Author Archives: TonyAttwood

By Tony Attwood I suspect that those whose minds allow them occasionally to let Dylan songs slip away from their memories, may well have forgotten “Outlaw Blues,” even though it appears on one of the most popular Dylan albums of … Continue reading →

  by Aaron Galbraith (in the USA) and Tony Attwood (in the UK) (Note: a list of the other articles in this series is published at the end). Aaron: It’s funny to think that most Christmas songs are written and … Continue reading →

Girl From The North Country (1963) part 1: He was a real magpie Girl From The North Country (1963) part 2: La Gazza Ladra by Jochen Markhorst III         Whatever “country” is “John R. Cash was an American country singer-songwriter.” Thus … Continue reading →

By Larry Fyffe When Bob Dylan’s song-visions are taken as a whole, revealed is what the singer considers a flaw in Christian thought. That is, the religion foresees the future as ending with the second return of Jesus Christ; supposedly … Continue reading →

Reminding me of just how lucky I have been. by Tony Attwood “Only a pawn” is such an idiosyncratic song, and a song sung by Bob in such a particular way, with the variations of timing and verse lengths, that … Continue reading →

by Aaron Galbraith and Tony Attwood A list of previous articles from this series can be found at the end of the article. Aaron: Dylan mentioned that he remembered first hearing “Must Be Santa” on Holiday Sing-Along with Mitch by … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst Girl From The North Country (1963) part 1: He was a real magpie II          La Gazza Ladra Ornithomancy it is called, divination based on bird behaviour. The ancient Romans, for example, released pigeons and the augurs would … Continue reading →

By Larry Fyffe In Byron’s Baroque-like mock epic, adrift in a longboat, akin to those on the real raft of the Medusa, the name of Don Juan’s kindly tutor is drawn from a hat. Bad luck he has, killed he … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood Writing of I and I” on this site Jochen said, “The song does actually not have any other music history fame; it is no longer performed by Dylan, there are hardly any covers and it does not … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst I           He was a real magpie The sympathetic English folk giant Martin Carthy has an admirable talent for getting to the point with perfect metaphors. As to characterise an exceptional quality of young Dylan: “He was a … Continue reading →

by Larry Fyffe In reaction to the prudish Victorian establishment, symbolist-influenced Charles Swinburne puts a twist on the mythology of Phaedra who desires to have sex with her stepson, stung as she is by the poisonous scorpion of love set … Continue reading →

By Aaron Galbraith and Tony Attwood In this series Aaron collects examples of Bob Dylan recording songs that he didn’t writte and Tony notes a few immediate thoughts as he listens.  This is episode 38 – details of all the … Continue reading →

  The Never Ending Tour – over 100 reviews, over 1000 recordings.  The Index   NET 2010 part 1 – in which Mr Guitar Man makes a startling comeback. By Mike Johnson (Kiwipoet) How you view 2010 depends very much … Continue reading →

Western Road 1: They wanted to record everything in case Dylan said something profound by Jochen Markhorst II          Ridin’ in a buggy, Miss Mary Anne Peggy Seeger has many merits, obviously, and deserves to be knighted for her own contributions … Continue reading →

by Larry Fyffe Some versions of Greek/Roman pre-Trojan War narratives assert that goddess Aphrodite curses Phaedra, the wife of Theseus, to lust after her stepson while Hera, the wife of Zeus, curses Heracules to suffer fits of uncontrollable rage. Claimed … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood, based on recordings collected and presented by Mike Johnson (Kiwipoet) for the series The Never Ending Tour. This 1998 recording of Tangled up in Blue is not an easy listen – it is gritty, edgy, unsettling, difficult, … Continue reading →

Western Road (1969) part 1 by Jochen Markhorst I           They wanted to record everything in case Dylan said something profound  Well I’m going to Chicago, going on the Western Road Yes I’m going to Chicago, going on the Western Road … Continue reading →

By Aaron Galbraith and Tony Attwood Aaron: ‘tis the season to dust off the Christmas in the Heart album and give it its annual listen. The next few entries in the series will therefore concentrate on this album, don’t worry … Continue reading →

By Larry Fyffe Metonymy,  a hallmark of Post Modernism, is a figure of speech whereby a broader matter is represented by an associated part thereof. Say, for example, when the picture of the King of Diamonds on a playing card … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst VI         There’s one place I’m not wanted Then slowly, extending from his sleeve, A cold, white, satin hand took mine. Hey, I like what you do, he said to me. I like what you do, too, I … Continue reading →