The Smiley Smile Message Board

I'm not too familiar with his music but I'm aware that he influenced most of the 60's (Beatles,Byrds,Jimi Hendrix,etc.).
I only  heard 4 songs "The Times They Are a-Changin/Blowing in the wind/Like a Rolling Stones & Lay Lady Lay".
I'm more into music and harmony so that's probably why I haven't caught on to his music yet...Is there anything I should check out by him that might be a great listen?
I know my father loves "Blonde on Blonde" & "Highway 61 Revisited", so I'm checking those out first. What else albums are considered some of his best work besides the 60's trilogy? :) any specific songs?
Do You Consider him Over-Rated/Under-Rated?

Every Album starting with "Freewheelin'" and ending with "Blonde On Blonde" is essential sixties listening.  Those records helped define the era and the good news is you can get them all in the "Dylan In Mono" box so you don't need to buy them separately.  Dylan is one artist that is definitely heard better in mono than stereo. 

Now that is not to say that his post motorcycle accident output is substandard but it does tend to ebb and flow a bit depending on your taste.  But those early sixties albums (along with some of the entries in his "Bootleg Collection") are essential listening.  By no means overrated.  He was/is the man.

Get "Blood on the Tracks". Many people say it's his best album, and I agree. Compared to his 60's output it's more personal and emotional, less sarcastic and political. It contains some of his best songs (Idiot wind, Tangled up in blue) and the album isounds just stunningly beautiful.

After that, get Frewheelin' (his definite folk album), "the electric trilogy" (Bringing..., Highway... and Blonde...). There you have his essential core albums. And the beauty of digging Bob is that if you like his stuff, you're not gonna run out of things to discover anytime soon!

Oh, and be sure to buy Nashville Skyline, his country album. Nothing too heavy there, just some great country-influenced music.

Blonde On Blonde is brilliant: Visions of Johanna, One of us Must Know (Sooner or Later), Absolutely Sweet Marie, Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands - all classics.

Desire is a great album too. Ditto on Blood on the Tracks ^

Bringing It All Back Home is another classic album.

When I was a kid I hated Bob Dylan. I found his voice grating and his lyrics made no sense to me. Then I grew up, started listening to his brilliant chord changes, his lyrics, and I finally got used to his voice. I friggin' love Bob Dylan now.

Agree with all of this - with the caveat that you NEED The Basement Tapes on top of the 60's records. And possibly Live 1966.

yes just a few months ago i thought his voice was unbearable smh..but you can steal find beauty is his words..his voice seems to be the smallest part of his music..

I generally find it hard to get into his '60s work for some reason, partly because I don't particularly love the arrangements on those records and tend to prefer good cover versions of those songs.

Having said that, his Time Out of Mind album is for me a true classic. The songs, vocals, arrangements and production all sound spot on for the material and is just so moody and atmospheric. Rarely has a sad, broken down middle-aged man, reflecting on life and love sounded so cool and mesmerising  ;D

My only advice when getting into Bob is to realize that the songs are more than just A) what his voice sounds like (sometimes it is, though) or B) what the lyrics literally mean (sometimes it is though!)...it's about what he's not saying and also it's about what he is saying.  See my point?   :lol

What I mean is..don't come at Dylan the same way you would with the Beach Boys or The Beatles.  It's not always going to be about melody...it's not always about the instrumentation...those superficialities do not come into play with Dylan.  You need to access a different part of your brain--and most of all, a different part of your heart in order for the songs to work.  Hangups like "his voice is annoying" or "the songs have no hook" are easy outs and are the best way to weed out the weak-hearted listener!

^ Word. But for those who just want to enjoy music, "Blood on the Tracks", "Nashville Skyline" and "Desire"
are safe choices. They are easy to enjoy as plain music, and even lyrics are
relatively easy to "get" - His Bobness isn't constantly trying to challenge the listener. Man of many faces, that Bob.

also lay lady lay :)...well whenever i hear his music i put my self in that state of mind..actually when every artist/band i listen to it's a different state of mind.
(ok i really listen to the lyrics but he says alot of sh*t that has a double meaning it confuses me :/..)

New Morning is good. I would start with Biograph and go on though.

I'd grab three albums: Highway 61 Revisited, Blood On The Tracks, Desire

If you dig those, you're all set......

THEN....... move onto Time Out Of Mind and then it's all good from there.

Dylan is probably the ONE guy who if I went and saw him and he only did stuff from his last few albums, I'd be perfectly happy.

If you can appreciate what Van Dyke Parks was attempting to do with the SMiLE lyrics, then you will understand, in a way, how many of Dylan's lyrics work. Often the words are very cinematic and set a tone or a place but the specifics may be obscured. "Desolation Row", for example, is filled with Biblical and literary allusions and is difficult to pin down what the song is about; however, taken as a whole, the lyrics conjure up a very vivid place and reward return visits. At his best, Dylan uses the surreal to enhance a very common and direct emotional declaration. Here is one of my favorites (from "Tangled Up In Blue"):

"She opened up a book of poems and handed it to me
Written by some Italian poet from the 13th century
And every one of those words rang true and glowed like burning coal
Pouring off of every page like it was written in my soul
From me to you..."

A beautiful declaration of love, but note how the tense changes: Dylan is not singing to the woman that hands him the book. These kind of surprise shifts happen throughout that song and throughout much of Dylan's work.

So true. But it has a downside, too: I often get paranoid when listening to Dylan. It's like I can't take one single line for it's face value. I'm constantly looking for references, questioning the song's narrator's motives/trustworthiness, going crazy trying to keep track of everything that was being said... Which pays off, but some cigar is just a cigar. And I bet one of Bob's mischievous intentions WAS to make his over-analytical listeners feel paranoid, especially after he got fed up with being the voice of a generation.

That said, while analysing his lyrics to pieces can be rewarding, usually it is just best to let the music and words carry you off somewhere (like with all good music, I suppose). Desolation Row is indeed a good example. No, I don't know what exactly he is saying, but I do get the mood, the feel, the (at least vague) idea. Comparing Bob to VDP is actually quite apt. VDP might not know the literal meaning of "over and over the crow cries uncover the cornfield", but it sure does paint a helluva picture. Especially with the music, like it's ment to be digested.

His Christmas album is in my top five all time Christmas album favorites.

His voice on that album scares the hell out of me.

But to each his own ;D

Agree with both of those. "Biograph" was where my love affair with Dylan started.

I tend to prefer his post-accident "safe" music more than his mid-60's stuff -- for some reason most of the stuff from "Briging..." to "Blonde..." is hard for me to listen to (just my opinion). For instance I find most of the songs on "Highway 61 Revisited" to be cloying and hard-listening except the opening and closing tracks ("Like a Rolling Stone" and "Desolation Row") but again, just my opinion, they're nonetheless great tracks but just not to my taste.

If I had to picj 3 essential Dylan albums (for me) it's be "John Wesley Harding" (took me two years to full appreciate -- I equate it to The BB's "Friends" album), "Blood on the Tracks" and "Desire".

Also don't underestimate his "late-career" revival; "Time Out of Mind" may be a bit on the long side but it's a brilliant, moody and atmospheric piece. Ditto "Oh Mercy", an album that is often seen as overrated but ranks as one of my favourites (both of those albums owe A LOT to Daniel Lanois).

New Guy,

With your very expansive and eclectic tastes in music, you owe it to yourself to give Bob's later album Time Out Of Mind a listen.  It's a fairly dark album, but the tune "Not Dark Yet" is a gorgeous beauty.  In fact there are many stand out tunes: "Tryin' to Get to Heaven", "Standing in the Doorway", "Can't Wait", "Love Sick", etc.  All stunning, stunning, stunning in their dark, gloomy way!

The album will intrigue you, and scare you a little!  BOb's voice is very gruff, but also very expressive!  Turn it up LOUD!

BTW
I don't consider Bob to be "under-rated" or "over-rated".  He is "Bob".

We call him: HisBobness!

Haha! That contrast between his voice and the silver beauties singing behind him is what I love about it. Plus it is so honest and fun and one hand. While on the other hand it is so tongue-in-cheek and fun. Just fun! :)

I'll have to give it another chance this winter - it's been a couple years since I heard it!

Just do what I do and imagine Bob drinking a bottle of rum, surrounded by beautiful women who are discussing fine philosophy and martial arts films with him whilst listening to Sinatra records in an elegantly dilapidated bar. Then imagine a tired, possibly bald (or going to be) manager, in a suit that hasn't been washed in a few days, opening the door, the sunlight filling the room and the bonhomie gently stopping as he fixes Bob a look of weary relief.

"It's time for your session, Bob." He says, his shoulders sagging.

Ever the gentlemen, Bob gets up and graciously thanks the ladies for their company, takes a swig of rum and lights a cigarillo, and potters off to the studio. The song today? "Do You Hear What I Hear?"

:lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a8qE6WQmNus

agreed

i'm definitely going to check it out  :) the only way i can is if i buy it..
and what year did it come out?
i think if i got used 2 brian's scruffy voice i can deal with bob's lol

TIME OUT OF MIND was released in 1997...which makes it a fairly recent record for people like me!

It's generally accepted that Dylan's string of albums from TIME OUT OF MIND through LOVE AND THEFT and MODERN TIMES is his most consistent run since the 60s. They certainly represent the most "band" oriented works of his career with stellar musicianship throughout.

If someone wants to hear harmony singing,  I would recommend "Desire" - Emmylou singing with Bob is wonderful; and "The Basement Tapes" - Levon, Rick and Richard singing with Bob is equally splendid.

I'd include TOGETHER THROUGH LIFE in there as well, without skipping a beat.

Bob seems to be in great spirits (he even laughs a few times on the record) and the interplay between Bob's guys and Mike Campbell and the guy on accordion from Los Lobos is quite awesome.

I think half the songs are very good on TTL but the other half I didn't think was as good as his 1997-2005 run.

Four great semi obscure songs
Mixed Up Confusion
Can You Please Crawl Out Of Your Window
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Nobody Cept You.

I first saw Bob Dylan in 2005 and have seen him every year since then. I just went on Bob Links and was pleasantly SHOCKED to see he just added a date on 9/9/12 in Hershey, PA - thirty minutes from my house! The streak will continue! What a great musical year this has been. :police:

Bob has no equal in contemporary music. I've seen him over 40 times and each time new things happen, incredible artistry. Start with Freewheeling, Bringing it all Back Home, Highway 61, Blonde on Blonde, John Wesley Harding, Blood on the Tracks, Desire, Slow Train Coming, Infidels, Love and Theft (long list I know) and you'll get a taste of the many faces of Dylan from various periods of his career. Enjoy the ride, it's quite a journey!

Glad you mentioned Infidels!

Fantastic album and Jokerman is one of the great Bob epics!

I never cared for Infidels. The 80's were a pretty bleak time to be a Bob fan.

I love Infidels and it's only half the album it could have been. The unreleased stuff from those sessions is mind blowing. A very common Dylan trait, leaving amazing material in the can! Gotta love him. Jokerman is a top flight Dylan song and the vocal performances on the whole album are some of his best imo.

The song "I'm not there"  is amazing along with the basement tapes.

The Great White Wonder boot is well worth checking out if it can be found. There are various configurations (double album boots/single disc version) of varying sound quality, but if you are a Basement Tapes fan, it's essential. I've seen some ridiculously cheap copies in used shops (for like $5) or so because it usually comes in a plain white sleeve with little or no info, so clueless record shop owners/sellers might have no idea what the hell it is.

I've got the official Basement Tapes, along with a vinyl boot called Troubled Troubador, there's some overlap between the two, but the boot has some songs that weren't on the official album - I Shall Be Released, The Mighty Quinn, different versions of Too Much of Nothing, Tears of Rage. A Bootleg Series update is long overdue.

Yes indeed a bootleg series double or triple cd of Basement Tape stuff would be great. I also want a really good 79 or 80 gospel show released and one from the 88-90 band with GE Smith on guitar, they were amazing shows. A remastered and expanded Hard Rain cd would not go amiss along with a dvd of that film.

Yeah, a Hard Rain DVD could be really cool with the un-aired/indoor show included as well. The live 75 Bootleg Rolling Thunder set is cool but nowhere near as snarling as Hard Rain!

Are you folks aware of a site called Expecting Rain:

http://expectingrain.com/

It's a terrific REALLY terrific informational site (about BOB), and well as a very engaging and "freewheeling" discussion board, much like this one!

Live 75 sounds positively relaxed and rehearsed in comparison. Hard Rain is demented at times, those ragged stop/starts in Maggies Farm could only be conducted by Bob Dylan. The version of Shelter from the Storm is one of my very favourite bob performances of all time. Any DVD release should come with complimentary turban!

Have anybody seen the movie "Factory Girl" ? What do you think of the Portrayal of Bob Dylan in that movie?

Oh man, and what about Idiot Wind from Hard Rain? That might be the all-time Bob moment for me!

The Hard Rain movie is great fun watching the band trying to follow Bob through all his weird stops/starts. He was on some other (awesome) planet that day.

Are you reading my mind?

All great Bob fans think alike. There's no-one else with that wealth of stuff in the vaults. There is pretty much enough stuff to release an entirely alternative career length retrospective. Amazing artist!