Thursday, December 26, 2013

A Curious Omission...


...present in Bob Dylan's original but absent in The Byrds' cover:
A self-ordained professor’s tongue
Too serious to fool
Spouted out that liberty
Is just equality in school
“Equality,” I spoke the word
As if a wedding vow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I’m younger than that now

14 comments:

deborah said...

Are you really going to make us look it up?

chickelit said...

Only for you, deborah: link

deborah said...

Thank you :) Do you think it was omitted because of time constraints...3-minute recording desired?

Here's The Byrds version. I was not familiar with the song. Do you think Dylan is the most covered artist?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FUGzwUTN80</a.

deborah said...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3FUGzwUTN80

Anonymous said...

Nothing curious about it. The Byrds left out three of the four verses of "Mr. Tambourine Man" in their cover.

In those days they were a pop band trying to get over on the radio.

Aridog said...

See...first you have to give a shit about Bob Dylan.

Right there... am off the hook, because I don't give a rat's tinker.

chickelit said...

Subtlety is lost here?

Anonymous said...

It only took about thirty years but I got my best friend onboard with Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen. He was put off by their voices and cult followings, but when he heard their songs covered by other artists while paying attention to the lyrics, he realized Dylan and Cohen are indeed substantial artists.

When I was a kid, "Suzanne" and "Mr. Tambourine Man" changed my life. I still know the lyrics by heart.

Aridog said...

creeley23 .... no question, both Dylan and Cohen are phenomena song writers. I am fascinated and enthralled by most of what they wrote...BUT only when sung by others. Neither had a voice and both had a stage presence that was just shy of total full on narcissism with phony theatrics to deaden the lyrics they wrote. How odd.

Aridog said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anonymous said...

no question, both Dylan and Cohen are phenomena song writers. I am fascinated and enthralled by most of what they wrote

Aridog: That conveys a rather different impression from your comment yesterday.

Neither Dylan nor Cohen have conventionally good singing voices and neither claim to.

I found their voices engagingly expressive when they were younger. Time has not done them any favors. Dylan sounds like he is hammering nails with a flute. Cohen's voice is now so low and gravelly that I can barely distinguish the words.

As to stage presence, YMMV.

Dylan, I believe, was driven half-mad in the sixties by his unasked-for elevation to Messiah and spent decades pushing his audience away to manage expectations.

Cohen is exquisitely self-conscious on-stage, so much so he may seem precious and narcissistic. I enjoy his self-deprecation but can understand if he's not everyone's cup of mu tea.

Aridog said...

creeley23 .... yes, I can see how you would have the impression you got from my previous remark. I credit the artist for they do that is art, the rest I could care less. Dylan and Cohen are not the first great writers, essentially poets, or even mediocre ones, who had a brain fart and thought they could sing as well.

Anonymous said...

Whatever you may think of their voices, Dylan and Cohen have been able to command audiences for decades now.

I've never seen Dylan but Cohen gives a powerful performance. His concerts sell out within 24 hours even at his age.

Aridog said...

creeley23 ... no doubt Dylan and Cohen do fill venues. And I say, good for them. Their art is in their words, their voices ....a matter of taste, and you come close to the idea with your idea that Dylan was driven in to his madness.

Full disclosure (which usually surprises folks): my first affection in music is musical theater ... such as "Evita". So my taste in voices should be taken accordingly..e.g., I adore Joan Baez and Judy Collins, and of course Patti Lupone. It matters not to me what their politics are...their voices speak to me.