DukeEllington

When it comes to Bob, 25¢ a song certainly can't be beat! (And okay, I'm going to give Dylan and The Dead another listen for the first time in many years. One thing I did always liked about it was the cover!)

I'm going to make slightly different suggestions to you, Norm, although you can't go wrong with my suggestions to the other poster. First you should get, Bringing it All Back Home, which is my personal favorite. For me, no other Dylan album does a better job of putting all of Dylan's personas and compositional styles under one roof. It is quite simply a flawless record. If you like Blood on the Tracks for it's intimate and acoustic nature, I would work my way back from BIABH chronologically, and check out Another Side of Bob Dylan and The Times Are A-Changin. Nashville Skyline is also an amazing, fun and very accessible listen and as I stated earlier, gave birth to the sub-genre of Country Rock. Regarding "The Basement Tapes," this has nothing to do with Blood On The Tapes. The Basement Tapes is the only legitimate release of the material Dylan recorded with The Band while in recluse following his post Blonde On Blonde motorcycle crash. This is the material that I refer to in my first post, for which the large majority of the material remains unreleased. The legitimate release is quite good, and was considered an instant classic at the time of it's release in 1975, 9 years after the material was originally recorded. However, it is now known that much of the material received revisionist overdubs in 1975, and some of the material on the album was not even recorded during the same period at the actual Basement Tapes. So it's good, but not authentic, and actually only contains about a single hour of the 5+ hours of Basement Tapes material that circulate within collectors circles. For the real deal, you'll want to use the same methods you used to acquire your Blood On The Tapes, and seek out a 4CD set called A Tree With Roots: The Genuine Basement Tapes Remasters. All of these recordings are EXTREMELY informal (as the nickname "Basement Tapes," fairly implies) and were never intended for formal release, which makes them a challenging listen at times. However, like Monk, it's a challenge that pays off immensely once you realize what's going on. To help you navigate and understand the 4 discs, I highly recommend buying the book, Million Dollar Bash: Bob Dylan, The Band and The Basement Tapes by Sid Griffin. It's basically a 300+ page book which acts as wonderful liner notes for the A Tree With Roots set. (Assuming you "find" the set in collector's circles, and not pay a bootlegger, the $14 price of the book is totally worth it and really increases enjoyment of the music discussed. It's also casually written, which means—like the best liners—you can listen and read along very easily.) See you at the A!

Another L.A. neighbor! Based on Nashville Skyline being your favorite (one of mine as well), I would line up these 3 next, in order; The Basement Tapes, New Morning and John Wesley Harding. Although none of these carry the distinctive sound of Nashville Skyline (no other Dylan album does), they do relate to it quite well and are all VERY entertaining listens with no weak tracks. Regarding Dylan and The Dead, it is widely widely regarded to be the weakest of the many Dylan live albums. No slight on The Dead, but neither were in top form during these shows (I was at one of them) and the fidelity of the released recording doesn't leave much to be desired. I would suggest buying a single track to see if you like the quality, and whatever you do don't judge Dylan's potency as a live performer on that disc! Feel free to hit me up for questions/suggestions anytime.

Yes, pretty much in 65, when he played an electric set at the Newport Folk Festival a few weeks before the release of Highway 61 Revisited. But he could be heard dabbling in electric in '64 on Bringing It All Back Home and period outtakes. The UK shows with the Hawks, where Dylan was booed and called, "Judas," were in Spring of '66. There was no "folk-rock" until Dylan plugged in. Period. Yes, it took the Folk world by storm in that Dylan's main fan base wanted to claim Bob completely for their own. He was their figurehead artist—and the first one to elevate "folk" music to a level of artistry previously unreached. To his existing fan base at the time, Dylan playing rock-and-roll was akin to being a traitor and seen as an abandonment of the audience that "made" him. Furthermore, many were of the opinion that he was catering to a sophomoric pop audience and hence, selling out. Of course, history and hindsight has shown that Dylan changed Rock as much as he did Folk music previously. This theme would continue to be reprized in Dylan's career; first with his dip into Country music in the late-60's; again, inventing a whole sub genre, "Country Rock" single-handedly and practically overnight. He would "abandon" his audience again in the late 70's, when he became Born Again and again changed Gospel music forever, before once again, moving on. Blood on the Tracks was received as a huge comeback album when it was released in 1974, and his strongest released material since the his infamous motorcycle crash mid-60s, that is, the period culminating with Blonde On Blonde. Very few knew at the time, that the period immediately after the motorcycle crash, while Dylan was in recluse, he was actually going through the most prolific period of songwriting he would ever enjoy, jamming with the Band in the basement of a "Big Pink" house in West Saugerties, Upstate New York in 1967. Although this material circulates quite freely among collectors, the majority of it still remains to be officially released. However, "The Basement Tapes" are still considered to be some of the most important and influential music in the history of Rock music. Thanks for the info and explanations. Very fascinating stuff. Nice first post Thanks, Neighbor Norm. I'm sure we've come figuratively close to brushing elbows over at Amoeba. Although I'm a self-professed Duke Ellington and Thelonious Monk fanatic, and love many others, I don't think I know quite as much about Jazz as I do Dylan and The Beatles, which is why I'm here! Yes, Dylan is endlessly fascinating in no small part to the enigma that he has created, fostered and nurtured for the past 50 years. For all we know about him, there is still so much left to be answered.

Yes, pretty much in 65, when he played an electric set at the Newport Folk Festival, actually a few weeks before the release of Highway 61 Revisited. But he could be heard dabbling in electric in '64 on Bringing It All Back Home and period outtakes. The UK shows with the Hawks, where Dylan was booed and called, "Judas," were in Spring of '66. There was no "folk-rock" until Dylan plugged in. Period. Yes, it took the Folk world by storm in that Dylan's main fan base wanted to claim Bob completely for their own. He had become their figurehead artist—and the first one to elevate Folk music to a level of fine artistry previously unreached. To his existing fan base at the time, Dylan playing rock-and-roll was akin to being a traitor and seen as an abandonment of the audience that "made" him. Furthermore, many were of the opinion that he was catering to a sophomoric pop audience and hence, selling out. Of course, history and hindsight has shown that Dylan quickly changed the entire direction of Rock as much as he did with Folk music previously. This theme of Dylan (seemingly) abandoning his audience would continue to be repeated throughout his career; first with his dip into Country music in the late-60's with the incredible Nashville Skyline LP; again, inventing a whole sub genre, "Country Rock" single-handedly and practically overnight. He would "abandon" his audience once again in the late 70's, when he became Born Again and again changed Gospel music forever over the course of three albums, before once again, moving on... without explanation. Blood on the Tracks was received as a huge comeback album when it was released in 1974, and his strongest released material since the his infamous motorcycle crash mid-60s, that is, the period culminating with Blonde On Blonde. Very few knew at the time, that the period immediately after the motorcycle crash, while Dylan was in recluse, he was actually going through the most prolific period of songwriting he would ever enjoy, jamming with the Band in the basement of a "Big Pink" house in West Saugerties, Upstate New York in 1967. Although this material circulates quite freely among collectors, the majority of it still remains to be officially released. Despite their scarcity, these "Basement Tapes" are still considered to be some of the most important and influential music in the history of Rock music.