After
the unprecedent announcement of the Nobel Academy that the honoree for this year's
Nobel prize for Literature would be a Pop star, I decided, with the accord of
the readers who actually write comments (yes, both of them!), that I would
start a Bob Dylan best song list. I came up with a Top 125. Now, I could spin
this with "since the Rolling Stones' list included 75 songs, for Dylan there
would have to be more - and everybody does a Top 100, but we don't do what
everybody else does.", but the truth is that when I wrote down the Bob
Dylan songs that are essential to me, I came up with 120. It was easier to add
5 than to subtract 20. So, on with the countdown!
At
#125, we find Thunder on the Mountain. It is the opening track to Modern Times,
his thirty-second studio album, released on August 29, 2006. The album was
Dylan's third straight (following Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft) to be
met with nearly universal praise from fans and critics. On Metacritic, a site
that tracks prominent critical opinion, Modern Times holds a score of 89 out of
100, indicating "universal acclaim" and putting it among the 100 most
acclaimed albums of all-time on the site.
The
album was recorded with Dylan's touring band, including bassist Tony Garnier,
drummer George G Receli, guitarists Stu Kimball and Denny Freeman, plus
multi-instrumentalist Donnie Herron. Dylan produced the album under the name
"Jack Frost".
Many
of the album's songs have roots in well-known older compositions, though in all
cases, Dylan has given the songs new lyrics. Thunder on the Mountain has a second
verse based on the song Ma Rainey by Memphis Minnie. Dylan cuts and shuffles
Memphis Minnie's lyrics substituting Alicia Keys and Hell's Kitchen for Ma
Rainey and her Georgia birthplace. The reference to Keys was listed by Rolling
Stone as among the "ten weirdest shoutouts" in song. The guitar licks
and riffs are typical of Chuck Berry's famous records, with the melody sounding
closest to Let It Rock.
Here
it is:
At
#124, here's If You See Her, Say Hello, a track in his 15th studio album, Blood
on the Tracks (1975), his best album in the 70s, and as the B-side to single Tangled
Up In Blue.
If
You See Her, Say Hello might be the most painful moment on Blood on the Tracks.
Dylan is grappling with fresh grief: "To think of how she left that
night," he sings, "it still brings me a chill." The song went
through extensive revisions – an early draft's "If you're making love to
her, kiss her for the kid" was softened to "If you get close to her,
kiss her once for me." But the final version still cuts close to the bone.
Hearing Dylan admit "Either I'm too sensitive or else I'm gettin'
soft" packs just as much punch as his most venomous songs.
I
couldn't find the original studio version on YouTube, but I've found an equally
effective early outtake which contains the original verses:
For
those of you who want to listen to the original studio version, I managed to
embed it for you:
Here's
a wonderful version by the late, great Jeff Buckley from 1993:
At
#123 we find When You Gonna Wake Up, a track off his 19th studio album, Slow Train Coming, released on August 20,
1979.
It
was the artist's first effort since becoming a born-again Christian, and all of
the songs either express his strong personal faith, or stress the importance of
Christian teachings and philosophy. The evangelical nature of the record
alienated many of Dylan's existing fans; at the same time, many Christians were
drawn into his fan base. Slow Train Coming was listed at #16 in the 2001 book
CCM Presents: The 100 Greatest Albums in Christian Music.
When
You Gonna Wake Up was one of the album's most prominent tracks, a mid-tempo
sermon-like song that touches us, no matter if we are Christian or not.
Unfortunately, even though I've found a YouTube link to the song, it will only
play in certain countries, so I also included a Chinese link. It may be more
complicated to play, but I managed it, so I'm sure you'll do too.
It
seems that there's a YouTube embargo for Dylan's songs or something - and since it's YouTube videos that I'm
allowed to embed to my post, we may have some trouble with our Dylan countdown.
We'll see how it goes...
Here's
the song, for those who are not geo-blocked:
Here's
the alternative Chinese link:
Tomorrow,
more Dylan songs and this week's statistics. Till then!
I hope this goes through as I posted a comment on your Elvis entry that got jacked up three times. First of all, I feel an apology is in order as I encouraged your Dylan list but completely forgot the fact that almost all his studio recordings had been wiped from youtube a few years ago. Good luck sir, you're gonna need it. My relationship with his music has always been more one of admiration than devotion. Of course, there are many great songs, particularly the 60s stuff that I do love but he's just not an artist that I listen to with any frequency. I guess I never connected to him as a young'n so I don't have quite the emotional response that I have for say The Beatles or the Stones. Therefore, I'm looking to you to school me on not only his post-Desire songs but also some of the deep album cuts I may be unfamiliar with. Of the ones you presented, I quite like Thunder On The Mountain but is it me or does this sound like early Dire Straits? Thoughts?
ReplyDeleteGood morning RM! I'm already beginning to regret my decision. I rarely find an original version on YouTube and the existing live ones are usually subpar. It's frustrating, because, as you probably know by now, I like to give the full presentation. Since the Google platform doesn't embed videos from Vimeo or other sources, I can only present a link to the song. Even in other platforms, it's usually alternate takes or live versions that I find, except they're usually of better quality.
DeleteI do agree with your comment on TotM. Dylan was made aware of the Dire Straits when he heard Sultans of Swing - and was rightfully impressed. He invited Mark Knopfler to play guitar on co-produce his 1983 album Infidels and he also worked with him in other occasions. So, obviously there was an influence, which I too realized the moment you pointed it to me.
I would love to read your post on Elvis. Would you please try again? If you have your own Top 10 or Top 20 or whatever, I'd like to see it, in order to compare notes.
By the way, I'd like your opinion on the Rolling Stones songs in my Top 10 that didn't make your own. You have mentioned that Ruby Tuesday only just missed your Top 10. What about Sympathy for the Devil, Paint It Black, Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow? and Wild Horses? Would they be in your Top 20, 30, or even lower?
All the Stones songs you mentioned would undoubtedly be somewhere in my top 30 with the possible exception of HYSYMBSITS. Just not one of my favorites. This also reminds me that we never finished our Beatles ranking so I'll have to get on that forthwith.
ReplyDeleteThis also goes out to your silent readership. C'mon people, don't be shy. We don't bite...well, maybe just a little.
Thanks RM! I'll be very happy to complete the Beatles' list alongside yours. I think there's only one time period missing, the post-psychedelic years. As for our silent readers, I've made that plea a lot of times... Perhaps I should start handing out gifts.
DeleteBy the way, did you realize that they've removed all of our comments from NewNowNext? That was a very callous and insensitive thing to do. It's as if they're punishing us. Nasty people!
Not only that but if I now want to comment or merely like or dislike one, I have to register on Facebook. To which I say a resounding F*ck You! The site now sucks anyway.
ReplyDeleteYes, it does. I used to occasionally visit, but after the latest developments I stopped doing so altogether.
Delete