The Band

Dylan can be credited for being responsible for one of the greatest single concerts of all times. Not including rock festivals like the Monterey Pop Festival and Woodstock one of the most famous concerts among rock fans is The Last Waltz, by the band. It is right up there with The Who Live at Leeds and Creams Farwell concert at Royal Albert Hall. The reason why I give some credit to Dylan is because he helped but The Band on the map. The band started out as the backup band to Ronnie Hawk, and after they worked with him they actually whet By Levon and the Hawks. Dylan would use the Band for his eclectic tour one of the most famous rock tours in history, and the Band would be there to back him up on the famous album The Basement Taps. But the reason I bring this up is because Dylan was able to give them world wide recognition and made their career away from Dylan possible. The Band would tour until 1978 when they had their farewell concert on Thanksgiving day. The reason why this concert is so memorable is because many guests came to perform. They included their old partner Ronnie Hawkins, Neil Young does a great performance of Helpless, blues legends Muddy Waters, Eric Clapton and Paul Butterfield all appear in the show and of course Dylan himself plays three songs. The most memorable part of the concert for many is when the entire guest join on stage, including Ringo Starr and Ronnie Wood who actually there to watch the show, play Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released”. The concert is known for being one of the best and it is also a great live CD to own as well as the documentary by Martin Scorsese is a must watch for any music fan. Makes you wonder if The Band would be able to put together a career, let alone this amazing concert without ever playing for Dylan.

What Album Should I buy

I have recently added an article on my website that gives detailed options when it comes to buying Dylan albums for the first time. If you followed my first article and you are a newer fan of Dylan you might be having a hard time deciding what album is the right one for you, well if that is the case it is your lucky day because my article details just what to do in that scenario. For the most part I recommend one of the first seven albums of his career as well as “Blood on the Tracks” his 1975 release. The first seven albums show a great transition from folk to rock with Brining it All Back Home the album that included a little bit of both. The other albums are his first four albums, which all contain heavy folk influences: Bob Dylan, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, The Times Are-a Changing and Another Side of Bob Dylan. The two after Brining it All Back Home are rock based and these include are Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. These albums include many of the greatest Dylan songs ever recorded as well as many of some of his best lesser known works. The majority of these albums were included in RollingStone Magazine’s greatest 500 albums of all time. Know no way is this a definitive list that you must get your next Dylan album from but if you don’t have many Dylan albums I suggest that you start with one of these

http://bobbydylanfan.webs.com/albumtobuy.htm - a link to my article

Dylan's influnce

Dylan is known for his impact on music but there are some amazing musicians that he has had a great influence on, some of the greatest every, and there all his equals. Jimmi Hendrix is seen as one of the greatest guitarist of all times and has a huge fan following. Not only is he known for his incredible guitar rifts, but his rough raspy voice, a voice many say we would have never heard if it wasn’t for Dylan. The story goes that Hendrix was intimated to enter the music world because he knew that he didn’t have the best voice. He knew he could play and write songs, but was afraid that people would not warm up to his voice. He realized that if people could have some much love for Dylan then as long as he produced good music he would not have to worry about a thing, and thank God he did, because music would not be the same without him. Another artist who is known to cite Dylan as an influence was Neil Young. Young’s solo work is very similar to Dylan’s, it covers all sorts of genres of music, and seeing Dylan have the courage to make the music he wanted to help him realize that he could do the same thing. I even have seen an interview in which Young states that he wishes he could be Bob Dylan. The final musician I would like to talk about is the great Johnny Cash. Even though Cash was making music before Dylan, and almost 10 years his senior there has been many stories of how Cash had the upmost respect for Dylan. Cash would sing on Dylan’s Nashville Skyline with a new version of early Dylan song “Girl from the North Country” and Dylan would appear on Cash’s show for numerous duets. This is the short list of people Dylan has affected, and these are some of the biggest names in music, it has always made me wonder what music would be if Dylan never made a single song.

Random Dylan Talks

Being relatively young, only 21, I don’t have many people who share my enthusiasm about Dylan. But none the less you rest a sure that when I stumble upon someone my age that enjoys his music as much as I do it is a well recevied treat. It always seems to go the same way, I’ll be at the bar or some party with some of my friends when somehow some way Dylan comes up in conversation talk to some random kid or kids about Dylan for a hour or so, and go on our merry way. My friends make fun of me for talking to random people when were out but then I remind them that if they want to hear me talk about Dylan for an hour I would be more that happy to do so, the usually then stop making fun of me, and not only to I get to talk about something I am passionate about it is a pleasant break from having the same old boring coversastions about the newest trends with my friends. But to me it is a little sad that the greatest rock artist, with as much popularity that he has still isn’t more important than the newest pop singer to sprout up. I take pride in the fact that since my freshman year of college I have seen trends of music fall and rise but I have always been there with Dylan listening to a music that will never fade.

My top three albums

Choosing my three favorite Dylan Albums was not an easy task, but it is something that I am constantly going over in my head. With Dylan covering so many different genres of music it is nice to have a wide varrtiety to choose from, but makes this even harder. Before I go ahead and give you my list I must warn you, these are not neccasiarily final in my head. I have a tendency to go back and forth with what songs and albums I listen to and they change with the seasons if you will so what I say today may not be the thought that I have in a week. But here we go. My three favorite Dylan albums at this time are the following:

3. Modern Times- Not much can be said that I haven’t had earlier in my previous post, this albums shows that Dylan still is the master, winning a recent Grammy for this masterpiece and seeing him perform more than half the album keeps the album on my mind.

2. Blood on the Tracks- Many see this as Dylan best work. Released in 1975, 13 years since his debut album made sure just in case anyone forgot, that Dylan was still relevant. The album also includes my favorite Dylan song of all times “Tangled Up in Blue”.

1 .Highway 61 Revisited- This includes some of the best Dylan music every created. “Like a Rolling Stone” is one of the greatest rocks songs I have ever heard and by the far one of my favorite. From the snapping snare to harmonica solos I never can seem to get tired of hearing it. The albums also includes the song the album was named for, a song that reads like a poem that covers everything from war to religion. And my favorite song of the album “Ballad of A thin Man” is one I never seem to tire of.