Where does one even begin to select a single song? But in honour of Bob Dylan's 75th birthday today, I wanted to try.
Dylan was involved in a motorcycle accident in July 1966. Although
he did fracture at least one vertebra, his injuries were not severe and
he convalesced in only a few weeks. But he took the forced downtime as a
cue for an extended break. At the time, he was riding high on the
success of 'Like A Rolling Stone' and his life's pace was feverish.
But he didn't stay quiet. He spent some months with The Band at Big
Pink and recorded the hundred or so songs now known as The Basement
Tapes. And he did join George Harrison on stage for the Concert for
Bangladesh.
He did not release another commercial recording until December
1967, 'John Wesley Hardin'. It was his eighth studio album and is said
to have been recorded in about 12 hours. It is certainly spare and marks
Dylan's return to acoustic music after several electrified ventures.
I have admired this album for a long time - more than any other -
and have chosen a song that I think has good applicability to the times
in which we live.
But then I chose three others because, well, because
...
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