Category Archives: Uncategorized

By Tony Attwood In my earlier article on how Dylan writes songs I outlined the notion that there are at least seven different types of art ranging from representational art to religious art.  In that article I quoted from Dylan’s … Continue reading →

  By Tony Attwood. Nobody Cept You was planned as the final song for Planet Waves and then dropped.  It was played eight times in concert in 1974 and then dropped, so we can take it that after a bit … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood George Jackson was written in 1971 – one of three songs written that year.   Wiki insists there were two but the Chronology pages on this site show three: When I paint my masterpiece Watching the river … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood The idea of making up a list of the ten best opening lines to Dylan songs came to me out of nowhere, and it just struck me as something rather interesting to explore.  And immediately I started … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood It is interesting to note that many Dylan fans hardly know of the music that Dylan wrote and performed for the Pat Garrett movie. Perhaps the scene was set by Jon Landau writing in Rolling Stone that … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood I have to confess I find it hard to listen to Tears of Rage these days knowing that the co-writer, such an incredibly talented musician, became an alcoholic and drug abuser and committed suicide.   The waste … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood On 13 April 2009 the English newspaper, The Daily Telegraph, published an interview with Bob Dylan by Bill Flanagan in its Culture section which included two sets of questions with reference to This Dream of You. In … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood Type the phrase “how does Dylan write his songs?” into Google and you get about 13 million results. Some of the pieces you will be led to are pure speculation, some are interviews, and many quote extracts … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood Updated 16 Sept 2017 If you have taken a look at the chronology page on this site, you’ll know that the very first song chosen as a significant Dylan composition is the 1962 composition Ballad for a friend, a … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood Most reviews of Bob Dylan’s unfinished song (at least in terms of a recording that Dylan was ready to release) “She’s your lover now”, see it as an absolute masterpiece, perhaps the greatest Dylan song never to … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood In the eternal circle, life (or if not your life, then the universe, or maybe just life in general) repeats and repeats.  Round and round without end.  Time runs,  nothing starts, nothing ends. The philosophy can be … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood It is hard to see quite what Dylan was doing here, other than finding another song to fill up the album that had to be recorded fairly quickly and still ruminating on the topic that had been … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood There are several versions of how Dylan was introduced to the music of Robert Johnson, and really I don’t think it matters which tale is true – the key fact is that Dylan w as exploring music … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood Written in early 1962, and performed in Carnegie Hall that year, this is one of two songs I have selected that were written between the phenomenal Ballad for a Friend and Blowing in the Wind.  The other is … Continue reading →

. By Tony Attwood “Frankly embarrassing” was the Heylin comment for this 1.44 minutes of music from Nashville Skyline, and that was that. But for me that is too strong.  It is a perfectly acceptable country song – but then … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood To be alone with you At the close of the day With only you in view While evening slips away It only goes to show That while life’s pleasures be few The only one I know Is … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood This article is part of the Untold Dylan series which looks at the music and lyrics of Bob Dylan, not just song by song, but as part of a sequence of writing. After finishing 1966 by writing … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood In considering the Wicked Messenger Heylin cites a critic who once had the nerve to ask Dylan if he only wrote Dear Landlord so he could get to sing the final lines. And if you don’t underestimate … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood “The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest” from John Wesley Harding, is a song that has fascinated more commentators than most Dylan songs from this period. Musically it is built over three ever repeating chords: G, B … Continue reading →

By Tony Attwood Bob Dylan’s song “Sarah Jane” is one that is nominated sometimes as being among the worst ever Dylan recordings. That didn’t bother me too much when I was asked to write a piece about the song, but … Continue reading →