Am I wrong? Like, really wrong?
I've just found out that I'm wrong about almost all the things I was sure I wasn't wrong about. Well, I'm wrong about some things. Well, OK, I'm wrong about the fact that Bob Dylan at Budokan (his 1978 live album) is good.
At least, so it would seem.
I was always under the impression that the radical reworkings of Dylan's songbook were inspiring and added immeasurably to the original ditties. Like the Rolling Thunder Revue bootlegs showed, Dylan just sounds better with a big fucking band — especially if it's so big that few of the musicians can hear themselves, Bob, or anyone else on the stage. The mess, the confusion, the barely-held-togetherness of it all sort of captures the essence of rock'n'roll, in much the same way that a Velvet Underground feedback jam or a Ramones wall of noise does.
Perhaps the people who don't like it are the ones who still can't forgive Bob for going electric. Personally I don't think I'd ever have bothered to listen to Dylan had he not gone electric — it has to be the single greatest thing to happen to music since the invention of feedback. Maybe…
But, I'm obviously way off on this one, which is a blow.
The All Music Guide is pretty scathing, with this to say: "[Budokan is] interesting historically, perhaps, but only marginally." Ouch!
I'm not saying it's all brilliant, but it mostly is. There are at five tracks which get on my nerves, the last three on disc one (I Shall Be Released, Is your Love in Vain and Going, Going, Gone) and the last two on disc two (Forever Young and The Times They Are A-Changin'), but these are songs I never really liked in the first place, so I'm not sure they count. There's a lot of warbling in there…
But when you weigh those five songs against the majority of the album they pale into insignificance. I defy anyone to listen to that amazing, Fuck You version of It's Alright Ma and remain unmoved. Or the stripped down version of I Want You, which works so much better its jaunty and totally out of place counterpart on Blonde On Blonde. And what about It Ain't Me Babe? Or Maggie's Farm? Or Don't Think Twice…? All masterful reworkings of already incredible songs.
AMG lists the moods associated with Budokan as: Swaggering; Sardonic; Urgent; Snide; Intense; Autumnal; Cynical/Sarcastic; Bitter; Warm; Lively; Enigmatic; Yearning; Wistful; Intimate; Searching; Bittersweet; Poignant; Rousing; Energetic; Freewheeling; and Acerbic. If that list doesn't convince you that AMG is full of arse, nothing will. Would the word Freewheeling have appeared had Dylan's second album not held that title? And then all the other stuff. One word: Bum.
Of course, a lot of the Budokan stuff pales in comparison with the Rolling Thunder Revue bootleg stuff, but that was perhaps too good. How can the ponderous Desire rendition of Isis ever compare to its invective Rolling Thunder incarnation? ("She said, You been GONE/I said, That's only NATchurl/She said, You gonna STAY?/I said, If you want me to, YEAH!") And that's just one example, there are many more.
I'm not sure what it is that people don't like about Budokan, although AMG (again) says, "The dedicated aren't going to be dazzled by the slickness and the casual fans certainly aren't going to pay much attention to a live album from 1978." So, the casual fans aren't going to bother with something worth listening to? (Having perused the tracklist for the Bob Best Ofs I'm led to suspect this might be true, but only because a 'casual' Bob listener isn't really paying attention.) Die hards are a funny bunch anyway, unpredictable, fickle and unfailingly loyal-while-being-ruthlessly-critical. I'm not sure if I'm a die hard, but I suppose anyone who can listen to the 'lesser' Bobums (I include Planet Waves, Self Portrait, Infidels and everything else from the '80s here) and still find the genius and/or forgive him for the musical transgressions within probably counts. That includes me, then. I love damn thing!
After careful consideration, I believe I'm actually right and those who say otherwise are the ones with mistaken ideas. I'm happy to argue the point though. What could be more fun than a passionate argument about Dylan? Gawd, a Bobnerd am I.
Could be worse though. I could be a Paul Simonnerd or a Neil Youngnerd. Yick!
{EDIT} Ballad of a Thin Man, another outstanding rendition which proves me right. The Highway 61 version is a work of staggering genius, but this reinterpretation blows it out of the water. No more shall I rant…
At least, so it would seem.
I was always under the impression that the radical reworkings of Dylan's songbook were inspiring and added immeasurably to the original ditties. Like the Rolling Thunder Revue bootlegs showed, Dylan just sounds better with a big fucking band — especially if it's so big that few of the musicians can hear themselves, Bob, or anyone else on the stage. The mess, the confusion, the barely-held-togetherness of it all sort of captures the essence of rock'n'roll, in much the same way that a Velvet Underground feedback jam or a Ramones wall of noise does.
Perhaps the people who don't like it are the ones who still can't forgive Bob for going electric. Personally I don't think I'd ever have bothered to listen to Dylan had he not gone electric — it has to be the single greatest thing to happen to music since the invention of feedback. Maybe…
But, I'm obviously way off on this one, which is a blow.
The All Music Guide is pretty scathing, with this to say: "[Budokan is] interesting historically, perhaps, but only marginally." Ouch!
I'm not saying it's all brilliant, but it mostly is. There are at five tracks which get on my nerves, the last three on disc one (I Shall Be Released, Is your Love in Vain and Going, Going, Gone) and the last two on disc two (Forever Young and The Times They Are A-Changin'), but these are songs I never really liked in the first place, so I'm not sure they count. There's a lot of warbling in there…
But when you weigh those five songs against the majority of the album they pale into insignificance. I defy anyone to listen to that amazing, Fuck You version of It's Alright Ma and remain unmoved. Or the stripped down version of I Want You, which works so much better its jaunty and totally out of place counterpart on Blonde On Blonde. And what about It Ain't Me Babe? Or Maggie's Farm? Or Don't Think Twice…? All masterful reworkings of already incredible songs.
AMG lists the moods associated with Budokan as: Swaggering; Sardonic; Urgent; Snide; Intense; Autumnal; Cynical/Sarcastic; Bitter; Warm; Lively; Enigmatic; Yearning; Wistful; Intimate; Searching; Bittersweet; Poignant; Rousing; Energetic; Freewheeling; and Acerbic. If that list doesn't convince you that AMG is full of arse, nothing will. Would the word Freewheeling have appeared had Dylan's second album not held that title? And then all the other stuff. One word: Bum.
Of course, a lot of the Budokan stuff pales in comparison with the Rolling Thunder Revue bootleg stuff, but that was perhaps too good. How can the ponderous Desire rendition of Isis ever compare to its invective Rolling Thunder incarnation? ("She said, You been GONE/I said, That's only NATchurl/She said, You gonna STAY?/I said, If you want me to, YEAH!") And that's just one example, there are many more.
I'm not sure what it is that people don't like about Budokan, although AMG (again) says, "The dedicated aren't going to be dazzled by the slickness and the casual fans certainly aren't going to pay much attention to a live album from 1978." So, the casual fans aren't going to bother with something worth listening to? (Having perused the tracklist for the Bob Best Ofs I'm led to suspect this might be true, but only because a 'casual' Bob listener isn't really paying attention.) Die hards are a funny bunch anyway, unpredictable, fickle and unfailingly loyal-while-being-ruthlessly-critical. I'm not sure if I'm a die hard, but I suppose anyone who can listen to the 'lesser' Bobums (I include Planet Waves, Self Portrait, Infidels and everything else from the '80s here) and still find the genius and/or forgive him for the musical transgressions within probably counts. That includes me, then. I love damn thing!
After careful consideration, I believe I'm actually right and those who say otherwise are the ones with mistaken ideas. I'm happy to argue the point though. What could be more fun than a passionate argument about Dylan? Gawd, a Bobnerd am I.
Could be worse though. I could be a Paul Simonnerd or a Neil Youngnerd. Yick!
{EDIT} Ballad of a Thin Man, another outstanding rendition which proves me right. The Highway 61 version is a work of staggering genius, but this reinterpretation blows it out of the water. No more shall I rant…
posted by Stephen McMullin at 2:14 pm
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