Suze Rotolo and Bob Dylan, 1963, © Jim Marshall
Bob Dylan famously “went electric” at the ’65 Newport Folk Festival, to a somewhat mixed response.
When I first heard the “Biograph” set in ’85, which I got on LP before buying my first CD player, I was stunned by the pairing of these two songs.
[audio:http://www.dograt.com/Audio/2009/AUG/Biograph.mp3]“Mixed Up Confusion” was recorded in 1962. ’62! With “Tombstone Blues” Dylan was just picking up where he’d left off nearly three years before. When I first heard this I felt as though Dylan hadn’t caught up to Folk Rock, but that he had, in fact, secretly invented it.
The Prue story is great, but your blog is always cool tool!!!!!
I’ve thought about adding a Dylan category, but I’m not sure. I prefer to delve into things that interest me but nobody else has covered. The best example of that is Prue Bury. I had wondered who she is since the 10th anniversary re-release of AHDN when I was in college. Prue writing to me back in June was the best moment, by far, I’ve had with the blog. I have no comparable curiosities about anything Dylan-related.
I vote yes, because I’ve neglected this genius far too long. I will, however, miss the Master of the Blog’s exuberance when talking about the now-defunct original K3! I mean, let’s face it, Dylan was hardly what my teenaged daughter would call “hot!” 😉 Also, I’d like to hear more stuff on another great with a sometimes not-so-great voice: Neil Young!
Synchronicity.
I’ve been reading a book about music called “This is Your Brain on Music” by Daniel J. Levitin, and the section I was reading (p. 245) last night, probably when you were composing this post, said, “But fans will only go so far to follow their heroes, as Dylan learned at the Newport Folk Festival.”
If you haven’t read the book, Doug, you should borrow it when I’m done.
Time for a Dylan category?
Wow! I’ve never heard “Mixed Up Confusion” before. It gives me a whole new respect for Dylan. Also, this not being recognized thing. The guy’s pretty humble, no? 😉 or else he’s a chameleon!
Here’s a nicely done amateur video featuring Bob and Suze I found on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JC9b6SjVUtU
She also has an entire page devoted to her on Wikipedia, although you can’t trust its accuracy. Dylan supposedly wrote “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” after they broke up.
Damn! I couldn’t find the side-splitting Sebastian Cabot’s “Golden Throats” version of “Like a Rolling Stone,” so you’ll have to settle for Bill Shatner’s unspeakably awful “Mr. Tambourine Man”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0hTtsqiFCc