The Aaron Copland / Bob Dylan connection


Do I have your attention now?!

I am about 2/5th's the way into an amazing book that anyone with the slightest interest in American art forms should find well worth his or her time. It was written by Sean Wilentz, a Professor of American History at Princeton, and author of a few books on that subject. But the book I'm reading is entitled Bob Dylan In America, and it is, hands down, the best writing on Dylan I have yet to read. And I have read a lot about Dylan!

Wilentz starts the book by laying out the context within which Dylan's work will be examined and discussed, starting with the very American music of Aaron Copland. I guarantee you, you have never before heard what Wilentz has to say about the connection between that composer and Dylan. The next section is about the overlap between the Beat writers and the Folk singers of the late 50's and early 60's, but not without tracing their origins back to the 1930's. The relationship between Dylan and Allen Ginsberg is discussed in great detail, and continues into future chapters. It is fascinating stuff.

Wilentz finally gets to Dylan himself, and provides details on the writing and recording of Bob's first six albums, as well as the live shows coinciding with them, culminating in by far the best examination of his masterpiece, "Blonde On Blonde", I have read. Every song, every recording session, every musician involved (there are some surprises!), all examined with fanatical attention to detail. I thought I already knew a lot about the album, but I learned much more than I already knew. Absolutely fantastic!

I do believe this may be the best book I have ever read on the subject of, not just Dylan, but of any artist. I found it at my Public Library, but I'm going to buy a copy. That I'll want to read it again I have no doubt.


128x128bdp24

bdp24

 

Any early predictions for Bootleg Series Vol. 18 ?

 

Happy Listening!

I've been obsessing on the Oh Mercy album for the past week, and loving it.

bdp24

 

Bob Dylan- The Complete Budokan 1978 (4-CD or 8 LP) November.

 

Celebrates 45th Anniversary.

Happy Listening!

bdp24

 

Planet Waves era or Street Legal is still being requested on the various Dylan forums. As well as early 60's material.

 

Happy Listening!

bdp24

 

I will keep you posted as developments occur.  Happy Listening!

Haven't a clue @jafant. But I would love any Planet Waves unreleased tracks or alternative versions. And an expanded Before The Flood---from the 1974 tour with The Band, if any unreleased tracks exist.

Bill Graham sold tickets for the San Francisco Dylan/Band show in a mail-order raffle manner, and received requests for ten times the number of tickets available. I was one of the 90% who was disappointed. 😭 

bdp24

 

Any predictions for Vol.18 this year? Excitement mounts.

 

Happy Listening!

@jafant: I bought all the deluxe CD boxset versions of previous Bootleg series releases (I really wanted ALL the Basement Tape recordings, for instance), but for this one I chose the 4-LP set. The extra material in the 5-CD box didn't particularly interest me.

But I love you don't let hardcore audiophile peer pressure intimidate you into not buying CD's ;-) . Some of my favorite music has been released on CD only, and if it's truly "about the music"..... 

bdp24

 

Nice choice! I own the 5-CD set.  May the "Bootleg" train keep a Rollin'

 

Happy Listening!

@jafant: I finally made up my mind on Bootleg Volume 17, and went with the 4 LP iteration. The 5 CD set includes a lot more material, but mostly live shows, with which I’m not particularly interested.

Some of the live recordings are from Dylan’s appearance in L.A. in 2001, a show I may have been in attendance at. He played The Pantages Theater on Hollywood Blvd. (a beautiful Art Deco building) five nights in a row. He and his band were absolutely fantastic the night I saw & heard them! I played a show on that stage once, and it’s a "difficult" room (the back wall reflections arrive back at the stage rather quickly---it’s not a deep room, making it hard to hear the sound coming from the stage monitors). So hats off to Bob and his fantastic band. Opening for Dylan that night (he had a different opening act every night) was an unaccompanied Beck, who was underwhelming.

bdp24

 

Now that Bootleg Series Vol.17 has dropped, any early predictions on Vol. 18 ?

 

Happy Listening!

I just stumbled upon a one hour-45 minute interview with Clinton Heylin (author of The Double Life of Bob Dylan) on YouTube,. and it's fantastic. Do a search for CoolCleveland, and you will find this year old video. 

bdp24

 

Thank You for the follow up.  I will add the new Dylan book to my collection.

 

Happy Listening!

@jafant: BS17 is going to be great! I love the Time Out Of Mind album, and am anxious to hear it remixed with some of Daniel Lanois’ production "haze" removed (like the Spector-free Let It Be Naked).

In addition to the regular CD and LP versions, a 10 LP box is available on the Dylan website (only). 230 bucks though, a lotta dough. I haven’t yet decided which version to get, but there’s no hurry (except for the 10 LP box, which is a limited edition).

For future Bootleg releases, I'd love ones devoted to the Planet Waves and Love And Theft albums.

Let me repeat that a new Dylan book is out (The Philosophy Of Modern Song), and it’s essential reading.

bdp24

 

Now that BS 17 has been announced and confirmed, do you have a prediction for 

Bootleg Series #18?  Do you have a favorite era from Dylan?

 

Happy Listening!

bdp24

 

It is official. Bootleg Series 17 "Fragments: Time out of Mind Sessions" 

5-CD or 4-LP (January 2023).

 

Happy listening!

bdp24

 

The next Bob Dylan Bootleg Series release will take place on Nov 17th.

 

Happy Listening!

bdp24

 

It appears that the annual Bob Dylan Bootleg Series #17 is pushed back into January 2023. More to follow.

 

Happy Listening!

bdp24

 

Last night 2600 people enjoyed The Prophet, Bob Dylan, in Atlanta GA.

He put on a fine show at 2 hours. His newest band is really tight. I wished that Charlie Sexton was still on-board. Souls from all walks of life paid tribute to our Hero.

 

Happy Listening!

bdp24

 

Outstanding! All of the reviews here (Deep South) have been quite good with Mr. Zimmerman in  fine spirit.  At his age and stage in life, BD, can take any Solo wished.

 

Happy Listening!

The last time I saw Bob live was in the early-2000's, at The Pantages Theater (a great Deco-style building) on Hollywood Blvd. That night he was fantastic, and looking like he was actually enjoying himself. He was even taking guitar solos, Larry Campbell looking on somewhat bemused. ;-) 

A current projection for this year's Bootleg Series 18 is from Bob's 1990's catalog.

Stay tuned...

 

Happy Listening!

bdp24

 

3 more nights and I have a ticket to see his Bob-ness. He is currently sweeping the Deep and Mid-Southern states.  Agreed, we all have that 1 album that is a Lifer.

 

You have certainly witnessed  some great, historic, shows. It is good to see a return to form "live" music!

 

Happy Listening!

Damn @jafant, 60 years! I was a little too young to like (or even know about) Dylan in '62, not learning of him 'til on the radio hearing "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35", and then not being able to relate to it at all. That song was of course on the Blonde On Blonde album, after which he had his motorcycle accident and didn't release another album until John Wesley Harding. By the time of the arrival of that album I was ready for him, though only barely. That same year ('68) Music From Big Pink was released, and I was not ready for it. By the time of Blonde On Blonde's follow up Nashville Skyline I was pumped and primed, and loved it. I even loved his next album, the generally-misunderstood and appreciated Self Portrait. In '69 the Band's incredible second album was released, and it immediately became (and remains) the most important album of my life. By then I was making music with a coupla guys who had seen Dylan with The Hawks live in '65 (at The San Jose Civic Auditorium, where the previous year I had attended my first live show: The Beach Boys), which I would do just about anything to be able to say.

bdp24

 

2022, marks the 60th Anniversary of Bob Dylan's 1st LP.

 

Happy Listening!

It doesn’t change anything that Willentz may have written about Dylan, but readers of this thread probably should be aware that Willentz is a very politically active figure who has been a bit of a lightning rod.  He actively defended the Clintons , intitially during the impeachment of Bill and later during Hiliary’s campaign against Obama, with such fervor that even the New York Times censured  him in an editorial.  He called both W. and Trump the “worst Presidents in History “.  He also vigorously has defended Thomas Jefferson’s policies of land grab from Native Americans in his professional writings.  He can reliably found on CNN commenting.
 

  I am not commenting on him either way, but it may help prospective readers know what his Political Orientation is, as his writings about music go beyond discussing individual artists to encompass the milieu that they inhabited

bdp24

 

which era of Dylan will we see in 2022 Bootleg Series?

 

Happy Listening!

Have finally read the book recommended at the start of the thread and… well it’s okay. There were a few fascinating insights but not that many if you have followed Dylan at all in the last few decades and it’s poorly written overall; repetitive in places and nowhere near the top of the list. Found myself agreeing with a lot of the Amazon reviews. It’s okay but has massive blind spots. One of those books you’ll like if you already approach Dylan from that perspective. Far less persuasive if you take a wider view. 
Similarly I think it’s true to say that the most revelatory Bootleg Series releases have been those covering his weakest periods. Found myself listening to the new one on Qobuz having steered clear of all the so called religious period Dylan albums and… well it’s inarguably once again something of a revelation. Strongly recommended. 
bdp24

Thank You for the follow up on Dylan.
I miss live Music.

Happy Listening!
No @jafant, and most likely never will. His worst period! I loved the three Christian albums which immediately preceded it, however.

I saw him live in the very-early 90’s, and he was just awful, as was his 3-piece band. Ten years later he was great live, one of the best I’ve ever witnessed. I just saw Mary Gauthier live in a small (maybe 150 seats), great sounding club (the Doug Fir Lounge in Portland, Oregon), and she was playing a harmonica mounted on a neck-brace (ala Dylan). She also displayed great ability as an acoustic rhythm guitarist, very dynamic.
bdp24

did you purchase Bootleg Vol. 16- Springtime In New York ?
Do you like Bob's early 80's releases?

Happy Listening!
The fundamental issue with the Wilentz book is that it’s a decade old. Things have changed, to say the least.
bdp24

as Vol. 16 explores Dylan in the early 80's. Vol. 17 is already being discussed as a collection of early 90's material.

Happy Listening!
bdp24

Right On! with The Band/The Dead common thread.
Today, Dylan is 80 years old (or young). Celebrate.

Happy Listening!
Though American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead were radical departures from the music The Dead had been making prior to those two albums, if one knew about Garcia’s early involvement in Folk and Bluegrass music during his formative years (I love those pictures of Garcia playing banjo---banjo!---on the Palo Alto Stanford campus, not far up El Camino Real from where I was growing up in Cupertino), it shouldn’t have been a complete surprise. And as the music being made by some of the Dead’s friends and contemporaries (Crosby, Stills, and Nash, etc.) was trending towards the acoustic/short song/harmony singing format and style (as opposed to the Dead’s long, free-form---in terms of song structure and improvisational nature), it was a natural transition for them to move in that direction.

To see who were the actual leaders in that back-to-the-Country movement, and who were the followers, watch the documentary film Festival Express. Then remind oneself of the two albums The Band made in 1968 and ’69, and compare them with The Dead’s two contemporaneous albums: 1968’s Anthem Of The Sun and 69’s Aoxomoxoa. Not to mention Dylan, who had been recording in Nashville long before any other Rockers of his generation. Compare John Wesley Harding (’68) and Nashville Skyline (’69) with Anthem Of The Sun and Aoxomoxoa, recorded and released contemporaneously. Dylan had earlier (1965) completely changed John Lennon’s approach to songwriting. "You’ve Got To Hide Your Love Away" was nothing more than John’s Dylan imitation.

But ya’ll missed the point about the Hippie ethos: In The Last Waltz (and in Martin Scorsese’s later documentary on The Band), Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, and Rick Danko discuss not sharing in many regards the sentiments of the Hippies. Not to mention Dylan, who, after almost single-handedly codifying the basic tenants of the counter-culture that emerged in his wake (it would be an exaggeration to claim he created it), turned his back on that very community.

While The Airplane on the West Coast, The MC5 in the Midwest, and politically-minded "radicals" on the East coast were calling for revolution, and rejecting all that American (and in fact all Western) civilization embraced, The Band posed with their parents, grandparents, and other relatives on the inside gatefold cover of the Big Pink album. So much for hating your parents ;-) . When Dylan and The Hawks toured Europe and England in 1966, Bob hung a giant American flag behind the stage, sticking his finger in the eye of the growing hate-The U.S.A. sentiment embraced by his audience in those countries.

I love what Rick Danko said in one Last Waltz scene: "We’re not trying to save the world, only improve the neighborhood." Hillbilly wisdom ;-) .

stuartk

I concur, Americana certainly embrace Hippie ethos to my ears.
Nice correlation between The Band and early 70's Dead (American Beauty & Workingman's Dead) are pivotal.

Happy Listening
bdp24;

Not sure what you mean by your assertion that Americana "rejected the hippie ethos". . . 

There are striking parallels between the music of The Band and early 70's  Dead, for example.
 













Well Dylan fanatics, the Clinton Heylin book, The Double Life of Bob Dylan; A Restless, Hungry Feeling 1941-1966, is finally on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. Or at least it was (I bought the only copy) at my local branch. And it shouldn't have been, as street date is not for a coupla days.

Heylin has written a lot of books on Bob, and it considered the best writer on the subject:

- Robert Hilburn: 'If you really want to know the story of Bob Dylan (and everybody should), this is where you must start."

- Rolling Stone: "British writer-historian Clinton Heylin is perhaps the world's authority on all things Dylan."

- New York Times: "The only Dylanologist worth reading."

- Graham Nash: "So, you want to know more about Bob Dylan? Read Clinton Heylin's new book. You'll get all you need."

- Lee Ranaldo (of Sonic Youth): "Whether you've read one book on Bob Dylan or one hundred, THIS is the one you want to read and refer to from this day forward. It leaps a couple light-years ahead with much newly revealed material and deep scholarship. If somebody's got to tell the tale, we can all thank our holy electric pickups and mystical typewriter keys that it was up to Clinton Heylin."

If after reading the above quotes you aren't compelled to immediately find a copy, you REALLY aren't interested in Bob Dylan. ;-)
bdp24

Excellent! Keep me posted should you read about the next Bootleg release.

Happy Listening!