Friday, December 26, 2008

SHELTER FROM THE STORM



Cross your fingers, but I think we've survived the great snowstorm of 2008. After a couple weeks in the deep freeze, things are starting to thaw. Slowly. Everyone is sick of being snowbound, but we've been lucky to be safe and warm. I don't know what happened at Nickelsville, the tent city for the homeless down the road.


The clip is from 1976. Some people complain that they don't recognize Dylan's songs anymore; he changes them in concert. They've been saying this since he first pulled out of Hibbing one stormy winter. The man changes like the weather. He's never been an obedient jukebox. Listen to this outtake of "Lily, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts," and compare it to the more familiar version from "Blood on the Tracks."

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent electric version of "Shelter from the Storm" and I've always liked the Dylan performances from 1975-76 on the Rolling Thunder Revue. I don't care if anyone recognizes the songs (if you want them to sound exactly like the record, stay home and listen to the record) because Dylan is a true artist who makes it new every time. Too bad if we can't keep up, but I'd hate for him to dumb it down for the lowest common denominator. He's not a fucking jukebox, right? You wouldn't tell Picasso, "Hey, Pablo, could you make things more realistic?"

Great clip--the song will be with me all day.

Steve in Philly

Bob Rini said...

Thanks for the comments, Steve from Philly. We agree. I guess if I went to see Nickleback (not likely) I'd want them to play their song (what song?) exactly like the record, but with Dylan his artistry and creativity is what gets me to see him live, not him just playing the hits note for note. It's true, sometimes I love the originals just the way they are, and have to learn to let go--since he wrote the damn things. Ha!

Anonymous said...

go dylan! forever young!