Or Else Expecting Rain

 

Check out the lyrics for Dylan’s Desolation Row. 

 

How can one guy be this …  insightful, cutting, good, clever, empathic, cynical, hypnotic, intimate?

 

Thanks, Bob.  Wow!  Ouch!  Right on!  Yeah, that’s what I thought.

 

I think.

Deep Inside My Heart I Know I Can’t Escape

 

Here’s some heresy for you:

 

Who is the greatest blues songwriter?  Willie Dixon?  Robert Johnson?  Howlin’ Wolf?  Muddy Waters?  B.B. King?

 

I think a serious case could be made for one Robert Zimmerman.

Ol’ Poor Boy

 

The older I get, the more I understand why George Harrison revered Carl Perkins.

We Can’t Rewind, We’ve Gone Too Far

 

Maybe it’s not high art, but poignant lyrics and a thoughtful arrangement

elevate Video Killed the Radio Star above the status of just a silly pop song.

Time Is Tight

 

Who’s on your list of tightest bands of all time?  Led Zeppelin?  U2?  The Allman Brothers?  Jethro Tull?  Yes?  AC/DC?  Steely Dan?

 

Have a listen to Melting Pot by Booker T. & the MG’s and tell me they don’t belong.

She’ll Never Break

 

The Stones should have re-recorded Heart of Stone when they were making Voodoo Lounge.  I mean, they were always good, but their musicianship and production was just so much better later on.

Don’t Think Twice

 

In the run up to Bob Dylan’s 80^th birthday, there have been dozens of articles offering praise, trivia and insights.  As a fan, of course I read them.

 

One of the more interesting tidbits I picked up was the notion that Dylan’s songs are paintings.  You don’t have to understand them.  You don’t even have to like them.  You only have to know whether they speak to you.

 

Speaking for myself, they do.  Yeah, they do.

Ain’t No Life Nowhere

 

You want psychedelic?  Listen to I Don’t Live Today by Jimi Hendrix.  That’s psychedelic.

Kick Off Your Shoes, Start Losin’ The Blues

Have a listen to The House Is Rockin’ by Stevie Ray Vaughan, then have a listen to Shape I’m In by Arc Angels.

 

Talk about continuity!

 

You’ll Be Laughing

 

I have a playlist called Rock and Roll Heaven (it’s short; about a hundred songs).  The other night when I was listening to it, the first three songs that played were:

1. Be My Lover by Alice Cooper 
2. John Lennon’s cover of Stand By Me 
3. Permanent Waves by The Kinks 

 

Aside from reminding me that the 70’s wasn’t all disco and prog wankarama, what do they have in common?  Well, if you made a Venn diagram of the three artists, you’d find humour in the centre.

 

Sure, John gives one of his overpowering performances where you believe Every. Single. Word.  

 

But John was the funniest guy in a very funny band called The Beatles who were constantly amused that we all took them so seriously.  Alice Cooper could never be accused of taking himself seriously.  Ditto Ray Davies.

 

Yes, a lot of us are still hopeful that music can change the world, but it’s a healthy reminder that, although it might not be a joke, Rock and Roll really is just a bit of fun.