Red River Shore is another standout track from the new Fragments release. (An excellent accordion-heavy version was included on Tell-Tale Signs.) Two versions are included. The first sounds more like a demo than something that would be seriously considered for the album. Daniel Lanios plays some ragged, heavy-handed guitar. Dylan’s voice is ok but not […]
The people that played that music were still around…[in the early sixties], so there were a bunch of us, me included, who got to see all these people close up – people like Son House, Reverend Gary Davis or Sleepy John Estes. Just to sit there and be up close and watch them play, you
Bob Dylan and Son House Read More »
It seems to me that the later Bootleg Series releases – I’d say since Live 66 – are mostly inessential. Yes, it’s nice to have them available. But I can’t see anybody really listening to say, the Dylan and Harrison duet of If Not For You, more than once or twice. This release is no
Springtime in New York – Bootleg Series Vol. 16: New Danville Girl Read More »
I’ve been listening to Scarlet Town a lot lately. It’s not a particularly easy song to digest. Perhaps an impossible song to really get to know. Dylan long ago stopped writing in a linear fashion, with often spectacular results. Think Desolation Row, to name one glorious example. Sometimes though, like with this song, this style
Scarlet Town Analysis – Part 1 Read More »
I was listening recently to the traditional song, Mole in the Ground. I always assumed the song was about some poor devil with low self-esteem. Alas, as has been the case many times, I was very wrong. That’s not what the author meant at all. That’s was not it at all. But I did notice
Mole in the Ground Read More »
At the bottom of this post is a link to a very cool article, courtesy of American Songwriter, about the traditional folk song, Barbara Allen. Of course, we all know Dylan covered Barbara Allen many times. The author suggests that Art Garfunkel’s is the best modern version. As much as I like Garfunkel…What! Twas in
I know the history of the 60’s folk movement pretty well, but I had never heard of the “Beatnik Riot” of 1961. To mark the 50th anniversary NPR did a piece on it. Link to the documentary, “Bloody Sunday” below.
The 1961 Beatnik Riot Read More »
