The Bob Dylan Motorcycle-Crash Mystery

American Heritage.com ^ | July 29, 2006 | Tony Scherman

[Rocko]

It was 40 years ago today....

[Perdogg]

...Sgt. Pepper taught the band to play .

[gondramB]

>>The accident was Dylan’s means of escape from an unendurably fast-paced, pressurized life. As he said in a 1984 interview,<<\


While that could be, it was also true that his music was never that same...

[Mr. Mojo]

.... the relentless hostility with which audiences met his new sound (he’d plugged his guitar in and added an electrified backup band).

The folkie "purist" crowd despised it, but Dylan picked up a new audience audience in the process. .....a rock and roll audience.

[eddie willers]

While that could be, it was also true that his music was never that same...

"Blood On The Tracks" and "Desire" stack up.

[Drew68]

I recently watched a documentary on Dylan and I was amazed at the anger and vitriol from the audience he experienced when he plugged in his Fender. People were screaming, booing, throwing things, and he just kept on playing as though nothing was going on.

I've liked both Dylan's acoustic and electric work, and of course, The Band became phenomenal in their own right.

[Mr. Mojo]

his music was never that same...

And thankfully so. Dylan never liked to stand still musicially. Some of his best material appeared in the "post-accident" era -- New Morning, Blood on the Tracks, Street Legal, Infidels, Oh Mercy, Time Out of Mind. .....to name but a few.

[Mr. Mojo]

The Band became phenomenal in their own right.

They sure burned brightly, but unfortunately for a (relatively) short period of time. Their 2nd release - The Band ("The Brown Album") (1969) - could be my favorite album of all time.

[liberat]

Now he's back to touring, touring, touring.... uh oh... maybe another accident is around the corner... this time another bizare gardening accident.

[Mr. Mojo]

Dylan's been touring virtually non-stop - "The Never Ending Tour" - since 1988.

[Rocko]

Blood On The Tracks" and "Desire" stack up.

The more recent "Trying to Get to Heaven" from Time Out of Mind is one of my all-time favorite Dylan songs.

[gondramB]

>>And thankfully so. Dylan never liked to stand still musicially. Some of his best material appeared in the "post-accident" era -- New Morning, Blood on the Tracks, Street Legal, Infidels, Oh Mercy, Time Out of Mind. .....to name but a few.<<

that's a good point. I love Blood on the tracks, for example.

And he had already had to put up with the cries of "betrayal" from the folk singers from going electric - people don't like to see the music change. The Beatles are perhaps the great exception as they changed just as the public was changing and ready.

[Northern Yankee]

People were screaming, booing, throwing things...

The libs were trying out new tactics.

[Rocko]

The libs were trying out new tactics.

He's been p******g them off since 1964. Especially during his Christian period.

[Mr. Mojo]

The Daniel Lanois-produced Dylan albums are my favorites in his modern era catalogue -- Oh Mercy ('89) and Time Out of Mind ('97). I hope they collaborate again.

[dfwgator]

Yep, Pete Seeger was really upset when he realized that Dylan wasn't a fellow Commie.

[JRios1968]

They've been going in and out of style...

[eddie willers]

Their 2nd release - The Band ("The Brown Album") (1969) - could be my favorite album of all time.

To me its a toss up between that and "Big Pink".

[tet68]

I always liked "Big Pink".

I was at Newport the first time he came on stage with an
electric guitar, the audience couldn't believe it, he got
a pretty hostile reception but like a trooper he just kept on.

His early work was certainly edgeier, critical and cryptic.

It's all right Ma, I'm only whining!

[Mr. Mojo]

Love Big Pink, but it's 3rd on my list of favorite Band albums, after Stage Fright ('70). After that the quality of their studio albums went downhill fast. ....very fast. But the live Rock of Ages ('71) was amazing.