Taking Sides Randy Newman vs. Bob Dylan

Clearly, it's Dylan, since he made the greatest album of all time past and future: John Wesley Harding.

I prefer Newman as performer--Bob Dylan is so anti-craft of any kind, whereas Newman is the exact opposite.

Does Dylan really contain multitudes and all that bullshit, and does Newman just contain Southern California? Dunno, and not sure I care.

The worldview? Does Bob Dylan really have more to say about the human condition, as they call it, than Randy Newman? I have my doubts. I only like Dylan on the basement tapes, and that's mostly because of the Band.

Plus I prefer Newman because Dylan never wrote a song about Roy Wood.

But it's about Jeff Lynne really tho isn't it?

But it's about Jeff Lynne really tho isn't it?

Nope, it's about the Move morphing into ELO, inn't. So, connection--Dylan played with Jeff Lynne, Newman had the sense to just write a song about him (and Roy Wood, and Bev Bevan, and of course Ace Kefford's in there too...)

What?

Yeah, Dylan as songwriter is one thing, he's all right. I don't like his records, for the most part. They're just sloppy, which can be fun, but the point I was making is that Randy Newman really makes crafted, thought-out records and arrangements. I don't get how you can ask if "craft relates to performance" or why "craft" isn't a value, that just seems a bit obtuse to me, maybe I'm missing something in your question. To appreciate Dylan as performer/recordmaker you have to get past a lot of things I myself don't really feel like getting past, because for me the thrill of hearing someone just go at it without regard to niceties is better experienced in other settings. I think you have to buy into the myth of Bob Dylan to really get into him as performer and I've never bought into it. For me it's just the old folkie fallacy and I have little patience for folkiedom. All of which is to say that I think they're both amazing songwriters but I prefer Randy Newman's records. Hope that answers your questions, it all seems a bit obvious to me.

I like Randy Newman quite a bit, but I don't see how he displays more "craft" than Bob Dylan. Unless you are just talking about the sound of his voice, in which case, god please, can we not get into an argument about whether Dylan or Newman has a more technically "correct" voice?

"For me it's just the old folkie fallacy and I have little patience for folkiedom."

That's fine, but what does that have to do with the level of "craft?"

It was "The Story of a Rock & Roll Band" from the Born Again album.

-- stockholm cindy (disco_frie...) (webmail), May 24th, 2004 8:10 PM. (Jody Beth Rosen) (later) (link)

her cover of "i've been wrong before" (also newman) is even better!

Not in 1979 he wasn't.