| October 22nd, 2004 08:14 AM |
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| mac_daddy |
i figured some of you would appreciate this...
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Dylan lets his songs do most of the talking
*The singer and his follow-him-anywhere band reinterpret and revitalize the music.
By Randy Lewis, Times Staff Writer
Bob Dylan has rarely been accused of being a chatterbox in concert. But he dispensed with virtually all performer-audience pleasantries at his tour stop Wednesday at UC Irvine's Bren Events Center. Maybe he felt nothing more needed to be said now that he's gone public about his life for the first time with "Chronicles: Volume One," the recently published first part of his three-volume autobiography.
Without so much as a "Good evening" when he walked on stage or "Thank you" after a single song, the 63-year-old singer-songwriter simply carried out his task of rooting through his extraordinary catalog.
As usual, he drastically recast such touchstone numbers as "The Times They Are A-Changin' " and "All Along the Watchtower," mixed in some left-field choices ("To Be Alone With You" from "Nashville Skyline") and several songs from his latest work (2001's "Love and Theft").
Each received uniformly fresh interpretations from Dylan and his monster four-man band, which purred like a Ferrari for nearly two hours, tightly hugging every curve and roaring down every straightaway their boss laid in front of them.
Dylan frequently delivered lines or entire verses on a single note, a reductionist tactic that forces listeners to focus their attention on songs' meanings instead of letting them lapse into nostalgic singalongs.
Planted behind a keyboard and leaving the acoustic guitar at his right on its stand all evening, Dylan gave "To Be Alone With You" a pumping-piano groove that sounded like what Jerry Lee Lewis might have done with it. The recent "Summer Days" got a swinging '30s jazz arrangement á la Django Reinhardt. Both treatments continued the exploration of roots-music settings that characterize the musical side of "Love and Theft."
It was only during the encore that the voice of his generation finally broke his nonsinging silence to introduce his band. He noted that the quartet's newest member, former Face to Face and Peter Wolf guitarist Stu Kimball, is from Boston. Alluding to the Red Sox beating the New York Yankees earlier in the evening, he smiled and added, "It just goes to show the impossible still can happen."
After a performance as impossibly vital as he gave, what more needs to be said? |
| October 22nd, 2004 11:12 AM |
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| T&A |
I saw bob five times last week. he hasn't said 'boo' to the audience in years...where's this critic been? |
| October 22nd, 2004 12:00 PM |
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| TMR |
imo, this isn't a half bad review. I read one from the Kent show in 2002 and the reviewer complained that Dylan rearranged the old classics to a fashion he doesn't like. I think he said he should have left them alone and now they are unrecognizeable...I forget, it was about 2 years since I read the article. Bad review, bad!!
But Dylan has been a bit more talkative in the shows, busting out jokes in many of the ball park shows. I guess we are just used to him not saying something and when he does, we're all....."yea, Bob said more tonite". I guess these reviewers need to know more about the artists they review.
5 shows last week, eh?...how have the college shows been lately? Some of the setlists look really killer!! |
| October 22nd, 2004 12:09 PM |
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| T&A |
good shows - nothing particularly remarkable. I think we need a new bob album, frankly...sounds like he's gettin' close - was quoted recently saying he had 8 or 9 songs ready to go. Bob's voice is definitely deteriorating. He used it tremendously well during L&T - but he seems to have lost quite a bit since then. I was listening to some of the old gospel-era stuff the other night as well as '78 live - his voice was a thing of astounding emotion back then. |
| October 22nd, 2004 06:03 PM |
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| Martha |
It interests me how much mystique seems to surround Bob when to me he is very open and straightforward, if you pay attention that is. What you see is what you get. Of course there is no one out there doing what he does so maybe that's what the confusion is all about. :-)
"You've got to sit up near the teacher, if you can, if you want to learn anything." |
| October 22nd, 2004 06:07 PM |
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| kath |
i saw him in 1965 or 66 in austin, then again in austin in like '78 or so, haven't seen him since. but even then he didn't talk to the audience at all. just sang his songs, which were like conversations in a way.
love him. nobody could ever top "blonde on blonde"...it's an alltime classic!! |
| October 22nd, 2004 06:10 PM |
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| Martha |
quote:
T&A wrote:
I saw bob five times last week. he hasn't said 'boo' to the audience in years...where's this critic been?
You are one lucky dawg! How were the shows? I can't wait to see him on the 4th and 10th! |
| October 22nd, 2004 07:41 PM |
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| Prodigal Son |
Bob's voice is headed south as usual. A great non-voice though, he just seemed to start heading downhill starting in the early 80s. Ever since has sounded like a cantankerous, grumpy bedridden man with a severe amount of things to get off his chest. But he calmed down and used his voice to great use several times (some mid-80s stuff, Oh Mercy, 1997 onward but now it's just losing steam). How is it that it seems like Bob will be gone and done way before Keith? Bob's been through a lot, but Keith has made Dylan's journey look like the yellow brick road. And yet, he's looking like a man who just doesn't know how to stop. Bob's doing the same, but I fear he won't last much more than another 15 years. Let's enjoy the master while he sticks around.
[Edited by Prodigal Son] |
| October 23rd, 2004 12:06 AM |
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| kath |
well, you gotta admit the man has dodged a LOT of bullets!!! |
| October 23rd, 2004 11:53 AM |
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| F505 |
Dylan's last two records are much, much, much better than the ones the Stones have produced since 'Tattoo you' (not even mentioning 'Oh Mercy' a come back album the Stones would be proud of) |
| October 23rd, 2004 12:25 PM |
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| T&A |
I'll one-up ya, F505...
I'll go so far as to say that the one "dog" in the last few Dylan albums, UTRS (1990), was better than the Stones last 4. It's an overlooked album and it pales by comparison to the one before and 2 after - but it's still relatively good compared to the Stones' paltry output. |
| October 23rd, 2004 06:41 PM |
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| mac_daddy |
quote:
Each received uniformly fresh interpretations from Dylan and his monster four-man band, which purred like a Ferrari for nearly two hours, tightly hugging every curve and roaring down every straightaway their boss laid in front of them.
the review seemed fairly poitive to me...
has he bailed on the two drummer thing..?
what is his current lineup..?
when did he change it..?
(thanks, in advance, for any info.) |
| October 23rd, 2004 06:58 PM |
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| T&A |
the two drummer deal was just in Europe. Recile drums, Tony bass, Stu Kimball and Larry Campbell on geetars. And the ol' ivory tickler himself on kybds of course. |
| October 23rd, 2004 07:06 PM |
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| Gazza |
He only had one drummer in Europe
He ditched the brief "two drummer" experiment midway through the spring North American tour - Washington DC on 4th April being the last time.
Freddy koella was still in the band on lead guitar at that stage, being replaced by Stu Kimball in June |
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