MMJ to Tour with Dylan this summer

[justbcuzido]

Just my 2 cents but Blood on the Tracks is my favorite and worth checking out as well.

By far my favorite as well, followed by Blonde on Blonde/Highway 61.

[Shug]

Good recommendations so far, especially on the documentary bhyman suggested.

You might also just try the old reliable Greatest Hits albums.  Vol. I is a solid collection of the highlights of his 60s recordings.  Vol. II gets a little obscure at times, doesn't really seem like a Greatest Hits but the songs are high quality. Vol. III is not too bad for an overview of the mid 70s to the 90s, either.

Another way to get into Dylan is to listen to other artists sing his songs.

The Byrds did a great job on Mr. Tambourine Man, Chimes Of Freedom, My Back Pages, You Ain't Going Nowhere and tons of others
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Byrds_Play_Dylan

The Band: When I Paint My Masterpiece, I Shall Be Released

Guns n Roses: Knockin' On Heaven's Door (just kidding, but its still a good cover)

http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2009/04/50-best-bob-dylan-covers-of-all-time.html

But if what you are wanting is to prep for what you are likely to hear in concert these days (in my mind that is a different goal than trying to get into Dylan for the first time), all of the above will not get you there.  Get his latest, Tempest and then maybe Love and Theft, Modern Times, and the incredible Time Out Of Mind. 

[Cameron]

You should listen to all the recommended Dylan stuff because it's all great. Then pull up some recent videos on YouTube because he sounds nothing like that anymore.

[rjlemons]

You should listen to all the recommended Dylan stuff because it's all great. Then pull up some recent videos on YouTube because he sounds nothing like that anymore.

This is true. I saw him in 2011 and enjoyed it but if I wasn't already a fan, I would have no idea what words he was singing. The band is great if you just want to kind of imagine the vocals yourself.

[e_wind]

My buddy says the best show he's ever seen was Dylan in the recent past (10years or less, can't remember year) but also the worst show he's ever seen wa Dylan in that same recent past.

[MrWhippy]

But if what you are wanting is to prep for what you are likely to hear in concert these days (in my mind that is a different goal than trying to get into Dylan for the first time), all of the above will not get you there.  Get his latest, Tempest and then maybe Love and Theft, Modern Times, and the incredible Time Out Of Mind.

I want to second Shug's advice here about checking out Dylan's recent records as good prep for seeing him live.  It will prepare you for what is voice currently sounds like, and they are all surprisingly great records.  In my opinion Time Out of Mind, Love and Theft, and Tempest are some of the best things he has ever done.

[Penny Lane]

It's hard to recommend Dylan albums..not so much to prep for shows but for your own musical journey as a listener..

Listen to everything put out in the 60s (not sure how to recommend one over the other), and you've gotta listen to Blood on the Tracks, + Blonde on Blonde and the Basement Tapes. (the 1975 albums)

Gotta serve somebody is a great song off Slow Train Coming, recorded in Muscle Shoals, but listen to John Lennon's comeback for that Serve yourself, which I only have on the Lennon outtakes blue box set (not sure if it's on an album?) God there is so much to Dylan's work and so much history and so many different genres and periods he went through. If you don't understand the lyrics, you gotta look them up.

[bartel]

getting into dylan is a gradual thing that happens over time.. I slowly introduced many different albums to my life and subsequently each album has a different feel about it and i have to be in a certain mood to play a certain album... you can't say that about many artist can you?

being a fan and exploring dylan's catalog seems to be a life long journey.

[Angelo]

All great Dylan recommendations. I've got to add Desire to the list, a great album from the 70s that really shows off Dylan's storytelling abilities. Planet Waves is also great and was recorded with The Band. Lastly, John Wesley Harding is a fantastic album that marked a return to roots music after his motorcycle accident and initial rock n roll rebellion phase.

[Seeker]

Whether you like Dylan's songs or not, his voice is absolutely shot, and it ruined his show I saw in October. I wish he brought another singer along. Also, he toured with Mark Knopfler then, and there were no collaborations, but it would be nice if there were some for this tour.

Charles

[parkervb]

Whether you like Dylan's songs or not, his voice is absolutely shot, and it ruined his show I saw in October. I wish he brought another singer along. Also, he toured with Mark Knopfler then, and there were no collaborations, but it would be nice if there were some for this tour.

Charles

Seconded.  Plus, if you want to hear some "hits" you'll need to listen closely because he changes the structure on most of them to the point they are different songs.  I'm not holdin my breath for any collabs.

[Shug]

Seeker and parkervb are right, Dylan's voice is extremely weathered and I'd not really expect anyone who is not already a big Dylan fan to enjoy his "vocalizing" today.  But there are also those who appreciate his voice as an expressive musical tool for the kinds of songs he is singing at this stage of his life.  He sounds like a guy who has had several lifetimes of life experiences and now is in the twilight of life looking around with all that perspective.

Not Dark Yet from Time Out Of Mind is the epitome of what I'm trying to describe.

Shadows are falling and I've been here all day
It's too hot to sleep, time is running away
Feel like my soul has turned into steel
I've still got the scars that the sun didn't heal
There's not even room enough to be anywhere
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

Well, my sense of humanity has gone down the drain
Behind every beautiful thing there's been some kind of pain
She wrote me a letter and she wrote it so kind
She put down in writing what was in her mind
I just don't see why I should even care
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

Well, I've been to London and I've been to gay Paris
I've followed the river and I got to the sea
I've been down on the bottom of a world full of lies
I ain't looking for nothing in anyone's eyes
Sometimes my burden seems more than I can bear
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

I was born here and I'll die here against my will
I know it looks like I'm moving, but I'm standing still
Every nerve in my body is so vacant and numb
I can't even remember what it was I came here to get away from
Don't even hear a murmur of a prayer
It's not dark yet, but it's getting there

http://youtu.be/0Yavmjh1Luo

Dylan's singing voice sounded like an old geezer even when he was 19 years old, its always been that way, I think by choice for much of his career and now compounded by the effects of aging.  And he has never made it easy on his audience, he seems to revel in artistic decisions that can leave his audience baffled including rearranging familiar songs into nearly unrecognizable forms.  Its just what he does, love it or hate it.  I'm never surprised when people say his shows are horrible, but one person's horrid is another person's awesome.

[bartel]

the fact that their is still pit tickets for the camden show is strange to me...

[parkervb]

Well put Shug. 

[EverythingChanges]

Question:

I just won the 2 free AmericanaramA tickets from the Tunespeak competition (Huge thanks to any of you that helped get me there  ).  I am allowed to choose the venue, and since I am already seeing the Noblesville show, I am looking at the Columbus show, or the Cincinnati show.  Which venue would you all prefer between the two, and which venue might have the better chance at a MMJ/Wilco closing spot?  Any ideas? 

[e_wind]

I figure if they're rotating Dylan will headline first, so you could look at the tour dates and count down. Of course it's a gamble, but would make sense to me

[ericm]

I figure if they're rotating Dylan will headline first, so you could look at the tour dates and count down. Of course it's a gamble, but would make sense to me

I agree with you on Dylan headlining first. The monkey wrench  to me is what happens right after Jones Beach. If they go Dylan, Wilco,MMJ, MMJ will close CT, and then MPP. Jones Beach lines up for Wilco. Does MMJ come right back and close Hoboken, or do they start the rotation all over again?

Or it could very well end up being Dylan closing two out of three nights, with MMJ and Wilco alternating the other night. It's really all speculative at this point, and unless we get an official announcement, we're going to have to wait and see how the first few shows play out, and go from there.

[pjfan04101]

I would hope that the powers that be know that this is something that needs to be announced.  I know he's a legend and all, but I also know that he is touring with 2 of the absolute best live acts today.  If Dylan headlines every night, he could be playing to half empty venues.

Knowing if Wilco or MMJ are headlining makes a HUGE difference in whether or not I want to get tickets.  If one of those 2 headline in Mansfield, I would get a ticket immediately (my friend has 6 in the first 20 rows, but a $100 a pop).  If Dylan is headlining and we're looking at shortened sets from MMJ and Wilco, I probably pass. 

[ericm]

I would hope that the powers that be know that this is something that needs to be announced.  I know he's a legend and all, but I also know that he is touring with 2 of the absolute best live acts today.  If Dylan headlines every night, he could be playing to half empty venues.

Knowing if Wilco or MMJ are headlining makes a HUGE difference in whether or not I want to get tickets.  If one of those 2 headline in Mansfield, I would get a ticket immediately (my friend has 6 in the first 20 rows, but a $100 a pop).  If Dylan is headlining and we're looking at shortened sets from MMJ and Wilco, I probably pass.

Totally agree with you, and this will definitely have an impact on how many shows I go to. Right now it's two, but if I knew what shows Jacket was headlining, and if it was a longer set, I'd sure make every effort to get to at least a couple of those. If they closed the show and just played the same set time wise, it wouldn't be that big of a deal to get to more for me.

[bartel]

I would hope that the powers that be know that this is something that needs to be announced.  I know he's a legend and all, but I also know that he is touring with 2 of the absolute best live acts today.  If Dylan headlines every night, he could be playing to half empty venues.

Knowing if Wilco or MMJ are headlining makes a HUGE difference in whether or not I want to get tickets.  If one of those 2 headline in Mansfield, I would get a ticket immediately (my friend has 6 in the first 20 rows, but a $100 a pop).  If Dylan is headlining and we're looking at shortened sets from MMJ and Wilco, I probably pass.

Totally agree with you, and this will definitely have an impact on how many shows I go to. Right now it's two, but if I knew what shows Jacket was headlining, and if it was a longer set, I'd sure make every effort to get to at least a couple of those. If they closed the show and just played the same set time wise, it wouldn't be that big of a deal to get to more for me.

surely the fact that it's already been leaked that the bands will rotate the schedules will be announced before the tour starts. they obviously know that not everyone wants to see every band so if some are more a dylan fan they would know which shows to attend and similar to wilco and mmj.