Author Archives: TonyAttwood

By Tony Attwood Lots of people have said a few words about this song, but sadly those few words are often wrong.  At least I think they are wrong.  So, I’ll try and explain and justify. One of the first … Continue reading →

Bob Dylan and Faith Bob Dylan On Faith (Part 1) Bob Dylan And Faith (Part II) Bob Dylan And Faith: William Blake (Part III) Bob Dylan And Faith (Part IV): Swedenborg Bob Dylan And Faith: Dead Men (Part V) Bob … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood This article is part of the Bob Dylan themes series which considers the subject matter of Bob’s songs in the order they were written.  There is an index to the series at The Themes index, year by … Continue reading →

The Mississippi series The Mississippi-series, part 1; no polyrhythm here please The Mississippi-series, part 2: the line that never was. Mississippi 3: Belshazzar on the steppe The Mississippi-series, part 4 by Jochen Markhorst Like earlier songs such as “Desolation Row” … Continue reading →

by Aaron and Tony. As ever the research is by Aaron Galbraith and the commentary is from Tony Attwood (but you probably know that by now) Gordon Lightfoot  was very much part of the folk-rock world which influenced Bob Dylan … Continue reading →

Bob Dylan and Faith Bob Dylan On Faith (Part 1) Bob Dylan And Faith (Part II) Bob Dylan And Faith: William Blake (Part III) Bob Dylan And Faith (Part IV): Swedenborg Bob Dylan And Faith: Dead Men (Part V) By … Continue reading →

Songs selected by Aaron Galbraith, comments by Tony Attwood As noted before in this series, Aaron not only selects the songs, but delivers them to me (Tony) without comment or explanation, except for an introductory note (reproduced below).  And this … Continue reading →

by  Paul Robert Thomas Recorded Criteria Studios, Miami, Jan 1997 Released 30 Sept 1997 on Bob Dylan’s 30th studio album Time Out of Mind Running time 16.31 (his longest track until recently surpassed by Murder Most Foul which is 16.54) Performed … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst Like earlier “Desolation Row” and “Where Are You Tonight?”, “Mississippi” can’t really be dealt with in one article. Too grand, too majestic, too monumental. And, of course, such an extraordinary masterpiece deserves more than one paltry article. … Continue reading →

Bob Dylan and Faith Bob Dylan On Faith (Part 1) Bob Dylan And Faith (Part II) Bob Dylan And Faith: William Blake (Part III) Bob Dylan And Faith (Part IV): Swedenborg By Larry Fyffe Drawing from the literary well of … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood “Why Do I Have to Choose” was written and recorded by Willie Nelson, released in May 1983 as a single taken from the album “Take it to the limit”.  It got to number 3 on the Billboard … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood My thesis in this series that looks at the topic of each song Dylan has written, taking the songs in the order they were written, is simple.  By looking at what Dylan was writing about, I argue … Continue reading →

This article continues from The Mississippi-series, part I; no polyrhythm here please The Mississippi-series, part 2: the line that never was. by Jochen Markhorst Like earlier compositions, “Desolation Row” and “Where Are You Tonight?”, “Mississippi” can’t really be dealt with … Continue reading →

by Tony Attwood You have made multiple versions of me, says Dylan.  Protest singer, folk singer, rock singer, born again Christian, supporter of Israel, voice of a generation, plagiarist, postmodernist, Kafkaesque, surrealist, blues man, celebrator of love, mourner of lost … Continue reading →

by Larry Fyffe Both the followers of the Christian religion and of the Judaic are sure they can find in the song lyrics of Bob Dylan solid proof that he is one of their own. Paul Thomas, for example, dismisses … Continue reading →

By Michael Johnson This article continues from Hidden gems in a train wreck.  Part 1: The Undesirables A full list of articles in this series appears at the end of this piece.   Back to the most difficult yet fascinating … Continue reading →

This article continues from Bob Dylan’s Odyssey: The Basement Tapes, Part 1 Bob Dylan’s Odyssey: The Basement Tapes Part 2 If we deal solely with the sexual imagery in The Basement Tapes the atmosphere imposed upon them by Greil Marcus’s … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst This article continues from The Mississippi-series, part I; no polyrhythm here please Like earlier “Desolation Row” and “Where Are You Tonight?”, “Mississippi” can’t really be dealt with in one article. Too grand, too majestic, too monumental. And, … Continue reading →

Song selection: Aaron Galbraith.  Commentary: Tony Attwood When, in the ancient days, I played in a band or three, there was a tendency for guys in the group to choose songs for us to do, primarily because they liked them.  … Continue reading →

By Paul Robert Thomas & Kim E. Hatton This article continues from Bob Dylan’s Odyssey: The Basement Tapes, Part 1 The title of Get Ya Rocks Off and the way it’s performed hardly needs explanation. Or does it? It’s unambiguously … Continue reading →