Last Thoughts On Bob Dylan (Part 1)

“You're not going to use the real story, Mr. Scott?”
“No, sir. This is the West, sir. When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.” - The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

What is he? He wrote some great lines amid a ton of nonsense. The greatest live album of all time is the 1966 “Royal Albert Hall Concert” where the audience boos him for playing rock music, supposedly feeling that was a form of selling out. Before they play their last song someone in the audience yells out “Judas”. 2000 years ago Judas hung himself on a tree, 1966 years later he drives the fucking nails in himself. He was never as good again, no matter how many critics pretend that his last couple albums are as good as anything he’s ever done. They’re not. They’re blues songs people have been playing for 60 years. You’ve heard “‘Rollin’ and Tumblin’” and “Someday Baby” before. They’re not “new takes” on old ideas. They’re not “saying anything”. If it turns you on to listen to the same fucking blues song you’ve heard 8 billion times before then Modern Times is for you.


How much can someone be blamed for the legend that grows up around them? Clearly he’s partly to blame, but much of the way he’s perceived is out of his control. Bob Dylan wrote some great rock lyrics, adapted some great folk songs, and played the greatest rock concerts ever throughout 1966. And that’s all, and that’s enough. So when your constantly told that he’s the greatest genius, and the greatest artist, and the greatest poet, it gets boring, and it gets old. and it gets old. and it gets old. and it gets old.

In a 2001 article in Rolling Stone written by Mark Jacobson he writes, “Someday, no doubt, when the keepers of the tower officially allow that Bob was one of the two or three greatest American artists of the second half of the twentieth century, Dylanology will be boiled down to a standard three credits, a dry bonepile of jewels and binoculars to squeeze in between the Yeatsology and Whitmanology.”



Why only the “second half of the twentieth century”? Why not the entire twentieth century? Actually, who was better then Bob Dylan in the last 5000 years?


And here’s another article from Rolling Stone in their “100 Greatest Artists of All Time” issue in 2004. (Dylan’s number two on the list). It’s written by one of the greatest guitarists ever, Robbie Robertson, who played with Dylan during his greatest period in the mid 60's.

“But Bob is a great barometer for young singers and songwriters. As soon as they think they've written something good -- "I'm pushing the envelope here, I've made a breakthrough" -- they should listen to one of his songs. He will always stand as the one to measure good work by.”


Which song Robbie? By “one song” do you mean one in particular or could I pick any one? (The hack move here would be to pick his shittiest song and say “how about this one?” but I won’t do that. I could have though.)

To be continued