Zimmerman Notes

[Guest Felonies!]

Hey Banky or anyone else, I don't feel like bumping a Dylan thread: do you think that Desire is one of Dylan's best from a strictly musical standpoint? Some of the lyrics are weaker than usual, but the whole album just sounds so cool. The violin, Emmylou Harris, the rhythms in "Hurricane," the Jewish folk influences in "One More Cup Of Coffee," I just love the way everything sounds.

[Annabelle]

desire is alright. there was a time when it was pretty close to my favorite. i wouldn't confuse best with most experimental. and its not as though it was really experimental, its just that it was a very unorthodox sound. it was pretty one-dimensional, too. but if you enjoy violins, weird percussion, and emmylou harris this would be for you. everything seems to drag and sound very same-y. the best musical albums will always be highway 61 & blonde on blonde. he just aped all of the best musicians at their peek and merged his lyrics with some of their wild wizardry. there's a good reason why those are two of the best albums ever. desire is just a side note for him. plus, for me personally, i just don't buy into the carribean vibe & shared vocals with emmylou. i like the methemphetamine new york bob bundled up in the snow, not coked out bob sitting on a beach with an umbrella in his fruit punch.

[Guest Felonies!]

I'd say Highway 61 > Desire > Blonde on Blonde just in terms of sound. I do, in fact, enjoy violins, weird percussion, and Emmylou Harris.

 

Desire is samey and Blonde on Blonde isn't?

[Henry Spencer]

I don't think there's anything terribly samey about the songs on Blonde On Blonde. It's a stunningly diverse album, actually.

[Guest Felonies!]

I think stunningly is stretching it. There's some unique stuff, and then some that kinda runs together for me.

[Edwin MacPhisto]

I just listened to the first 3 seconds of every song on Blonde on Blonde. God, what an awesome album.

[Giuseppe Zangara]

For the most part—meaning side two—the songs really aren't there on Desire, "cool" instruments or no. And I've said it before, but it needs repeating: "Joey" really is the worst song Dylan had done to that point.

[Guest Felonies!]

Yeah, I was trying to ignore that one.

[Hank Kingsley]

"Sara" almost makes up for "Joey" if you stick through the whole album.

[Annabelle]

felonies: have you listened to blonde on blonde? the willingness in which you've chosen to flex your ignorance is stunning. blonde on blonde is samey? name another song on that album that is anything like 'sad eyed lady' or 'most likely go your way' or even 'rainy day woman'? i can respect your enjoyment of desire but to do so at the expense of blonde on blonde's greatness is in poor taste. the best album, ever. ever. i'd suggest finding blonde on blonde in any format. turning off the lights. close your eyes. and listen. to the whole album.

 

i'd never thought a simple question about dylan would lead to such silliness.

[Guest Felonies!]

Well, you could argue that "4th Time Around" has pretty much the same acoustic-dominated 6/8 feel as "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands," or that there's a good amount of 12-bar blues over the course of 73 minutes. Anyway, Blonde on Blonde is a much better complete album than Desire, of course; I'm just really fond of the sounds he introduced for Desire.

[godthedog]

'blonde on blonde' is certainly the only double rock album i can think of that doesn't have diversity of sound as one of its explicitly stated goals. lots of 12-bar blues, instrumentation is by and large the same throughout (with the only standout being "rainy day women #12 & 35"), dylan himself has a range of maybe 2 possible stylistic vocal choices (soft gruff balladeering or loud sing-song), all produced & mixed in more or less the same way.

 

not really a criticism, and makes the album all the more remarkable for not relying on any of those tricks. dylan is the only one who could get away with doing something like that, except maybe neil young. i can't imagine how boring it would be listening to the white album or 'sign o' the times' with all the instruments on every song being the same, sung in the same way.

 

speaking of remarkable in its monotony, i recently sat down and listened to 'the freewheelin' all the way through for the first time in a while. amazing. i think his later work tends to overshadow how right he had it from that early. his learning curve wasn't very steep.

[King Kamala]

So apparently, Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello are co-headlining a tour this fall.

[King Kamala]

Dates for The Bob Dylan/Elvis Costello fall tour. Amos Lee is opening.

 

 

Sat 9/22 Duluth GA The Arena at Gwinnett Center 7:00 PM 8/18 @ 10 AM 8/15 @ 10 AM Hot Seats HANCOCK

Sun 9/23 Clemson SC Clemson University Littlejohn Coliseum 7:00 PM 8/25 @ 10 AM 8/21 @ 10 AM

Tue 9/25 Norfolk VA ODU Constant Convocation Center 7:00 PM 8/24 @ 10 AM 8/22 @ 10 AM

Thu 9/27 Charlottesville VA U. of VA John Paul Jones Arena 7:00 PM 8/25 @ 10 AM 8/21 @ 10 AM

Fri 9/28 Columbia MD Merriweather Post Pavilion 7:00 PM 8/17 @ 10 AM 8/15 @ 10 AM Hot Seats ALBERT

Sat 9/29 Kingston RI URI Ryan Center 7:00 PM 8/25 @ 10 AM 8/21 @ 10 AM

Sun 9/30 Bridgeport CT Arena at Harbor Yard 7:00 PM 8/25 @ 9 AM 8/21 @ 10 AM

Tue 10/2 Worcester MA DCU Center 7:00 PM 8/25 @ 10 AM 8/21 @ 10 AM

Thu 10/4 Portland ME Cumberland County Civic Center 7:00 PM 8/30 @ 12PM 8/27 @ 10 AM

Fri 10/5 Manchester NH Verizon Wireless Arena 7:00 PM 8/30 @ 12PM 8/27 @ 10 AM

Sat 10/6 Albany NY Times Union Center 7:00 PM 8/25 @ 10 AM 8/21 @ 10 AM

Mon 10/8 Syracuse NY War Memorial at Oncenter 7:00 PM 8/25 @ 10 AM 8/21 @ 10 AM

Tue 10/9 Rochester NY RIT Gordon Field House 7:00 PM 8/25 @ 10 AM 8/21 @ 10 AM

 

 

I'm definitely going to try to make the 10/4 date.

[Hank Kingsley]

Dates for The Bob Dylan/Elvis Costello fall tour. Amos Lee is opening.

 

Thu 9/27 Charlottesville VA U. of VA John Paul Jones Arena 7:00 PM 8/25 @ 10 AM 8/21 @ 10 AM

 

 

FUCK. YES.

[Copper Feel]

Bob Dylan and Elvis Costello on the same show? Wow, it is rare for two of my favourite acts to play together.

[King Kamala]

Saw Dylan again tonight. Really good show hampered by me standing near a bunch of weirdos.Most notably an incredibly high twenty something girl who kept dryhumping the 60 year old white guy with dreadlocks next to her and groaning. Her boobs fell out twice! And there was a group of like eight fifteen year old girls wearing matching bandanas who charged together down the floor and knocked me out of my spot. After the show, I stopped at a Burger King and they were there and recognizing me, they decided to take a picture. I'm probably now in some 15 year old girl's MySpace profile picture...

 

Anyways, a good time was had by all. Since he had no opening act, the show was over by like 9:20. It was good to go to a show for once and be home in time for the eleven o'clock news.

 

Here's the setlist for anyone curious

1. Watching The River Flow

2. Lay Lady Lay

3. The Levee's Gonna Break

4. Shelter From The Storm

5. Rollin' and Tumblin'

6. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll

7. Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum

8. Mississippi

9. Highway 61 Revisited

10. Workingman's Blues #2

11. It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)

12. Spirit On The Water

13. The Ballad of Hollis Brown

14. Summer Days

15. Ain't Talkin'

 

Encore

16. Thunder On The Mountain

17. Blowin' In The Wind

[FroGG_NeaL]

If Dylan doesn't have Knockin' On Heaven's Door on the set list, I ain't interested.

[Copper Feel]

Whyever not? "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" doesn't even qualify as good.

[FroGG_NeaL]

Because I dig it the most.

[Annabelle]

Whyever not? "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" doesn't even qualify as good.

 

dude SHUT UP, you don't know shit.

[Guest Tzar Lysergic]

It's not my favorite Dylan tune either.

[PLAGIARISM!]

Whether you like it or not, I can't ever fathom it being a deal-breaker.

[Annabelle]

It's not my favorite Dylan tune either.

regardless, it still qualifies as "good".

[King Kamala]

I can see it somehow being tarnished by the gawd awful Guns 'N' Roses cover but it's in no way bad.

[Edwin MacPhisto]

The only thing worse than the GnR version of "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" is the GnR version of "Sympathy for the Devil."

[Annabelle]

call me crazy, i didn't mind the gnr knockin on heavens door.

 

to be even more candid, that was the first version of the song that I knew. as a youngster of 10 years.

[Nighthawk]

I don't mind either of those GnR covers.

[FroGG_NeaL]

Same here. The GnR version of Heaven's Door was the first I heard too.

[Jorge Gorgeous]

And I'll go one up and say I PREFER the GnR version, and I really like Dylan. I wouldn't really care if Dylan played it, though. There are so many songs I'd rather hear.