Definitely Dylan Live - 9 February 2020

This week on Definitely Dylan Live, Laura and Robert listen to and discuss another handpicked selection of classic Dylan performances. We talk Dylan’s early mastery of the blues and John Lee Hooker, Buddy Cage’s hilarious-yet-tense experience doing pedal steel overdubs on Blood On The Tracks (RIP Buddy), and how quickly things were changing in the late 70s, after the second leg of the Rolling Thunder tour, a period which brought us Budokan, Street Legal, and the start of Dylan’s gospel period.

Please let us know in the comments if you’d be interested in attending a Definitely Dylan event in London, featuring some special musical guests! You might also want to sign up for the newsletter to make sure you’re in the loop with further details!

Playlist:

1. In My Time Of Dyin’

2. I Want You - Live at Budokan

3. Meet Me In The Morning

4. Nettie Moore

5. Tears Of Rage (Take 3)

Definitely Dylan Live - 26 January 2020

This week on Definitely Dylan Live we’re talking about the many versions of Bob Dylan that have appeared on the big screen! Through the decades, filmmakers have tried various approaches to try and capture Bob Dylan, ranging from documentaries, fictionalised stories, and everything in between.

Here’s the video clip of Can’t Leave Her Behind from Eat The Document that we mentioned, and you can check out the video of I’ll Remember You from Masked & Anonymous here.

Correction: the live version of Don’t Think Twice (It’s All Right) is from the Royal Albert Hall, but the one in Manchester, not in London!

Playlist:

1. Don't Think Twice (It's All Right) - Live at the Royal Albert Hall, Manchester, 10 May, 1965

2. I Can't Leave Her Behind (Mono, Live [2])

3. Señor (Tales Of Yankee Power) - Willie Nelson & Calexico

4. I'll Remember You (Masked & Anonymous)

5. She Belongs to Me (S.I.R. Studio Rehearsals)

Definitely Dylan Live - 19 January 2020

This week on Definitely Dylan Live, we freestyle on Dylan’s remarkable love for Jimmy Buffett, whatsoever the studio drama could have been that inspired the song “Dirge” from 1974’s Planet Waves, and whether it was Dylan or Earl Scruggs that was more nervous when the two met and recorded East Virginia Blues at Scruggs’ house.

Here’s the link to Barbara Dane’s haunting version of “When I Was a Young Girl”, which came up while we were discussing “Where Teardrops Fall” from 1989’s Oh Mercy, and its interesting connections to the well-traveled cowboy folk classic “Streets of Laredo”.

Finally, to demonstrate how the @defdylan Twitter account pulls no punches when it comes to bold opinions, this week’s show closes with the greatest song ever written*, Dylan’s heartbreaking “Standing in the Doorway” from 1997’s Time Out of Mind. 

*views subject to change at any time, no notice required.

Playlist:

1. Dirge

2. Streets of Laredo - Joan Baez (Live in Concert)

3. Where Teardrops Fall

4. East Virginia Blues (with Earl Scruggs & Friends)

5. Standing In The Doorway

Definitely Dylan Live - 12 January 2020

In the first Definitely Dylan Live of 2020, we’re exploring the songs in which Bob Dylan sings about what it feels like to be in the spotlight: the moments in which things get meta and Dylan reflects on the act of performance. Laura and Robert trace how the tone of those lyrics changes from the early days of the confident folk troubadour, to the weary musings on the responsibilities that come with fame and acclaim. Oh, and we talk about Kanye West!

Let us know what other songs you think would fit this theme! One that I wish I had remembered to mention is Blind Willie McTell. To me, Dylan’s praise of the singer (“nobody can sing like blues like Blind Willie McTell”) always sounded like it was self-reflective, since it’s a blues song and Dylan sings the hell out of it. Maybe that’ll be a topic for another day.

I decided to add Dark Eyes to the website version of this episode, because it bothered me that we didn’t have time for it in the radio broadcast version. In my opinion it’s just the perfect song to end this hour on.

Don’t forget to sign up to the newsletter if you haven’t already, there will be an announcement soon (no, really).

Thanks for listening, and if you’re enjoying the show, don’t forget to tell your friends about it!

Playlist:

1. Lay Down Your Weary Tune

2. Eternal Circle (Live 17 May, 1964, Royal Festival Hall, London)

3. Up To Me (Take 2 Remake)

4. Sweetheart Like You

5. Dark Eyes

Definitely Dylan Live - 15 December 2019

The end of the year is traditionally a time of reflection and retrospection. This is especially true when the end of the year coincides with the end of the decade. On the last episode of Definitely Dylan before the holidays, Robert and I decided to look back on the past ten years, and see what they might signify in the context of Bob Dylan’s career.

Doing this in only one hour was perhaps a bit ambitious, there are many more things worth mentioning, such as Dylan’s Nobel Prize win in 2016 and acceptance speech, his MusiCares speech , his visual art (if you want to hear some of my thoughts on that, check out the episode on the Mondo Scripto exhibition in London last year), projects like the Scorsese film Rolling Thunder: A Bob Dylan Story, and other commercial forays, such as Heaven’s Door Whiskey. I’m sure there’s more…

But Robert and I are hoping that we’re starting a conversation that can be continued in the comments or on social media. So please let us know what your thoughts are on the last ten years of Dylan’s career! What were your highlights and low points? Does Tempest rank among your favourites or not? Did you enjoy the albums of standards? What are your thoughts on his live performances and the Bootleg Series? Lastly, tell us your predictions for the future! Do you believe there’s an album of new material waiting in the wings?

The Twitter post that I’ve mentioned on air is here, check out the comments for some links to excellent performances from the past ten years, and feel free to add your own!

Here’s the performance of Twelve Gates To The City that was mentioned, which is also well worth checking out.

Thank you so much to all of you who have tuned in to Definitely Dylan this year, and to those who have joined the conversation. In its second year Definitely Dylan has evolved, in no small part thanks to the involvement of Robert Chaney, who has enriched the show with his insights and sense of humour.

I truly truly love doing this show, and I want to thank Resonance FM for continuing to give me the platform to nerd out on a weekly basis. If you’d like to give them some support in return, please donate at ResnonanceFM.com/donate.

And lastly, I want to thank Bob Dylan for being such a continuously inspiring artist. It is testament to Dylan’s multifaceted work that I can’t ever see myself running out of things to talk about. I’m excited to see what the future holds!

Playlist:

1. Hark The Herald’s Angels Sing

2. He’s Funny That Way

3. Long And Wasted Years

4. Pretty Saro

5. The Best Is Yet To Come