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Bob Dylan: Creative height, crash
Ignoring the occasional negative criticism, Dylan's rapid output (some say fuelled by rapid amphetamine intake) continued unabated through 1965 and 1966. The single "Like a Rolling Stone" was a US hit, cementing his reputation as a lyricist; at over six minutes, devoid of a bridge, "Like a Rolling Stone" also helped to expand the limits of hit radio. Its signature sound, with a full, jangling band and a simple organ riff, would characterise his next album release, Highway 61 Revisited (titled after the road that led from his native Minnesota to the musical hotbed of New Orleans; and also referencing any number of blues songs; i.e. Mississippi Fred McDowell's "61 Highway."). The songs were in the same vein as the advance single, more surreal litanies of the grotesque flavoured by Bloomfield's blues guitar, a tight rhythm section and Dylan's obvious enjoyment of the sessions. The closing song, "Desolation Row", a lengthy apocalyptic vision, wore its poeticism and influences on its sleeve, self-consciously referring to both Ezra Pound and T. S. Eliot.
In support of the record, Dylan was booked for two US concerts, and set about assembling a band. Finding what he was looking for in The Hawks, then backing R&B singer Ronnie Hawkins, he persuaded the group to join him on tour. In August/September 1965 at Forest Hills Auditorium and the Hollywood Bowl the group were heckled by the audience who, Newport notwithstanding, still expected the acoustic troubadour of previous years. Undaunted, Dylan returned to the studio that October to begin work on his next album, the double Blonde on Blonde.
Musicians in the studio, including The Hawks (who would slowly metamorphose into The Band), honed Dylan's sound. "That thin wild mercury sound," Dylan called it, obviating further description. The result was another classic record, often included in the top 5 on 'best albums of all time' lists. The record eclipsed Dylan's earlier works with masterpieces "Visions of Johanna" and "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again." The earlier surrealism now seemed tempered with more humanity and the record more coherent than its predecessors, with knowing nods to The Beatles, amongst others. In his personal life, Dylan secretly married Sara Lowndes on November 22, 1965.
Touring to promote the record remained hectic, however, taking him to Europe and Australia through the summer of 1966, including a famously raucous confrontation with an audience at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in England. At this show, long bootlegged and officially released in 1998, a folk fan loudly shouts "Judas!" from the restless audience, to which Dylan responds, "I don't believe you. You're a liar." Turning to his band, Dylan urges them to "play fucking loud!" In fact, the audiences' negative reactions resulted in drummer Levon Helm quitting the band.
Meanwhile, Dylan was being pressured to produce the book length poem
Tarantula, and, by many accounts, had stepped up his drug and alcohol intake to dangerous levels. The pace of his private and professional life seemed unsustainable. On July 29 1966, near his home in Woodstock, New York, the brakes of his Triumph 500 motorcycle locked, throwing him to the ground. The extent of his injuries was never fully disclosed and, whether through necessity or opportunism, Dylan used an extended convalescence to escape the pressures of stardom.
After convincing Levon Helm to rejoin them, The Band moved into a nearby big, pink house. Once Dylan was well enough, he began editing footage into Eat the Document
, an as-yet unreleased sequel to Don't Look Back. More importantly, he began recording music with The Band in the basement of "Big Pink". The relaxed atmosphere yielded renditions of many of Dylan's favorite folk songs, and some newly written songs. These originals, at first compiled as demos for other artists to record, began to circulate on their own merits. Columbia released selections from them in 1975 as The Basement Tapes.
Unsurprisingly his official output was to be strongly influenced by the relaxed lifestyle which led to
The Basement Tapes. His first release after the accident, John Wesley Harding (1967), was a contemplative record, heavily influenced by the Bible, which included "All Along The Watchtower", later immortalised by Jimi Hendrix. Dylan intended for the album's sparse arrangements to be filled in by later Band overdubs. Upon hearing it, The Band decided to let it stand. The sparse structure and instrumentation, coupled with lyrics firmly rooted in Judeo-Christian tradition, marked a departure not only from Dylan's own work, but from the escalating psychedelic fervor of the 1960s musical culture. This departure was underscored by Dylan's conspicuous absence from the Woodstock festival in 1969.
The second release after the motorcycle accident, Nashville Skyline (1969), produced by Bob Johnston, was a mainstream country record featuring a mellow voiced, contented Dylan and a duet with
Johnny Cash. It also garnered Dylan new fans with the hit single "Lay Lady Lay". The same year, Dylan returned to live performance at the Isle of Wight rock festival (having made a brief appearance at Woody Guthrie's memorial concert in 1968).
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LiteratureWhy I love Wilco, part umptybillion
Fleet Foxes and Wilco covered Bob Dylan's "I Shall be Released" at a recent live show, and they're giving it away online if you promise to vote. Wilcoworld (via James Home on Twitter; photo of guitar rack on-stage at Wilco's set during Outside Lands via Crowdfire; image by John Battelle)....
Published: Wed, 24 Sep 2008 03:47:21 GMT - Source: Boingboing.Net - Read the articleEuropeSuze Rotolo on her book about Bob Dylan
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In case you're looking for some more personality to add to your iGoogle page, we've just launched a fresh collection of iGoogle artist themes -- an ongoing project we launched in April for which we invited world-class artists to design dynamic themes for your iGoogle homepage.The new collection features designs from 28 leading artists from the worlds of fashion and music. This group is amazing, spanning a wide range of styles and genres: Radiohead and Gnarls Barkley used radiant colors; Gucci, Burberry, and Vera Wang illustrated beautiful patterns; and Bob Dylan and Celine Dion created an iconic look (of course). So depending on what you're interested in, there's lots of great art to choose from to suit your personality, taste or mood.Why did we focus on musicians and fashion designers this round? It's often the clothes we wear and the music we listen to that help express our personality and style. And when we first unveiled iGoogle artist themes, we heard that many of you wanted even more themes in these areas. We hope this new collection gives you more choices so that your iGoogle page reflects your personal style.So check out the new collection of themes and pick one that appeals to you. Changing it up is easy and requires only a few clicks. If you have a hard time selecting just one, add the sampler theme, which displays a different artist every day.Stay tuned as we continue to collaborate with more artists from around the world.Posted by Marissa Mayer, VP, Search Products & User Experience and Michaela Prescott, Product Marketing Manager
Published: Wed, 10 Sep 2008 17:21:48 GMT - Source: Googleblog.Blogspot.Com - Read the article
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