Do you have a favorite Dylan song?

I was listening to Blonde on Blonde last night and, while it has more than a few great songs, the one that really does it for me is 'Visions of Johanna'. Perhaps because it's not so obvious like his songs that get/got all the radio play? Is it the incredible lyrics? The perfectly composed melody? It's all those things, and I really can't think of another Dylan song that can match it, although so many others come close.

In the empty lot where the ladies play blind man's bluff with the key chain
And the all-night girls they whisper of escapades out on the D-train
We can hear the night watchman click his flashlight
Ask himself if it's him or them that's really insane
Louise she's all right she's just near
She's delicate and seems like the mirror
But she just makes it all too concise and too clear
That Johanna's not here
The ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face
Where these visions of Johanna have now taken my place.

How about you?

Simple Twist of Fate, but I like Jeff Tweedy's cover of it better. :D

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Originally Posted by Slosh

Simple Twist of Fate, but I like Jeff Tweedy's cover of it better. :D

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...even if someone else is covering it. That's another 'not so obvious' choice, and a good one.

I'm with Slosh. I like Dylan when he's not doing the singing. I guess it's a acquired taste, like Springsteen or Willie Nelson.

Dylan's "The Times They Are A-Changin'", both the Dylan and the PP&M version. If ever there was a song that keeps getting more relevant...

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Originally Posted by Jack in Wilmington

I'm with Slosh. I like Dylan when he's not doing the singing. I guess it's a acquired taste, like Springsteen or Willie Nelson.

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...he is an icon in the world of music, and among the greatest ever. Perhaps just a step behind the Beatles, but certainly on par with the Stones, the Who, Hendrix...yeah, he's that good, and remains a great songwriter even at this stage of his life. I can't figure out how he remains relevant when so many others just fade away.

I am going to say "All Along the Watchtower" because when my son and I went and saw him in concert last year and he broke into that song while we were only about 20 feet from the stage the look on my son's face was priceless.

Most days probably "Idiot Wind" but there are so many that could be my favorite on any given day.

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Originally Posted by Stone

Most days probably "Idiot Wind" but there are so many that could be my favorite on any given day.

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This is obviously the correct answer. Having said that, I was scanning the memory banks, and went pretty much straight to Mr. Tambourine Man. Now, the reaction to this choice may very well be, "Been covered by a bazillion people, and it's been pretty much absorbed into the modern cultural landscape." In response to that position:

Yes, to dance beneath the diamond sky with one hand waving free
Silhouetted by the sea, circled by the circus sands
With all memory and fate driven deep beneath the waves
Let me forget about today until tomorrow

To me, that verse captures the pure, crystalline joy of youth as well as anything ever written. Of course, tomorrow, my favorite will probably be Up To Me.

My favorite Dylan? Depends on my mood but it's often it's Positively 4th Street.

http://www.bobdylan.com/#/songs/positively-4th-street

Oh, the angst!! My favorite verse ...

You see me on the street
You always act surprised
You say, “How are you?” “Good luck”
But you don’t mean it

When you know as well as me
You’d rather see me paralyzed
Why don’t you just come out once
And scream it.

I've known a lot of people like that. :frown5:

Impossible to say, of course. But if you put a gun to my head, I'd probably come up with a fairly obvious pick: "Tangled Up in Blue". There's just so much to love about that song. It's an excellent melody, a remarkably honest and personal lyric, and he delivers it with a whistful, regretful tone that never lapses into cheap nostalgia or sentimentality.

Hmmm... This thread is in danger of becoming a Blood on the Tracks admiration society (and we haven't even mentioned "Lily, Rosemary & the Jack of Hearts"). So forget everything I just said and let's go with "Tombstone Blues" instead.

The better question is which song is your favorite, AND from which period? If ever there was a musical chameleon, it was Dylan. Long before Mr. Bowie. To that I say,

Maggie's Farm
Just Like a Woman
I'll be Your Baby Tonight
Tangled Up in Blue
Hurricane
Jokerman

To those who "don't get it". Dylan represents everything right about music. Pure melody and soul combine to DEFEAT his otherwise questionable singing ability. In short, it just works. There's not many artists out today who's music grabs me like Dylan's does.

Oh yeah, Jokerman. Another excellent choice.

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Originally Posted by poppachubby

The better question is which song is your favorite, AND from which period? If ever there was a musical chameleon, it was Dylan. Long before Mr. Bowie. To that I say,

Maggie's Farm
Just Like a Woman
I'll be Your Baby Tonight
Tangled Up in Blue
Hurricane
Jokerman

To those who "don't get it". Dylan represents everything right about music. Pure melody and soul combine to DEFEAT his otherwise questionable singing ability. In short, it just works. There's not many artists out today who's music grabs me like Dylan's does.

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Some of us, me included, like so many of his songs that it's downright difficult to choose a favorite. I just think my choice is slightly better than about 30 others that I like nearly as much. It's like naming your favorite record. That I cannot do, no matter how hard I try. I can compile a top 25, or maybe 50.

As for his signing, on Visions of Johanna, and others like 'Lay Lady Lay', his voice is much more subdued and smooth, lacking his trademark modulation like you'd hear on most of his 'hits'. That's another reason it's my favorite Dylan song.

So many who don't like his voice would also deny his importance, but they would be remiss. His music will be played long after he departs this world.

No I think we agree on this. I was basically trying to say that it's impossible to pick a fave, as stylistically there's so much to choose from. His period with The Band is my favorite, Robbie Robertson being another of my faves. As a Canadian I value his contribution, which is WAY underrated.

I can't help but think that on those few tracks such a Lay Lady Lay he was "putting on" a different voice. Steven Tyler did this on the first Aerosmith album. It happens to alot of singers.

As far as not recognizing his importance, that's laughable. Love him or hate him, only a fool would deny his significance to modern music. He influenced just about every important artist including the middle finger bearing Johnny Cash who was a HUGE fan. The Beatles would not have had the lyrical licence were it not for Dylan to etch out a path. His timing and melody were simply never heard before.

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Originally Posted by Mr MidFi

Oh yeah, Jokerman. Another excellent choice.

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"Distant ships sailin into the mist,
you were born with a snake in both of your fists,
while a hurricane was blowin."


....amazing everytime I hear it. A true poet in every sense of it.

no





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"Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" and "Leopard-skin Pill-box Hat" from the Bootleg Series #4 (a/k/a the Royal Albert Hall concert) make a great 1-2 punch. Classic rock-n-roll feel a'la the Rolling Stones.

Desolation Row
Subterranean Homesick Blues
Simple Twist of Fate as Slosh said mainly because I can play and sing a crude version of it. It will probably be on my covers album in stores soon.

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Originally Posted by poppachubby

.... A true poet in every sense of it.

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.....

Yes, my guard stood hard when abstract threats
Too noble to neglect
Deceived me into thinking
I had something to protect
Good and bad, I define these terms
Quite clear, no doubt, somehow
Ah, but I was so much older then
I’m younger than that now

Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat...oh man that's a real great one Dean.

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Originally Posted by Feanor

My favorite Dylan? Depends on my mood but it's often it's Positively 4th Street.[INDENT][URL="http://www.bobdylan.com/#/songs/positively-4th-street"]http://www.bobdylan.com/#/songs/positively-4th-street

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+ 1

Great song.............and even though now an old recording, still a great recording.

today it's

The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll

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Originally Posted by MindGoneHaywire

today it's

The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll

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...eventually. Great song too from his third record I believe. Yeah, The Times They Are A-Changing. How are you J?

You may feel that he is an Icon. But today is his birthday and the guys on WMMR were making fun of the way he sings. They all agreed, as I do, that he is a great songwriter. But if he was truly in the same league with The Who and Hendrix, I don't feel they should be making fun of his singing.

Dylan like Neil Young choose artistery over commercial success, so you got some that love him and some that hate his work.

Personally, I love his later works as it was more accessible and main stream. My favorite song of his probably is Changing Of The Guards from Street Legal album.

http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/...500_AA300_.jpg