“No change from yesterday?”

“No.  None at all”

 

The satnav shows a dark blue line; an almost straight line disappearing at the edge of the screen – and yet – constantly growing as the vehicle, a red triangle, though remaining constant, eats up what must be the road.  Edging the blue line, pale yellow roads veer off – my eye attempting but failing to read their names.  Green blocks of colour represent forests, or pale blue – lakes; rivers and streams flow past, never reaching the sea.  I suppose I should look around me, but something keeps my eyes glued to the small curved screen perched on the dashboard.

Where are we going?  I really don’t know.  And feel I cannot ask.  I am the mute passenger, strapped into my seat belt and being taken, I can only assume, to a destination I am unaware of.   I don’t mind this at all; in fact, it is relaxing – comforting – somewhat reassuring. Passivity sweeps over me and I let myself be driven.

After some minutes of staring at the screen, almost hypnotised by the red triangle eating up the ever-growing dark blue line I glance out of the window.  No hint of recognition, no familiarity at all.  And yet – the endless treadmill of the road, just like it’s dark blue representation, is reassuring.  All roads look similar, and the verges and hedges have a consoling sameness too.  Even those dark tunnels that overhanging trees make or the wide vistas, suddenly opening up like some flower as the sun warms it, hold no real surprise.  It all seems one, one winding and slowly unfolding ribbon – just like the screen, which I never tire of – the road is all.  This dark blue line on the tiny screen fills my consciousness.

“Just a few minutes more”

“But maybe if I stay something will change.”

 

But the line continues on its flat journey across the screen, an ever growing, never changing line.  Representing nothing.

 

Glancing to my left I notice we are approaching something, for the first time I am aware of change.  The satnav shows the same dark blue line but the red triangle – me, I can only assume, is almost at the edge of an expanse of pale blue.  Then my vision is distracted by thick black zig-zagging on both sides of whatever vehicle I must be travelling in.  Slowly the criss-cross patterns space out and I realise that we must be on a bridge.  I hadn’t considered that we might cross a river.  I cannot see the water, maybe it is too far below us.  What is on the other side?   I don’t have the energy or even the curiosity to try to work it out.  I am in safe hands, I know that.  No danger of dropping over the edge.  I look back at the satnav and am reassured that we are approaching what I can only suppose is the far shore.  I relax and close my eyes.  But even closed I can still see the dark blue line we are travelling on.  Maybe my eyes have been shut the whole journey.  It doesn’t really matter.  All that matters, is that we keep moving.  I am reassured by the absence of any small chequered flag hovering somewhere in the distance of the little screen.  I really don’t want this journey to end.  As long as we are travelling, I feel safe; as long as I can see the dark blue trail spooling out before me, I have nothing to fear.  I can relax.  I can even sleep knowing no dreams will come to disturb the calm image of the red triangle, which must be me and the blue ribbon I am threaded on.

 

 

“Time to go now”

“I know, I was just hoping – you know.”

“We must continue to hope.  Sometimes hope is all we have.”

 

 

I must have drifted, maybe I was sleeping.  Trouble is, I don’t really know when I am asleep or awake.  It all feels the same.  My eyes begin to focus once more.  The screen emerges out of dim greyness.  The satnav rises to meet me, the blue line is still there and so am I – the red triangle. We seem to be moving slower now.  Maybe we are hitting traffic.  Traffic?  I wonder what that looks like?  But I cannot, I dare not look away from the satnav.  If I do the blue line might stop, the red triangle which is me, might stop too.  Or even worse to imagine – not be there at all.  Then I might not exist.  I only know I am here because the sat nav shows me.  I have no sensations, no consciousness of being save as the red triangle moving more slowly now along the dark blue ribbon.  I stare hard at the screen and I am shocked to see that we, I, the red triangle – has stopped.  The blue line is not growing any more. No motion, no reassuring engines hum, no gentle rumble of tyres on tarmac.  We have stopped.  I have stopped.  I am frightened now.  Is this the end?  The end of my journey.  I felt safe while we were travelling, while the satnav was eating up the road, the blocks of green and blue, the occasional chequered railway line passing under our road.  But now all is quiet.  I feel as if my time is up.  Maybe this really is the end.  You know – my death.  We all know it is coming, we just don’t know when.  All is stillness.  I cannot see the screen anymore, where has the satnav gone?  How am I ever going to find my way back, get back home, without the satnav.  I must try harder.  I just want to see its dark blue line unfolding again, I’ve got to find it, I just need to know I am still alive.

 

“There.  His eyelid was flickering.  Nurse, come quick. I think he’s waking up.”

 

Dylan – The Bootleg Series 2

Volume 7 – No Direction Home – this was linked to a film by Scorcese, which was actually beyyer yhan the CD as it had a long interview with Dylan.  The album is a bit of a ragtag of alternate and rare live tracks of Dylan up to 1966.  Interesting but not really essential.

Volume 8 – Tell-Tale Signs.  Not so bad.  This focuses on alternate takes of albums from ‘Oh Mercy’ to ‘Modern Times’.  Pleasant listening but again not really adding anything to the story

Volume 9 – The Witmark Demos.  These were tapes which Dylan made at his music publisher’s Witmark.  They were on tape and were very simple one take renditions of Dylan’s compositions – many of which were never recorded in the studio.  An incredible treasure trove – and a completely relaxed Bob, chatting in between songs and breaking down and abandoning a couple too.  Too many brilliant songs to really pick any out – but a great listen – you really feel as if you are in the room with Bob.  One of the very best of the Bootleg series.

Volume 10 – Another Self Portrait.   These were out-takes of songs and other tracks, never released,  for Dylan’s most mis-understood album .  Also a few out-takes from Nashville-Skyline and even New Morning songs.  All I can say is I love this stuff.  It sounds genuine, honest and is a different low-key Dylan, where the quality of the songs shine through.  Some of the songs are originals, discarded like so many others, some are obscure folk songs that Magpie Bob collects and some are old standards.  Doesn’t matter – a really nice treasure trove of stuff.

Volume 11 – The Basement Tapes Raw.  Well, I didn’t really like The Original Basement Tapes which are from 1967 to 1969 but released in 1975.  Too many throw-away songs with childish lyrics and bad production.  To be honest this isn’t that much better, though more songs, some of which appeared on later albums.  But not my favourite period – still, ever the completist I had to have them.

Volume 12 – The Cutting Edge.  These are out-takes from 1965 and ’66. , from the albums gighway 61 and Blonde on blonde a few earlier songs.  Alternate versions of some of his greatest songs and a couple that didn’t quote make it too.   A great albukm but with few surprises really, many of the alternate takes are quite similar to the finished ones.  But an enjoyable listen anywyay.

Volume 12 – Trouble No More.  This was a double CD (as most of the Bootleg series were) of live songs from Bob’s “Religious” period.   Never my favourite run of albums – though Slow Train was brilliant, I didn’t really like Saved.  Mind you, if you can discount the overtly political messages in the lyrics, the tunes are pretty good.  These live versions are classic rock’n’roll style which Bob had drifted into in the late 70’s – with a big band, horns and a girlie chorus.  Still he is in brilliant voice on these live tracks.  And there is a conviction in his voice that is unmistakable.  A handful of rarities too – but ultimately this is not among my favourites – it is almost pure gospel with call and response choruses.  Too much preaching.  Still.

Volume 13 – More Blood, More Tracks.  And I haven’t even listened to this yet  – too many other live records….

Dylan – The Bootleg Series 1

In 1992 a ‘new’ Dylan album came out.  It was a triple and called The Bootleg Series – Voliume 1-3.  There had been quite a few bootlegs of early Dylan recordings and concerts so CBS decided to trawl through their archives and produce their own well packaged and cleaned up bootleg.  Over the years this has continued.  I have bought every one – some excellent, some not quite so good.  But they have charted an alternative Dylan.  He was notorious for rejecting songs and recordings which he felt weren’t right and many tracks were simply discarded in his headlong trajectory.  The first 3 albums are quite special, as they are mostly new or unheard songs.

Volume 1 is mostly very early stuff.  A few live versions and some great ‘talking blues’ songs like ‘Talking John Birch’ and ‘Great Bear Mountain Picnic’.  And most of the tracks Bob rejected (at the last minute) from his Freewheelin album.  This, admittedly long disc would have made two great single albums back in the early 60’s.   It seems Bob was writing songs almost daily and could afford to discard so many; The Beatles by contrast recorded almost every song they wrote.

Volume 2 – takes us through to Blood on the Tracks.  Again some great number simply left off albums and a few different versions.  Best songs ‘Mama You Been On My Mind’ and ‘Farewell Angelina’, and ‘I’ll Keep it With Mine’.

Volume 3  – is the late Seventies and the Eighties.   Again, almost unbelievable that such great songs were just left along the way – ‘Golden Loom’, ‘Tell me’, ‘Foot of Pride’ – and best of all ‘Series Of Dreams’ – especially when many of the records he was releasing in the Eighties were pretty dire.  Oh well.  And at least we have them now.

Seven years later and we got Volume 4.  This is the legendary 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert, when Bob did half the show Accoustic and then brought on the band for hard rock and roll.  It is famous for the ‘Judas’ shout from the audience and Bob’s reply ‘I Don’t Believe You’.  In fact this show was recorded at Manchester Free Trade Hall, a few days before the RAH show.  It had been bootlegged in poor sound quality, but this release was from the soundboard and is crystal sharp and brilliant.  As a record of just how exciting Bob could be live it is hard to equal.   It is also quite hard to realise that this was in 1966, when the Charts were full of pretty ditties and soft ballads.  I am not saying that Bob invented Rock, but he certainly laid out a pretty good template.

Volume 5  – is a live concert from the first leg of The Rolling Thunder Revue in 1975, when Bob went on the road with a collection of musicians, Joan Baez, Joni, Mick Ronson and Roger McGuinn.  He had released Hard Rain in late ’76 which was from the second half of the tour and is generally considered a bit weaker.  A great double CD, very exciting and simply superb versions of many of his classic songs.  A great short solo set from Joan too.  Slowly these few concerts and the two albums which preceeded it are being recognized as almost a second wind.  In fact in many ways this was even better than the Sixties stuff; the songs were more mature, the melodies subtler and this period is definitely my favourite.  In fact I have just ordered a 14 disc box set of Rolling Thunder with lots of rehearsal stuff and different songs on different days….can’t wait to start listening to it.

Volume 6 – Is a Halloween solo concert 1964 with a guest appearance form Joan Baez.  Bob was in the first flush of real success; he was still the darling of the Folkies, he hadn’t gone electric yet.  And he was brilliant, so accomplished, so comfortable, so good.  And funny.  Yes, he was really funny, laughing between songs and even when he forgot the words to one of his songs.  The audience loved him – no chants of Judas this time, just adulation.  A great set with quite a few of his early songs.  A great record, which had been planned to go out officially but was pulled because Bob was writing and recording so much other stuff in these early years.  Best song – ‘Mama you been on my mind’

 

Dylan in the 21^st Century                              

Bob has occasionally mentioned that, though he is credited with revolutionizing the modern song format – especially in his brilliant poetic lyrics, he has always loved older songs, especially the blues and popular standards of the fifties and before.  He is an avid collector of early recordings and has released two earlier albums of old ‘folk’ songs (World Gone Wrong and Good As I Been To You).  And in the Twenty-first Century he has more and more returned to these early blues, both lyrically and in the sound his band has recorded.

In 2001 he released “Love and Theft”.  Here was Bob in full early rockabilly style, the band rolling along and his lyrics cryptically almost whispered above the band – as if the words had just popped into his head.  He seems to have lost his nasal intonation and his emphasizing certain words, preferring a ‘band-leader’ boogie-woogie style.  A good album, though many hard-core fans might have been disappointed.  Best songs ‘Mississippi’, ‘Po’ Boy’ and ‘Sugar baby’.  But the album is almost a continuum with little to distinguish one song from another.  For me too, I am still really familiarizing myself with these later albums – the songs don’t quite resonate with me as the old ones do.  Maybe this is an inevitable consequence – the more we listen to albums (I must have heard the Beatles songs hundreds of times) the more they sink into our consciousness.  That is why we love the old songs so much.  But all in all a pleasant album, and self-written – even if he has used lines and melodies here and there from older blues songs.  Five years later he released what may be considered a companion piece Modern Times. Again an old-fashioned sounding record, relying on old blues stylings and an almost big band swing style.  I am not sure if I really like this ‘Dylan’, it is interesting and his voice is still hypnotic but somehow the words don’t stick in my brain anymore.  Pleasant enough but not remarkable.  But Dylan seems relaxed in this style, though live he still cranks out the old stuff, though often with completely new melodies. Best songs ‘Spirit on the Water’, ‘Workingmans Blues’ and ‘Nettie Moore’.  The records were getting further apart and yet, they sold really well.  As if the public had re-discovered Dylan.  And of course being Dylan he was certain to disappoint them soon.  The third, in what might be described a trilogy (though Dylan would surely disagree) is Together Through Life (2009).  Again a fairly old-fashioned sounding record, but the tunes seemed better to me.  The songs were co-written with Robert Hunter and sound better, more rounded – and the words are better too, best songs – ‘My Wife’s Hometown’ and ‘If You Ever Go To Houston’.  A few of the songs have a sort of Cajun arrangement which was interesting.  I kept faith with Bob through these years, hoping that things would improve, that he might return to his old style – but it seemed in vain; Bob was set in his ways and after almost 40 albums was at last doing exactly what he wanted to do.  Even to the extent of later that same year releasing a mawkish and sentimental Christmas In The Heart.  Obviously his personal favourites, hymns and all.  Oh Well.  And the award for turkey of his career rests here.

2012 saw Tempest.  Another timeless sounding record; Bob’s gravelly voice weaving hypnotic spells over simple backing.  Not bad songs but nothing really memorable;  ‘Early Roman Kings’ is nearest to his old style though I have no idea what the song is about.  ‘Tin Angel’ is pretty good too.  Another long rambling song about the film Titanic and the real sinking of that ship – Tempest.  And a song about John Lennon too.  I liked this record more than the last few, something about it was appealing.  Maybe he was getting his Mojo back.  We waited – but in vain.

As has happened a few times before Bob returned to his roots and next gave us an album of standards; Shadows in The Night.  And despite trying I just don’t like it.  These are all songs recorded by Sinatra between 56 and 62.  So what?  Firstly Dylan does not have a great voice (except surprisingly on Nashville Skyline); he has a very expressive voice, he emphasizes key words in songs – his own songs of course.  We love him for his great songwriting and his way of singing.  But it just doesn’t work when he tries to sing like Sinatra.  Nobody can sing quite like Sinatra anyway, least of all Bob.  Okay, he has earned the right to sing exactly what he wants – we, his fans do not need to like it.  The best thing about it is the record was only 35 minutes long.

Two years later he followed this with Fallen Angels.  Another album of old standards – though at least these were much more well known – but the same dull voice and arrangements.  And even worse two years late we got Triplicate – 3 cds worth of the same.  (Ihave ordered it but it remains unlistened and I suspect unlistenable).  So, that is that from his bobness.  We wait….but not with much expectation.  However the story does not end there….