[Simple Twist Of Fate] conjures the smell of the air on an early spring morning… Dylan on this album has become a master of textures. “Simple Twist of Fate” unmistakably creates the time, holds it, breathes it in, and stops it; the tools it uses to accomplish this arc storytelling, imagery, phrasing, timing, vocal texture, rhyme, melody, and ensemble sound. The bass playing (content, timing, attack) is revelatory. The harmonica solos sum up the song’s essence and push it out to the furthest corners of the universe.
~Paul Williams (Bob Dylan: Performing Artist, Vol 2: The Middle Years 1974-1986)
As ‘Girl From The North Country’ had been triggered by the breakup with Suze Rotolo, casting him back to an older affair, so ‘Simple Twist Of Fate’ set him reflecting not on Sara, but on Suze – hence the song’s subtitle in the notebook, ‘4th Street Affair’.
~Clinton Heylin (Still on the Road: The Songs of Bob Dylan Vol. 2, . 1974-2008)
@ #49 on my list of Bob Dylan’s 200 best songs.
Continue reading Bob Dylan’s best songs: Simple Twist Of Fate
