There is no shortage of YouTube channels posting Dylan rarities, but that's not going to stop me. City Of Red Skies is my new channel where I've been doing just that on a daily basis for a few weeks now. I'm trying to focus on tracks that aren't easy to come by in video form such as this full take of Too Late.
This video actually made its way to ExpectingRain's front page among other fan forums which is one of my proudest achievements online.
Ultimately though I just want this page to provide an easy way for YouTube users to access the man's music which is why I've taken the time to create playlists of all the tracks that his official YouTube page has posted separated by album. If you're interested you can check out the channel here:
Critically speaking the 1980's were not kind to Bob Dylan. The decade started with two more albums of gospel music, Saved and Shot of Love, both of which critics seemed to hate on principle alone.These were followed by 1983's Infidels which is now considered to be a career highlight but at the time was dismissed by much of the popular music press, and then came Empire Burlesque in 1985. An album which for many signals the beginning of a creative low for Dylan, that would produce some the most poorly received albums in his entire catalog. In the years since it's release Empire's reputation has only sunk lower and lower.
So what is it about this album that people dislike so much? The first hints are right there on the album's cover. Everything about Empire screams the 1980's, and nowhere is that felt more than the production on the songs. Arthur Baker, a DJ who had found success in creating dance remixes of contemporary hits, was brought on to finish production on Empire. It's his work that is primarily responsible for the albums so-called "Disco Dylan" sound which is so derided. I'm not comfortable putting all the blame on Baker for the albums perceived shortcomings, in fact it was their suggestion of including a single stripped down acoustic track that lead to the only undeniable gem of the record with "Dark Eyes." Also having listened to an early worktape of EB which lacks Baker's contribution, I can say the improvement is only marginal.
At the end of the day if Empire failed as a record the blame falls on Dylan. I'm not sure if it did fail, for me at least, but even if it did that wouldn't preclude the possibility for some really great tracks being included. One such track is the albums first: "Tight Connection To My Heart." A song that has all the elements that make a classic Dylan song. An infectious, almost hypnotic melody drive the song through scenes of betrayal, unforgiving cities and surrealist outbursts of violence set to 1940's traditional pop songs. It makes for one of my favorite compositions of Dylan's 80's output. There is however one major issue with "TCTMH", it pales in comparison to it's older sibling "Someone's Got A Hold Of My Heart."
"Someone's Got A Hold Of My Heart" was recorded for Infidels but along with fellow masterpiece "Blind Willie Mctell" missed inclusion on the final record. It would go officially unreleased until 1991's The Bootleg Series Vol. 3. "SGAHOMH" is the prototype for "Tight Connection", sharing similar music and some lyrics, but ends up being the more successful song. The main thing it does better is set the stage on which all the drama will transpire without sacrificing any of that drama. Wildfire moons, crooked streets that twist and turn into nothingness, and blue skies with patchy clouds are the backdrop for the contradiction laden love affair at the heart of the song. "Tight Connection" on the other hand is more concerned with the particulars of what was said and done in the relationship. This is effective in its own way, but when the violence of the city becomes a focal point in the third verses of both songs, it feels much more earned in "SGAHOMH."
That isn't all that "Someone's" has over "Tight Connection." Dylan's more understated vocals and harmonica are a great improvement over the high whine (even for Dylan) and backup singers that dominated Empire Burlesque as a whole. It's also just more effective poetically. The opening lines for example make use of visual metaphors to setup the entire relationship dynamic perfectly:
They say, “Eat, drink and be merry
Take the bull by the horns”
I keep seeing visions of you, a lily among thorns
Everything looks a little far away to me
With just four lines "SGAHOMH" is able to achieve what it takes "Tight Connection" two whole verses to communicate.
There is however one thing that "Tight Connection" has that "Someone's" doesn't, a music video, and it's one of the strangest things Dylan has ever done. It's apparent through various interviews of the time that Bob resented doing music videos. This was partly because of a lack of creative control, and partly because he comes across extremely awkwardly in most of his on screen performances of this era. The music video for "Tight Connection" takes the cake in terms of awkwardness though.
Every time I watch it (and I have watched it dozens of times) something newly wrong presents itself. From his acting, to the goofy costumes, and of course the utterly surreal moments when other actors lip-sync to Bob's vocals, there's always something weird going on. The fact that it's all played straight is what makes this maybe the only ever unironically "so bad it's good" music video.
Like much of "so bad it's good" media this video strives for greatness but botches the execution. That is to say there are some good ideas to be found here. The reoccurring visual of the blue wig for example goes a long way to elevate what might otherwise be dismissed as just a weird lyric when it appears in the third verse. The video even creates a more direct parallel between the love story and the societal unrest by involving Dylan in a murder investigation where he is wrongfully accused and arrested. The details of this plot are a little strange and don't make all that much sense when you really start to think about it, but i'm willing to accept it on an emotional rather than logical level.
Dylan's music has always been about the intersection of different ideas and concepts. "Tight Connection To My Heart" takes that to a very meta level for me. To me perhaps no song better represents his career as a whole. The good, the bad, the strange, and that inexplicable magnetism that continues to draw me back to his work even when it isn't entirely successful.
Self Portrait remains one of the most controversial albums in Dylan's nearly 60 years as a recording artist. Though opinions have softened considerably, in no small part thanks to the release of 2013's Another Self Portrait bootleg series entry, it still has plenty of detractors.
SP is a strange album by design being a mix of original compositions, covers and live material. This might paint a fairly (and fittingly) comprehensive picture of the man's work but it also means that the album lacks really any sort of cohesion. This lack of cohesion is further exacerbated by the track listing heavily favoring cover songs. Of the 24 tracks included: 16 are covers and 8 were written by Dylan. Comprising the 8 Dylan compositions are all 4 of the live tracks, and 4 studio tracks (half of which feature no vocals by Dylan).
In an interview with session keyboardist Al Kooper to promote the release of ASP, Kooper mentions that he thought the name of the album was going to be something like Folk Songs of America. In my opinion that hypothetical album would have been much more positively received especially if it included some of the covers that didn't make it onto Self Portrait. In this post I want to present my ideal version of this album and briefly discuss where I sourced the tracks from.
Bob Dylan - Folk Songs of America
1. Spanish is the Loving Tongue (1970) 3:08
2. Thirsty Boots (ASP) 4:07
3. Belle Isle (ASP) 2:35
4. This Evening So Soon (ASP) 4:49
5. Early Morning Rain (SP) 3:34
6. Railroad Bill (ASP) 2:47
7. Take A Message to Mary (SP) 2:46
8. Annie's Going To Sing Her Song (ASP) 2:23
9. A Fool Such As I (Dylan) 2:44
10. Alberta #3 (ASP) 2:37
11. Wild Mountain Thyme (Isle of Wight) 2:51
Total Runtime: 34:21
The material from the Self Portrait sessions has been released on multiple albums and archival compilations in the years and decades following the original recordings. The main sources I investigated were as follows:
Self Portrait (1970)
Dylan (1973)
Another Self Portrait (2013)
The Isle of Wight Concert (2013)
Travelin' Thru (2019)
The 50th Anniversary Collection 1969 (2019)
1970 (2021)
In the end I used tracks from all these releases apart from Travelin' Thru and the 1969 collection.
Another Self Portrait was my main source. ASP is home to some of the greatest recordings of Dylan's entire career and many are featured in this playlist. Why songs like "Railroad Bill", "This Evening So Soon" and "Thirsty Boots" were excluded from inclusion on SP itself is beyond me. Furthermore "Belle Isle" is given new life by the removal of the orchestral overdubs added to the SP version.
Two tracks from the original album are included more or less out of necessity. "Early Morning Rain" didn't receive a stripped down version on ASP and the alternate version of "Take A Message To Mary" that can be found on the 1969 collection seems to have been poorly mixed.
"Spanish Is The Loving Tongue" is taken from the forthcoming 1970 release scheduled for February 2021. This track was previously released on the ultra-limited 50th Anniversary Collection 1970 that released in late 2020. As 1970 is for all intents and purposes the same album but expanded and with a wider release I chose to source it from there. The song itself is a magnificent rendition. Dylan recorded the song many times from 1969-1970, the best version being an outtake from the New Morning sessions, however this is easily the best attempt from the recording of SP. The piano is reminiscent of the New Morning version where as the vocals start by sounding like "country crooner" Dylan of 1969's Nashville Skyline before morphing into his natural voice.
"A Fool Such As I" comes from 1973's Dylan, allegedly released out of retaliation toward Bob for leaving Columbia for Asylum Records. The album itself is mostly constructed of outtakes from New Morning but also two from SP being "A Fool Such As I" and a horrendous version of "Spanish Is The Loving Tongue".
The last track is "Wild Mountain Thyme" from the Isle of Wight 1969 concert. This was the concert that the live material was sourced from on SP and I thought it'd be nice to include a live track as a nod to the original album. The Isle of Wight concert was never given a standalone release and was instead issued as an extra for the deluxe release of ASP. "Wild Mountain" was the only traditional/cover song he performed that night and is a highlight of the entire show.
I think this produces a very high quality album even if it doesn't reach the level of excellence set by the albums directly proceeding it. I would say it runs a bit short, nowhere near his shortest album but a bit short still. If I were to add anything, "House Carpenter" and "These Hands" from ASP would be my first picks, followed by "Folsom Prison Blues" from Travelin' Thru.
So there you go, consider giving this playlist a go yourself and tell me what you think. I think that improvements could be potentially made to the sequencing to blend Dylan's two distinct voices of this period better but i'm not sure how. I'll be doing more of these in the future, so stick around if you're interested.
