Daniel Lanois

The Further Adventures of Bob Dylan on the Brain

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / Leave a comment

loveandtheft

“Well, there’s voices in the night trying to be heard
I’m sitting here listening to every mind-polluting word
I know plenty of people who would put me up for a day or two
Yes, I’m tryin’ to get closer but I’m still a million miles from you” (Bob Dylan)

As of this report, I’ve made it all the way to the year 2001. In Bob Dylan time, that translates to the album Love and Theft. By this point, his voice has lost whatever velvety softness it ever had and has picked up a growly quality, kinda like ol’ Bob’s been gargling with razor blades.

Still, his voice also has a lived-in quality, like it’s from a man who’s been just about everywhere, man, and seen just about everything and lived to tell about it. Not all of it was pretty, but just about all of it makes for some really good songs.

I have to add that I think the Daniel Lanois-produced album Time out of Mind would have made an excellent musical companion to the short-lived TV show Twin Peaks. Particularly the song “Million Miles” sounds like it could have fit perfectly in with a slice of apple pie and a “damn good” cup of coffee. I especially love the reverb on the guitars. (I almost sound like I know what I’m talking about, right?) I think the Grammys got it right when they made this the album of the year way back in 1997.

He also did a couple of throwback albums, entitled Good as I Been to You and World Gone Wrong, that hearken back to when it was just Bob, his guitar, and his harmonica. I thought he did a fantastic cover of the old song “Tomorrow Night,” made famous by Sun Records-era Elvis Presley, among others. The plaintive song brings out the best in Mr. Dylan’s vocal abilities, at least in this writer’s humble opinion.

I only have five albums to go (six if I run across a great deal on his 2015 album or one of his bootlegs that I don’t have). I guess I’ll have to decide after that who to listen to next. Maybe Neil Young?

More Bob Dylan on the Brain

/ Ragamuffingospelfan / 3 Comments

3992197_165

“Oh, the tree of life is growing
Where the spirit never dies
And the bright light of salvation shines
In dark and empty skies

When the cities are on fire
With the burning flesh of men
Just remember that death is not the end
And you search in vain to find
Just one law-abiding citizen
Just remember that death is not the end
Not the end, not the end
Just remember that death is not the end” (Bob Dylan)

I’m still on my Bob Dylan kick. By now, I’ve listened to all my Dylan CDs up to Oh Mercy, the Daniel Lanois-produced 1989 album that marked a sort of artistic comeback for him in the eyes of many.

I also know most people consider this a low point in Dylan’s career. If you go to amazon.com or any other music site, you’ll find that most people revile such albums of his as Empire Burlesque, Knocked Out Loaded, and Down in the Groove.

I don’t think they’re bad albums. I have to admit the songs aren’t quite up to the standards of his amazing output in the 60’s, but I think that if these albums had anybody else’s name on them, they might be looked at differently. I also think that part of the problem is that the CDs are poorly mixed (in this writer’s opinion) and Bob’s vocals get buried in the accompaniments sometimes. I definitely think remastering these albums would help immensely.

But I also think that many of these songs, although they are good, aren’t just that memorable. They don’t linger in my mind like “Blowin’ in the Wind” or “My Back Pages” do.

I’d say that there is still a fair amount of spirituality in these albums. It’s not so overtly stated as in his Christian albums, but it’s there for those who know what to listen for.

Oh Mercy is probably my favorite album he did in the 80’s, largely in part to one Mr. Lanois who knew what he was doing when he produced this album.

I still have eight albums to go. I also must confess that I don’t own every single album of his (gasp!) I’m actually missing albums entitled Self-Portrait, Dylan (not the one with the red cover), one or two live albums, and the newest release– Strangers in the Night, an album of standards made famous by Frank Sinatra and others.

More to come later. Stay tuned.