Indeed! Have you heard his improvised piano medley from the "Don't Look Back" documentary? I have never heard anything quite like it. He imbues a relatively simple blues structure with such soul and mood it casts a powerful spell. If you haven't seen it, just Google "bob Dylan piano, don't look back." There's an African American guy (who I am sure is some famous poet) sitting back and taking it all in. It's a truly miraculous moment captured on film. I think he's trying to find the melody for a new song that he's working on and you can hear him start playing with syllables and phrases towards the end.
@@stephenlee1756 What you're alluding to in this particular performance is masterful improvisation on the piano. With the exception of perhaps the "top 5-10%" of Dylan fans, meaning those with the senses to understand the profound beauty of his most recent work. Or rather, those who indulge in his latest original material with the same eager fervor they approached his 1960's streak of "Annus Mirabilus" albums. Not many folks can actually "hear" the ingenuity of his playing (perhaps for a lack of the prerequisite appreciation of music composition) to make an informed judgement. As always, Bob imbues absolutely every element of his work with a wholly original sound and tone. It is so distinct that one familiar with his catalog of work can listen to 3 seconds of any Dylan song and recognize it as his. Whether it's his voice, harmonica, guitar or piano. Dylan is the gift that keeps on giving. He releases albums that are unequivocal masterworks, one after the other, then tours with the material tirelessly and reinvents, rips up and reconstructs the entire arrangement. Everything from the instrumentals to the melody to tempo (and on the fly in many cases which means his band *must* be on the tips of their toes, cued into his every single movement and breath). In this way the audience gets to hear a "new version" of songs that just came out, including revised lyrics never heard outside of live concerts. This single artistic choice is one of those things that makes the man peerless! It's a high wire act. He may not reinvent the arrangement every single night but the band knows their need to be locked in because when you think he's going left, he goes right ("ya lean to the left, stay on the right.") The same goes for his most popular songs which are by no means his "best" works necessarily. Dylan has *clearly* read a lot of Shakespeare. I went to a university acting conservatory program so I know my Shakespeare and there are references everywhere! Shakespeare's work only got better in time much like Dylan. I find every time Dylan goes on tour he picks the songs I am most eager to hear, some of them 'obscure' for those that don't know his whole canon. He's constantly having to change his set list so that he is playing his very best compositions and reinvented versions of his best works. The man is the very definition of a "living legend!" Everyone in the business has attested to this. While "Bob Dylan" may be a mask, like any True Magician, he seldom ever takes it off and in this way he becomes the Magus he committed to play. He really does appear to take seriously the "bargain" he made with the "chief commander" (higher power) to "hold up" his end of the deal to "get where" he is. I sat 3rd row orchestra right in Chicago of 2023 for the Rough and Rowdy ways tour. I studied images from the tour to determine where he was setting up his piano and studied the theater's seating area to nab a seat directly within Dylan's line of sight. Dylan did something different, he kept the house lights on (they were dimmed but definitely bright enough for him to see the audience). No stage forward flood lights like he usually does. As a performer myself it's much easier to play when you cannot see the audience. When the house lights are off and stage lights are on, it's a sea of black out there. It makes a huge difference in being able to get into your character or focus. Dylan was using his whole body as his instrument throughout the performance as he always does. He's acutely attuned to his postures, to his band and to the audience. It's also a natural consequence of getting lost in the groove. He would also occasionally make eye contact with audience members (something I have yet to see him do over many many live shows). I was outrageously lucky to have the experience of locking eyes with the man himself. It sounds silly and perhaps disturbing but it was a powerful experience for me. I suspect that my height (especially relative to those around me especially) made me stick out. It wasn't a delusional fantasy. He absolutely made eye contact on a few occasions and during curtain call he leaned forward and squinted as if he was trying to make out whether he knew me. Perhaps he was looking for an old friend he knew would be attending the show that night in Chicago which is home to some legendary blues players (none of whom I resemble). Regardless, I remember him saying in an interview and also in his novel "Chronicles" that he had a life changing experience when Buddy Holly made eye contact with him at a concert. Perhaps he's trying to give that experience to others. He has long maintained a belief (one I wholeheartedly share) that the power and Spirit of a performer radiates through their eyes. "It's all about the eyes... they tell me all I need to know about a performer...and about a man for that matter." Anyway, not sure how I got lost in this meandering diatribe. I think it's safe to say that anyone listening to a live recording from a relatively recent tour date of "Key West: Pirate Philosopher" is someone that knows Dylan's work intimately and moreso, has the musical ear to appreciate the sheer ingenuity of his improvisation on the piano. Many are eager to criticize his voice (mostly because they don't understand what he's doing) and suggest he doesn't compare with other legendary musicians from the perspective of being proficient instrumentally. While he may not have the wild 'solo' virtuoso chops of a Stevie Ray Vaughn, Clapton, Buddy Guy etc....he sure makes up for any technical shortcomings with a wholly original style of playing. He's the best rhythm guitar player I can think of. Folks don't seem to appreciate the skill required to hypnotize an audience with nothing more than a guitar and your voice. Not to mention coming up with thousands of new melodies. He has demonstrated profound skill on the guitar. He occasionally punctuates the melody of his song with complicated blues/country, folk licks. Additionally, he's demonstrated he can play anything on the piano that he can play on guitar and his piano solos are suffused with that unmistakable Dylaneseque style that the astute ear could pick out of a lineup of 100 different gifted players. That's a major feat and why I am so pleased to see his instrumental skills acknowledged! We're lucky to have that man on this planet. My artistic heroes are pretty much the "big ones:" Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Beethoven, Twain, Hemingway and Dylan. Those are the artists that have absolutely fucking blown me away with their work. I put his work right there with the Sistine Chapel, Mona Lisa, Beethoven's 9th (which his shows start with now... very apt), Hamlet and The Tempest, Twain's Autobiography along with Adventures of Huck Finn, The Old Man and the Sea, and albums like Rough and Rowdy Ways and Tempest. Not to mention, the son of a bitch is a BRILLIANT novelist and has become an obscenely stellar painter whose technical acuity rivals the very best of the best. It should not be possible for one man to be so gifted. I remember being at a pool party in LA (typically grotesque events), and I was asked by some man in the hot tub "what do you do?" At the time I was playing live music in LA full time with a gifted musician. He followed up "that's terrific! Who are your influences?" I said "to be frank, I always come back to Dylan but I like the classics like Beethoven, Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Elvis, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin." He asked "what do you think of Elton John?" I was candid and said "Something about his flamboyant camp feels very insincere and distracts me from taking him seriously. I was also disappointed to learn he's not a lyricist." The guy next to me was tugging on my swimsuit pocket but the guy intervened and said "cut it out, I want to hear what he thinks..." I said "that's what I think...I know a lot of people love his work but it doesn't resonate with me." He laughed and said "Bob is a good friend of my husband and I. He made us the most beautiful iron gates for our home as a gift." I laughed and scoffed "Dylan hardly talks to the folks he tours with! As for the whole gates "story" that's ridiculous." He laughed at me and said "Elton is my husband young man and Bob is good friend. He's gifted at sculpting these very unique gates out of scrap metal." I was absolutely mortified because the dude next to me was trying to help me from making an ass out of myself as I accused Elton's husband of lying through his teeth! We both laughed it off but I was feeling pretty awkward so I stepped out of the pool, foolishly ignoring the invitation to come by their home for a drink and see the gates myself. About a year or two later I saw that an article that an art gallery was doing an exhibit of Dylan's welded Gates in NYC. They looked as exactly as wild and whimsical as Elton's husband tried his best to explain. Perhaps because of Dylan's age and our society's sickening worship of youth over substance, people flock to see the likes of Taylor Swift (who is to my eyes far more of a PR genius than an artist) in droves but who couldn't even identify one of Dylan's 1960's anthems like "Blowin in the Wind" if it was the million dollar question on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." We are living with a once-every-few-hundred-years-level Maestro and he's not really a significant player in popular discourse (which I am sure is perfect for him). Only the high brow class has demonstrated proper appreciation in awarding him every conceivable badge of distinction such as the Nobel, Pulitzer, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Oscars, Grammys etc. I'm glad he doesn't have the draw of a Taylor Swift or else I would NEVER have had the opportunity to sit 3rd row and lock eyes with the greatest artist we've seen in centuries! I hope this lengthy comment contains a kernel of perspective worthy to justify its creation.
@@martincremer1422 Well said - you let yourself go and most of it is spot-on. I haven't your level of musical knowledge, but I know that while listenning to Dylan my ears do not get bored! I have a similar experience with J.S. Bach - I've no idea how he does it but it allmakes complete sense. Even with other music 'greats' I often get bored. With the words I'm on stronger ground, and Dylan is undoubtedly in the same category as Shakespeare, John Donne, T.S. Eliot, Dylan Thomas, and a few others. He is most akin to Shakespeare as both write for performance rather than the page.
As if i was sitting next to them on stage. Thanks, Mr Blom and gravenb and JB and bennyboy 😊
He always could do great things on the piano.
Indeed! Have you heard his improvised piano medley from the "Don't Look Back" documentary? I have never heard anything quite like it. He imbues a relatively simple blues structure with such soul and mood it casts a powerful spell. If you haven't seen it, just Google "bob Dylan piano, don't look back." There's an African American guy (who I am sure is some famous poet) sitting back and taking it all in. It's a truly miraculous moment captured on film. I think he's trying to find the melody for a new song that he's working on and you can hear him start playing with syllables and phrases towards the end.
@@martincremer1422 I remember that scene.
@@stephenlee1756 What you're alluding to in this particular performance is masterful improvisation on the piano. With the exception of perhaps the "top 5-10%" of Dylan fans, meaning those with the senses to understand the profound beauty of his most recent work. Or rather, those who indulge in his latest original material with the same eager fervor they approached his 1960's streak of "Annus Mirabilus" albums. Not many folks can actually "hear" the ingenuity of his playing (perhaps for a lack of the prerequisite appreciation of music composition) to make an informed judgement.
As always, Bob imbues absolutely every element of his work with a wholly original sound and tone. It is so distinct that one familiar with his catalog of work can listen to 3 seconds of any Dylan song and recognize it as his. Whether it's his voice, harmonica, guitar or piano. Dylan is the gift that keeps on giving. He releases albums that are unequivocal masterworks, one after the other, then tours with the material tirelessly and reinvents, rips up and reconstructs the entire arrangement. Everything from the instrumentals to the melody to tempo (and on the fly in many cases which means his band *must* be on the tips of their toes, cued into his every single movement and breath). In this way the audience gets to hear a "new version" of songs that just came out, including revised lyrics never heard outside of live concerts. This single artistic choice is one of those things that makes the man peerless! It's a high wire act. He may not reinvent the arrangement every single night but the band knows their need to be locked in because when you think he's going left, he goes right ("ya lean to the left, stay on the right.") The same goes for his most popular songs which are by no means his "best" works necessarily. Dylan has *clearly* read a lot of Shakespeare. I went to a university acting conservatory program so I know my Shakespeare and there are references everywhere! Shakespeare's work only got better in time much like Dylan.
I find every time Dylan goes on tour he picks the songs I am most eager to hear, some of them 'obscure' for those that don't know his whole canon. He's constantly having to change his set list so that he is playing his very best compositions and reinvented versions of his best works.
The man is the very definition of a "living legend!" Everyone in the business has attested to this. While "Bob Dylan" may be a mask, like any True Magician, he seldom ever takes it off and in this way he becomes the Magus he committed to play. He really does appear to take seriously the "bargain" he made with the "chief commander" (higher power) to "hold up" his end of the deal to "get where" he is. I sat 3rd row orchestra right in Chicago of 2023 for the Rough and Rowdy ways tour. I studied images from the tour to determine where he was setting up his piano and studied the theater's seating area to nab a seat directly within Dylan's line of sight. Dylan did something different, he kept the house lights on (they were dimmed but definitely bright enough for him to see the audience). No stage forward flood lights like he usually does. As a performer myself it's much easier to play when you cannot see the audience. When the house lights are off and stage lights are on, it's a sea of black out there. It makes a huge difference in being able to get into your character or focus. Dylan was using his whole body as his instrument throughout the performance as he always does. He's acutely attuned to his postures, to his band and to the audience. It's also a natural consequence of getting lost in the groove. He would also occasionally make eye contact with audience members (something I have yet to see him do over many many live shows). I was outrageously lucky to have the experience of locking eyes with the man himself. It sounds silly and perhaps disturbing but it was a powerful experience for me. I suspect that my height (especially relative to those around me especially) made me stick out. It wasn't a delusional fantasy. He absolutely made eye contact on a few occasions and during curtain call he leaned forward and squinted as if he was trying to make out whether he knew me. Perhaps he was looking for an old friend he knew would be attending the show that night in Chicago which is home to some legendary blues players (none of whom I resemble).
Regardless, I remember him saying in an interview and also in his novel "Chronicles" that he had a life changing experience when Buddy Holly made eye contact with him at a concert. Perhaps he's trying to give that experience to others.
He has long maintained a belief (one I wholeheartedly share) that the power and Spirit of a performer radiates through their eyes. "It's all about the eyes... they tell me all I need to know about a performer...and about a man for that matter."
Anyway, not sure how I got lost in this meandering diatribe. I think it's safe to say that anyone listening to a live recording from a relatively recent tour date of "Key West: Pirate Philosopher" is someone that knows Dylan's work intimately and moreso, has the musical ear to appreciate the sheer ingenuity of his improvisation on the piano. Many are eager to criticize his voice (mostly because they don't understand what he's doing) and suggest he doesn't compare with other legendary musicians from the perspective of being proficient instrumentally. While he may not have the wild 'solo' virtuoso chops of a Stevie Ray Vaughn, Clapton, Buddy Guy etc....he sure makes up for any technical shortcomings with a wholly original style of playing. He's the best rhythm guitar player I can think of. Folks don't seem to appreciate the skill required to hypnotize an audience with nothing more than a guitar and your voice. Not to mention coming up with thousands of new melodies. He has demonstrated profound skill on the guitar. He occasionally punctuates the melody of his song with complicated blues/country, folk licks. Additionally, he's demonstrated he can play anything on the piano that he can play on guitar and his piano solos are suffused with that unmistakable Dylaneseque style that the astute ear could pick out of a lineup of 100 different gifted players. That's a major feat and why I am so pleased to see his instrumental skills acknowledged! We're lucky to have that man on this planet. My artistic heroes are pretty much the "big ones:" Michelangelo, Da Vinci, Beethoven, Twain, Hemingway and Dylan. Those are the artists that have absolutely fucking blown me away with their work. I put his work right there with the Sistine Chapel, Mona Lisa, Beethoven's 9th (which his shows start with now... very apt), Hamlet and The Tempest, Twain's Autobiography along with Adventures of Huck Finn, The Old Man and the Sea, and albums like Rough and Rowdy Ways and Tempest. Not to mention, the son of a bitch is a BRILLIANT novelist and has become an obscenely stellar painter whose technical acuity rivals the very best of the best. It should not be possible for one man to be so gifted.
I remember being at a pool party in LA (typically grotesque events), and I was asked by some man in the hot tub "what do you do?" At the time I was playing live music in LA full time with a gifted musician. He followed up "that's terrific! Who are your influences?" I said "to be frank, I always come back to Dylan but I like the classics like Beethoven, Ray Charles, Louis Armstrong, Chuck Berry, Johnny Cash, Elvis, Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin." He asked "what do you think of Elton John?" I was candid and said "Something about his flamboyant camp feels very insincere and distracts me from taking him seriously. I was also disappointed to learn he's not a lyricist." The guy next to me was tugging on my swimsuit pocket but the guy intervened and said "cut it out, I want to hear what he thinks..." I said "that's what I think...I know a lot of people love his work but it doesn't resonate with me." He laughed and said "Bob is a good friend of my husband and I. He made us the most beautiful iron gates for our home as a gift." I laughed and scoffed "Dylan hardly talks to the folks he tours with! As for the whole gates "story" that's ridiculous." He laughed at me and said "Elton is my husband young man and Bob is good friend. He's gifted at sculpting these very unique gates out of scrap metal." I was absolutely mortified because the dude next to me was trying to help me from making an ass out of myself as I accused Elton's husband of lying through his teeth! We both laughed it off but I was feeling pretty awkward so I stepped out of the pool, foolishly ignoring the invitation to come by their home for a drink and see the gates myself. About a year or two later I saw that an article that an art gallery was doing an exhibit of Dylan's welded Gates in NYC. They looked as exactly as wild and whimsical as Elton's husband tried his best to explain.
Perhaps because of Dylan's age and our society's sickening worship of youth over substance, people flock to see the likes of Taylor Swift (who is to my eyes far more of a PR genius than an artist) in droves but who couldn't even identify one of Dylan's 1960's anthems like "Blowin in the Wind" if it was the million dollar question on "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." We are living with a once-every-few-hundred-years-level Maestro and he's not really a significant player in popular discourse (which I am sure is perfect for him). Only the high brow class has demonstrated proper appreciation in awarding him every conceivable badge of distinction such as the Nobel, Pulitzer, Presidential Medal of Freedom, Oscars, Grammys etc. I'm glad he doesn't have the draw of a Taylor Swift or else I would NEVER have had the opportunity to sit 3rd row and lock eyes with the greatest artist we've seen in centuries! I hope this lengthy comment contains a kernel of perspective worthy to justify its creation.
@@martincremer1422 Well said - you let yourself go and most of it is spot-on. I haven't your level of musical knowledge, but I know that while listenning to Dylan my ears do not get bored! I have a similar experience with J.S. Bach - I've no idea how he does it but it allmakes complete sense. Even with other music 'greats' I often get bored. With the words I'm on stronger ground, and Dylan is undoubtedly in the same category as Shakespeare, John Donne, T.S. Eliot, Dylan Thomas, and a few others. He is most akin to Shakespeare as both write for performance rather than the page.
@@stephenlee1756 everything you said here is spot on! Nice to encounter a fellow lover of the great wordsmiths of history!