Bob Dylan - Tempest, Sept. 11, 2012

Points deducted from Roll On John for encouraging corny critics to end their reviews with a chummy "Roll On Bob."

i think dylan's vocal sells Roll On John. feels a bit out of place on an album that is steeped in pre-war (pre civil war?) language/culture/etc, but it's working for me.

Roll On, John was the first song I erased.

I didn't make it past the second verse the first time I heard it. Haven't bothered to go back either.

Helpful that he put those two epics at the end. They're like really long bonus tracks.

I listened to this the first time totally blind, not knowing the track order or what was playing or anything. I kept thinking, "ah, this is the epic Titanic song!" And then it wasn't. And then I'd think "OK, this must be the epic Titanic song," and then it wasn't. And then the epic Titanic song played, and I was pretty much, yeah, OK, this is the epic Titanic song. So I got comfortable.

I don't think this Jody Rosen review was ever linked here:

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/culture/2012/09/older-than-that-now-dylans-tempest.html

That's good, especially on the singing:

He sings with a jazzman’s feel for rhythmic play, laying back behind the beat, rushing ahead of it, bending, distending, and cutting short his raggedy notes. He has dramatic flair that places him in the company of Sinatra, Billie Holiday, and George Jones: an actor’s way with line readings, a knack for making the musical conversational and vice versa.

saw bob last night -- and he played absolutely nothing from Tempest. Which was kind of a bummer. But the show was good. Crazy grizzled voice, but the honky tonkin' arrangements worked for me. Wish he'd let the band cut loose a little more. I kept thinking what a weird gig being in Bob's band must be -- they're all obviously pretty chopsy dudes, but they have to deal with this total musical primitive leading the band. Dylan's piano playing is pretty hilarious (in a mostly entertaining way). he just clomps around, hitting weird, off-kilter block chords, or picks a descending/ascending riff to play throughout the whole song. it'd be one thing if the piano was mixed super low, but last night it was mixed as the lead instrument.
knopfler opened, pretty snoozy. lotsa watered down celtic stuff, occasionally cool guitar playing. he should call his band The Bald Band.

Knopfler put Tulsa to sleep last night. Thankfully, Dylan was in fine form, though he dances like a Muppet. Yes, I said dances. Several times throughout the set he left the piano to play the frontman, and sort of bopped around the front of the stage like a three year old, making slight knee bends and shoulder lifts to the beat.

Really odd (& pretty great) setlist, but again nothing from this record. A piano-less, echo-drenched "Ballad of a Thin Man" was a definite highlight. Only one encore but the initial set was quite long.

Dunno about his life guitar-playing now, but when I saw him in the 90s, he had some great solos, electric and acoustic (also for inst in the 70s TV special Hard Rain, he plays slide on "Shelter From The Storm"). The current (and sometimes eccentric) emphasis on piano might have something do with arthritis (I hear things). Traditionally of course, tracks featuring and maybe written on piano were often pretty special: "Thin Man", "Dear Landlord", "Down Along The Cove", "If Dogs Run Free", "Winterlude", "Dirge", and "Apple Suckling Tree", for that matter.

*live* guitar-playing, I meant.

dylan didn't touch a guitar when I saw him this week -- i've heard the same rumors about arthritis (or maybe back problems). and yeah, the dancing was fun. kind of made me think of cab calloway, or something.

I will not be fooled. I've fallen asleep the last two times I saw him, and there's no way he's singing better today than then a few years ago. Factor in a return to arenas, and if he died tonight I'd feel like I got my Dylan-ful.

BTW, he's been doing that little jig-dance a lot over the past few years. Reviews almost always cite it as a sign that he's either having fun or has a sense of humor, but again, I will not be fooled. Dylan must be pretty lacking when folks bring up his silly dancing as some sort of draw. "Come for the music, stay for the dancing!"

I'm sorry you won't be fooled Josh. It was lot of fun and better than when I saw him in 2001.

I mean, I wish! But I've seen him at least half a dozen times post-2001, from small clubs to bigger theaters, and half of them were OK, and half totally lame, and all would have been more or less the same whether he was there or not. I had fun at the ones that didn't put me to sleep, but that's largely because Dylan is such a bizarre dude these days, and certainly not based on his playing, singing, songs, etc. It's a shame, really. Like, Leonard Cohen has never been much of a singer, and these days he's even more the non-vocalist and much older than Bob to boot. But I had tons more fun when I saw him a few years back than at even the best of the Dylans. Again, sadly.

i get it -- there are certainly tiny things bob could adjust in his live shows that would make them a hundred times more crowd-pleasing. he's really the weirdest dude to have such a mass audience. i dunno though, i think i'm just invested enough in dylan's whole career that it's always interesting to me. and fun! i was grinning most of the time during the show this week. maybe i'm an enabler!

If the name "Bob Dylan" wasn't on the ticket stub, I can't imagine he would have gotten a positive live review in the last, I dunno, decade.

Since you've caught all his shows in the last, I dunno, decade.

I know what he's getting at. Dylan is easily the weakest link in his shows, and it's come to the point where his erratic performances have perversely become an attribute. Ergo, you can't tell what song he's singing=Dylan is radically rearranging his songs. He doesn't play guitar=he's willfully subverting expectations. He doesn't play anything off his new, well-reviewed album=he's being contrarian. He does a little jig=he's placing himself in the tradition of American song and dance men. I've been guilty of this myself. But then I go back and listen to shows from the guy back when he was on fire, and the current Dylan just doesn't cut it when, as per Tyler, with just a few adjustments he probably would. And with a few major adjustments, he could be as radically exciting as he once was. But the reason Dylan doesn't do that it as mysterious as the reasoning behind the Never Ending Tour itself. The man is clearly compelled, yet not compelling. His current mode, as thrilling as its recorded highs have been, is starting to seem like a safe haven for him, a sort of creative purgatory. I wonder if we'll ever get another radical revision of the Dylan persona?

He's had dry spells before, prob waiting, looking for another spark.

Or, Josh, you could just be talking out your ass and Dylan is still doing just fine, with as many on and off nights and individual song performances as always. Based on my personal experience, I'm going to believe the eyes and ears that caught his excellent show last night.

Sorry for being rude, but I think your going too far in your dismissal of Dylan's current production. I understand feeling taken in -- I've seen plenty of disappointing shows from many artists over the years -- but I have to say the chances he took last night he didn't take a decade ago, and the returns were much higher than in the incredibly solid but predictable show I saw in 2001, or in many of the boots I've heard from across the last 20 years. He can still astound, even without playing new songs or the guitar.

Taking it back to Tempest, I'm not that crazy about some of the lyrics, but musically it's tight, at least some of which comes from keeping that band (and himself) working dang near every night. Lotta good studio albums have appeared during the Endless Tour. Also too many live boots to keep up with, so what else can you trust but your own ears, on whatever enchanted,disenchanted or quirky evening.

Perfect summation, dow.

Josh is my personal friend and my bro and I love him, but ... yeah he kind of is being a tool on this thread about this issue. Josh, I love you to death but your attitude here seems almost willfully militant about your, i dunno, "distrust" of Dylan I guess. Specifically this "won't be fooled" comment. I dunno what to tell you, you either enjoy what he does now or you don't. You don't have to come on the thread and poo-pooh him and assert that he tries to "fool" people. God that's just weird. He is what is he is now. He is an old man. I still think he does a fantastic job, but then I've always dug weird-ass voices. Don Van Vliet. Jimmy Scott. John Lydon. Hell, even Steve Marriott in his prime had one of the weirdest voices in rock when you really think about.

Is Dylan's voice diminished right now? Of course it is! I still feel like he has a lot of fun with it, and he brings the best "A" game he can, every night. But the main thing I would want to emphasize is how *INCREDIBLE* his band is. I mean they are just such a joy to watch. I've seen them like 12 times since 2005. I see every single show in the area, and in fact I road tripped to Fort Wayne earlier this summer to see them at the minor league baseball stadium. I did a road trip back in 2009 to his Dayton and Cleveland shows. The one thing I will say is that, yeah, I am 100% disappointed in Bob for not playing 'Tempest' songs right now. I mean that really is nuts and kind of against his nature! When 'Modern Times' came out he featured it extensively. Then when 'Together Through Life' came out he played a bunch from it too! Like, actually, at that aforementioned Dayton show that I attended, I believe that was the actual live debut of "If You Ever Go To Houston". "If You Ever Go To Houston" was my absolute favorite track from 'Together Through Life', so I can't tell you how thrilled I felt to be there at the Dayton Dragons stadium watching Bob and his band perform it. Unreal. They also did a fucking amazing "Cold Irons Bound" on that wonderful Friday night

But this brings up the thing -- his band is really amazing right now. well, for the last decade of working together, and understanding the material as intensely they do. I mean there is absolutely nothing more pleasing to me in the world than watching George Recile and Tony Garnier interact with each other. There is a reason why his tours are billed as "Bob Dylan AND HIS BAND". This particular group of men -- Receli, Garnier, Sexton, Kimball and Heron, they deserve to be grouped as their own unit, I mean it should be "Bob Dylan and the Seahawks" or "Bob Dylan and the Chargers" or whatever the hell; whatever, the guys seem cool with being relatively anonymous at this point. It really is an incredible ensemble. And there was a palpable difference when Charlie Sexton rejoined them in 2010. like, big time. But whatever Josh, go ahead and poo-pooh, I will be there at the United Center on Friday, and I cannot fucking wait

i mean the thing worth noting is that, yeah, ok, if you are not down with the sound of Dylan's voice, that is fine, whatever, but you still get to see an amazing rock and roll band -- these guys have made a career decision to stick with Dylan and play with him, and they are fantastic at it. I dunno, you either like live music or you don't I guess. By the way, the idea of belittling the way Bob is rearranging these songs is also a joke. It absolutely IS fascinating and contributes to how great his current shows are

I dunno, you either like live music or you don't I guess.

whoa -- that's not how I interpreted Josh's demurrals.

I love Dylan's last few albums. I have no problem with the voice on record, and certainly not the songs. And I've seen the guy been good, and his band is always great. Always. But the last couple of times I've seen him he has simply not been up to snuff, even taking into account various handicaps. In fact, I think it's the quality of the band that has kept me interested, which is why I called Dylan the weakest link. I'm not sure what he's bringing to the table beyond being Bob Dylan, which, granted, is a considerable attribute! But I still can't wrap my head around the idea of people actually preferring current Dylan the live performer - not the band, not the albums he's touring behind - to numerous previous Dylans. Having a good time, sure - it's live rock and roll! But giving the guy a total pass? More power to you folks. I don't distrust Dylan, but I don't believe he's fully committed to what he's doing, either. Not exactly. Which of course is part of Dylan's appeal, and as long as he keeps putting out good records I'm cool with that. But live - I dunno. I'm perfectly willing to admit my frustration stems from not getting the transcendence I expect from an artist of this peerless skill, but then again, delivering total satisfaction has been the antithesis of Dylan from the beginning.

I'm also perfectly willing to admit that maybe I've simply seen him too much lately! I mean, I literally fell asleep twice, not just because I was tired, but because his awesome band wasn't doing anything new with the songs. I'm super glad Sexton in particular has brought the spark back, but I still have doubts how well Dylan will go over at the United Center, where he hasn't played since ... 2002? I want to say almost ten years ago to the week. I remember, because I left early to see the Drive-By Truckers do "Southern Rock Opera" in its entirety at the Hideout that same night. And they killed it.

(I'd also be lying if I claimed I wouldn't be at the Friday show if I did not have Louis C.K. tickets. Louis C.K. these days is like '65 Dylan)

want to hear Lex's take on this: Nicki Minaj incensed at Steven Tyler's suggestion that she wouldn't appreciate Bob Dylan
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1697941/nicki-minaj-steven-tyler-cornfield-diss-racist.jhtml

cornfield!

american idol, so quick to generously propel and reward idiosyncratic talents like bob dylan until they ruinously handed the keys to nicki minaj

cornfield

Racist.

isn't that a Twilight Zone reference?

I think the perfect condensed 40-minute LP version of this would have tracks 1-4 on the A side, then "Pay in Blood" and "Tempest" on the B side.

In an unusual response to provisions in a new European copyright law, scheduled to take effect by 2014, Sony Music has released a compilation of early Bob Dylan recordings that is bound to become one of his most collectible albums. “The 50th Anniversary Collection,” which carries a subtitle — “The Copyright Extension Collection, Vol. 1” — that explains its purpose, was rushed to only a handful of record shops in Germany, France, Sweden and Britain just after Christmas.

Only about 100 copies of the four-CD set were produced, with sparse packaging and an insert listing the details of the set’s 86 tracks, all previously unreleased studio outtakes and live recordings from 1962 and 1963. It also comes as a downloadable version, available through the singers’s Web site, bobdylan.com, but only to fans who log on from France or Germany. (Prices for the CD set vary from country to country, from the equivalent of $39 to, in Britain, $138).

at first i liked tempest
then i didn't really like it
but i'm listening now again and it sound great

dylan albums are weird, they go up and down for me in weird ways. i need a dow jones dylan index or something.

but yes anyway tempest closing high in the asian markets, up 20 on the NASDAQ today

whoa -- listened to it yesterday morning on the drive to work. I skipped the slow ones.

haha, yeah i'm having a hard time deciding on this one too... sometimes it sounds awesome, sometimes i feel kinda bored. he's playing more of these songs live now, interested in hearing some of the arrangements.

he's really playing a bunch of these songs now (and really, a bunch of 21st century songs, too) -- check out the setlist from last night. premiered "roll on john" too.

Blackpool, England
Opera House Theatre
November 24, 2013

1. Things Have Changed (Bob center stage)
2. She Belongs To Me (Bob center stage with harp)
3. Beyond Here Lies Nothin' (Bob on grand piano, Donnie on electric mandolin)
4. What Good Am I? (Bob on grand piano, Tony on standup bass)
5. Duquesne Whistle (Bob on grand piano, Tony on standup bass)
6. Waiting For You (Bob on grand piano)
7. Pay In Blood (Bob center stage)
8. Tangled Up In Blue (Bob on grand piano)
9. Love Sick (Bob center stage with harp, Donnie on electric mandolin)
(Intermission)
10. High Water (For Charley Patton)
(Bob center stage with harp, Donnie on banjo, Tony on standup bass)
11. Simple Twist Of Fate (Bob on grand piano)
12. Early Roman Kings (Bob on grand piano)
13. Forgetful Heart (Bob center stage with harp, Donnie on violin, Tony on standup bass)
14. Spirit On The Water (Bob on grand piano, Tony on standup bass)
15. Scarlet Town (Bob on grand piano, Donnie on banjo, Tony on standup bass)
16. Soon After Midnight (Bob on grand piano)
17. Long And Wasted Years (Bob center stage)

(encore)
18. All Along The Watchtower (Bob on grand piano)
19. Roll On John (Bob on grand piano, Tony on standup bass)

maybe i'm the only one impressed with it, but seems impressive that he's barely leaning on the 60s-70s these days. anyhow, here's a recording of a show from last week:
http://bigozine2.com/roio/?p=1651

nah that's totally impressive, might download that set! Bob's 21st century is better than his 80s and 90s & I might take it over his 70s too

to the delight of millions, he's finally playing that song from the ya-ya sisterhood soundtrack

Ha ha. I assume he is still mumbling/vocalizing in a cigarette-stained voice. Is he changing the arrangements of these more recent songs too?

The Tempest songs seem to be sticking to the original arrangements for the most part, and Bob actually sounds pretty good vocally -- check out "soon after midnight" - http://www.bigozine2.com/TRK/BDglasgow/BDglasgow207.mp3
i mean, he's not smooth or anything, but...

I love gravelly Bob. Gonna have to check out that show.

I love Roll On John, strongest song on the record for me initially

Really into this tonight as well.

Interesting read:
http://www.thenation.com/blog/170289/bob-dylans-tempest-qa-greil-marcus#