Category Archives: Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan, Music Calendar

Today: Bob Dylan recorded master version of “Positively 4th Street” in 1965 – 47 years ago

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On July 29, 1965 Dylan undertook his 3rd Highway 61 Revisited session, produced by Bob Johnston.

Location: Studio A, Columbia Recording Studios – NYC

The day left us with master versions of Positively 4th Street, Tombstone Blues & It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry.

Positively 4th Street ranks as no. 14 on my list of Dylans 200 best songs (Tombstone is 72 & It Takes a lot is 76).

Musicians:

Bob Dylan (guitar, piano, harmonica, vocal).
Mike Bloomfield (guitar), Frank Owens (piano), Bobby Gregg (drums), Russ Savakus (bass), Al Kooper (organ).

From Wikipedia:

“Positively 4th Street” is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan, first recorded by Dylan in New York City on July 29, 1965. It was released as a single by Columbia Records on September 7, 1965, …..   …  Rolling Stone magazine ranked the song as #203 in their 500 Greatest Songs of All Time list.

The song was released between the albums Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde On Blonde, as the follow-up to Dylan’s hit single “Like a Rolling Stone“, but wasn’t included on either LP. The song’s title does not appear anywhere in the lyrics and there has been much debate over the years as to the significance or what individual the song concerns. Dylan once lived on 4th Street in Manhattan.

In studio summer 1965 – photo by Don Hunstein:

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Bob Dylan also recorded “Catfish” on this day in 1975.

Location: Studio E – Columbia Recording Studios, NYC

Wikipedia:

Catfish is a song written Bob Dylan and Jacques Levy. It was originally recorded for Dylan’s 1976 album Desire but was released onThe Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991. “Catfish” was a tribute to future Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Hunter (better known as Catfish Hunter). Joe Cocker covered the song and included it on his 1976 album “Stingray,” and Kinky Friedman released a live version on his “Lasso from El Paso” album.

 

Album of the day:

Other July 29:

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Bob Dylan, News

What we think we know about the new Bob Dylan album

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The title is Tempest.
It has ten songs.
It will be released September 11th 2012 in the US.

Update: Release date UK September 10th 2012 (according to nme.com)

Update: Release date Norway September 7th 2012 (according to platekompaniet.no)

David Hidalgo says it has a Latin American influence with a Tres Guitar.

It is Bob Dylan’s 35th studio album.

It is recorded at Jackson Browne’s Los Angeles studio.

It was recorded from January to March this year.

It marks Bob Dylan’s  50TH anniversary as a recording artist.

The Tracklist is:
1. Duquesne Whistle
2. Soon After Midnight
3. Narrow Way
4. Long and Wasted Years
5. Pay In Blood
6. Scarlet Town
7. Early Roman Kings
8. Tin Angel
9. Tempest
10. Roll On John

Track 10 is about John Lennon (and it’s a long song, 9 minutes(?)), it quotes lines from multiple Beatles songs, including “Come together right now” from “Come Together” and “I heard the news today, oh boy” from “A Day in the Life.”

Tempest is also a play by William Shakespeare (his last).

The picture on the front is of a statue in Austria depicting Pallas a Greek godess.

Update: The picture on the front is not depicting the Greek goddess Pallas! In fact it depicts the female allegory of the river Vltava (Moldau) which indeed is part of the Pallas monument in front of the Austrian Parliament. The Elbe and the Vltava on the backside, the Danube and the Inn on the front. (Thanks to Mierow Brothers, also see the comments)

The statue has been colorized into a blood like color for the album artwork.

It is produced by Jack Frost (a Dylan alias).

The T in the title looks like a cross.

The first track, Duquesne Whistle, appears to be a reference to a 1933 Time Magazine article about a small Pennsylvania steel town.

Tempest (the ninth track) might be about The Titanic and could be around 14 minutes long.

The Album is supposedly 68 minutes long.

The 5th track, Pay in Blood, includes the line, “I’ll pay in blood, but not my own.”

It will be released in the following formats:
1) A “standard” CD jewel case release.
2) A “deluxe” CD release.
3) A double vinyl LP release.
4) iTunes release.

Update: The font of the word Tempest comes from resembles that of a 1961 advert for the Pontiac Tempest (Thanks to stephenoxford and Matthew , check out the comments…)

Update: Pallas Athene was the Shaker of the Spear… just to make a connection with Shakespeare’s The Tempest (Tank you Christopher Twigg, check the comments)

– Hallgeir

Bob Dylan, Music Calendar

Today: Bob Dylan’s album: “Saved” was released in 1980 – 32 years ago

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From Wikipedia:

Saved is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan‘s 20th studio album, released by Columbia Records in June 1980.

Saved was the second album of Dylan’s “Christian trilogy,” following his conversion to born-again Christianity. It expanded on themes explored on its predecessor, Slow Train Coming, with gospel arrangements and lyrics extolling the importance of a strong personal faith. Many critics dismissed Saved as dogmatic or bombastic. The album hit #3 on the UK charts, but managed to reach only to #24 on the US charts and did not go gold.

The replaced cover for ‘Saved’:

Released June 23, 1980
Recorded February 11–15, 1980
Genre Rock, gospel
Length 42:39
Label Columbia
Producer Jerry Wexler, Barry Beckett

5 best songs from the album:

  1. In The Garden
  2. Solid Rock
  3. Are You Ready?
  4. Saved
  5. Pressing On

Clip from the Toronto concert in 1980 – Saved:

Album of the day:

Other June-23:

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Bob Dylan, Music Calendar

Today: Bob Dylan recorded Master version of “Like A Rolling Stone” in 1965 – 47 years ago

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Bob Dylan’s second best song ? or best ? iow – best or second best song ever recorded.

It doesn’t really matter.

«.. The Sound Is So Rich the Song Never
Plays The Same Way Twice»
– Greil Marcus

From Wikipedia:

“Like a Rolling Stone” is a 1965 song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Its confrontational lyrics originate in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned from a grueling tour of England, exhausted.

After the lyrics were heavily edited, “Like a Rolling Stone” was recorded a few weeks later as part of the sessions for the forthcoming album Highway 61 Revisited. During a difficult two-day preproduction, Dylan struggled to find the essence of the song, which was demoed without success in 3/4 time. A breakthrough was made when it was tried in a rock music format, and rookie session musician Al Kooper improvised the organ riff for which the track is known.

However, Columbia Records was unhappy with both the song’s length at over six minutes and its heavy electric sound, and was hesitant to release it. It was only when a month later a copy was leaked to a new popular music club and heard by influential DJs that the song was put out as a single. Although radio stations were reluctant to play such a long track, “Like a Rolling Stone” reached number two in the US charts and became a worldwide hit.

 

B-side “Gates of Eden” (5:44)
Released July 20, 1965
Format 7″ single
Recorded June 15–16, 1965, Columbia Studio A, 799 Seventh Avenue, New York City
Genre Rock, folk rock
Length 6:09 (single)
6:13 (album)
Label Columbia
Writer(s) Bob Dylan
Producer Tom Wilson

 

Legacy:

The song’s sound was revolutionary in its combination of electric guitar licks, organ chords, and Dylan’s voice, at once young and jeeringly cynical. Critic Michael Gray described the track as “a chaotic amalgam of blues, impressionism, allegory, and an intense directness in the central chorus: ‘How does it feel'”. The song had an enormous impact on popular culture and rock music. Its success made Dylan a pop icon, as Paul Williams notes:

Dylan had been famous, had been the center of attention, for a long time. But now the ante was being upped again. He’d become a pop star as well as a folk star … and was, even more than the Beatles, a public symbol of the vast cultural, political, generational changes taking place in the United States and Europe. He was perceived as, and in many ways functioned as, a leader.
  • 2010 – rank 1 – 500 Greatest Songs of All Time (Rolling Stone Magazine) 
  • 2006 – rank 4 – 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s (Pitchfork Media)
  • 2000 – rank 4 – 100 Greatest Rock Songs (VH1)

Live in 1966:

Original:

Spotify Playlist – different versions of this masterpiece:

Other June-16:

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Bob Dylan, Featured Articles, List

Bob Dylan’s 5 Worst Albums

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This might not be the best idea for a list, I know. We here @ JV don’t write about music we don’t like. But this is different, this is my fav artist..by far, and the 5 worst Bob Dylan albums still contains much great music. A bad Dylan album might still be a good album.

It’s always easy to write negative critique, but I chose not to comment on the 5 albums on the list… except highlighting the best song/songs.

To set the record strait: on my “all time greatest albums” list I have 3 Dylan records @ top 3:

  1. Blonde On Blonde
  2. Highway 61 Revisited
  3. Blood On The Tracks
  4. Exile on Main St. – The Rolling Stones
  5. Born To Run – Bruce Springsteen

 

My rules:  I’ve excluded Greatest Hits/Best of albums, but bootleg series & live albums are in. And Christmas in the Heart is also excluded from this “competition”, it’s not really a Dylan album after all.

Then we are down to 52 albums.. and here are the worst:

  1. Down In The Groove

    Released May 30, 1988
    Recorded 1983–1987
    Genre Rock
    Length 32:10
    Label Columbia
    Producer unlisted

    Best song: Silvio

  2. Dylan

    Released November 19, 1973
    Recorded April 24, 1969 – June 4, 1970
    Genre Rock, folk rock
    Length 33:22
    Label Columbia
    Producer Bob Johnston

     Best Song: Mr.Bojangles

  3. Dylan & The Dead
    Released February 6, 1989
    Recorded July 1987
    Genre Rock
    Length 43:07
    Label Columbia
    Producer Jerry Garcia
    John Cutler

    Best Song: Queen Jane Approximately

  4. Self Portrait
     

    Released June 8, 1970
    Recorded April 24, 1969 – March 30, 1970
    Genre Country rock, rock
    Length 73:15
    Label Columbia
    Producer Bob Johnston

    Best Songs: Copper Kettle (The Pale Moonlight), Days of’ 49, Early Mornin’ Rain, Let It Be Me & Living The Blues

  5. Real Live
    Released November 29, 1984
    Recorded Summer 1984
    Genre Hard rock
    Length 50:15
    Label Columbia
    Producer Glyn Johns

     Best Songs: Highway 61 Revisited, Masters of War & Tombstone Blues

Here is a spotify playlist with the best songs from the worst albums:
(PS – I did not find “Dylan” on spotify… hence the missing “Mr. Bojangles”)

4 runners up:

  • Knocked Out Loaded (1986)
    remove Brownsville Girl and it might be the very worst
  • Bob Dylan at Budokan (1979)
    ok in small portions and contains a great Is Your Love In Vain 
  • Saved (1980)
    the tame & toothless sound nearly kills it off, still it contains some really good songs: Saved, Solid Rock, In The Garden,..
  • Empire Burlesque (1985)
    with typical bad 80’s production (horrible drum sound), and leaving best versions of key songs in the studio. This one also have some strong songs: Emotionally Yours, Dark Eyes & Tight Connection To My Heart
-Egil