On a personal note, many years ago, I thought that my CD collection could use some Bob Dylan (presumably to gain some cred as a person with credible tastes!). In particular, I was after Like a Rolling Stone and this CD- probably in the bargain bin- had that song, so I naively grabbed it and have listened to it rarely ever since.
What a controversial album I happened to have grabbed! Released after his highly successful 1960s era, this album resulted in the following reactions:
- "what is this shit?" (Rolling Stone)
- great concept, poor execution
- also it has been suggested that the album was deliberately bad because Dylan was frustrated with his fans' constant attention (how arrogant of him!) or a parody.
The songs are mostly covers, and actually covers a lot of musical styles- although it isn't immediately obvious these days because all of them are very cheesy...
For example, All The Tired Horses, I've Forgotten More Than You'll Ever Know and Early Morning Rain are in a very dated ballad style, dripping in excess choirs and violins. Bob Dylan also tries his hand at Blue Moon and, yes, the results are as painful as you would expect!
Dylan's trademark "gravelly folk" style appears on Days of 49, Little Sadie and Like a Rolling Stone, which at least have some feeling of integrity to them. Unfortunately, this version of Like A Rolling Stone is live recording with poor audio quality, and a sloppy band.
I must admit I'm still not very familiar with Bob Dylan in general. So to maintain any form of respect for his work, I seriously hope this album is a case of trolling his fans. That's about the nicest things I can say about it!
No comments:
Post a Comment