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ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "Seaman, Dave" <seamand@upmc.edu> |
| Subject | Bob Z vs Sgt P - the grudge match |
| Date | Tue, 2 Sep 2003 12:41:06 -0400 |
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I said:
>> Well, I'd rather listen to Sgt Pepper than the first 7 Dylan albums.
>> Butthat's just me...
Then Bill said:
>>Well let's see we are putting Sgt. Pepper alone against Dylan's first,
Freewheelin, The Times They Are A Changin, Another Side Of, Bring It All
Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. I agree that isn't a
contest; Dylan wins hands down. OK I am one of those who rates Sgt. Pepper
at the bottom of the Beatles Albums but please compare the songs on those
Dylan Albums with the ones on Pepper (overall except for a few great ones,
not the best songs the Beatles ever wrote) and I think you'd have to agree
that this one is really no contest with Dylan way out in front and only a
few of the Sgt. Pepper songs reaching the heights of the best Dylan songs
on those LPs.
Now I say:
I agree with you that there are GREAT Dylan songs on these albums; also, I
put several (maybe even most?) of the Beatle's albums above Sgt Pepper.
Nonetheless, I still listen to Sgt Pepper more than any Dylan. My statement
is that I like to LISTEN to Sgt Pepper more than Dylan - I said nothing
about comparing the value of Sgt Pepper to Dylan.
I very much respect Dylan's work, but I can only take him in small doses -
like, in the middle of a mix tape or on the radio. I guess it's mostly his
voice, and partially his chord progressions (and maybe a little bit the
playing and production?.. er... well, I do think the playing and production
is pretty good, just not terribly interesting). Dylan was a fabulous
songwriter but I'd rather hear the Byrds do Dylan than Dylan do Dylan. And
please don't peg me as one of those who prefer ear candy to a solid meal of
good songwriting -- I'm one of the first to say that good songwriting is the
most important thing. The songs have to be there, and if they're not, great
production can't save the day. It's just that there is a point where song
presentation, particularly vocals, has to be at a certain level of quality
for me to want to listen to it in any volume, and I guess Dylan hits me
below that point.
Same with Lou Reed, Randy Newman, Tom Waits -- great, great songwriters, but
I like them best a few songs at a time rather than 40 minutes at a time. Of
course, I can listen to Springsteen, Davies, and Petty in large doses -
maybe my threshold falls somewhere between Bruce and Bob D?
As for Sgt Pepper, I think there are some great songs on the album, some
good songs, and some mediocre songs. I can't think of any off the top of my
head that I think are truly horrendous songs. But the whole elpee is
sonically interesting to me, and even though much of it is not great
Beatlesongs, it's still the Beatles, ferchrissakes! Put John and Paul and
the boys in a studio w George Martin for a few weeks, and I could probably
listen to them sing the phone book. Apart from their usually excellent
songwriting, I just love how they sounded together. Who doesn't?
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