Posted on 04/13/2009 8:04:27 PM PDT by pissant
Bob Dylan, the poet laureate of rock music, has written some of the greatest songs of all time. Whether in the form of a send-off to a former friend, a protest song, or a feel-good ballad immortalizing a good relationship, Dylan consistently delivers interesting, often timeless music. The following is a list of some of Dylan's best from early in his career.
10) Lay Lady Lay, on the country music album Nashville Skyline, features a softer-voiced Bob Dylan (he had temporarily quit smoking during his recuperation from a near-fatal motorcycle accident). It is a very interesting and very, well, strange song. At once haunting and tender, it is one of his best. One thing about Bob D: his most impressive or hardest-hitting songs, rhetorical-wise, are about women. Lay Lady Lay is one of the tender, mellow ones. More on this later.
9) Masters of War (The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan), is an unabashed protest song. No rhetorical or lyrical pussy-footing here. Dylan lays out exactly how he feels about war and the concomitant wartime profiteers. No oblique or cryptic lyrics to be found in this song. It resonates today.
8) Ballad of a Thin Man on Highway 61 Revisited, Bob Dylan's second electric album. People did not know how to take it. The lyrics are about as cryptic and surrealistic as you can get, yet are interesting and make sense, sort of. Pounding piano and a strong organ riff carry the song, but amidst the whirlpool of sound, Dylan's delivery and timing shine.
7) Blowing in the Wind (The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan), perhaps Dylan's most famous song, is a cry for peace, love, and equality in the generalized, vague, and all-encompassing vein of John Lennon's later Imagine. I mention it because it is a great song and one worth listening to.
(Excerpt) Read more at associatedcontent.com ...
Oh No! Now you’re poor and living in the wetlands. I sure hope it works out for you! I know the ladies will be beating a path to your door.
Sorry Sal’....
see post 47 for a lame explaination!!
promise I’ll do better in the future
8^)
There are some very good covers of Dylan tunes. Rod the Mod does a credible version of Tomorrow is a Long Time as well - back when he had talent. But the intimacy of the original captures a vibe that is difficult to duplicate.
Sounds like it worked out for you!! You’ve been chipper as a meadowlark since I’ve known ya! :o)
I agree with you. For some odd reason I thought Dylan's version of Heaven's Door was done by somebody else. It was also well produced like Lay Lady Lay.
That’s for damn sure. Up till about 10 years ago, his voice was used much like an instrument. Not pretty sounding, but full of wisdom, wariness and weariness. Now it is more of a croak, but sometimes he nails it. When I listen to Lonesome Day Blues, for example, I still hear it.
Boy, you had to did deep for that one. LOL
excellent list, sir. As for telling ‘em off, nothing could ever compare to Idiot Wind
One of Dylan’s great love songs.
Bob Dylan & Eric Clapton - Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ole7-bR_r-M
Bob Dylan & Eric Clapton - Crossroads
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocHHVi7tBqk&feature=related
When talking about women I tend to agree, but when it comes to telling people off in general there is one better, Positively 4th Street.
You got a lotta nerve
To say you are my friend
When I was down
You just stood there grinning
You got a lotta nerve
To say you got a helping hand to lend
You just want to be on
The side that’s winning
You say I let you down
You know it’s not like that
If you’re so hurt
Why then don’t you show it
You say you lost your faith
But that’s not where it’s at
You had no faith to lose
And you know it
I know the reason
That you talk behind my back
I used to be among the crowd
You’re in with
Do you take me for such a fool
To think I’d make contact
With the one who tries to hide
What he don’t know to begin with
You see me on the street
You always act surprised
You say, “How are you?” “Good luck”
But you don’t mean it
When you know as well as me
You’d rather see me paralyzed
Why don’t you just come out once
And scream it
No, I do not feel that good
When I see the heartbreaks you embrace
If I was a master thief
Perhaps I’d rob them
And now I know you’re dissatisfied
With your position and your place
Don’t you understand
It’s not my problem
I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
And just for that one moment
I could be you
Yes, I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
You’d know what a drag it is
To see you
Singers and especially rappers have been trying to tell off others in song with some regularity in the more than 40 years since that came out and I don’t think anyone has come close.
While I truly love many of his songs mentioned here, nothing surpasses ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ for the transforming song it was and is.
I remember hearing it for the first time, where I was and what I was doing. It’s that kind of song for me.
My fave. My dear Lord, I love that movie, and I love Dylan for his contribution. add:
Lay Lady Lay
Shelter from the Storm
Ahhhh Desolation Row. Kinda describes my family reunions.
So many songs, so little time. Yes to all of the above, and here are some that have not yet been mentioned.
I’ll Keep it With Mine
If You See Her, Say Hello
Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues
Mr. Tambourine Man
Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power)
She’s Your Lover Now
One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later)
Only half-nuts (for being interested in Dylan's stuff, like me); but "If Not For You" is a stratospheric piece!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.