The Times They Are A-Changing

There's not been a lot of Dylan in my life until now.

I know of "the hits".

I own Blood On The Tracks, which I think is excellent, and Christmas In The Heart, which is fun.

I had a CD copy of "Love and Theft" which got trapped in a car stereo soon after I got it without me really getting to know it.

I've read Chronicles Volume I, his first memoir, which I enjoyed.

I've seen, and really liked, Don't Look Back, the documentary of his 1965 British tour.

Other than that, he's a bit of a closed book to me.

He's an important artist.

He's won the Nobel Prize for Literature.

I like most of what I've heard previously.

One of these days, I've thought, I must get to grips with him. Properly.

I like doing this kind of thing.

I've listened to the whole catalogue of some artists back-to-back: Leonard Cohen, Sparks, Queen, Bowie, the Beatles, Steely Dan, and the Fall.

All have been really enjoyable and, in the cases of Sparks and the Fall, made me a fan of theirs for life.

When I heard that the Dylan Vinyl partwork was coming to the UK in September 2021, I wanted to subscribe to it for the full Bob experience.

Dylan Vinyl is (nearly) all of Dylan's studio albums, with a smattering of live stuff, (nearly) in order, on 180g vinyl, in replica sleeves.

They also include a "magazine", which is little more than a fold-out pamphlet with some album information, current events around the release date and pictures.

It's two albums every month, and is expected to comprise forty albums, unless they deal with one of the "nearlys" mentioned above.

Having made such an investment, I've decided I make the most of it.

Hence Six Dylan Listen: each album listened to six times, to give them a fair crack of the whip.

Then I write a bit about it.

Easy as that. Let's see how far I get.

That other "nearly": for marketing reasons, they have started with his third album, I imagine because there are better-known songs on it than his first.

I certainly don't recognise any of the songs on Bob Dylan.

DeAgostini has led, so I will follow: hence the first Six Listen Dylan is...

The Times They Are A-Changing.

The records are very well presented, nice-sounding pressings.

The high quality of previous DeAgostini vinyl is well known, and these look like they will be the same.

No hiss, no crackle, no noise.

Given that TTTAA is Bob, his guitar and his harmonica, it makes for a very intimate experience.

The performances may be intimate but they are far from polished.

On several occasions his guitar is clearly out-of-tune (With God On Our Side is perhaps the worst, but not the only, example), his harmonica flourishes can be a bit awkward (the title track) and his phrasing not entirely thought-through ("Spaaaa-<gasp>-nish" at the end of Boots of Spanish Leather).

I'm going to guess that there is quite a lot of this kind of thing to come, and that it is part of his charm.

And to be fair, it doesn't seem to detract from what is a stunning collection of songs.

These tunes and words live on in the mind.

The protest songs are great.

The Lonesome Death of Hattie Caroll could be written today.

My favourites, however, are the more conventional, less political songs: One Too Many Mornings, Boots of Spanish Leather and especially Restless Farewell.

Get this for a lyric:

Oh, a false clock tries to tick out my time
To disgrace, distract, and bother me
And the dirt of gossip blows into my face
And the dust of rumours covers me
But if the arrow is straight
And the point is slick
It can pierce through dust no matter how thick
So I'll make my stand
And remain as I am
And bid farewell and not give a damn

He was 22 when he wrote this. Blimey.

I'm looking forward to this. Freewheelin' next.