Dylan Fans: Bob drops new song on Kennedy assassination

[GaryH]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NbQkyvbw18

Elegiac - Dirge like -Hypnotic

Bob Dylan, always fascinating, drops a new song where he ruminates about the Kennedy assassination, pop culture, politics, American culture over the last 50 Plus years. Stream of consciousness thoughts about America and what has transpired since that fateful day. From a stunned America in 1963 to the America here in 2020. This song makes me sad and happy at the same time. Dylan showing that he still has something to say. I love this song.

 

[No_Church_InThe_Wild]

Old man still git something left to say after 8 years or so , talk about timing
17 minutes long one needs to put it on repeat to get the man’s rambling poetry
Lot’s of time for many folks to listen to his music in self isolation

“”Well I told my baby
I said Baby , I know where you been
Well , I know who you are
And what league you played in ??””

 

[cloudsurf]

Thanks for the link Gary

 

[EagerBeaver]

Dylan is a legend, but I believe he did his best work in the 1960s, and we are now in 2020. More of what I like as classic Dylan:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=LhzEsb2tNbI

I think that if Jimi Hendrix hasn’t died tragically in 1970, we would have seen a duo album put out by the two. Hendrix stated in interviews that he viewed Dylan as a consummate songwriter, of the kinds of songs Hendrix wanted to write, but that the difference between the two in songwriting was that Jimi said he couldn’t stay focused enough long enough to write songs like Dylan. Dylan has in interviews stated that Hendrix’s rendition of his “All Along The Watchtower” was such a complete reimagining of the song that he said if he knew it would sound like that, that’s how he would have written it, praising Hendrix’s superb musicianship in transforming his song.

A trio of those two with Jim Morrison as lead singer would have also been interesting.

 

[Meta not Meta]

Wow, this is a major, major work ...

What is the truth, and where did it go?
Ask Oswald and Ruby, they oughta know

... and basically a despairing summation of the last 50 plus years as seen through the prism of music and the assassination.

They mutilated his body and they took out his brain
What more could they do?
They piled on the pain
But his soul was not there where it was supposed to be at
For the last fifty years they've been searchin' for that
Freedom, oh freedom, freedom over me
I hate to tell you, mister, but only dead men are free

Pretty bleak, it conveys the feeling of a "final" song in all senses of the word, though not really a "song" in the conventional sense, in which the music name-checked along the way is seemingly the singer/narrator's only salve for being alive.

 

[Meta not Meta]

There's plenty of great post-60's Dylan music ...

For starters:

Jokerman
https://youtu.be/1XSvsFgvWr0

Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door
https://youtu.be/rm9coqlk8fY

All of the "Blood on the Tracks" album, especially this ...
https://youtu.be/-gsDBuHwqbM

(Almost) all of the "Desire" album, especially this ...
https://youtu.be/95cufW4h-gA

All of the "Oh, Mercy" album, especially this ...
https://youtu.be/8JuLKtz_EH8

 

[GaryH]

So true EB. In fact, if you ever saw Dylan in concert when he does "All Along the Watchtower", he does the Jimi Hendrix version. (Could almost start a thread of cover versions of songs that are better than the original. For a Dylan song, that's a great compliment.)

I agree with Meta that there is alot of great Dylan post 60's. His suggestions are excellent. My three favorite albums:

Blonde on Blonde - Nothing better than being young and in love with Sara.
Blood on the Tracks - The painful breakup of that great love.
Time Out Of Mind - An older Dylan contemplating the end.

From "Not Dark Yet":

There's not even room enough to be anywhere
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there
Well my sense of humanity is going down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing, there's been some kind of pain

Dylan never ceases to amaze. Many people thought Dylan was done in the 60's , then out of nowhere came "Blood on the Tracks". His religious phase was surely the end, but then "Time out of Mind" and "Oh Mercy". And now after 8 years, another major work. A connection from the tragedy of the 60's to today's tragedy with music as the comforting agent.

There's an old quote about Irving Berlin: “Irving Berlin has no place in American music - he is American music”. I think for the second half of the 20th century, you could say that about Dylan.

 

[Meta not Meta]

A fun read ... well-written and with plenty of room for disagreement:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/apr/09/bob-dylans-50-greatest-songs-ranked

 

[bignasty]

This Dylan song must have been recorded at least 20--30 years ago. His voice is incredibly clear. If anyone has been to a Dylan concert like I was in 2005 in Dallas, you would know all he does now is warble or mumble into the mic. His performances are a sad reminder of what he once was. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BSfjQyneCwA

 

[GaryH]

A fun read ... well-written and with plenty of room for disagreement:

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/apr/09/bob-dylans-50-greatest-songs-ranked

That is a pretty good list. I can't really disagree with most of it. I would have a couple more Blood on the Tracks songs on there along with Maggie's Farm. Then again I would probably prefer a top 100 list.
I didn't realize Visions of Johanna was so highly thought of. I will have to go back and listen to it. Glad to see Blind Willie McTell on there. A great song that just happened to pop up on an official bootleg album years after it was written, much like Murder Most Foul.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_uf5gi3E_rQ

Interesting, Dylan has been credited with his first #1 song ever on the billboard charts for Murder Most Foul (#1 for Digital Downloads).

Yes his voice is shot now. Years of smoking will do that to you. Same with Joni Mitchell. But I was still looking forward to see him again this summer, even if it was just to pay tribute to a legend nearing 80.