What About Bob? Dylan's Top Five WTF Moments
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BOB DYLAN'S NEW album, "Christmas in the Heart," is one of the weirdest major-label releases this year — and certainly the strangest holiday album since Bing Crosby dueted with glam-era David Bowie.
It's an archivists' sleigh ride through several decades of cool Yule tunes, some well known ("Do You Hear What I Hear?") and some fairly obscure ("Christmas Island"), with little time for the sanctimonies of typical holiday fare.
On the other hand, "Christmas in the Heart" is a concept album that measures the considerable discrepancy between the sentimental music and the aggressively unsentimental instrument. Hearing Dylan croak out a particularly phlegmatic "Little Drummer Boy" won't get the kids in the holiday spirit. (However, all proceeds from the album will be donated to Feeding America and its international counterparts.)
Part sincere celebration and part outright goof, the album ultimately is a thoughtfully wrapped package disguised as a lump of coal. In other words, it's typical Dylan, who throughout his nearly five-decade career has zigged left when conventional wisdom says to zag right.
So, to celebrate his mind-boggling stocking stuffer, we came up with his top five WTF moments.
» 1960: Robert Allen Zimmerman changes his name
Then a college student, Zimmerman performed frequently at coffeehouses around Minneapolis, developing a small repertoire of folk songs and gaining a certain amount of either confidence or cockiness. It was during this brief spell that he took the name of his favorite poet, the irascible Dylan Thomas. Scores of rockers and even folk singers have adopted stage names before and since, but this instance stands out not only because it nods to Zimmerman's obvious poetic leanings, but also because it acknowledges that his identity as a performer would be mutable and mercurial.
» 1965: Dylan goes electric
Considered the nexus of the folk music revival of the 1960s, the Newport Folk Festival introduced rural pickers to urban performers, old fogies to young bucks, but emphasized conservative musical values that cast a suspicious eye on innovation. During the first half of the 1960s, Dylan had written mostly in the traditional vein, leaning on spare acoustic arrangements and poetical lyrics. Few people expected him to play an electric set when he headlined in 1965, backed by members of the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. For an artist like Dylan, this was something akin to heresy, and opinion was predictably mixed, with some of the crowd booing and others cheering. Pete Seeger allegedly tried to take an ax to the soundboard. One thing was for certain: In one electric strum, he had changed the face of both rock and folk forever — for better or for worse.
» Late 1970s: Dylan converts to Christianity
Born into a Jewish family but not necessarily identified as religious, Dylan converted to Christianity in the late 1970s, baffling fans who had weathered a decade full of ups ("Blood on the Tracks") and precipitous downs ("Self-Portrait"). Refusing to play his secular hits on tour, he routinely evangelized from stage and released two albums of gospel-inspired tunes: "Slow Train Coming" in 1979 and "Saved" in 1980. The former is generously considered inessential, the latter one of his worst.
» 1986: Dylan raps
First-generation emcee Kurtis Blow recruited the famous folk singer, known as a fan of early rap, to provide a verse on "Street Rock," from his album "Kingdom Blow." On paper, it's a terrible idea, but in execution, it doesn't completely suck. Dylan's wordy compositions demanded a quick, rhythmic delivery, which he perfected over the decades and put to good use over this rickety beat. It remains an artifact of a very different time, but remarkably, Dylan comes off much better than Blow.
» 2007: Dylan appears in a Victoria's Secret commercial
It starts innocently enough: a pan across the face of underwear model Adrianna Lima, followed by a church interior, with an organ thrumming behind a chopping guitar. Then — who's that creepy old dude with the bushy hair and pencil-thin mustache? HOLY CRAP, it's the free-leering Bob Dylan! They actually aired this on national television.
» Patriot Center, George Mason University, 4500 Patriot Circle, Fairfax, Va.; Wed., Nov. 11, 8 p.m., $57.50; 703-993-3000.
Written by Express contributor Stephen M. Deusner
Photos courtesy Columbia Records
Addison Road
Have you actually listened to "Saved"? "Saved" is an absolute gem of a record with stand out musicianship and to these ears some of the finest Gospel songs ever written. By the way, Dylan still performs some of the songs to this very day.
By TB , Posted November 10, 2009 8:54 AMYou show a mighty ignorance when you say Slow Train is 'inessential'...with the amazing talents of Jerry Wexler and Mark Knofler, it is considered a masterpiece by anyone who knows anything about music.
By Andrew Holtan , Posted November 10, 2009 9:12 AMYou have to mention one other WTF moment for Dylan. What about the time during the Grammys right in the middle of a song and a dude jumps on stage halk naked withthe words, "Soy Bomb" written on his chest. Security quickly 86xt him out. I mean, WTF.
By Max Mobile , Posted November 10, 2009 9:22 AMthis article is full of errors
By ampat varghese koshy , Posted November 10, 2009 10:03 AMfor one dylan isn't named after dylan thomas according to many
i dont see why changing your name for a stage name is a wtf moment
he released three christian albums, not two and all are considered pretty good tho' slow train may go down as the best
dylan rapping is no surprise at all if youve listened to his stuff before
i agree that newport, born again-ness, victoria's secret are wtf moments
leaves you with two still to go
i would think playing before the pope and
dylan in drag -something he hasnt done yet , only sung of could be four and five.... unless you count his atrocious make up for reynaldo and clara
You fail to mention Dylan's appearance at the 2002 Newport Folk Festival, his first return since "plugging in" at the 1965 festival. For this show he donned a fake beard and long haired wig. He didnt acknowledge his new look or explain a thing to the crowd. During the entire show bassist Tony Garnier continued to smirk and burst out laughing when ever looking at Dylan. A very WTF moment!
By mike , Posted November 10, 2009 11:13 AMYou can check out his look at www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,338013,00.html
.
I'm going to agree with some other posters and say that this article is not written by someone with that intimate knowledge of Dylan. Slow Train Coming, though you may not agree with its philosophical leanings, is one of the most polished and best sounding records Dylan made. Knoplers guitar playing is worth the record alone. Also, to whoever said that 'Saved' is an 'absolute gem' must be high because the performances captured on that record frankly suck. The band which was so tight and distinct on Slow Train is now muddy and tired and Dylan gives some throwaway vocal performances. At the beginning of In The Garden he can't even hear the chord changes.
By Dave , Posted November 10, 2009 12:13 PM"Saved" does indeed suck. 'Pressing On' is a keeper but the remaining tracks are disposable. 'Solid Rock' was MUCH better live.
By Joe , Posted November 10, 2009 1:45 PMhow can this guy or any christian put to pen & paper that slow train coming is a and the other albums are out of line to the writers and commenters. Serve somebody didn't he win a grammy orsomething and didn't he sing it on SNL? i was talking to the pastor and and somehow it got on Christmas songs, i said my favorite was O HOLY NIGHT then i said for no particular reasonthat the best religious song was EVERY GRAIN OF SAND , he said he liked it also but there was little chance to hear it sung by the choir.also listen to Man of peace the lryics to all these songs are really at the corner of all that christians have to hear too. also the Jews for Jesus are listening to these and many other dylan songs. you can find dylan quoting small verses in the old testament. that's all for now as my alzheimers is starting to to confuse me a little.
By mike , Posted November 10, 2009 2:52 PMDave, they are two different bands playing on Slow Train and Saved. Saved was recorded by his road band at the time and IS a GREAT record with GREAT songs. Dylan's performance is excellent. Open your ears and your mind and perhaps you may hear it differently without your obvious pre-determined conclusions. When was the last time you ACTUALLY LISTENED?
By TB , Posted November 10, 2009 5:16 PMTB-
By Dave , Posted November 12, 2009 7:04 AMOK I will listen to Saved again, even though I've heard it plenty of times. I respect your opinion its just not one that I really agree with. Theres just so many brilliant Dylan albums that Saved isn't even on the map as far as I'm concerned.In fact there are only a few Dylan albums I'd listen to even less than Saved. Pressing On, however, is a big exception to the rest of the mess on Saved. That song pretty much rocks. Even in all its excess. I'd be interested to know TB what you think are Bob Dylans top 3 albums to see if maybe we agree more on that. Mine are...
1. Blonde on Blonde
2. Blood On The Tracks
3. Highway 61 Revisited