Author Archives: TonyAttwood

by Filip Łobodziński “Artists are being objectified, taken over and thus, ridiculed by their audience who don’t understand their work anymore or does so only in a twisted, limited manner. The only way to escape this slavery and regain one’s … Continue reading →

This is the final article from the Bob Dylan and More Mythology series.  Other articles in the series are… Bob Dylan And More Mythology (Part I) Bob Dylan And More Mythology (Part II) Bob Dylan And More Mythology (Part III) … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood and Aaron Galbraith “The Dylan Nobody Knows” is a new series we are launching – and as ever it is an experiment. If we find it impossible to write, or if nobody bothers to read it, we’ll … Continue reading →

By Aaron Galbraith and Tony Attwood Just recently we’ve been engaged in a project listening back to some of the outtakes from the 1986 and 1987 sessions that produced the majority of Bob Dylan’s “Down In The Groove” album, as … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst Melanie, Sandie Shaw, Cassandra Wilson, Deana Carter … ladies who do not mind at all singing a woman in “Lay Lady Lay”, a woman who they would like to lay on a large copper bed. But at … Continue reading →

Over the years we have put on this site one or two recordings created by readers who have been performing Dylan songs. Often these have been songs that Dylan himself hasn’t performed, or indeed their own arrangement of a Dylan … Continue reading →

This article follows from Bob Dylan and More Mythology (Part I) Bob Dylan And More Mythology (Part II) Bob Dylan And More Mythology (Part III) Bob Dylan And More Mythology (Part IV) Bob Dylan And Mythology (Part V) By Larry … Continue reading →

by Tony Attwood In this series of articles, I have been trying to give very simple one-word definitions of the subject matter of Bob Dylan compositions year by year, in the hope of seeing exactly how the themes within the … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst Even the German national anthem, Das Lied der Deutschen, is set up as a drinking song. The original text contained also a toast (“Stoßet an und ruft einstimmig: Hoch das deutsche Vaterland! – clink glasses and call … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood Thanks to Robert Ford for pointing out that in our excitement of reviewing 600 Bob Dylan songs, we completely missed this one. “Western Road” appears on Travelin’ Thru Bootleg Series Vol.15 and sounds like an improvised extended … Continue reading →

  By Aaron Galbraith and Tony Attwood https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xamFHlljFnY Allen Toussaint, who wrote Freedom for the Stallion, was born in 1938 and died in 2015.  He was a songwriter, musician, arranger and record producer, and a major figure in New Orleans … Continue reading →

This article follows from Bob Dylan and More Mythology (Part I) Bob Dylan And More Mythology (Part II) Bob Dylan And More Mythology (Part III) Bob Dylan And More Mythology (Part IV) By Larry Fyffe To the Gnostics, the physical … Continue reading →

By Aaron Galbraith and Tony Attwood We have mentioned in each of these articles tin this series that neither of us is well versed in this type of music, so we have been exploring them as we have written the … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood, research by Aaron Galbraith Improvisation exists as a well-established, well-recognised part of the creative arts, particularly the performing arts such as theatre and music.  But definitions of what makes up “improvised art”, “performance art” etc can go … Continue reading →

by Jochen Markhorst At the end of 2016, around the time that Dylan was awarded his Nobel Prize, I published in the Netherlands the book Blonde On Blonde. Bob Dylans kwikzilveren meesterwerk. Translations of individual chapters have already been published … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood Bob Dylan performed “The White Dove” ten times in concert between 2 December 1997 and 3 April 2000.  An interesting statistic, as it shows this as a song that Bob not only really liked, but which obviously … Continue reading →

  by Larry Fyffe As noted, Bob Dylan nips bits and pieces from the ancient mythological tales of the Greeks and Romans; from Judeo-Christian ones too.The singer/songwriter inserts them into stories of his own making. Tired of Zeus’ shenanigans, Hera … Continue reading →

By Mike Johnson (Kiwipoet) Previously on the tour… The Never-Ending Tour: 1987 – Farewell to all that NET 1988: Desperate stratagems, Part 1: Heroes and Villains 1988 Part 2: The 60s revisited We finished Part 2 of our tour of … Continue reading →

By Jochen Markhorst 1          Chanson d’automne I           The Longest Day The card-playing General Von Salmuth (Ernst Schröder), the commander of the 15. Armee, looks satisfied at the hand that has just been dealt to him. “My best hand tonight,” he … Continue reading →

Commentary by Tony Attwood; research by Aaron Galbraith; lyrics decoded by Larry Fyffe The video which was previously available on line for this song has been removed.  If you know of another, please do put a note in comments or … Continue reading →