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Post by Lord Emsworth on May 25, 2021 11:14:06 GMT
Christ, can only imagine how up it's own arse that book will be. Not a fan of Morley then Doug?
I loved his biography of Bowie. I've read a lot of Bowie biogs and it's one of the best - certainly the most provocative
That said, I can see how his schtick might not play well with everyone
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jun 1, 2021 6:11:56 GMT
I'm currently reading his incredibly detailed book about Dylan's Christian period, which is a real eye opener and quite shocking. Guessing it's this one Stu...  Trouble In Mind by Clinton HeylinClinton Heylin and The Bishop of Leeds talk Bob Dylan's Gospel Years |
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jun 11, 2021 9:51:45 GMT
There's a new Bob Dylan album out today... Rough and Rowdy Ways
I'm listening now - and enjoying it How do you feel about Bob Dylan? What songs/albums do you like?
Listening again Remarkable how he keeps going and can still create gems like this |
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jun 26, 2021 13:41:10 GMT
 Bob Dylan's Christian phase www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w3ct2fzt
Bob Dylan: Born again
Heart and SoulBob Dylan was brought up in a Jewish household in the American Midwest, but kept his faith away from the spotlight of his professional counter-culture persona. That was until the late 1970s when he converted to evangelical Christianity and released an album that shared his born again beliefs with the world.
We join his childhood friend, Louie Kemp, as we delve into why the boy he met at a Jewish summer camp turned to Christianity.
We hear from Regina McCray, his backing singer from the time, who retells the story of her audition where she sang Amazing Grace. She went on to get the job, but little did she know that the song would go on to inspire Dylan’s sound for his next three albums - Slow Train Coming, Saved, and Shot of Love.
We also hear from Australian journalist, Karen Hughes, whose in-depth interview with the singer broke to the world how serious Dylan was about Christianity - and from Swedish doctor and musician, Valdemar Erling, whose accidental discovery of Slow Train Coming has been the foundation of his faith for many years.
Along with live music tracks, archive excerpts from outraged fans and even the sounds of Bob Dylan preaching to his crowds, we hear how Dylan’s often overlooked ‘Gospel Period’ helped people develop a deeper connection to spirituality that is still relevant today, years after the singer-songwriter appears to have turned his back on organised religion altogether. Thanks Stu - that was an interesting listen I had no idea just how totally into Christianity Bob got during this period Extraordinary I was then attracted to a couple of other programmes on BBC Sounds.... |
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jun 26, 2021 13:43:17 GMT
This is my favourite so far...
Bob Dylan: Verbatim
The many variations of Bob Dylan’s life and music told in his own words, combining rare interviews, studio outtakes, archive and musings, all set to his music. Part of Radio 4's celebrations of Dylan's 80th birthday.
From his very first interviews when he arrived in New York in 1961 in search of Woody Guthrie and a path to musical eminence, Dylan created mystique and drama by offering obfuscate descriptions of his early life, as he set about creating a bohemian troubadour myth that transcended the real suburban Zimmerman upbringing.
He enjoyed these early fabrications and, realising they gave him power over journalists, he continued to use contradiction, dissension and confutation in interviews to avoid being labelled and typecast.
As his reputation grew, his patience withered and, before long, the media began describing him as tense, belligerent, taciturn, grim and irascible. All these iterations of one of the most acclaimed and admired singer songwriters in modern music are incorporated in to this unique soundscape.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jun 26, 2021 13:48:21 GMT
This is very good too....
It Ain't Me You're Looking For: Bob Dylan at 80Five short episodes which provide a wonderful overview of his career
Marking his birthday on May 24th, Radio 4 broadcasts 'It Ain't Me You're Looking For: Bob Dylan at 80'. Presented by Sean Latham, Director of the Institute for Bob Dylan Studies at the University of Tulsa, and editor of 'The World of Bob Dylan', this five part series looks at the songs and draws on the vast Bob Dylan Archive, exploring the life, work and influence of a great, and elusive artist.
It argues that Dylan is a remarkable storyteller, impossible to ascribe to any genre or movement, steadfastly developing skills that rightly earned him the Nobel Prize in Literature.
Each episode focuses on a theme from a different period, encompassing his career.
• Learn Your Song Well (1941-1964)
• Bleeding Genius (1964-1966)
• Vanishing Acts (1966-1979)
• This Train (1979-1993)
• High Water Everywhere (1993-2021)
One: Learn Your Song Well (1941-1964)
In his Nobel acceptance speech, Dylan embeds himself in a tradition of performative storytelling extending from Homer. Odysseus is, Dylan says, “always being warned of things to come. Touching things he’s told not to." Latham looks at 'A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall', about a young man committing himself to experiencing the joys and terrors of the world, then wrestling a story from them. Sixty years later, that still drives his creative life.
Early on Dylan made up stories about himself. He became a political songwriter by mixing his fictional autobiography with folk and blues to create stories of liberation. 'Blowin' in the Wind', its source in an anti-slavery song, becomes an anthem of the Civil Rights Movement. Dylan finds these stories constrictive and with 'Restless Farewell,' dramatically, and angrily, announces his shift from political to personal liberation.
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000w4ny
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jun 27, 2021 7:30:09 GMT
Imagine recording this then deciding, yeah let's leave it off the album....
Bob Dylan - Blind Willie McTell
Recorded in 1983, during the sessions for Infidels, but left off the album and only officially released in 1991 on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased)
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Post by Mangogirrl on Jun 27, 2021 14:53:33 GMT
Imagine recording this then deciding, yeah let's leave it off the album....
Bob Dylan - Blind Willie McTell
Recorded in 1983, during the sessions for Infidels, but left off the album and only officially released in 1991 on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) Yes. Awesome song
Bob is a one off
We'll not see his like again
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jun 28, 2021 10:10:57 GMT
There's a new Bob Dylan album out today... Rough and Rowdy Ways
I'm listening now - and enjoying it How do you feel about Bob Dylan? What songs/albums do you like?
Got to grips with it now Just how does he do it? This particular collection sounds both tossed off, and timeless and profound. It’s quite the trick. I don’t tend to dwell on lyrics but with Bob it’s essential. He’s a marvel. The bluesy sounds of Rough and Rowdy Ways really suits these songs and latter day Bob. It’s mesmerising. This is different to Highway 61, Blonde on Blonde, Desire, Basement Tapes etc but I would say it’s up there with those albums, not quite as good but pretty damn close It’s all good, obviously, but force me to pick some favourites and they would certainly include Murder Most Foul, I Contain Multitudes, False Prophet, Crossing the Rubicon, and Key West |
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jun 28, 2021 10:11:06 GMT
Now then, I realise I need to read a decent biog. Any recommendations?
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Bob Dylan
Jun 28, 2021 10:19:40 GMT
via mobile
Post by personunknown on Jun 28, 2021 10:19:40 GMT
Down the Highway by Howard Sounes and No Direction Home by Robert Shelton are considered the most definitive. I've read both and enjoyed them immensely, in fact Shelton's had me buying loads of back catalogue. NDH was written some years back so doesn't encompass his later years. Clinton Heylin has written loads, never read any and mixed reviews.
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jun 28, 2021 12:04:28 GMT
Down the Highway by Howard Sounes and No Direction Home by Robert Shelton are considered the most definitive. I've read both and enjoyed them immensely, in fact Shelton's had me buying loads of back catalogue. NDH was written some years back so doesn't encompass his later years. Clinton Heylin has written loads, never read any and mixed reviews. Thanks PU - that's really helpful I looked at Clinton's Behind The Shades. Seems to get well reviewed but also probably too exhaustive. List of players on sessions etc. I'll read one of the two you recommend, possibly both |
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Post by doug61 on Jun 28, 2021 13:24:07 GMT
There's a new Bob Dylan album out today... Rough and Rowdy Ways
I'm listening now - and enjoying it How do you feel about Bob Dylan? What songs/albums do you like?
Got to grips with it now Just how does he do it? This particular collection sounds both tossed off, and timeless and profound. It’s quite the trick. I don’t tend to dwell on lyrics but with Bob it’s essential. He’s a marvel. The bluesy sounds of Rough and Rowdy Ways really suits these songs and latter day Bob. It’s mesmerising. This is different to Highway 61, Blonde on Blonde, Desire, Basement Tapes etc but I would say it’s up there with those albums, not quite as good but pretty damn close It’s all good, obviously, but force me to pick some favourites and they would certainly include Murder Most Foul, I Contain Multitudes, False Prophet, Crossing the Rubicon, and Key West There's a great "world weariness" to his work of late that also so well favoured Leonard Cohen's last few outings. |
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Post by doug61 on Jun 28, 2021 13:31:57 GMT
Now then, I realise I need to read a decent biog. Any recommendations? Read a lot and none really stuck. He is an artist that purposely "keeps things vague" (to paraphrase Baez) and the books tell you more about the writer's obsessions than anything else. Shelton's "no direction home" is probablt the best "just the facts" one. |
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Post by Lord Emsworth on Jul 12, 2021 18:00:26 GMT
Down the Highway by Howard Sounes and No Direction Home by Robert Shelton are considered the most definitive. I've read both and enjoyed them immensely, in fact Shelton's had me buying loads of back catalogue. NDH was written some years back so doesn't encompass his later years. Clinton Heylin has written loads, never read any and mixed reviews. Thanks PU - that's really helpful I looked at Clinton's Behind The Shades. Seems to get well reviewed but also probably too exhaustive. List of players on sessions etc. I'll read one of the two you recommend, possibly both Just finished... Down the Highway
I have somewhat belatedly become mildly obsessed by Bob Dylan. I've always enjoyed the classic albums and watched the main documentaries but, after nearly 60 years on the planet, I've started to take more of a deep dive into his life and work.
Down the Highway was first published in 2001 and then updated in 2011, so it's not bang up to date.
I cannot compare and contrast with other offerings however conclude it's a great entry biography which pleasingly blends Bob's career and his personal life. I felt I got to know a lot about Bob's life and personality, as well as a good overview of his career and musical output. I was enthralled from start to finish.
As all good biographies should, it has inspired me to seek out more of the music, more of the documentaries and read other books about this extraordinary and enigmatic artist.
Next up I'm gonna re-watch the Scorsese doc...
No Direction Home
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