Rolling Stone Top 70 Dylan songs

It pains me to say Dylan was the biggest live concert disappointment of my life. Saw him (with headliner Paul Simon) about 10 years ago and for 90 percent of the set it was like he was a minute and a half into each song and every time I'm asking myself, What in the hell is he singing?

Maybe it was just a bad night.

 

Did you see the show at an outdoor amphitheater? Not a great venue for him these days. I saw him at an old theater in downtown Detroit a year or two ago and it was magical. His band was absolutely smoking.

 

I saw him twice live: first time was in 1986 (touring with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers as his backup band) in an arena show, and he was terrible. Gave him another shot in 2009 at a 3000-seat venue and he was much, much better.

 

There was a time when a Bob Dylan vs. Pink Floyd argument would have sent me through the roof.

Now I find music arguments so subjective that they are barely worth having.

 

Yes, it was an outdoor venue, but I don't recall similar problems with the other acts. Whatever . . . I'm still content if I've got the car on cruise control and I've got all my Dylan CDs lined up and ready to go.

 

I'm saying that I don't think that the outdoor, big setting is good for him nowadays, whether it's his voice, the way he plays the songs, etc., etc. It might be good for other people, no doubt. But it's just not a great match for Dylan.

 

Every thing I've EVER read on the song says it's not to be taken completely at face value. I could be wrong, but everything I've read said Barrett was laughing at Dylan's folk-singer persona. Not his songwriting ability or his career in total.

But I've seen nothing definitive either way.

Anyways, Dylan won. Dylan's pretty crazy, but not crazy enough to give up writing music, become a misanthrope and paint crappy paintings in his mom's house while dying a forgotten, lonely man.

Dylan still tours. Still creates art. Barrett gardened his life away because he couldn't handle reality. Dylan wins.

 

Barrett's music sells like hot cakes?
I'm a fan of both, but you can't compare unit sales. Dylan has to crush Barrett in unit sales.

 

Barrett's music has never sold like hotcakes, mostly because Pink's psychedelia from that period is horribly dated (my early Pink Floyd fan brother is going to kill me for that).

What is the highest-selling Barrett-era Pink Floyd album? Has any Barrett-era Pink Floyd album sold even 500,000 copies in the U.S.?

Not that I care, but to compare Barrett-era Floyd album sales to Dylan is crazy.

 

Well, Syd only did two Floyd albums.
I think his first solo album charted around 40 or 50 in the UK, but I don't think the second one charted.

 

Dylan does a fantastic rendition of the "Charles in Charge" theme.

 

I love Syd, but in terms of units moved - albums or songs - he's not at Dylan's level.
Of course, units moved is not a necessary indication of quality music.

'Bike' and 'Dirge' can both be great songs.