Bob Dylan

[JakeK]

Who here is a Bob Dylan fan? I am, I enjoy his lyrics, possibly one of the best songwriters around. His voice changes as he grows older, and that's pretty cool. His "Blonde on Blonde" era voice is the one most impersonated (see "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" or even me for my mean impersonation!), and his harmonica playing isn't as good as Little Walter (but who is, really?), but when his voice changes, the style of his music changes.

When he went electric, I thought that was probably one of the boldest things anyone had ever done in rock and roll history. My favorite album by him is "Highway 61 Revisted", with my favorite track, "Like a Rolling Stone". One aspiring songwriter could learn a lot from that one album, plus "Blonde on Blonde".

What I also love is Bob Dylan's love for collaborations. He's worked with The Band, Eric Clapton, George Harrison, Tom Petty, The Rolling Stones (he and Ronnie wrote songs and Ronnie and Keith backed him up at Live Aid), Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Roger McGuinn and countless others and made a lot of talented friends (see "The 30th Anniversary concert).

Bob's one of the coolest guys around. If I ever got the opportunity to jam with him, I wouldn't pass it up.

[kiramdear]

Dylan is the king, and needs to be made a national treasure. I can't picture not having grown up with him. He's the most important American artist ever, and I'm not the only one who thinks so.

[lennon211]

I like some of his material, but to me it's pretty uneven. His live shows are not that great or much fun. Whether he's playing it as a character or not, it's not much fun to see a mummified cowboy standing at a keyboard as he growls out his old material. If he didn't shift his weight from time to time, I don't know that I would have known much difference even from the second row.

There's no doubt about his influence and his standing in the history of music. The trilogy of albums from Bringing it All Back Home through Blonde on Blonde is awesome. Bringing It All Back Home may be one of my all-time favorites followed closely by Blonde on Blonde. Another Side of Bob Dylan and Nashville Skyline are really good as well. I suppose that like any artist of his prolificness, that there are albums that are very accessible and those that aren't.

[shamustwin]

His last four albums are about my favorites of all time, with "Modern Times" leading that pack.

[craigh]

Bob is still releasing great albums of new material.

Craig

[tomt3]

Dylan is the best, in my opinion maybe the most important musician/songwriter of our time. He influenced his peers as well as those who came behind. His 60's output was brilliant, his recent recordings have been great(Time out of mind, love and theft), and though there may have been some valleys, there were many,many more peaks. Blood on the tracks, Desire, Infidels, Oh Mercy, etc. I've bought l.p.'s, c.d.'s, of his that i've never heard, and never fail to find something good. Get a small shot of bourbon, a 12 oz. can of your favorite full strength beer, and throw on "Senor" or "Where are you Tonight?" from the Street Legal album. It's not his most critically acclaimed, but if you're not fully satisfied I'll refund you back your 5 minuets no questions asked.

[harry]

Huge Dylan fan here! All the old stuff and most of the new stuff too. "Cold Irons Bound", "Almost Dark" - terrific! Have seen him 8 or nine times and just got tickets to see him again in July

[jimk]

Put me in the column of fans of his songwriting. I agree with Matt about his stage presence/performance. I saw him back in '73 with the Rolling Thunder Revue at Kansas State. I particularly liked him as part of the Traveling Wilburys. Great stuff.
JimK

[tomt3]

"It's not dark yet, but it's getting there."

[harry]

"It's not dark yet, but it's getting there."

Geez "Almost Dark"... what was I thinking (too excited talking about Dylan) 'Not Dark Yet' - awesome song

[08 Ric 4003]

I love old Dylan. Up to about Slow Train Coming. Seen him twice in the last five years. His voice is shot. The band was top notch. I also saw him once when he toured with the Dead in the late 80's