Acoustic versions

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Dr. Medulla
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Re: Acoustic versions

Post by Dr. Medulla »

An odd thought: Judas Priest fan gets a copy of Turbo, hears the synths, gets angry and yells "Dylan!"
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Flex
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Re: Acoustic versions

Post by Flex »

Kory wrote:
12 Jan 2018, 2:36pm
Most of the time I find myself asking why he even went electric if he wasn't going to make full use of it.
I've read a few books on the making of Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. Personal taste aside, the usual consensus is these were fairy innovative albums. Where do you think Dylan fell short in making use of being plugged in on those records?

Addendum: Joking aside, I get the variances in personal taste in his catalog. But you understand craftmanship in music more than I do, so I'd be curious where folks have it wrong on his most acclaimed albums (his Rolling Thunder Revue live stuff, circa '75, is also an era I'd be interested in hearing where Dylan fell short).
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Kory
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Re: Acoustic versions

Post by Kory »

Flex wrote:
12 Jan 2018, 3:03pm
Kory wrote:
12 Jan 2018, 2:36pm
Most of the time I find myself asking why he even went electric if he wasn't going to make full use of it.
I've read a few books on the making of Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. Personal taste aside, the usual consensus is these were fairy innovative albums. Where do you think Dylan fell short in making use of being plugged in on those records?

Addendum: Joking aside, I get the variances in personal taste in his catalog. But you understand craftmanship in music more than I do, so I'd be curious where folks have it wrong on his most acclaimed albums (his Rolling Thunder Revue live stuff, circa '75, is also an era I'd be interested in hearing where Dylan fell short).
I haven't heard the live stuff you mention, so I'll check that now.

With regards to the the other two albums particularly, they always (with a few exception songs) struck me as either just the previous acoustic style but with an organ bed, percussion and some electric guitar flourishes, or just pretty standard-sounding blues songs. I guess that might have been innovative at the time, but it doesn't make for a very interesting listen for me, having already been into the first four albums. I think "it wasn't enough of a change" probably sums it up best. It's all just too subtle. I spend a lot of time listening to those albums thinking that they would have been better acoustic if he wasn't going to go balls out. I'll report back on the Rolling Thunder stuff.
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Re: Acoustic versions

Post by Wolter »

The Cure acoustic greatest hits sounds exactly like early acoustic REM. :shifty:
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Re: Acoustic versions

Post by muppet hi fi »

Kory wrote:
12 Jan 2018, 2:36pm
muppet hi fi wrote:
12 Jan 2018, 12:43am
Kory wrote:
12 Jan 2018, 12:38am
Flex wrote:
11 Jan 2018, 12:40pm
Kory wrote:
10 Jan 2018, 2:00pm
Also the first four Dylan albums are better than anything that came after. Not so much a versions thing, just a tic mark for acoustic music.
This opinion is super wrong
Nope. His electric stuff isn't nearly interesting enough to justify itself.
Dude, have you ever listened to 'Love & Theft'? Serious question...
Yeah. Didn't like it. Also, his later raspy voice is a turnoff. I prefer the cleaner tone.
muppet hi fi wrote:
12 Jan 2018, 12:43am
EDIT: and what exactly does the phrase "interesting enough to justify itself" mean?
Pretty self explanatory: I don't find it interesting. Most of it would have been better acoustic. Most of the time I find myself asking why he even went electric if he wasn't going to make full use of it.
K. Wasn't self explanatory to me. It read like some cryptic Christgau-ish proclamation, as though any non-strictly acoustic Dylan has no aesthetic right to exist. You might have simply siad "It doesn't interest me."

As for not making the most of it (too few electric guitars?) - Mick Ronson with the Rolling Thunder Review; Robbie Robertson with The Band (especially the '74 tour).
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Re: Acoustic versions

Post by matedog »

Wolter wrote:
12 Jan 2018, 7:31pm
The Cure acoustic greatest hits sounds exactly like early acoustic REM. :shifty:
:cool:
Look, you have to establish context for these things. And I maintain that unless you appreciate the Fall of Constantinople, the Great Fire of London, and Mickey Mantle's fatalist alcoholism, live Freddy makes no sense. If you want to half-ass it, fine, go call Simon Schama to do the appendix.

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Re: Acoustic versions

Post by JennyB »

Flex wrote:
11 Jan 2018, 12:40pm
Kory wrote:
10 Jan 2018, 2:00pm
Also the first four Dylan albums are better than anything that came after. Not so much a versions thing, just a tic mark for acoustic music.
This opinion is super wrong, but it did remind me that Dylan was doing great acoustic versions of electric songs on his '65 and '66 tours. I don't know if I'd call those performances "better" but certainly just as good.

Johnny Cash's acoustic version of Hurt is better than the Nine Inch Nails plugged in original, imho.
I agree. And I would add that his acoustic Personal Jesus is better than DM's. And that says a lot coming from me.
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Re: Acoustic versions

Post by JennyB »

Wolter wrote:
12 Jan 2018, 7:31pm
The Cure acoustic greatest hits sounds exactly like early acoustic REM. :shifty:
Speaking of early REM, First Wave was playing covers of Bowie songs yesterday, and the Cure's cover of Young Americans came on. I forgot how awful that was. This was during their 90s musical output, so it makes sense.
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Re: Acoustic versions

Post by Marky Dread »

JennyB wrote:
14 Jan 2018, 1:12pm
Flex wrote:
11 Jan 2018, 12:40pm
Kory wrote:
10 Jan 2018, 2:00pm
Also the first four Dylan albums are better than anything that came after. Not so much a versions thing, just a tic mark for acoustic music.
This opinion is super wrong, but it did remind me that Dylan was doing great acoustic versions of electric songs on his '65 and '66 tours. I don't know if I'd call those performances "better" but certainly just as good.

Johnny Cash's acoustic version of Hurt is better than the Nine Inch Nails plugged in original, imho.
I agree. And I would add that his acoustic Personal Jesus is better than DM's. And that says a lot coming from me.
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Re: Acoustic versions

Post by JennyB »

Marky Dread wrote:
14 Jan 2018, 1:14pm
JennyB wrote:
14 Jan 2018, 1:12pm
Flex wrote:
11 Jan 2018, 12:40pm
Kory wrote:
10 Jan 2018, 2:00pm
Also the first four Dylan albums are better than anything that came after. Not so much a versions thing, just a tic mark for acoustic music.
This opinion is super wrong, but it did remind me that Dylan was doing great acoustic versions of electric songs on his '65 and '66 tours. I don't know if I'd call those performances "better" but certainly just as good.

Johnny Cash's acoustic version of Hurt is better than the Nine Inch Nails plugged in original, imho.
I agree. And I would add that his acoustic Personal Jesus is better than DM's. And that says a lot coming from me.
Judas. ;)
:mrgreen:
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Wolter
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Re: Acoustic versions

Post by Wolter »

JennyB wrote:
14 Jan 2018, 1:14pm
Marky Dread wrote:
14 Jan 2018, 1:14pm
JennyB wrote:
14 Jan 2018, 1:12pm
Flex wrote:
11 Jan 2018, 12:40pm
Kory wrote:
10 Jan 2018, 2:00pm
Also the first four Dylan albums are better than anything that came after. Not so much a versions thing, just a tic mark for acoustic music.
This opinion is super wrong, but it did remind me that Dylan was doing great acoustic versions of electric songs on his '65 and '66 tours. I don't know if I'd call those performances "better" but certainly just as good.

Johnny Cash's acoustic version of Hurt is better than the Nine Inch Nails plugged in original, imho.
I agree. And I would add that his acoustic Personal Jesus is better than DM's. And that says a lot coming from me.
Judas. ;)
:mrgreen:
I have to agree on that. Just because coming from a seriously devout man, the song has a weird reverence that I’m into. And I still love the DM version (Violater 4eva)
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