ok fine lily rosemary and the DYLAN EPICS POLL

most of his best albums have at least one epic (although several good ones don't -- and desire is overrepresented). i like that both the modern times epics are actually great. i've been listening a lot to "aint talkin" lately.

that said i inevitably come down to johanna vs. mobile, and take johanna. i think. maybe.

man, both Modern Times epics ARE great ... god we've got it so good right now

Johanna vs. Desolation Row for me. real tough

Yeah, me too. I picked "Desolation Row"--probably his most epic "epic".

BTW, how long is "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream"?

I love 'Ain't Talking'. I'll go with Mobile I think

joooooooooeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyy

My initial thought was "Desolation" vs "Mobile", but then I remember how obsessed I was with "Hurricane" after hearing it in Dazed and Confused when I was 16. It was the first Dylan song I ever loved.

ghosts of electricity

Either "Desolation Row" or "Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands". Went for the latter, but still in doubt.

Yeah, me too. I picked "Desolation Row"--probably his most epic "epic".

That would be "Brownsville Girl", wouldn't it? 14 minutes, heavy Phil Spector-like arrangement, and all....

I went with "Visions of Johanna".

tho I would have gone for Chimes of Freedom if I was st0ned.

brownsville girl

desolation

Highlands. Something like 16 minutes, but it could go on forever.

Does "Dignity" count?

if Dylan had used the E Street Band-recorded version of "When The Night Comes Fallin'...," I'd consider it. I was between "Ain't Talkin'" and "Brownsville Girl," but the latter has funnier lines.

This comes down to TS: "Desolation Row" vs. "Visions of Johanna"... I'm-a haveta take a couple listens before I answer that though.

It's between "Desolation Row", "Stuck Inside of Mobile", and "Idiot Wind" for me.

Oh come on! "It's Alright Ma" gets my vote.

sad-eyed lady for me

joooooooooeeeeeeeeyyyyyyyyyyyyy

-- jhøshea, Wednesday, November 28, 2007 1:14 PM (6 hours ago) Bookmark Link

you are insane. my least favorite dylan song, for real!

you and lester bangs!

yeah, I can't do Joey. Isis is pretty great though. Went with Johanna.

desolation row

Isis is pretty great though

Totally. It's dear to my heart, but feels less substantial than e.g. Visions of Johanna or Desolation Row. Probably b/c it delivers a complete narrative arc that resolves at the end of the third act.

though jeez the way he spits the payoff rhyme on "I was thinkin' about Isis/How she thought I was so [quarter-beat] reckless" is fookin' gold, i'n'it?

Dude may not have a golden throat, but F anyone who says he can't sing.

someone should post a Best Dylan Piano Playing poll.

no.

i love isis, but i love even more the live version on biograph.

i love isis, but i love even more the live version on biograph.

I'm almost certain I've said exactly this on a different Dylan thread! Sweet-ass wailing guitar ftw.

agreed -- that Biograph "Isis" is monumental. Probably one of his best live performances -- and he's got some good ones. And yet ... I voted for "Visions" -- the song that keeps on giving, and a perfectly realized recording as well, which is kind of a rarity for Bob.

Speaking of which, did anyone else read that Oxford American article on the making of Blonde on Blonde? The author was given access to all kinds of session tapes that (as far as I know) have never been bootlegged. Sounds like fascinating stuff. Makes me wonder if there's like a Complete Blonde on Blonde Sessions box set in the works, a la the Miles Davis box sets. Hey, I can dream, can't I?

someone should post a Best Dylan Piano Playing poll.

Better yet—start a Best Dylan Harmonica Solo Poll. Now that would be truly painful. (And I dig his harmonica playing.)

this is a very difficult poll! i voted sad eyed lady because swoon, but i think the serious person's answer is desolation row.

no love for lily rosemary and the jack of hearts? that one kills me

i love it too. it's a tight little narrative with all of this allusive stuff in it, plus some funny lines. i spent a while trying to memorize all 16 verses, maybe i'll try again. i did eventually manage the 10 verses of desolation row.

A lot of these options, with the exceptions of the non-"Isis" Desire entries, are among my favorite Dylan songs.

every time i listen to lily rosemary etc. i lose the narrative thread. i like it, too, though.

i was tempted to vote idiot wind but i was afraid that might say dark things about my character.

Hard Rain. It's all dramatic portent of Biblical proportions described by a guy who's seen everything through apocalyptic eyes but seems basically untouched by it until the last verse when he makes the act of bearing witness to the world feel like a heroic act. An epic character with visions out of an epic movie.

It's hard to listen to Dylan's "A Hard Rain" after Bryan Ferry sunk his white gloves into it.

i was tempted to vote idiot wind but i was afraid that might say dark things about my character.

Well, I did vote "Idiot Wind" - I don't think it's any darker really than "Desolation Row" - just a lot more personal.

Anyone if I'm Not There uses one of the bootleg versions of "Idiot Wind"? It's very different from BOTT's.

so what's the WORST song here -- "Ballad In Plain D"? "No Time To Think"? Those two aren't very good -- and I'm a Street Legal booster. Actually, I've never been a huge "Chimes of Freedom" fan ...

xpost -- haven't seen the movie yet, but there are a couple "Idiot Winds" floating around other than the album version. There's one on The Bootleg Series that's just acoustic guitar and bass I think an an unreleased take with scary, ghostly keyboards.

Worst? "Joey"--then, now and forever!

i like the byrds' abbreviated "chimes of freedom" better, i think. "ballad of plain d" is pretty weak. "no time to think" has the production problem that whole album has for me, makes it hard to judge the song.

ballad in plain d, that is

haha, yeah, "Joey" is pretty bad, but I kind of like the chorus. "Joooooooooooeyyyyyyy!" Typically, that's the only song from Desire Dylan ever plays live anymore.

also "he could see 'em comin' through the door as he lifted up his fork" is great

i like the biograph version of Johanna better, so Sad Eyed Lady gets one more vote

also good about joey:
When they asked him why it had to be that way "Well" he answered "just because"
Fuck it, I take it back that song is GREAT.

I can't recall what the "Isis" on Biograph sounds like it ... Is the Biograph "Isis" similar to (or the same as) the version on the Rolling Thunder volume of the Bootleg Series? Because that version totally rips!

The Biograph "Isis" is the same general arrangement as the Rolling Thunder Bootleg Series, but better.

different recording from a different show, but more or less the same version. i like the biograph one better (could just be because i heard it first)

(xpost)

i love ballad in plain d

ha sorry o. nate! all I meant was, idiot wind is a mean song. I love mean dylan.

tough call, but went with Stuck Inside of Mobile.

ha sorry o. nate! all I meant was, idiot wind is a mean song. I love mean dylan.

Yes, it definitely is mean. Kind of pathetic too. Like at the end of the song when he switches the refrain "You're an idiot, babe" to "We're idiots, babe" - it's such a hopeless attempt at solidarity or evenhandedness - as if after railing against this person's idiocy for 7 minutes this last gesture of fairness might still elicit some sympathy - you just know that he still has lots of getting over her to do.

I had to go with god on my side

Voted "Sad Eyed Lady...", for the sake of beauty alone, but there are many contenders. "Visions..." in particular runs it close.

it's gonna have to be visions of johanna.

not that i wouldn't be happy to pick about half a dozen other tracks on that list

okay, I done me big listen-off, and not only is it Johanna in a walk, but I think I'm now preferring the album version of Isis. WTF, right? but the vocal performance is so much stronger. The fiddle's not nearly as good though.

Also, honroable mention to "Angelina," which just missed the cut at 6:57...

Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.

"Standing in the Doorway" has been killing me this week. Such a gorgeous vocal.

Wow, missed this poll. "Isis" and "Black Diamond Bay" totally robbed - seems like the former was a few people's second choice though. Tidiness of the narratives acknowledged, these are great little stories with some fantastic turns of phrase worked in.