dylan’s vocal on the lines “What’s good is bad, what’s bad is good/ You find out when you reach the top, you’re on the bottom” is enough to make me wish he had joined Dylan’s band full time. <br /><br />Dylan, meanwhile, brings an amazing range of emotion to his performance, everything from regret to paranoia to despair. This is still the same narrator from the earlier versions, but we now find him a shell of his former self, haunted by his past actions but still too proud to apologise, and perhaps knowing deep down that it’s far too late for that anyway. All he can do is keep arguing the same old points even though he knows he’s wrong, his every word another shovelful of dirt on the burial mound of this relationship. In the liner notes for his 1993 album <i>World Gone Wrong</i>, Dylan referred to this period of his Never Ending Tour as “The One Sad Cry of Pity Tour”, and that description suits this haunting version of 'Idiot Wind' down to the ground. </span><br /><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/MWPqv1HlIFU" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe></div><div><br /></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">All of this speaks to Dylan’s extraordinary ability to rework his songs over the years, not just through rearrangement (apart from changing the key, the rearrangements to Idiot Wind have been relatively minimal) but also through dramatic interpretation. This skill is reminiscent of artists like Duke Ellington or Frank Sinatra, who were frequently able to infuse their old songs with new meaning and gravitas years after originally recording them. It remains to be seen if the story of 'Idiot Wind' is truly over for good, or if there is still a chapter yet to be written. <br /></span><br /><br /> </div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-45719921716158002392021-05-05T09:41:00.011-07:002022-04-24T01:32:23.171-07:00The Story of Bob Dylan's MTV Unplugged<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jl8CtjrbDyKZqpb7o3eHN3ENMfwPPGvwtc1oLMXH8QPRwKI4yBZ2aQbVjV6TqC_8mcO1rDEfrUcPsL9kueGmm94jlS45mHZmG2mhWs_pibPiNxBiCMJ_9tVGTsA1QRBGip0oktsQPzH8/s600/R-676331-1173941577.jpeg.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="592" data-original-width="600" height="395" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9jl8CtjrbDyKZqpb7o3eHN3ENMfwPPGvwtc1oLMXH8QPRwKI4yBZ2aQbVjV6TqC_8mcO1rDEfrUcPsL9kueGmm94jlS45mHZmG2mhWs_pibPiNxBiCMJ_9tVGTsA1QRBGip0oktsQPzH8/w400-h395/R-676331-1173941577.jpeg.jpg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b><br /></b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><b>"[M]y opinion is that his secret weapon's the sunglasses"</b></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><b><i>- Paul Williams, in his review of Unplugged from his book </i>Watching the River Flow</b></div><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">I like all of Bob Dylan’s albums. Now, I don’t mean that in an everything-he-does-is-amazing way, but I have found that if I approach a Dylan album with an open mind, and (perhaps most importantly) without comparing them to one another, I will often be surprised at how much even the less well-regarded records have to offer. Having said that, there’s one album in particular that it took me a very long time to appreciate: 1995’s <i>MTV</i> <i>Unplugged</i>. <span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /> </span></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In 1990s, the </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">MTV Unplugged</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> TV show was all the rage. It seemed like anyone who was anyone was lining up to appear on the programme, which, with its accompanying live albums, had also proved useful in rehabilitating the careers/consolidating the comebacks of ‘60s/’70s stars who had endured a rough decade in the 1980s. Bob Dylan, by the time he appeared on the show in November 1994, would have been acutely aware of the success contemporaries like Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton and Neil Young had enjoyed with their <i>Unplugged</i> specials and albums. Even Tony Bennett, who had struggled commercially since the advent of the British Invasion, was able use his </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">MTV Unplugged</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> appearance to cement a comeback that has continued more or less unabated to the present day. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dylan, at the time, was in desperate need of such a comeback. His album sales had declined dramatically during the 1980s, and the brief commercial respite afforded by 1989’s </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Oh Mercy</i><span style="font-family: inherit;"> had not carried over to subsequent albums. His most recent record, the folk song collection <i>World Gone Wrong</i>, had peaked at a dispiriting number 70 on the U.S. Billboard chart. On top of this, Bob had developed a habit of giving poor performances in front of massive television audiences, including his appearances at the 1991 Grammys, David Letterman’s 10th Anniversary Special in in 1992, and Bill Clinton’s inauguration in 1993 – all of which must have only served to alienate audiences further. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Before making the decision to appear on </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Unplugged</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, Dylan attempted to take matters into his own hands. Booking himself for a two-night, four-show stay at New York’s Supper Club and hiring a film crew helmed by director Michael Borofsky (who would later film The Pixies <a href="https://youtu.be/Q5bauM1aI_w" target="_blank">in a </a></span><a href="https://youtu.be/Q5bauM1aI_w" target="_blank">similar</a><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="https://youtu.be/Q5bauM1aI_w" target="_blank"> environment</a>), Dylan recorded what is assumed to have been material for a potential television special and live album. The bootlegs of the shows reveal Dylan to be in prime form, tearing through the four acoustic sets with the passion and commitment of a man with something to prove. Unfortunately, the entire project was swiftly scrapped, and neither the film nor the album was released. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">There are several possible reasons for this. Given Bob’s poor commercial standing at the time, he may have simply been unable to find a network willing to pick up the special, especially as it featured no special guests and a setlist that was light on well-known hits – factors which may also have made Columbia reluctant to release a live album of the shows. However, since the performances have remained in the vaults for nearly three decades, despite reaching almost mythical status amongst fans, it’s arguably more likely that there is something about the shows that Dylan was/is unhappy with. Personally, I think they are <a href="https://vimeo.com/36172373" target="_blank">fantastic performances </a>and desperately wish the film would be released.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Still, the appeal of a high-profile TV special was impossible to deny. Almost exactly one year after the Supper Club shows, Dylan and his band were back in New York filming an <i>MTV Unplugged</i> special. The circumstances could not have been more different to the year before: instead of an intimate club, Bob now found himself in the comparatively sterile surroundings of Sony Studios. Unusually, he kept his sunglasses on during the whole two nights of filming, and seems to have either decided or been persuaded to wear an outfit that evoked the image of the iconic <i>Highway 61</i>-era Dylan. Just from a visual perspective, the objective was clear: Bob Dylan was looking to make a good impression.</span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">This extended to the setlist, too. At some point, Dylan made it known that he intended to perform a set of folk songs, but was informed by executives (most likely from Columbia, who would have been thinking about the sales of the upcoming live album) that this wouldn’t do, and that Bob needed to bring out the hits. Dylan duly complied. On some level, it’s probable that he realised this was something of a make-or-break situation: he had a golden opportunity to reassert himself as a top-tier artist, and if he performed poorly, or simply failed to connect with the TV audience watching at home, it would be difficult to see where his recording career could go from here. On the other hand, a success could be used as something to build on.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s worth noting that these tapings presented a very different environment to Dylan’s usual Never Ending Tour shows. There, Dylan performs a kind of highwire act, reshaping his songs to (and sometimes beyond) breaking point in a nightly exploration of what it means to be an artist. That’s not what was required of him at these <i>Unplugged</i> tapings. What he needed to do here was be <i>palatable</i>, in order to reach both younger viewers (“Wow, this Dylan guy seems pretty cool”) and older ones (“Is that Bob Dylan? I used to listen to him years ago....”). It might have been frustrating for fans who knew what Dylan was capable of to see him holding back in this fashion, but a potential Grammy’s ‘91 scenario was simply not an option for Bob at this point: he had to play it safe. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">And these aren’t bad performances, by any means; in fact, there are gems to be found. ‘Shooting Star’, ‘John Brown’ (receiving its first official release on a Dylan album 32 years after it was written), ‘Desolation Row’ and ‘Dignity’ are my favourites from the official disc, while the outtakes include stellar performances of ‘I Want You’, ‘Hazel’, ‘Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here with You’ and ‘My Back Pages’, amongst others. There are no huge risks being taken, but the performances are uniformly tight and professional. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">The TV special received warm reviews, with the likes of <i>The New York Times</i> and <i>The L.A Times</i> announcing that Dylan was on the comeback trail. However, the real measure of <i>Unplugged</i>’s success, at least as far as Columbia was concerned, would be on the Billboard Chart. Thankfully, the album - released in May 1995 - delivered, becoming Dylan’s highest charting record since <i>Infidels</i> in 1983. </span></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The success of the special and album was significant. <i>Unplugged</i>, while not necessarily offering a true representation of Bob Dylan the performing artist, did serve to introduce him to a new audience, and perhaps to reintroduce him to an old one. When Dylan released his next album of new material – 1997’s <i>Time Out of Mind</i> – they were waiting with open arms.</span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></span><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW36061934" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW36061934 BCX8" lang="EN-GB" paraeid="{e4193aaf-16cf-4653-b8c7-e915f0214aa3}{120}" paraid="303761781" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="TextRun SCXW36061934 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 18.3458px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW36061934 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW36061934 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div><div class="OutlineElement Ltr BCX8 SCXW36061934" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: white; clear: both; cursor: text; direction: ltr; font-family: "Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; padding: 0px; position: relative; user-select: text;"><p class="Paragraph SCXW36061934 BCX8" lang="EN-GB" paraeid="{e4193aaf-16cf-4653-b8c7-e915f0214aa3}{76}" paraid="1858870969" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; background-color: transparent; color: windowtext; font-kerning: none; margin: 0px; overflow-wrap: break-word; padding: 0px; user-select: text; vertical-align: baseline;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="TextRun SCXW36061934 BCX8" data-contrast="auto" face="Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 18.3458px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><span class="NormalTextRun SCXW36061934 BCX8" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"></span></span><span class="EOP SCXW36061934 BCX8" data-ccp-props="{"201341983":0,"335551550":1,"335551620":1,"335559739":160,"335559740":259}" face="Calibri, Calibri_MSFontService, sans-serif" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 18.3458px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;"> </span></p></div></div></div></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/atseImSMIWs" title="YouTube video player" width="560"></iframe>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-14043237469031385182021-04-23T08:34:00.009-07:002021-05-09T09:24:21.860-07:00Looking Back at 'Don't Look Back'<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjzxGysEUW6XGkd82a49ooDI1_QYp34lsScQw0HPh5VQfr7HthsMcMI47hFO7Rd44mVo8hbn9VzC8bqhgFnhGrtL652AFj5vnKkQejxgWked64RTiQGIHQ4BHJ3Ew7HsJfLBDrzi3tT9wk/s1210/800px-Dont_Look_Back_-_Bob_Dylan_%25281967_film_poster%2529.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1210" data-original-width="800" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjzxGysEUW6XGkd82a49ooDI1_QYp34lsScQw0HPh5VQfr7HthsMcMI47hFO7Rd44mVo8hbn9VzC8bqhgFnhGrtL652AFj5vnKkQejxgWked64RTiQGIHQ4BHJ3Ew7HsJfLBDrzi3tT9wk/w265-h400/800px-Dont_Look_Back_-_Bob_Dylan_%25281967_film_poster%2529.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Recently, I realised that, despite being a Bob Dylan fan since 2013, I had never seen <i>Don’t Look Back</i>. That's right: the most famous Dylan documentary of all, which offers a behind-the-scenes look at his storied 1965 tour of England. How had I not seen this film?</span></div><br />Well, there are a few reasons. One is that clips from <i>Don't Look Back</i> turn up all over the place – Dylan playing ‘It’s All Over Now Baby Blue’ for Donovan, Dylan trying to find out who threw a glass out of his hotel window, Dylan berating Time magazine journalist Horace Judson. I almost felt as though I <i>had</i> seen the film, just because of how well-known these clips are. Another reason is that the 1960s are the most thoroughly documented period of Dylan’s career, which meant I always assumed that this film would simply cover what has become well-trodden ground. <br /><br />I couldn’t have been more wrong. <i>Don't Look Back</i> is fascinating on a number of levels: the images of 1960s England, the skilful direction of D.A Pennebaker, the unsettling presence of Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman floating serenely through the film like a great white shark. But the most intriguing aspect of <i>Don’t Look Back</i>, for me at least, is watching a young Bob Dylan come to terms with superstardom, and everything that accompanies it. This, in some ways, becomes the main dramatic thread of the whole film. <br /><br />When we first meet Bob, he seems pretty happy, even as journalists crowd around him to ask questions about him and his songs. He teases them a little with a giant lightbulb, but is polite and even charming towards them. Over the course of the film, however, the tone of these interactions gradually changes, as Dylan meets fans, fellow musicians, and more journalists. Whilst well-meaning, all of these people want something from him – answers, an autograph, or maybe just that most precious commodity of all: his time. It looks exhausting, and reminded me of a comment Rolling Thunder Revue member Ronnie Blakley made in the 2019 Martin Scorsese documentary about Dylan seeking refuge from “the onslaught of strangers.” <br /><br />One particularly telling moment comes when Dylan meets a group of fans, who inform him of their distaste for his recent forays into the world of electric rock ‘n’ roll. <br /><br />“My friends were playing with me on that song,” Dylan replies, playfully but with a hint of terseness. “Y’know, I have to give some work to my friends. I mean, you don’t mind that, right? Huh? You don’t mind them playing with me if they play the guitar and drums and all that stuff, right?” <br /><br />“It just doesn’t sound like you at all,” the fan insists. “Sounds as if you’re having a good old laugh.” <br /><br />“Well, don’t you like me to have a good old laugh once in a while? Isn’t that alright with you?” Dylan is still speaking in a playful tone of voice, but you get the feeling he’s straining to remain polite. <br /><br />Finally, it all comes to a head during the infamous interview with Time Magazine’s Horace Judson, where Dylan lets rip with both barrels at the unsuspecting journalist. I’ve always found this scene hard to watch – I can’t help but feel bad for Judson – but I have to admit that it makes much more sense within the context of the entire film, after Bob has had to endure an entire tour’s worth of questions and small talk coming from every direction. <br /><br />An interesting counterpoint to the Judson showdown is the scene where Bob is unexpectedly invited to meet the High Sheriff’s Lady. I’ve lived in England all my life and have never heard of the <a href="https://highsheriffs.com/" target="_blank">apparently still-extant High Sherriff’s Association</a> prior to watching this film - but she’s here, and has specifically requested an audience with Dylan. Bob, for his part, seems delighted to meet this very proper, very English lady, who proudly introduces him to her sons. Bob gives her a harmonica, and she says that he and Bob Neuwirth absolutely must come to stay at her mansion next time they’re in England. The whole thing is surreal, but it sticks with me because the High Sherriff’s Lady might be the only person in the film to approach Dylan without any ‘baggage’. To her, he’s not the ‘Voice of a Generation’; he’s just a nice young man who sings nice songs that he wrote by himself. <br /><br />It struck me while watching this film that I think I understand why Dylan prefers touring with a band. Frankly, touring as a solo artist looks like an incredibly isolating experience. I actually found myself feeling grateful for the presence of Bob Neuwirth as Dylan’s touring companion – while Neuwirth is by most accounts a divisive figure, to say the least, he appears to be the only person in the film (along with Joan Baez, who departs fairly early on) who is actually Dylan’s friend. Once Bob is on stage, however, it’s just him facing the world alone; no one to turn to for a smile or a shared joke, no one to interact with or play off musically, no one to pat on the back at the end of a concert and say “hey man, you played really good tonight.” I guess <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkdirL0YxHE" target="_blank">stand-up comedians</a> must feel like this all the time.</span><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>This post was inspired by the excellent book </i>Like a Bullet of Light: The Films of Bob Dylan <i>by C.P. Lee</i><br /><br /></span><br /> </div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-10093855545260324732021-03-15T06:43:00.014-07:002023-07-04T11:41:05.175-07:00Another Never Ending Tour: The Bob Dylan - B.B. King Connection<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br />You wouldn’t know it from reading this blog, but there are other musicians I like besides Bob Dylan - one of them being the late, great B.B. King. Recently, I was happy and surprised to learn, thanks to <a href="https://bob-dylan.org.uk/archives/8637" target="_blank">an article by Tony Attwood on the Untold Dylan blog</a>, that King had recorded a Bob Dylan song: a <i>Shot of Love</i>-era outtake called ‘Fur Slippers’, which King recorded for the soundtrack to the 1999 CBS miniseries <i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sK_OynMwpgM" target="_blank">Shake, Rattle & Roll: An American Love Story</a></i>. </span><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">The Dylan version of this song (co-written by Bob's Gospel-era bassist Tim Drummond) has never been released (<i>Edit: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DGJb88WTR-Y" target="_blank">it has now!</a> - 19/09/21</i>), although it was apparently <a href="https://www.searchingforagem.com/1990s/International036.htm" target="_blank">shortlisted for inclusion on <i>The Bootleg Series Vols. 1-3</i></a> before ultimately being left aside. I haven’t managed to track down any mention of how ‘Fur Slippers’ found its way to B.B., but the ‘90s was a decade when Dylan was happy to gift unreleased songs to other performers, including <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q7IFYd6UOe4" target="_blank">Willie Nelson</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lbRP9rGiHc" target="_blank">The Band</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0wwSWnbteE" target="_blank">Sheryl Crowe</a>. Perhaps he thought ‘Fur Slippers’ would be a good fit for King and sent it his way.</span><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Iate0xqor2k" width="560"></iframe><br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Hearing two of my favourite performers cross over in this fashion reminded me that, besides ‘Fur Slippers’, B.B. King had something else in common with Bob Dylan: a Never Ending Tour....<br /><br />Bob Dylan has spent an extraordinary amount of time on the road over the last three decades, but the touring life of B.B. King makes Dylan’s NET schedule seem positively conservative by comparison. Hitting the road with his band in the early-to mid-’50s (sources differ on the exact year), King toured continuously until his final performance at Chicago’s House of Blues on 3rd October 2014. And when I say continuously, I mean <i>continuously</i>; in all of that time, B.B. never seems to have taken a single year off. In his prime, he also doesn’t appear to have broken his tours down into ‘legs’ as most performers do. Charles Sawyer’s authorised biography <i>The Arrival of B.B. King</i>, published in 1980, describes King as having taken a total of just two months' vacation over the preceding thirty years, with B.B. choosing instead to simply grab a few days off here and there to return to his home in <a href="https://youtu.be/9GYNzuvsybQ?t=78" target="_blank">Las Vegas</a>.<br /><br />Sawyer also reports that, at the time the book was published, King was playing an annual average of 300 shows a year, and in 1956 had performed a staggering 342 one-night engagements. Even in his final years in the early 2010s, King was still performing around <a href="http://www.alterbridge.org.uk/Content/GreyLeft-Style.asp?SiteId=BBKing&PageTitle=2012%20Tour&PageUniqueId=161&PageLink=Yes&PageConId1=148&PageConId2=none&PageConId3=none&PageLibrary=none&PageMedia=none" target="_blank">100 shows a year.</a><br /><br />As has been the case with Dylan’s Never Ending Tour, B.B. King’s touring band evolved significantly over the years. Originally (according to Sawyer) a sprawling thirteen-piece group featuring a large horn section, by 1957 King had scaled the band down to a smaller unit led by drummer Sonny Freeman, who would remain with B.B. as his bandleader for the next eighteen years. During Freeman’s tenure, the band acquired the unofficial moniker of ‘Sonny Freeman & The Unusuals’; it was various configurations of this group that appeared on the classic live albums <i>Live at the Regal</i> (1965), <i>Blues is King</i> (1967), <i>Live at Cook County Jail</i> (1971), and <i>Live in Japan</i> (Japan-only release 1971, wider release 1999). Arguably the greatest tragedy of King’s recording career is that he rarely used his touring band in the studio, although the albums <i>Blues on the Bayou</i> (1998), <i>Makin’ Love is Good For You</i> (2000) and <i>A Christmas Celebration of Hope</i> (2001) did feature <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bHu-LYth8Q" target="_blank">his excellent latter-day backing group</a>. <br /><br />Despite Dylan and King's respective Never Ending Tours criss-crossing the globe simultaneously for years, I can only find one instance of their paths intersecting, <a href="https://www.classicrockforums.com/threads/bob-dylan-with-special-guest-b-b-king-adelaide-entertainment-centre-19-4-2011.14851/" target="_blank">when King opened for Dylan in Adelaide, Australia on 19th April 2011</a> (they had previously appeared on the same bill at the inaugural Farm Aid event in 1985, three years before Dylan began his NET). Although they didn’t play together, there’s <a href="https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fi.pinimg.com%2F736x%2Fcf%2F0b%2F6c%2Fcf0b6c73460313001843ea449bd39101.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.pinterest.com%2Fpin%2F486107353533844380%2F&tbnid=oF9_jdGgtJW75M&vet=12ahUKEwiAo6OIrrLvAhWI0YUKHacQBRgQMygBegUIARCtAQ..i&docid=BOmqAonErOuKxM&w=640&h=473&itg=1&q=bob%20dylan%20bb%20king&ved=2ahUKEwiAo6OIrrLvAhWI0YUKHacQBRgQMygBegUIARCtAQ" target="_blank">a lovely photo of the two meeting backstage</a> that captures the mutual admiration that must have existed between these two 'road warriors'.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">*</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Possibly the most impressive aspect of B.B King's six-decade-long touring career is that it's practically impossible to find footage of him coasting or performing badly. Even when age began to slow him down in his 70s and 80s, I have no doubt that he was giving it everything he had, every night, until he could do it no more. Here are a few videos of the King of the Blues in action: </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div>
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</div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-51909262597232660862021-02-18T03:03:00.005-08:002021-03-13T13:29:34.538-08:00Must I Not Wonder Within: 'What Good Am I?' and Bob Dylan in Japan 2014<span style="font-size: large;"><br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">Bob Dylan songs have a habit of sneaking up on me. I can listen to a song for years and think of it as just another song on an album, and then, without warning, that very same song will suddenly come into bloom before my eyes. For this reason, I’m always cautious about dismissing anything Bob Dylan does, as there’s a good chance that I'll come to love it eventually if I don’t get it right away. <br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">The latest song to reveal itself in this manner has been ‘What Good Am I?’, from 1989’s <i>Oh Mercy</i>. Until recently, this song had always passed me by, perhaps due to it being placed immediately after the <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjDa-_Vq51I" target="_blank">twin peaks</a> of ‘Man in the Long Black Coat’ and ‘Most of the Time’. It wasn’t the studio version that turned me onto ‘What Good Am I?’, however: it was a live performance from 23rd April 2014 in Osaka, Japan. <br /><br />Usually, Dylan songs go through various permutations as they are performed over the years. Nothing is sacred, with lyrics, melody and arrangement often torn apart and reassembled like one of Dylan’s scrap-metal sculptures. Curiously, despite being performed more than 200 times over a 25-year period (1989-2014), ‘What Good Am I?’ remained strangely immune to this practice. Not only did the arrangement change very little over that time, but the song also seems to have been played in the same key (E) for this entire period. This is extremely unusual, but it also raises the question of why this song remained relatively untouched by Dylan’s famous tendency towards reinvention. <br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">Dylan’s comments on the song in his autobiography <i>Chronicles</i> offer some potential answers: <br /><br /></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">“When we began working on “What Good Am I?” I had to hunt for a melody and after working on it for a suitable amount of time Danny [Lanois, producer] thought he heard something. I thought that I was onto something but hadn’t quite found it yet. I was looking too hard. When it’s right, you don’t have to look for it. Maybe it was only a foot and a half away, I didn’t know. But I had exhausted my energy and thought I might as well just go with what Lanois liked, although it was too slow for my taste. Danny used layered rhythms to create a mood for this song. I liked the words, but the melody wasn’t quite special enough – didn't have any emotional impact. Setting aside our personal differences, we worked on this song for a while and completed it.” </span></div></div></blockquote><div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">It sounds like Dylan felt that he had allowed the song to slip through his fingers in the recording studio. <i>“I thought that I was onto something but hadn’t quite found it yet”</i>. <i>“Maybe it was only a foot and a half away”</i>. This is probably a common occurrence for Dylan, but the fact that he altered the song so little over years of live performance suggest to me that, in the case of ‘What Good Am I?’, the studio version was just a hair’s breadth away from what he was hoping to achieve. If his vision couldn't be realised in the studio, perhaps it could be onstage.<br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-size: large;">There are many other wonderful live versions of this song (Nagoya 1994 is a particular favourite), but – for now at least – the Osaka 2014 is the one for me. Where the narrator on the studio version found himself facing a sudden, terrible epiphany of self-doubt, the atmosphere in the Osaka performance is very different. The song has now taken on the feel of a Shakespearean soliloquy, with the narrator, now much older, staring into his own soul, or perhaps up towards the sky, and asking “Am I a good person? And if not, can I be redeemed?”. These are the same questions Michael Corleone was seeking to answer in <i>The Godfather Part III</i>, and that Frank Sheeran faced at the end of <i>The Irishman</i>. In both of their cases the answer was a devastating “no”, but the fate of our narrator is left much more ambiguous. <br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;">The song ends with a beautiful pedal steel/electric guitar flourish. It’s one of those rare performances where, although the band is playing during the whole song, it feels as though Bob is onstage entirely alone, as was the case with <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nubfEDFTTZA" target="_blank">‘Song to Woody’ in 1999/2000</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rT6Bg5nmZhg" target="_blank">‘Don’t Think Twice’ in 2018/19</a>. Even the audience recedes far into the distance. All that remains is one man, alone with his thoughts.</span></div></div></div></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">*</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Osaka 2014 performance is not on YouTube, unfortunately, but I did find an performance from five days earlier in Nagoya that's <i>almost </i>as good:</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ItoS0cdDbKo?start=900" width="560"></iframe></div></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-4438313960585564842021-01-31T08:10:00.006-08:002022-07-10T08:21:06.511-07:00Bob Dylan's Right Hand Man<div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><span><div style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-size: x-large; text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">"My Captain's decorated, he's well schooled and he's skilled"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size: medium;">- Bob Dylan, 'Lonesome Day Blues'</span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><br /> </span></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">In the <a href="https://grainsparrow.blogspot.com/2020/10/14-caribbean-wind.html" target="_blank">‘Caribbean Wind’</a> entry of his excellent ‘100 Favourite Bob Dylan Songs’ series (which, by the way, is now available in <a href="https://grainsparrow.blogspot.com/2020/12/" target="_blank">glorious pdf format</a>), Sigismund Sludig raised an interesting question that I’ve been thinking about ever since: who was/is Bob Dylan’s Ben Keith? Ben Keith, of course, was the masterful pedal steel player/multi-instrumentalist who accompanied Neil Young between 1972 and Keith’s death in 2010. Neil has had many long-term collaborators over the years – Nils Lofgren, Nicolette Larson, even entire bands like Crazy Horse and Promise of the Real – but Ben Keith was clearly his guy. As he said in a <a href="https://youtu.be/l4uCSDnjbRc?t=324" target="_blank">2011 interview</a>: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">“This guy is one of the great steel players of all time. Other steel players always refer to him; producers say “Can you play kind of like Ben Keith?”, and nobody can play like Ben Keith. So, I’m not gonna be doing any more of the songs that I’ve cut with Ben Keith </span>…<span style="font-family: inherit;">. not with anybody else. I’ll do them by myself, so that I can hear Ben in my head, but I won’t play them with anybody else. There won’t be anybody trying to play what he played.” </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Has Bob Dylan ever had this kind of relationship with another musician? I would say that there are many who could have filled this role, and perhaps did for a time: Michael Bloomfield, Al Kooper, Robbie Robertson, Jim Keltner, Rob Stoner, Scarlet Rivera, Tim Drummond, Willie Smith, Benmont Tench, Mike Campbell, G.E. Smith, Bucky Baxter, Winston Watson, Larry Campbell, Charlie Sexton, Freddy Koella, Elana Fremerman. All of these musicians (and doubtless others I'm forgetting) were able to connect to Dylan on a level bordering on the telepathic, with Dylan </span>channelling<span style="font-family: inherit;"> their energy into his performance. However, I would also argue that Dylan tended to stop short of allowing these players the kind of space and freedom that Neil Young afforded Ben Keith; on the rare </span>occasion<span style="font-family: inherit;"> that he has, it has tended to be for a relatively short period of time before a) Bob broke up the band and moved onto something else b) the musician left the band, or c) the musician stayed in the band and gradually found him or herself playing an increasingly reduced role. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">To my mind, the ultimate sideman is someone who the artist simply cannot do without, whose contribution to the artist's music cannot be replaced or replicated once that person is gone, and whose mere presence onstage or in the studio brings the artist reassurance and confidence. Frank Sinatra had <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zc2-id28FBA" target="_blank">Bill Miller</a>; Chuck Berry had <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9QfZav5Sqg" target="_blank">Johnnie Johnson</a>; Ali Farka Toure had <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uQHGlrGsRjM" target="_blank">Oumar Toure</a>. The leading candidate for this position in Bob Dylan’s music is, as far as I’m concerned, bass player Tony Garnier. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Tony joined Bob’s band in 1989, as a temporary replacement for an ailing Kenny Aaronson, and has stayed ever since. When guitarist G.E. Smith left the group in October 1990, Tony assumed the responsibilities of bandleader/musical director, meeting up with Bob on the day of the show to devise the evening’s setlist, and keeping track of keys, tempos and song endings. When things occasionally veered off course onstage – which was much more common during the ragged early years of the Never Ending Tour – it was Tony’s job to steady the ship. In 2010, Tony was the only member of Dylan’s band to accompany Bob to the White House to play for President Obama at 'A Celebration of Music from the Civil Rights Movement.'</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">More important than all of that, however, is the fact that Tony is simply an incredible bass player. Checkout out his swinging, often jazzy work on <i>Time Out of Mind</i>, or his masterful double bass playing all the way through Dylan’s trio of Great American Songbook albums. He never draws attention to himself, but when you zero in on what he’s doing you realise its brilliant, all the time; the perfect foundation on which Dylan is able to build. Tony is the glue that holds it all together. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Whenever I think of what Tony Garnier means to the music of Bob Dylan, I am always reminded of an incident that occurred in Vienna in April 2019. Bob, losing his temper with a member of the audience who insisted on taking photographs despite a strict ‘no photos’ policy, stepped up to the microphone to admonish the offender. Having done so, he stepped backwards and tripped over one of the wedge monitors. Whose arms did he stumble safely into? You guessed it: Tony Garnier. A terrifying moment, but you'd be hard-pressed to find a better visual metaphor for the Never Ending Tour than Bob stumbling and steadying himself on Tony Garnier. Later that year, Dylan would take to introducing his bass player as having "been with me longer than I've been with myself." </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">As Andrew Muir, one of my favourite Dylan writers, said of Garnier in <a href="https://liveforlivemusic.com/features/l4lm-exclusive-interview-with-bob-dylan-author-andrew-muir/" target="_blank">a 2013 interview</a>, “there should be statues erected in honour of Tony”.</span></span><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span color="windowtext" face=""Segoe UI", "Segoe UI Web", Arial, Verdana, sans-serif" style="font-size: 11pt;"> </span></div></div>
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Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-16681123462616538142021-01-16T07:52:00.010-08:002022-07-29T11:40:42.223-07:00Ain't Talkin', Just Walkin': Bob Dylan's Creative Process in the 21st Century<div><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></i></span></div><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><div><span style="font-size: large;"><i style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><i>“That’s what it is. It’s work. All artistic endeavour requires effort. It requires work. More than anything else – more than inspiration, more than influence, even more than aesthetic. For me, it just requires showing up and doing it. Talk to any painter, any photographer, any sculptor, any musician, any poet, any writer – it’s showing up! If you gotta do the thing, then you gotta do the thing. That’s really what it’s all about.</i> </div></i></span><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i>- <b>Pixies frontman Black Francis, 2019 Guitar.com interview</b></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">In November 2016, less than a month before his death, Leonard Cohen held <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RciOCn_Nmh0" target="_blank">a press conference</a> to celebrate the release of his new album <i>You Want It Darker</i>. When asked about how he had continued to produce high quality material over such a long period of time, Leonard had this to say: <br /><br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>“I think that any songwriter, and I think that Bob Dylan knows this more than all of us … you don’t write the songs anyhow. If you’re lucky, you can keep the vehicle healthy and responsive over the years; if you’re lucky, your own intentions have very little to do with this. You can keep the body as receptive and well-oiled as possible, but whether you’re actually going to be able to go for the long haul is really not your own choice.” </i></span></blockquote><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br />Few people know of the songwriter’s struggle as well as Cohen, who was known to labour over songs for many years before deeming them ready for the world. It’s interesting, though, that he goes out of his way to mention Dylan, who has previously spoken of his own difficulties in keeping his creative engine, as Leonard calls it, “receptive and well oiled”. The topic came up during Dylan’s <a href="https://vimeo.com/389180194" target="_blank">2004 interview with the late Ed Bradley on <i>60 Minutes</i></a>: <br /><br /><br /></span><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Bradley: Do you ever look at music that you’ve written, and look back at it and say ‘whoa, that surprised me’? </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Dylan: I used to. I don’t do that anymore. I don’t know how I got to write those songs. </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Bradley: What do you mean you don’t know how? </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Dylan: Well, those early songs were almost like magically written. [quotes the first verse of ‘It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)’] Well, try to sit down and write something like that. There’s a magic to that, and it’s not Siegfried & Roy type of magic. It’s a different kind of a penetrating magic, and I did it at one time. </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Bradley: You don’t think you can do it today? </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Dylan: [shakes head] </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Bradley: Does that disappoint you? </i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>Dylan: Well, you can’t do something forever, and I did it once. I can do other things now, but I can’t do that. </i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i><br /><br /></i></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">It’s<i> </i>very common for an artist’s creative process to change over time; Cohen, for example, often worked with collaborators like Sharon Robinson and Patrick Leonard to set his lyrics to music in later years. Bob Dylan’s solution to his changing relationship with his muse was somewhat different: as he entered the 21st Century, Dylan began constructing songs from a variety of existing sources, using old songs from the ‘30s, ‘40s and ‘50s as the basis for his arrangements, and applying a variant of the <a href="https://www.writing.upenn.edu/~afilreis/88v/burroughs-cutup.html" target="_blank">‘cut-up technique’</a> for his lyrics, often using phrases from existing texts. While there has always been a ‘borrowing’ element to Dylan’s work, this was something different. <br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Dylan has been aware of the cut-up technique since at least 1965. Incredibly, Don’t Look Back director D.A. Pennebaker actually captured <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpRqHc-TC8g&feature=emb_title" target="_blank">footage of him explaining the concept at length</a> that very year, and revealing that an attempt to use it for one of his songs “didn’t work out”. Bob used a variation of the method to edit his films <i>Eat The Document </i>and<i> Renaldo and Clara</i>, and appears to have tried out the technique again for his 1985 album <i>Empire Burlesque</i>, which featured a surprising number of lines from Humphrey Bogart films. However, he seems to have only truly committed himself to the practice in the 1990s, as director Larry Charles discovered when he entered talks with Bob to create a slapstick comedy TV series with Dylan in the lead role (which later evolved into the 2003 film <i>Masked & Anonymous</i>). As Charles recalled in <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JQDTSu8v8QI" target="_blank">an interview on Pete Holmes’ <i>You Made It Weird</i> podcast in 2014</a>: <br /><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>“He brings out this very ornate beautiful box, like a sorcerer would, and he opens the box and dumps all these pieces of scrap paper on the table … Every piece of paper was hotel stationary, little scraps from, like, Norway and Belgium and Brazil, and each little piece of paper had a line. Some kind of little line, or a name, scribbled - “Uncle Sweetheart” - or a weird poetic line, or an idea… I realised: that’s how he writes songs. He takes these scraps and puts them together, and makes this poetry out of that. </i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br />This technique was in evidence when Dylan came to record <i>Time Out of Mind</i> in 1997. Thanks to the release in 2008 of <i>The Bootleg Series Volume 8: Tell Tale Signs</i>, which contains numerous <i>Time Out of Mind</i> outtakes and alternate takes, we can see how various lines and phrases migrated from one song to another. For example: </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">* The outtake ‘Marchin’ to the City’ - which the liner notes tell us gradually evolved into ‘’Til I Fell in Love with You’ - contains the lines “Looking for nothing in anyone’s eyes” and “Go over to London/Maybe gay Paree/Follow the river/You get to the sea”, both of which ended up in ‘Not Dark Yet’ in a slightly reworked form. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">* The early version of ‘Can’t Wait’ features the phrase “Think you’ve lost it all, there’s always more to lose”, which found its way into ‘Tryin’ to Get to Heaven’ as “When you think that you’ve lost everything/You find out you can always lose a little more”. As is noted in the liner notes, the song also contains the lines “My back is to the sun because the light is too intense/I can see what everybody in the world is up against” which became the opening lines of ‘Sugar Baby’ on <i>“Love & Theft”</i>. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">* A large portion of the lyrics from the outtake ‘Dreamin’ of You’ were included in ‘Standing in the Doorway’, although one line (“Feel further away than I ever did before”) turns up slightly rephrased in ‘Highlands’. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">* The research of Scott Warmuth has also <a href="http://swarmuth.blogspot.com/2011/02/bob-dylan-disguised-as-henry-rollins.html" target="_blank">revealed</a> that a number of phrases on the album are derived from the work of Henry Rollins. </span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Why did Dylan adopt this method? The most likely answer is, as Leonard Cohen said, that “you don’t write the songs anyhow”. Creativity is often hard work, a grind, and genuine inspiration is too rare to be relied upon. In a 1978 interview with Matt Damsker, Dylan had spoken of learning to do “consciously what I used to do unconsciously” in his songwriting, and the creative process he leaned into in the 21st Century could be seen as an extension of that mindset.</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-large;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br />Dylan’s follow up to <i>Time Out of Mind</i>, 2001’s <i>“Love & Theft”</i>, featured further evidence of the new approach. On the lyrical front, it soon emerged that numerous lines on the album had been <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10576176194220600" target="_blank">taken from Junichi Saga’s 1991 novel <i>Confessions of a Yakuza</i></a>, while Scott Warmuth has revealed <a href="http://swarmuth.blogspot.com/2015/12/bob-dylans-secret-answer-record-uncle.html" target="_blank">other lyrical appropriations from songs recorded by the New Lost City Ramblers</a>. The musical arrangements were drawn from an even wider array of sources, including <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrPUl7y55Wo" target="_blank">Johnny and Jack</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mi8HG_tugzg" target="_blank">Jerry Lee Lewis</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtpJrdmRU_g" target="_blank">Big Joe Turner</a> and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUN636BNNys" target="_blank">Billy Holiday</a>. The album is essentially the musical equivalent of a quilt – second hand material lovingly stitched together to create something new. <br /><br />The same creative process would be used on Dylan's next album, 2006’s <i>Modern Times </i>(and also in his autobiography, <i>Chronicles</i> - but that really deserves <a href="https://www.spin.com/2014/05/bob-dylan-da-vinci-code-chronicles-memoir-dylanologists-plagiarism/" target="_blank">an article of its own</a>). Lyrical sources on the album included Ovid and Civil War-era poet Henry Timrod, while arrangements and/or melodies were drawn from the likes of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyVoVKNlFSc" target="_blank">Muddy Waters</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGQm1ahsWWM" target="_blank">Bing Crosby</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c97VqLGXLXw" target="_blank">Memphis Minnie and Kansas Joe McCoy</a>. Dylan changed tack for the following album, 2009's <i>Together Through Life,</i> co-writing the lyrics with the Grateful Dead’s Robert Hunter, but the album still included some borrowed arrangements, one of which – the arrangement of Muddy Waters’ ‘I Just Want to Make Love to You’, which was used for ‘My Wife’s Home Town’ - was acknowledged in the album credits. <i>Tempest</i> (2012) featured arrangements and melodies derived from a range of artists including <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vujW7_jtkWQ" target="_blank">Bobby Fuller Four</a>, <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7IGVi6KxRGI" target="_blank">The Greenbriar Boys</a>, and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=luDKIJ05y-U" target="_blank">The Carter Family</a><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0hfiUa0NHA" target="_blank">,</a> while several phrases in ‘Scarlet Town’ have <a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/arts/music/2012/11/15/his-songs-dylan-contains-multitudes/K87yWVyTWn1sN7bVeypOxL/story.html" target="_blank">been found to originate from the work of 19th Century poet John Greenleaf Whittier</a>. </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"> *</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">One of the most interesting aspects of the <i>60 Minutes</i> interview is Dylan’s visible disappointment about how his relationship with his creativity has changed since the 1960s. It’s rare for him to touch on the subject publicly; while Bob <a href="https://www.spin.com/2012/09/bob-dylan-slams-plagiarism-accusers-as-wussies-and-pussies/" target="_blank">has been quizzed about his borrowing of lyrical material</a>, he has never (as far as I can tell) been asked about his reasons for doing so. On the other hand, perhaps the best place to look for the answer to that question is within the songs themselves. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">‘Ain’t Talkin’’, the final song on </span><i style="font-family: inherit;">Modern Times</i><span style="font-family: inherit;">, is a song I have always found rather elusive; until recently, it never quite grabbed me in the same way that many Bob Dylan album closers have. However, a close examination reveals that there’s a lot going on in the lyrics, many of which seem to relate to</span><span style="font-family: inherit;"> the narrator’s loss of his former powers. Take the seventh verse, for example: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Well, it's bright in the heavens and the wheels are flyin' </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Fame and honor never seem to fade </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">The fire gone out but the light is never dyin' </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;">Who says I can't get heavenly aid? </span></i></span></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">The narrator seems to be saying that although his powers have diminished, no one has noticed, and, through the grace of God, he still enjoys the same “fame and honor” that he did in his earlier years. It’s certainly true that Dylan had enjoyed commercial and critical acclaim from <i>Time Out of Mind </i>onwards, with most reviewers and the public either unaware or unconcerned with the second-hand nature of some of the material. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Other phrases jump out: lines like “My eyes are filled with tears, my lips are dry”, “my mule is sick, my horse is blind” and “They will tear your mind away from contemplation” hint at writer’s block, while “Carryin’ a dead man’s shield” and “There’s no one here, the gardener is gone” almost sound like an admission of imposter syndrome. And then there’s the song’s eerie refrain: “Ain’t talkin’, just walking”. Maybe that’s what Bob felt he was doing at this point in time, traversing the globe on his Never Ending Tour but unable to connect with his muse in the way he once had. It’s a desperately sad song, but the closing major chord, which ends the minor-key song on an unexpectedly upbeat note, perhaps offered a sign that all was not lost. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Indeed, I’m relieved to report that this story has a happy ending. Beginning in 2014, Bob Dylan immersed himself in recording and performing material from the Great American Songbook, and when he spoke about these songs at length (to <a href="https://www.aarp.org/entertainment/celebrities/info-2015/bob-dylan-magazine-interview/" target="_blank">Robert Love in 2015</a> and <a href="https://www.bobdylan.com/news/qa-with-bill-flanagan/" target="_blank">Bill Flanagan in 2017</a>) it was clear that his passion for the songwriting craft remained undimmed. Re-familiarising himself writers like George Gershwin, Gus Khan and Hoagy Carmichael paved the way for Dylan’s own return to songwriting after an eight-year hiatus, and his new album <i>Rough & Rowdy Ways </i>was released in June 2020. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">Although there’s still <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RApqHyhQAZg" target="_blank">some borrowing</a> on <i>Rough and Rowdy Ways</i>, no one has (so far, at least) unearthed appropriation on the scale of Dylan’s previous 21st Century albums. For his part, Dylan’s comments about the writing of his new songs are the polar opposite of his despondent remarks to Ed Bradley in 2004. As he happily reported to Douglas Brinkley in <a href="http://archive.is/eMHFp" target="_blank">a <i>New York Times</i> interview</a> (in reference to the song ‘I Contain Multitudes’): </span><br /><br /></span></div></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><i>“I didn’t really have to grapple much. It’s the kind of thing where you pile up stream-of-consciousness verses and then leave it alone and come pull things out. In that particular song, the last few verses came first. So that’s where the song was going all along. Obviously, the catalyst for the song is the title line. It’s one of those where you write it on instinct. Kind of in a trance state. Most of my recent songs are like that. The lyrics are the real thing, tangible, they’re not metaphors. The songs seem to know themselves and they know that I can sing them, vocally and rhythmically. They kind of write themselves and count on me to sing them.”</i> </span></span></div></div></blockquote><div style="text-align: left;"><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">It’s always worth taking what Dylan says with at least a grain of salt, but I believe him – he sounds excited, almost giddy, describing the process behind his new material. As Leonard Cohen said, going “for the long haul” takes hard work and perseverance, and is probably a grind a lot of the time. When inspiration pays an unexpected visit, however, it must feel like it's all worthwhile. </span></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><i>This post was inspired by Peter McQuitty's amazing essay <a href="https://bob-dylan.org.uk/archives/16996" target="_blank">'Dylan at the mercy of the Muse: Girl from the Red River Shore and Mother of Muses'</a></i></span><br /><br /></div></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/wox_oQr29i8" width="560"></iframe></div>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-72611657398404993652021-01-14T07:55:00.003-08:002021-01-14T08:03:58.832-08:00Odds & Ends<div><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">I like writing about Bob Dylan a lot, which is why doing this blog is so much fun. Before the next post, I thought I would post links to some of the other Dylan-related things I've had the opportunity to write over the last year or so.</span><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://dylanlive.substack.com/p/at-budokan-before-at-budokan" target="_blank">At Budokan Before 'At Budokan'</a> for <i>Flagging Down the Double E's</i>: A look the the first show of Bob's 1978 tour of the Far East.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.covermesongs.com/2020/03/in-defense-bob-dylans-dylan.html" target="_blank">In Defence of Bob Dylan's 'Dylan'</a> for <i>Cover Me</i>: I attempt to defend the 1973 album that Columbia put out against Bob's will after he left them for Asylum Records.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.covermesongs.com/2020/05/cover-classics-bob-dylans-good-as-i-been-to-you.html" target="_blank">Cover Classics - Bob Dylan's 'Good As I Been to You' </a>for <i>Cover Me</i>: A retrospective review of Dylan's 1992 acoustic folk album, which also looks at the possible arrangement sources Bob used for his covers.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://dylanlive.substack.com/p/strumming-on-my-gay-guitar" target="_blank">Strumming on My Gay Guitar</a> for <i>Flagging Down the Double E's</i>: I use Bob's show at Port Chester in June 2017 as a jumping off point to talk about the strange lead guitar style Dylan adopted in the 1990s. </span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><a href="https://www.covermesongs.com/2020/08/review-emma-swift-blonde-on-the-tracks.html" target="_blank">A review of Emma Swift's Bob Dylan covers album 'Blonde on the Tracks'</a> for <i>Cover Me</i>: A look at Emma Swift's inspired reinterpretations of eight Dylan songs.</span></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/iP3iIriwTGQ" width="560"></iframe>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2813931570316488933.post-86210914518274701132021-01-03T11:43:00.012-08:002022-02-04T05:37:32.253-08:00Down to New Orleans: Bob Dylan at Jazz Fest 2003<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="TextRun SCXW176283095 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 18.3458px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="TextRun SCXW176283095 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 18.3458px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><b><i><br /></i></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="TextRun SCXW176283095 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 18.3458px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><b><i>"There are a lot of places I like, but I like New Orleans better."</i></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span style="font-variant-ligatures: none;"><b>- Bob Dylan, <i>Chronicles Volume One</i></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="TextRun SCXW176283095 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 18.3458px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><b><br /></b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="TextRun SCXW176283095 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 18.3458px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"><br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><span class="TextRun SCXW176283095 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 18.3458px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">Right now</span><span class="TextRun SCXW176283095 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 18.3458px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB"> I’m reading a great book by Tom Piazza called </span><span class="TextRun SCXW176283095 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-style: italic; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 18.3458px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">Why New Orleans Matters, </span><span class="TextRun SCXW176283095 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 18.3458px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">which was p</span><span class="TextRun SCXW176283095 BCX8" color="windowtext" data-contrast="auto" lang="EN-GB" style="-webkit-tap-highlight-color: transparent; -webkit-user-drag: none; font-variant-ligatures: none; line-height: 18.3458px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; user-select: text;" xml:lang="EN-GB">ublished just two months after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. As well as providing a detailed overview of the city's complex socioeconomics, Piazza tells the story of how he fell in love with New Orleans' culture and its people, and of his personal grief at the devastation caused by Katrina.</span></span></p><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">One of my favourite passages is Piazza’s description of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, which takes place every year at the Fair Grounds Race Course and – despite its name – plays host to a wide variety of musical styles. Here’s a sample of what he has to say: <br /><br /><i>“New Orleans.... is filled with people who came for Jazz Fest and never left. Or who went home and quit their job and came back. I think Jazz Fest teaches them what to love about the city, and how to love it. It is a kind of distillation of the mythology of the city. </i><br /><br /><i>Jazz Fest constantly underlines the relationship between the music of New Orleans (and Louisiana) and the culture as a whole. The food, the parades, the crafts, are all part of a larger fabric, as they are in the city itself. You won’t find posters advertising individual artists’ appearances at the fairgrounds. Music, the logic seems to run, is bigger than any individual’s music. And, furthermore, culture is bigger than music. Jazz Fest brings this notion into focus, gives it life, better than any event I know of.” <br /></i><br />Bob Dylan, who has long history with New Orleans dating back to his 1963 song <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2ejw4qQc2I" target="_blank">'New Orleans Rag'</a>, has played Jazz Fest three times: in 1993, 2003 and 2006. </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: large;">The 2003 show is my favourite of the three, despite it having been almost completely overshadowed by the non-Jazz Fest concert Dylan played the following day at the nearby Municipal Auditorium, <a href="https://dylanlive.substack.com/p/an-interview-with-bob-dylans-one" target="_blank">which saw saxophonist Dickie Landry sit in for the entire show</a>. (Incidentally, the Municipal Auditorium was badly damaged by Katrina and remains closed to this day.) While the April 25 show has no special guests to recommend it, it does have Dylan’s then-new guitar player Freddy Koella. </span></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br />Freddy Koella occupies a curious space in the pantheon of Dylan’s Never Ending Tour musicians. Whilst Dylan always seeks out highly skilled players, they are generally kept on a tight leash; there is never any doubt about who the star of the show is supposed to be. As former band member Larry Campbell put it during <a href="https://www.dylanreview.org/williams-campbell-interview" target="_blank">an interview in this month’s <i>Dylan Review</i></a>: <br /><br /></span><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><i>“I knew when I started playing with him the role of the band. Bob Dylan is unique in that Dylan and an acoustic guitar is all you need. He gets everything he is across with that. If you're gonna be a band backing him up, then you need to be as subjective as that acoustic guitar. You can't showboat. It's not a place to draw attention to your skills. It's not your place to detract in any way from the essence of what he's putting out.” </i><br /><br />For reasons known only to Dylan himself, Koella was one of the few exceptions to this rule. Perhaps Bob recognised that Koella shared the same all-or-nothing-at-all attitude to his craft, a willingness to venture into uncharted territory despite the risk of total failure. Sometimes it would work, sometimes it wouldn’t, but it was usually interesting either way. <br /><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">This particular New Orleans performance arrived just two weeks into Koella’s twelve-month stay in Dylan’s band. They hadn’t quite gelled yet as a group, which adds an extra sense of unpredictability, as Koella gradually becomes more and more prominent throughout the show until he and Bob are no longer a star singer and a backing musician, but collaborators, goading each other further into the unknown. The heart of the show is ‘Drifter’s Escape’, where Bob leaves his keyboard and straps on his electric guitar to engage Koella in a bizarre but very exciting guitar duel, which sounds like two Bobs playing at once. Later on, Bob delivers a powerful (and, in hindsight, ominous) ‘A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall’. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">This show may not sound like jazz, but that’s exactly what it is: an ensemble of musicians interacting and reacting to each other, creating something unique. </span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;">One bittersweet aspect of <i>Why New Orleans Matters</i> is the acknowledgement that, no matter how much New Orleans has rebuilt itself in the years since the hurricane, the scars of Katrina will always remain. This 2003 show is, in some ways, a time capsule of the old New Orleans, something that really hits home when you hear the announcement at the end of the show. </span><br /><br /><i style="font-family: inherit;">“Ladies and gentlemen Bob Dylan! The great Bob Dylan band! … We are now halfway through the first weekend of Jazz Fest 2003, the 34th Annual New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. What a beautiful, beautiful day. We’d like to thank Mr. Dylan for joining us today, and thank all of you for making this day possible, and this festival possible year after year after year. What a beautiful vibe. I’d like you all to go home safely, and come back tomorrow. One other thing we’d like you to keep in mind this year is that Jazz Fest recycles; what that means is...”</i> <br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">*</div></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">There's no footage of Bob Dylan's show at Jazz Fest 2003, but I did stumble across a video of Bob and Freddy repeating their 'Drifter's Escape' guitar duel again nine days later in West Palm Beach:</span></div><div><br /></div></div>
<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5E_zFyi3b3A" width="560"></iframe>Tim Edgeworthhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11476301417557277324noreply@blogger.com2