The Armpit Collection XI: Triple Play

Decisions, decisions. Gotta take some Dylan with me and seeing how he's got 30 or 40 records, it's tough to decide which have meant the most to me. When choosing from a large catalog, I figure I'd like to cover as much "area" as possible. The first disc of Live 1966 and the original version of "Tangled Up in Blue" are where my Dylan journey began, "Love & Theft" came much later, after I'd understood what it appears Dylan is doing as an artist.

The acoustic side of Dylan was originally what I grabbed onto. Before the 1966 tour, Dylan not only had 4 incredible acoustic records, but 3 ground-breaking rock n roll records. Live 1966 sums this up for me. The acoustic side is lethal, so disciplined with a tremendous edge. I always think about a quote from Allen Ginsberg where he was referencing Dylan's ability and awareness of controlling his own voice..."he was at one with his own breath." When you watch clips of him performing acoustically live around the time, the theaters are all completely silent and his voice and guitar are haunting, serving each other and the songs. His harmonica added a level of harmony and tone that is hypnotizing. The second disc of Live 1966 is the climax of rock n roll music. Historically speaking, 1966 was a great year for pop and rock music, they collided. Given the Beatles' output and lack of touring, the Beach Boys' synthesis, the psychedelic rock movement, the ascension of other, newer, more straight forward rock n roll acts, and the explosion of popular music in general, I feel Dylan's tour, band, and music basically represent the climax and preview of rock n roll music - a road sign at the fork in the road if you will.

The three days in 1974 that Bob Dylan recorded Blood on the Tracks should be popularly associated with that album. Instead, half of the songs were re-recorded into the album we know. That album is still amazing, but I feel the original session represents Dylan as an ideal of what we know as the 'singer-songwriter.' This moniker took many faces in the late 60's, early 70's, most of whom were heavily influenced by Dylan and his earlier work. The original BOTT is Dylan-solidity of that ideal, contemporary and substantial.

Dylan recorded some great rock n roll albums and ultimately he is best as a songwriter or song composer - encompassing lyrics, melody, arrangements, instrumentation, excecution - in an academic way. He made some great rock n roll records in the mid sixties, some of which I believe to be the greatest records of all time. He also dabbled in other forms of American music in the later sixties, seventies, and eighties. By the mid nineties, I think he'd reached a point where he knew how to record himself, remain entirely interesting and progress his output to a new level, I guess a level that is now referred to as Americana. Dylan though, takes this form of music to an ideal place. A place where sounds and sayings are familiar, they serve as a gathering and molding of American musical and literary history into "popular song." "Love & Theft" defines this version of Dylan. It spans a gamut of song form while remaining an album with a singular voice or sound. He continues to mold and explore this form in other albums, as well as his radio show.