what do people think of Bob?

I think he's great!! love his songs and lyrics! I have booked tickets to go see him in April this year! which will be great!!

and whats your favorite dylan lyrics??

I like him saying something like "some the people can be part right all of the time, all the people can be part right some of the time but all the people can't be all right, all of the time"

also "theres no sucess like failure and failures no sucess at all"!

I worship teh Dylan, as most people on here know.

As for favorite lines, one that sticks out at me right now is a line from "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream":

Quoted Text

The man says, "Get out of here
I'll tear you limb from limb"
I said, "You know, they refused Jesus, too"
He said, "You're not Him!"

That one always makes me laugh every time I hear it.

haha thats a great song! I love the end saying "he said his name was Colubus and I just said "good luck"!

I can't remember the songs name (Desolation Row?) but the Dylan line " somethings happening here but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr Jones?" is brilliant. Sums up what was  going on perfectly. Genius.
It's on songs like this that I think his sneering vocal and "I don't give a sh*t" harmonica  all meld so well. When everyone else was seeking musical perfection he was content to sound like some punk bashing out songs on a street corner. (and some will see that as good and some as bad. For me it's good.)

Quoted from McLennon

what do people think of Bob?

I think he's great!! love his songs and lyrics! I have booked tickets to go see him in April this year! which will be great!!

and whats your favorite dylan lyrics??

I like him saying something like "some the people can be part right all of the time, all the people can be part right some of the time but all the people can't be all right, all of the time"

also "theres no sucess like failure and failures no sucess at all"!

No when you see him live, it will not be great, he sucks live.


Anyway his music is amazing, and i agree with mairi that some of his best lyrics are in that song, especially at the end. The song is about dylan who goes and discovers america and explores it with some shipmates, and finds everyone there's crazy, and they all get thrown in jail. Bob escapes and tries to find numerous ways of getting the others out of jail too. At at the end:
" But the funniest thing was as i was leaving the bay, i saw 3 ships sailing, they were all heading my way. I asked the captain what his name was and why he didn't drive a truck. He said his name was Columbous, i just said good luck."

Love that song. Chimes of freedom i also think has some of his best lyrics. His music can take you through all drifferent scenes and feelings!

Quoted from Kevin

I can't remember the songs name (Desolation Row?) but the Dylan line " somethings happening here but you don't know what it is, do you, Mr Jones?" is brilliant. Sums up what was  going on perfectly. Genius.
It's on songs like this that I think his sneering vocal and "I don't give a sh*t" harmonica  all meld so well. When everyone else was seeking musical perfection he was content to sound like some punk bashing out songs on a street corner. (and some will see that as good and some as bad. For me it's good.)

yes thats good! the song is ballad of a thin man!

yeah I have heard he just plays piano and turns away from the audience but still worth it!

Quoted from 197

No when you see him live, it will not be great, he sucks live.

From what I've heard, he's either a hit or miss live. It probably doesn't help that he's started smoking again after quitting to record Modern Times. Silly man...

I saw him last year and thought he was great. He's a freaking legend for God's sake. You need to appreciate him for what his is at this point. My friend did point out though that he ended every sentence on a high note no matter what the song. Blowin' in the WIND. Like a rolling STONE. Forever YOUNG. Lay lady LAY. After she pointed that out, it got a little annoying. But oh well. He's Bob. He was never normal.

hahaha that would be so funny if he does that!!

I looked at some set lists from 2006 and he never seems to keep it the same from night to night!!

I really hope he does some old classics!

The thing that disappointed me was that he seems to have given up guitar. First I read that it's because he had arthritis. Then I read that it was because he just felt like it. So who knows. He didn't really play the keyboards though but he stood behind them the whole time pushing a few keys. Sort of like Brian Wilson these days. Only Bob stands and Brian sits. Maybe this is the new thing amongst eccentric musical geniuses from the sixties.

Word on the street is back pain.  It's easier for him to sit/half stand at the keyboards.

I saw him a couple years ago.  Even if you hated Dylan, his band is magnificent.  There are good song lists on expectingrain.com--he rotates through about forty or fifty tunes.  Usually does about fifteen songs with two encores (Like a Rolling Stone and All Along the Watchtower were it for awhile).  

He did a little chit-chat.  Mentioned doing some albums in Nashville with Charlie Daniels and said you can't do much better than Charlie.

The vocals can be hit and miss (as you'd expect), but when he really hits one like Highway 61, boy, you better watch out.  

Bob goes off stage first and hopes onto his bus.  Then the rest of the band goes--to their bus.  

Merle Haggard made some jokes about that bus thing. Like Bob was anti-social or something. He actually made quite a few jokes about Bob! It was pretty funny. He even did an imitation of him singing Blowin' in the Wind. I think Merle was a bit pissed at how much less he was being paid and was a bit bitter. He gave a great performance though.

Anyway, I LOVE Bob Dylan. His talent is amazing. I’m reading his autobiography Chronicles Volume One and it’s just awesome. But his music is on some other level. When I look at his catalogue of songs I’m just astounded that it all came from one guy. I think he’s the best of our generation by far. Anyone who gets a chance to see him really should. I mean it would be like not going to see the Beatles when they were around. You’d be missing out on something historic. Anyway, I think Bob’s voice is unfairly panned. He sings his songs with such sincerity and passion. I think I prefer him to most of the covers of him. Of course it took me years to get to this point. I used to hate his voice. I don’t know what was wrong with me! I’m curious as to what other Dylan fans think about covers as compared to the original. Here’s a list of some I can think of. Please add your opinion on which you think is better and why. I find that stuff fascinating.

Mr. Tambourine Man-The Byrds or Dylan (Bob all the way for me. I hate the Byrds version.)
All Along the Watchtower-Hendrix (Jimi’s version is the definitive version. That intro rules.)
I Shall Be Released-The Band (I like the Band’s arrangement better, but I’d rather hear Bob sing.)
Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)-Manfred Mann (Bob’s version is better. Their version is corny.)
Blowin' In The Wind- Peter, Paul, and Mary (Bob’s version for the same reason as above.)
Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door-Guns and Roses (I like both versions a lot. I can’t choose.)

I know there's more but I can't think of anymore right now. What big ones did I miss?

As for lyrics, right now I'm obsessed with Subterranean Homesick Blues. I so want to memorize it.

Favorite verse:

Ah, Get sick, get well
Hang around a ink well
Ring bell, hard to tell
If anything is goin' to sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write braille
Get jailed, jump bail
Join the army, if you fail

So cool. BTW, the beginning of that song sounds suspiciously like a jump rope song.

All along the watchtower is Brilliant!!!!!!!!!!!! Knockin' on Heaven's door is Great! Plus Jimmy  Vaugn And Junior Brown played guitar on his new c.d. !!!!!!!That'll complement the already Great lyrics!!!!!!! Iknow- off topic!!!!!!!

Merle's kinda a sorehead.  But I love him.

Jimi is probably the only performer to outperform a Dylan version IMHO.   With the possible exception of The Band.  I like Rick Danko's "Wheel on Fire" better than the Dylan Basement Tapes.  Also, The Band's version of "Blind Willie McTell" (sung by Levon and Rick on "Jericho") is much better than Dylan's demo (with yapping dog) on the Bootleg series.  

In fact, I think that "Blind Willie McTell" rivals Hendrix as the greatest Dylan cover of all time.  I told Garth Hudson that one time and he said the version by him and his wife Maude was better.  

I love Garth, but . . . .


Dylan's voice was in its prime in the 60s-70s.  Check out the Live 1975 or Live 1966 to hear him sing (Apparently even Frank Sinatra appreciated Dylan's singing).  

Too much smoking and arena shouting started to do his voice in the 80s.  

mine is " the harmonicas play the skeleton keys and the rain and these visions of johanna are now all that remain ".............. love bob : )

My favorite DYLAN period is from FREEWHEELIN to BLONDE ON BLONDE from that time he`s untouchable,so many great songs its hard to choose .JUST LIKE A WOMAN thats proberly my favorite at the moment .
Seen him live twice not that great, but hey! its his bobness  

i never dug bob...

Quoted from pc31

i never dug bob...

. . . cep' you be willin' to dig his grave?

do i gotta wait till he's toes up???

As long as you see that his grave is kept clean . . . .

  Love the lyrics to Like a Rollin' Stone. BTW- Brian Jones thought ' Ballad of   a aga thin man "waswritten about him .Off Topic,again!

BOB!



Even Charlie Brown's a fan:


Bob has excellent fashion sense. Or he used to anyway. I don't know lately.

I love that picture of him and Joan. Sooo cute. I actually painted it on a huge ceiling tile for my school and it turned out pretty well.

I see that Bob is playing his guitar again this UK tour! sunday will be a blast!!

Sunday was a blast!! he played eletrci guitar for first half and then electric keyboard!! his voice is funny these days but what a great show!!

1. Cat's In The Well (Bob on electric guitar)  
2. It Ain't Me, Babe (Bob on electric guitar)  
3. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues (Bob on electric guitar)  
4. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
(Bob on electric guitar, Donnie on violin)  
5. The Levee's Gonna Break
(Bob on keyboard, Donnie on electric mandolin, Tony on standup bass)  
6. Spirit On The Water (Bob on electric keyboard and harp, Tony on standup bass)  
7. Highway 61 Revisited (Bob on electric keyboard)  
8. When The Deal Goes Down (Bob on electric keyboard, Tony on standup bass)  
9. Rollin' And Tumblin' (Bob on electric keyboard)  
10. Chimes Of Freedom (Bob on electric keyboard)  
11. Blind Willie McTell (Bob on electric keyboard, Donnie on banjo)  
12. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
(Bob on electric keyboard and harp)  
13.  Nettie Moore (Bob on electric keybo, Donnie on violin)  
14. Summer Days (Bob on electric keyboard, Tony on standup bass)  
15. Like A Rolling Stone (Bob on electric keyboard and harp)  
    
  (encore)
16.  Thunder On The Mountain (Bob on electric keyboard)  
17.  All Along The Watchtower (Bob on electric keyboard)  

Try as I might I can't get my girlfriend interested in The Beatles. But I played Highway 61 the other night (as background to a little evening bbq) and it immediately caught her attention. It is truly a great album.

Good set list. Nice mix of hits and more obscure songs for the fans.

Quoted from mr kite

My favorite DYLAN period is from FREEWHEELIN to BLONDE ON BLONDE from that time he`s untouchable,so many great songs its hard to choose .JUST LIKE A WOMAN thats proberly my favorite at the moment .
Seen him live twice not that great, but hey! its his bobness  

Agreed. As much as I love The Beatles I would have to rank Bob as the most important artist of the 60's, perhaps of the last 40 years. While the debt works both ways, I think that without his influence The Beatles would have dissapeared (like Gerry Marsden, Hermans Hermits) once Beatlemania ran out of steam and they lost their tennybopper audience. I think Highway 61 (1965) shows an imagination and breadth of vision that people like John Lennon could only gape at in awe and copy as best they could.

At the same time, we have to acknowledge the Beatles' influence on Bob. He has stated before that it was hearing the lads that re-kindled his interest in rock and roll.

Well put, Mairi!

Didn't somebody just post a quote from Dylan talking about how amazed he is by Paul McCartney? Wasn't that here? I think the Beatles would have evolved without Dylan, but there's no doubt he was an important influence. I think Lennon would have eventually gone that route as he tended to write about himself and what he was feeling.  I think everything that happened in the late sixties (in the US) was an influence on them. Everyone became more outspoken. Bob was just doing it a few years earlier than most.

As much as I love Bob, you have to put his achievement as a songwriter into the context of the Beat movement and the big debt he owes to Allen Ginsberg, in particular, from whom Bob adapted the prophetic persona, French symbolist imagery and post-Whitman long line structure.  

As that pic with Baez shows, Bob's a short little fellar, but he stands on pretty big shoulders.  

Quoted from adamzero

As much as I love Bob, you have to put his achievement as a songwriter into the context of the Beat movement and the big debt he owes to Allen Ginsberg, in particular, from whom Bob adapted the prophetic persona, French symbolist imagery and post-Whitman long line structure.  

  

No man is an island - everyone has an influence. Whatever context you put his songwriting into it changed a generation. Everyones got a big debt to someone.

Parents usually.

Quoted from Sandra

Didn't somebody just post a quote from Dylan talking about how amazed he is by Paul McCartney? Wasn't that here? I think the Beatles would have evolved without Dylan, but there's no doubt he was an important influence. I think Lennon would have eventually gone that route as he tended to write about himself and what he was feeling.  I think everything that happened in the late sixties (in the US) was an influence on them. Everyone became more outspoken. Bob was just doing it a few years earlier than most.

I don't think there's any guarantee of that. Before he started listening to Dylan Johns lyric was very much aimed at his tenny bopper audience. When he decided to be Bob everything changed - the way he wrote (like bob) the way he sang (like Bob) the way he dressed (like Bob). Of course he might have eventually gotten  the idea from somewhere else, if someone else with Bobs genius had emerged in the vaccuum. But I really don't think that person would have been John Lennon.

Quoted from Mairi

At the same time, we have to acknowledge the Beatles' influence on Bob. He has stated before that it was hearing the lads that re-kindled his interest in rock and roll.

Totally agree. The Beatles inspired Bob to pick up an electric guitar. Bob inspired The Beatles to change the way they made music. Fair swap.

This is all fanofthefab4's fault by the way. Before she got me reading that article by that guy who's name I can't remember I was happy in the belief that The Beatles were the most innovative, important thing EVER to happen to rock, perhaps to the universe. Now I've got seeds of doubt, and everything I  took as a given I'm looking at anew. I thought I have just believed what I have been told and had never looked at things for myself. Bits of me now think that things like the sitar and backward tapes are just silly little trends made popular by a band elevated to greatness on the back of Beatlemania, which had less to do with music than image and time.
I need an intervention! I need hands upon me! I am lost.
But I swear, if I hear Imagine one more time or see one more story about that bloody piano I'll puke.

Quoted from Kevin

Bits of me now think that things like the sitar and backward tapes are just silly little trends made popular by a band elevated to greatness on the back of Beatlemania, which had less to do with music than image and time.

Most of me thinks this!!

I generally think that everything about The Beatles should be taken a little less seriously. Sometimes people are beyond reproach, as far as the press go for instance. If someone had dared to give a crap reveiw to 'Love You Too', or suggested that the sound engineer must have got his tapes mixed up on 'I'm Only Sleeping' then they'd probably never have done it again.