Dylan, Christmas In The Heart and.........wait a minute, that means you must have bought Down In The Groove, Knocked Out Loaded, Infidels, Saved, Under The Red Sky, Shadows In The Night AND Fallen Angels ?
I've enjoyed 'Shadows/FA' more than any other Dylan album from the run between Slow Train Coming and World Gone Wrong, with the exception of Oh Mercy. Based on the 2 songs from Triplicate so far I'm expecting to like this one a lot as well. I get that these albums aren't going to appeal to everyone but you don't need to be a 'mentalist' or 'blind worshipper' etc. to appreciate them. I think part of what Dylan's 'uncovered' from these old songs is the Blues running through them.
Check the stats by all means. But your reasoning is absurd. Let's say 50% of those positive votes were deaf superfans. That still leaves equal numbers who like/dislike Dylan's latest phase. And that's perfectly fair. It was ever thus. Tim
So would you agree with me at least that vocally he sounds better (but certainly not great) on these two songs than on anything recorded for either SITN or FA?
In general, Amazon reviewers for music albums tend to come from that collective pool known as 'fans'. Who else can be bothered to waste their time reviewing something anyway, especially if it was a simple chance purchase bought at random? How many 5 star reviews come from new listeners who haven't heard Dylan before or at least haven't bought some, if not all, of his previous work? So how many therefore come from listeners without any preconceived expectations? Maybe you should carry out an online survey to identify the bias. Amazon reviews are always by default loaded in favour of the artist they are reviewing. Very few genuine long-time 'fans' will buy something and admit it's poor to the wider public. Their disdain for the music will usually be demonstrated by the lack of visits to the music as it gathers dust on their shelf and that's about it. You can't criticise Dylan and most superfans certainly won't. It's just not allowed. The negative reviews (for anything), whilst also including the troll community, tend to better demonstrate the truthful reception of the product 'at large'. That's the way it is and has always been.
Moderator Note Please stop the personal attacks and arguments otherwise this thread will be shut down
Yes, he's smoother on these 2 new songs than most of SITN/FA. I would say the vocals on 'Melancholy Mood' , 'What'll Do' and 'Some Enchanted Evening' are very similar though. I like all those performances a great deal but even better is the more bluesy 'I'm A Fool to Want You'. I would agree there are less pitch, tuning type issues on these 2 new songs. Does it make the overall song/performance better? I'll know when I've lived with it a while.
Maybe you should read some of the actual reviews? There's plentiful evidence there, and on this thread, that some (not all) love the album; I am one of them. Nobody wants you to change your mind and like something you don't like; goodness, everyone responds differently to music. However it would be lovely if there were a little more respect for diversity of opinion and response; some of the posts here are merely dismissive and that's a shame. Tim
Bob is going senile. 5 CDs worth of music ALL with the same sound? Is he trying to make his band quit or something?
I'm not sure about that. If anything he's certainly keeping them gainfully employed! I'd love to know what the relationship and dynamic is between Dylan and his band. For instance, do they just sit there waiting for orders or do they actively participate in the development of recordings and encourage him to record these standards? If anyone suggested he should write some new songs, would they be dismissed? Paul McCartney had this problem where no one would stand up to him because of who they thought he was etc. Given that he has been his own producer for 17 years, who is there to take the place of say a Daniel Lanois or Nigel Godrich type producer?
McCartney would benefit by having Jack Frost produce him. Same with the Stones over their last terribly produced album
Are you talking SQ issues here? I'm thinking more about song content and style than recording but I'd agree that Dylan's self-produced records all sound very good indeed.
More the vibe. Dylan's records sound real. Earthy. Production doesn't get in the way of the Musicians. McCartney suffers by using different producers on the same album. It's a mess imho. I have no idea how Don Was screwed up that Stones record. A sonic nightmare
I'd agree about McCartney's use of different producers. New was a great disappointment and a mess to my ears. Doesn't Don Was screw up everything he touches? I still think Dylan might have made another great album with Daniel Lanois if he'd produced Under The Red Sky instead of Don Was. What's wrong with the Stones album? I have it on CD but only listened to it in the car to date.
Falllen Angels and CITH. i bought Shadows on the recomendation of two Dylan friends after it came out for £3. I tried REALLY hard to likeit but I can't. As i said earlier i don't much care for this "crooner" style and his voice....
I don't want to stray this thread but it's a compressed mess. Read the stones thread; some agree many others don't.
I think Bob's been enjoying himself since "Love And Theft" and is on a roll. The sequence of "written" albums showed him having great fun almost playing at being Bob Dylan, and now he's doing exactly what he wants. You can't make him do what you want, you have to roll with it.
Dylan is my main man, has been since I was 12, my definite favorite rock writer and singer, seen him ENORMOUSLY more times than I've seen anyone else (somewhere between 34-36 times, wasn't keeping great track at the start) and his bizarre and inexplicable whimsies are part of the package. That said, these standards lps are getting to be a joke that isn't funny anymore. To me! Clearly not a joke to him. And I will buy Triplicate. Eventually. Even tho I haven't bought FA yet, and that was the only the third Dylan I didn't buy week of release since I started with Dylan fandom with EMPIRE BURLESQUE. (A combination of "covers" and me being in a snotty indie rock phase made me slow to pick up GOOD AS I BEEN and WORLD GONE, tho I value both highly now.) I know Dylan doesn't care if the old fans dig it! And I will say that I actually do find the standards to be a positive benefit to my enjoyment of the last couple of live shows I've seen, so there's that.
I hear ya. I feel the same. I will get Triplicate as I have every new release since Oh Mercy. But I hope it's the end of this phase. But he does what he wants and I am in it for the long run... every album has something, even the lesser ones, that grabs you.
I'm really looking forward to this set but it seems more than a few are not. Well ok then! Looking over at the Boot 13 thread, it seems the all the Jesus work will be included this next time 'round and everyone seems to be excited. However I do remember most people I knew at the time, were perplexed at those records except for Slow Train. Now they say; bring it all on. I recall people walking out during the first of a series of his religious shows at San Francisco's Warfield Theater. Again many seem to be re appraising them and are saying how great they were (i loved two of them in person). It seems this is a recurring theme on Bob Dylan's music. The 90s blues records, Self Portrait, and Dylan going electric; all had their critics but now they seem revered. I say if you want to skip Triplicate then by all means, skip it. The rest of us will enjoy this music now and you can enjoy the expanded bootleg series box in twenty years.
I really like the presentation. It seems that in honour of the period songs they are trying to replicate an original 78rpm 'album' look with the heavy duty bound folder containing fairly plain hinged card sleeves for each disc. The plum labels look pretty wonderful too. There's more than a little thought going into this whole presentation - clearly it's an 'important' album whether you're along for the ride or not. Will it be his last?
I don't think so. My guess that is as educated as anyone's goes like this: after "Shadows in the Night" turned out to be a success, theat was followed up by a similar album. The band must have recorded many more songs for consideration for these two albums, and instead of putting those out as a "Bootleg Series" type of release at a later date, they get released right away as "Triplicate", maybe even with some more songs added. I'm rather certain that the band had their fun recording these songs. Also, his fans now have something to take in which gets expectations down for his next work of original material after winning that prestigious prize not so long ago. I'm not into broadway and/or swig standards so I haven't bought any of these albums but the preview clips certainly show that the singer's voice sounds impressive.
