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Bob Dylan, Bob Dylan songs, Playlist

Playlist: Bob Dylan overlooked songs by decade – the 1960s

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Bob Dylan recording Highway 61 Revisited in Columbia Studio A New York Summer 1965 Photograph by Don Hunstein
Photo by Don Hunstein

Hidden gems, buried treasures, deep cuts, forgotten or overlooked tracks, these songs have many descriptions. What are they?

Well, to me, it’s a great song that seldom (or never) is on the “best-of” lists of the artist, and it could have/should have been. They are sometimes alternative recordings or “out of print” releases.

I am talking about great songs that are often overlooked. We are talking about personal favorites that you wouldn’t rate among the artists top 20 (maybe), but deserve more praise and recognition than they get. Continue reading Playlist: Bob Dylan overlooked songs by decade – the 1960s →

Bob Dylan, Playlist

Playlist: Bob Dylan Murder Ballads
Painting by Bob Dylan (the New Orleans collection)
Painting by Bob Dylan (the New Orleans collection)

Playlist: Bob Dylan Murder Ballads

“Western settlers found murder and bloodshed fascinating, and composed local ballads. But with printing facilities scarce, many of these items were not published at all while others saw fame only briefly in the columns of the local newspapers. As a result true western ballads of murder—except those about such famous outlaws as Jesse James, Cole Younger, Sam Bass, and their ilk—have been entirely lost, or are known only to the children of those who knew and sang them. These children are now, of course, old men and women. Some of the best examples of western murder ballads will be lost forever when these people die.”
– Olive Burt (Minstrelsy of Murder, 1958)

Murder ballads are a sub-genre of the traditional ballad form, the lyrics of which form a narrative describing the events of a murder or a very tragic event, often including the lead-up and/or aftermath. Sometimes but not always the judgement of innocent people. Traditional ballads are independent from broadsheet ballads insofar as the typical broadsheet form does not use the same formulas or structures and is rooted in a literate society: traditional ballads flourished within non-literate groups within society.

Bob Dylan – Death of Emmet Till:

Continue reading Playlist: Bob Dylan Murder Ballads →

Bob Dylan, Playlist

Playlist: Bob Dylan sings about Rivers, Oceans and Ships

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Dylan_boat

Playlist: Bob Dylan sings about Rivers, Oceans and Ships

When I assemble these “mix tapes”/playlists I discover common threads in Bob Dylan’s music, themes I haven’t been aware of. I will explore these recurring themes in Dylan’s songs in my Playlist series.

Bob Dylan often sings about journeys, both physically and metaphorically, today’s playlist is about Rivers, Oceans and Boats.

Bob Dylan sings about Rivers, Oceans and Ships:

Watching the river flow, South Sweden Tour 2009 (click on the picture to start the video):

Other playlists:
Bob Dylan – Songs that could have been movies
Bob Dylan – Songs about real persons
Bob Dylan – Murder ballads
Bob Dylan Shadows in the night track listing and Sinatra Spotify playlist

Bob Dylan “High Water (for Charley Patton)” Irvine, CA August 3, 2013:

– Hallgeir

Bob Dylan, Playlist, Sound

Nigel Williamson playlist: Bob ain’t dead

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bobaintdead

“You thought it was all over after Blood On The Tracks? Well it’s not dark yet. In fact, it’s not even getting there. Here are ten songs you need, from Street Legal onwards.”
– Nigel Williamson

Nigel Williamson is a British journalist and author. Educated at University College London, Williamson worked as a reporter on Tribune (1982–84) and was then briefly its literary editor (1984) before becoming editor (1984–87) as successor to Chris Mullin.

He writes on pop and world music for a variety of publications, including the magazines Uncut and Songlines. He has also written books, among them, The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan. He made 4 Bob Dylan playlists for The Rough Guide Book of playlists.

His first three playlists:
Nigel Williamson playlist 1 – Bob Dylan The Protest Years
Nigel Williamson playlist 2 – Bob Dylan Electric Messiah
Nigel Williamson playlist 3 – Bob Dylan After the crash

…and here is the 4th:

Continue reading Nigel Williamson playlist: Bob ain’t dead →

Bob Dylan, Playlist

Nigel Wiliamson playlist – Bob Dylan After The Crash

Bob-Dylan-After The Crash

“After the motorcycle crash in the autumn of 1966, Dylan retreated to Woodstock. When he re-emerged with John Wesley Harding, he sounded very different. His output over the next eight years was decidedly patchy. Yet it contained some fine songs, even before the release of 1975’s Blood On The Tracks, one of his absolute masterpieces.”
– Nigel Williamson (The Rough Guide Book of Playlists)

Nigel Williamson is a British journalist and author. Educated at University College London, Williamson worked as a reporter on Tribune (1982–84) and was then briefly its literary editor (1984) before becoming editor (1984–87) as successor to Chris Mullin.

He writes on pop and world music for a variety of publications, including the magazines Uncut and Songlines. He has also written books, among them, The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan.

His first two playlists:
Nigel Williamson playlist 1 – Bob Dylan The Protest Years
Nigel Williamson playlist 2 – Bob Dylan Electric Messiah

He made 4 Bob Dylan playlists for The Rough Guide Book of playlists, this is the 3rd of them:

Continue reading Nigel Wiliamson playlist – Bob Dylan After The Crash →