Bob Dylan corner

[jazzbo]

I was thinking the same thing when discussions about this box set began. Sigh. The tapes I've heard of the Dylan sound okay for what that was, live rock in '66, but those jazz dates, nah.

[felser]

Got mine yesterday.  Have only played brief stretches the five "unlistenable" discs, and indeed they are, so down to a 31 CD set.

[mjzee]

2 hours ago, felser said:

Got mine yesterday.  Have only played brief stretches the five "unlistenable" discs, and indeed they are, so down to a 31 CD set.

Yeah, when I break into the box, I think I'll do it chronologically.  Interesting that Sandy Konikoff is the drummer on the U.S. dates.

[mjzee]

Anyone else catch the "180 Sound" on the labels?  Cute.

[mjzee]

Listening now to 2/5/66, the first concert on the tour and an audience tape.  I've certainly heard worse sound quality on Dylan boots, and it's an interesting experience to hear the perspective from the seats in 1966!  It's cool to hear the audience "getting" Dylan, laughing at all the right places.  I can't imagine lugging a reel to reel recorder and smuggling it into the concert, but how else would we hear an almost 11 minute version of Desolation Row intact?  Most intriguing is Tell Me, Momma, which seems to have different lyrics, though it's hard to tell what they are through the audio murk.

[felser]

Listened to the 4/13 Australian soundboard recordings today, and they sound very good.

[mjzee]

For those keeping track, Bob will now NOT attend the Nobel Prize ceremony: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3942646/Bob-Dylan-NOT-attend-Nobel-Prize-award-ceremony.html

[JSngry]

Will he send Mose Allison as his proxy?

[mjzee]

DULUTH, Minn.—When Steve Goldfine heard that Bob Dylan wouldn’t be in Stockholm to pick up his Nobel Prize Dec. 10, he couldn’t have been less surprised.

“It’s no different than he’s been for 60 years,” said Mr. Goldfine, a distant cousin of the rock ’n’ roll troubadour. He remembered Mr. Dylan behaving similarly during a Thanksgiving dinner he shared with Mr. Dylan’s family here in the 1950s. “I don’t believe he came out of the basement. He was playing music in the basement.”

Mr. Dylan, the first musician to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, has proven to be quite a headache for the Swedish Academy, which awards the prizes. First, he took several weeks to acknowledge the award, sparking concerns he would be the first laureate in literature since Jean-Paul Sartre in 1964 to reject it. A Nobel Committee member called his behavior “impolite and arrogant” in an interview with a Swedish television station.

More here: http://www.wsj.com/articles/bob-dylan-is-blowin-everybody-off-but-minnesotans-dont-mind-1480619528

[mjzee]

From Bob Dylan’s remarks, delivered by the U.S. ambassador to Sweden, at the Nobel banquet in Stockholm, Dec. 10: 

 

If someone had ever told me that I had the slightest chance of winning the Nobel Prize, I would have to think that I’d have about the same odds as standing on the moon. . . .

I was out on the road when I received this surprising news, and it took me more than a few minutes to properly process it. I began to think about William Shakespeare, the great literary figure. I would reckon he thought of himself as a dramatist. The thought that he was writing literature couldn’t have entered his head. His words were written for the stage. Meant to be spoken not read. When he was writing Hamlet, I’m sure he was thinking about a lot of different things: “Who’re the right actors for these roles?” “How should this be staged?” “Do I really want to set this in Denmark?” His creative vision and ambitions were no doubt at the forefront of his mind, but there were also more mundane matters to consider and deal with. “Is the financing in place?” “Are there enough good seats for my patrons?” “Where am I going to get a human skull?” I would bet that the farthest thing from Shakespeare’s mind was the question “Is this literature?” . . .

 

I too am often occupied with the pursuit of my creative endeavors and dealing with all aspects of life’s mundane matters. “Who are the best musicians for these songs?” “Am I recording in the right studio?” “Is this song in the right key?” Some things never change, even in 400 years.

Not once have I ever had the time to ask myself, “Are my songs literature?”

So, I do thank the Swedish Academy, both for taking the time to consider that very question, and, ultimately, for providing such a wonderful answer.

[jazzbo]

Thanks for posting that.

[JSngry]

...I began to think about William Shakespeare, the great literary figure.

Stop it Bob, you're killing me!

 

[A Lark Ascending]

I thought Dylan's response was both gracious and wise. 

[mjzee]

Since Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in literature in October, his name has not been out of the news. So the timing for the singer-songwriter’s major exhibition of new works at the Halcyon Gallery in Mayfair, central London, could not be better. But, says the gallery’s marketing manager, Ada Crawshay Jones, this is just a happy coincidence.

Featuring an extensive collection of over 200 drawings, watercolors and acrylics, the show comprises the artist’s view of American landscapes and urban scenes, all created in the past two years. Judging by the large volume of visitors — 4000 on its opening weekend — there is obvious heightened interest in Dylan’s art following his win. Indeed, the gallery is projecting some 70-90,000 people through its doors during the exhibition’s five-week run.

More here: http://forward.com/culture/356090/sure-bob-dylan-is-a-great-artist-but-have-you-looked-at-his-art/

[mjzee]

Back to the 1966 live box: disc 6 (the electric portion of Dublin 5/5/66) has some pretty bad hum and rumble throughout.  Not sure if it's on the original tape or due to age.  Still, that could be why so much of this box wasn't previously available - the sound quality often isn't up to professional standards.

The electric performance is interesting.  It often sounds like folk-rock rather than straight-out rock: amplified but played like acoustic instruments.  Except for Garth's church organ - that could never be disguised.

The rumble is giving me a headache.  Not cool.

[felser]

2 hours ago, mjzee said:

Back to the 1966 live box: disc 6 (the electric portion of Dublin 5/5/66) has some pretty bad hum and rumble throughout.  Not sure if it's on the original tape or due to age.  Still, that could be why so much of this box wasn't previously available - the sound quality often isn't up to professional standards.

The electric performance is interesting.  It often sounds like folk-rock rather than straight-out rock: amplified but played like acoustic instruments.  Except for Garth's church organ - that could never be disguised.

The rumble is giving me a headache.  Not cool.

Like with the Basement Tapes box, large portions of this box are unlistenable, but the set is so inexpensive, it is well worth it for the listenable parts if you want that much, or you can just get the separate releases of the  Royal Albert Hall and Manchester performances, which sound fine.  One of the goals of this box was to get a copyright on this material before it went public domain, so every scrap is included.

[mjzee]

Bob Dylan’s First Three-Disc Album — Triplicate — Set For March 31 Release - bobdylan.com

[duaneiac]

"There's A Flaw In My Flue"?  Really?  That's considered a "standard" now?  I'm surprised he didn't team up with Lady Gaga to do "Mama Will Bark"!

And is there a "standard" titled "Braggin'"?  I can't think what that might be.

Hopefully his next album will be a tribute from one poet to another -- Bob Dylan Sings The Rod McKuen Songbook. (But seriously, I would like to hear his cover of "A Man Alone".)

Edited February 2, 2017 by duaneiac

[JSngry]

2 hours ago, duaneiac said:

Hopefully his next album will be a tribute from one poet to another -- Bob Dylan Sings The Rod McKuen Songbook. (But seriously, I would like to hear his cover of "A Man Alone".)

That would be the ultimate Dylan Sinatra tribute, just cover that whole album, same charts, everything. Just with Bob singing.

[mjzee]

Back to the box: May 11, 1966 Cardiff, Wales is an excellent show, very electric and intense.  Dylan sounds a little bit like Mick Jagger.  I also liked the snippet of "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" the house played at the end as the lights went up.

Edited February 7, 2017 by mjzee

[jazzbo]

Sure that's not "God Bless the Queen?"

[mjzee]

2 hours ago, jazzbo said:

Sure that's not "God Bless the Queen?"

That would seem more appropriate.  If you have the box, let me know what you think.

[jazzbo]

It's the same song, I think that it's likely the hall playing that as a their every performance sign off, doubt it was "My Country 'Tis of Thee" for Dylan. 

I have the box but after listening to about half the box I'm giving it a rest before listening again. When I got the box I thought I would be most excited about the electric halves of the shows. To the contrary, I find the acoustic sets most fascinating.

Edited February 7, 2017 by jazzbo

[Mary6170]

8 hours ago, jazzbo said:

It's the same song, I think that it's likely the hall playing that as a their every performance sign off, doubt it was "My Country 'Tis of Thee" for Dylan. 

I have the box but after listening to about half the box I'm giving it a rest before listening again. When I got the box I thought I would be most excited about the electric halves of the shows. To the contrary, I find the acoustic sets most fascinating.

I read in Bill Wyman's autobiography that every concert in the U.K. had to end with a playing of God Save The Queen, until some time in the later 1960s. Wyman described how the Rolling Stones concerts in the mid-1960s would end on a very energetic note, then the recording of God Save The Queen would be heard in the theater, moments after they finished.

[jazzbo]

Thanks for that info Mary.