Geldof's creation of sound and image came in the new wave form of The Boomtown Rats....
Selected reading for today....'A Tonic For The Troops.....'
Moody, miserable and sneering like Billy Idol, the front man of The Boomtown Rats was the vastly opinionated and occasionally angry Bob Geldof. After forming his band in a small, sleepy town near Dublin, Ireland in 1975, he led the way for the era of meaningless new wave. With Johnny Fingers on keyboards, Simon Crowe on drums, Pete Briquette on bass, they were joined by Gerry Cott and Garry Roberts on guitars, they originally called themselves The Nightlife Thugs. Thankfully after reading Woody Guthrie’s ‘Bound For Glory,’ they changed their title to the name of a gang mentioned in the story.
The highlight of their relatively short career was with the release of this 1979 album, ‘The Fine Art Of Surfing,’ heralding the number one single, ‘I Don’t Like Mondays.’ The late seventies saw the fusion of punk and something resembling senseless pop. Guitars were juddery and lacking in talent and the songs were fast and jumping with little tune and virtually no bass. The lyrics were meaningless and superficial but yet catchy enough for this strange genre to take off, albeit, rather briefly. New wave was a loosely based term for anyone who had a hit after the mid seventies other than disco or glam rock. Guys in suits and mop hair cuts, the image visualised new wave in television characters such as Mickey Pearce in Only Fools And Horse. The branch off new wave eventually was Ska which, fundamentally was the fusion of beat and reggae. It was new wave that was the fore runner of Ska but using Mersey beat’s shallow themes and American pop rock. Bands rarely survived from this genre to thrive into anything else that followed. The best example of success was probably with bands like U2. Vocals were strained and tuneless and most leads sounded as thought they were suffering from a cold. Short lived, it actually was quickly dated and many bands faded out just as quickly. It was Ska that seemed more survivable.
Geldof took the right course of action. Perhaps realising immediately that the band were going to be short lived, he extended his morose identity into a political stance thus making him the ultimate missionary for all of humanity when the music failed. This album marked the end of their career although other albums followed in moderate fashion, they featured more middle of the road pop rock. The band split in 1984 and Geldof slipped quietly into the shadows of the music industry and into his obsessive involvement of saving the world from poverty.
Since moving the entire band to a rented council house in Chessington, Surrey in 1976, they released four mediocre singles before having their fist number one hit with ‘Rat Trap’ in October 1978. It was to be the very first introduction the listening public had to new wave. It was their only other number one. Geldof, already an ex MNE journalist, had enough to say about the state of the music industry, thus fuelling his ability to write hardy, strong minded songs. ‘I Don’t Like Mondays,’ was based on the true story of a U.S girl, Brenda Spencer who went on a shooting spree killing two people and wounding another nine; a sort of Hungerford style rampage years before the British maniac. The day she embarked on her ‘day out’ was a Monday and in her pathetic defence, she gave the reason behind her mindless killing as ‘I don’t like Mondays..’
Written by Geldof, the first track of the album is ‘Someone’s Looking At You,’ and the gentle beginning has us thinking about another band entirely. Released as a single in January 1980, it reached number 4. It was an introduction to the great forces that were new wave. Geldof’s vocals are squeaky and twisted in a Toyah Wilcox style. It is understandable when listening to the opening of this album that their influence was felt by Blondie, amongst others. Perhaps I am surprised as to how enjoyable this track is. With the same equalled quality to either of their number ones, we shouldn’t be thinking any differently that any band lead by Geldof is going to be less than average. The same opening line also ends the track, a solitary, ‘On a night like this, I deserve to get kissed at least once or twice…’ It has an immediate dance floor situation of an awkward teenage party. It was about getting ratted on Party Seven and smoking a fag between ten of you. All greasy hair and chequered jackets with shoulder pads that no one actually needed. The songs were about pretty girls in piggy tails and frilly dresses looking all sweet and innocent. We only have to remember how Debbie Harry used to dress, so the less said the better… Lovely thumping drums and stuttering ‘S’s, there’s also a fairly rocked up guitar solo at the break and keyboards that sound more at home in a sermon. Very energetic and sets the theme for the rest of this punk induced album. Truly stomping stuff… if anyone out there can remember The Stomp….(perhaps just me, then…)
‘Diamond Smiles’ is a track based on keyboard, ‘fun fair’ chords. Get ready to clap on occasions in a Mick Jagger pose. Geldof uses his voice as an instrument in this track, he gives it an element of base and forever a feeling of force behind it. We wonder if he ever gave himself a headache after each recording. We can imagine him twisted and contorting his lanky body towards the microphone stand with fists clenched in a pleading pose. Personally I feel, Geldof was one of the last great characters of pop, and it was probably the last intrusive genre of music that allowed such characters to feel welcomed. Released as a single in November 1979, it failed to gain anything higher than a number 13 slot.
‘Wind Chill Factor (Minus Zero)’ is a strange opening to this diverse and exciting track. The intro reminds me of a Bowie/Ziggy track followed by ‘Toni Basil’ lyrics were she would squeal her vocals so they sounded irritating. There is something very Madness about this track, and it is easy to see the connection from new wave to Ska. Wind howls around our heads and the riff of a guitar comes in like a machine gun. Silly high pitched sounds from the band give it its punk theme, straight into a Ska B side, the backing vocals are distorted by the band taking on different voices. Electronic Max Headroom lyrics and OMD drum machine effects make this track hard to categorise. It changes every second up and down with its tempo. It’s a shame that as this track excels in its musical content, the inspiring lyrics are lost in a sea of creative art. We strain our ears for something recognisable. I can hear the electronic sounds of New Order, or at least Joy Division. There is so much happening in this track, that it is literally a delight to listen to over and over again, ever discovering new sounds and noises. Records don’t have this amount of personality anymore. Tracks became characters of their own, each so individual. We experience in this album, different versions of the same theme. Unlike any other new wave around at the time, we can listen to the unusualness and sheer uniqueness of each track. It is all new wave, but with so many angles, it is almost hard to keep up. In this track we hear not just music as how it should be; a fusion and collaboration of numerous instruments but interesting and fun lyrics. ‘I took the tube train through the subway systems, I rode those tunnels like a six foot mole…’ one doesn’t get to smile of chuckle at the words of a song anymore. The records of today have become depressing… this was the last time music was fun and enjoyable…
‘Having My Picture Taken,’ is a classic example of such past records that if the subject was on something abstract, then it was accompanied by sound affects. This track is complete with photo booth sounds with clicks and musical flashes of a standard SLR We now start to see a pattern in Boomtown records in the sense that they are themed from start to finish. Every second is there to be listened to, even the click and wise crack at the very end. A concept that is also lost in records of today as no one listens to a song from beginning to very end. We can appreciate The Boomtown Rats for such touching effects. It is these things that we probably remember when Geldof is stamping his political mark on the news, but the question is, does he?…
With a subject the opposite as The Beatles, ‘I’m Only Sleeping,’ this next track is a comfort to any one who suffers from insomnia. The weird lines of ’Sleep (Fingers Lullaby)’ contain such sinister words as ‘If I took enough of these red things, get some permanent sleep, blue things, what lullabies would you sing, white things…’ a giggle under the breath at lyrics such as these, and all of a sudden the world doesn’t seem so much of a nasty place… even a member is counting sheep at the close of this track. It is completed with spiralling piano and mesmerising, zombie lyrics, we wonder if anything they did was ever taken seriously. Perhaps, the slightly disturbing piece of the album is a mind shifting chant at the close of the first half of this album where someone is saying..’that’s not funny’ a few times over and a Punch and Judy sounding laugh happily plays away in the background..
I wonder if The Boomtown Rats were something further into the depths of new wave. Riding on a high plane, they amused themselves and the sales of their records was just a by product. With Madness, there seemed to be a strong sense of level headedness about them, like that nice boy who comes round and visits his Gran once a week. The idea of The Boomtown Rats coming round is that of making Gran a cup of tea before reaching for her purse…
It can be said that ‘I Don’t Like Mondays,’ is about as sane as this album gets, bearing in mind, we now know the story behind this masterpiece of creative writing. The opening is a thunderous piece of piano that sets the scene of this hopeless tale of a ‘little girl’ who loses her grasp of normality. In my naivety, after all these years I firmly believed that this was just another teen song depicting the grey thoughts that drift through your mind when your young and that going to school is the worst thing that can happen to you and especially on a Monday morning that comes round too quickly. I was expecting the same amount of depth as ‘Our House’ by Madness, but with these theatrical opening bars with violin accompliment, I guess that my original thoughts had been grossly mislead.
We what we hear is an abstract around of the story from a narrators point of view. The calls back and forth from lead to backing vocal become forceful while Geldof becomes fearful. With such lines as the opening, ..’the silicone chip inside her head gets switched to overload, and nobody’s gonna go to school today, she‘s gonna make them stay at home…’ You can see where I was coming from in my original synopsis. . When remembering the video that went with the single, It featured Geldof on his knees expressing such desperate emotion in his vocals and his twisting body whilst being surrounded by the other members depicting the cold manner of the authorities, not even making visual contact with the man on the floor. Now in our minds, we can see this track for what it is. We can appreciate the quality of the song writing that has gone into producing such a piece of history. The very unfortunate story behind this song was the lawsuit thrown at the band from the Spencer family for damages as they felt that the song was only opening up wounds and was not helping their daughters case..mmm, no comment….It was also re released in July 1984, but only reached number 38, not surprising with anything with a strong element of current affair controversy can get easily forgotten over the years and with this second re issue, it was clear to see that the idea of some kid not wanting to get up because it’s Monday had regained its place as theme.
With ‘Nothing Happened Today,’ we are probably not that shocked after the previous track and even less surprised when we are catapulted right back into mindless new wave again. At least we now know what The Boomtown Rats were capable of…This track wastes no time in delivering its mind numbing theme…nothing happened today, okay, so its lines such as ..’I’ll do some washing, I might go shopping…’ that introduce us to the very primary ingredients to making the perfect new wave record. All you need is to surround yourself with a handful of students who can just about play their instruments and open up a copy of some local rag or switch on some daytime TV (be grateful, there was no such thing in the seventies!) and off you go… One thing is amusing, around the middle of the track is a ‘over the back fence’ conversation between two old dears, well actually it sounds more like Terry Jones and Graham Chapman (Monty Python) ironically dressed as women. ‘…It looks very natural’ everybody said, but then his wife said Toupee, isn’t that a French word? And Harry said, Ole! That’s a Spanish verb..’ and the chatter continues but thankfully not for much longer, an amusing piece of ultra nothingness! The early musical equivalent of improvisation…
‘Keep It Up,’ throws me straight back to the days of Blondie, and if for a second, Debbie had stepped up to the mic in this track, I would not have questioned my purchase of this album….Blondie made use of the ‘fun fair’ keyboard sound that was adopted by virtually all new wave bands, that’s if they could afford a keyboard that could give them that same sound…let’s face it, nearly all bands were flat broke in those that’s, and even when they did hit the big time, they still sounded as though they were rehearsing from one of their mum’s front room. Ah the beauty of new wave! It was a fascinating thing as it made kids buying these records the notion that they could grab a few mediocre instruments and give it ago themselves. In that respect, this genre inspired a lot of bands, some who we still have around today. Because it was tracks like these that sounded so simple, many bands when starting out, covered the big names as it was a sound that was so easy to copy. Geldof didn’t have a voice as such but he did have opinions and it was this identity that spread over the whole band giving the band the character they needed to be listened to. Unfortunately, it is in these fairly dire tracks that we lose the words as we are too busy trying to concentrate on the mess we hear to be music….’in her £2.00 coat she really thinks she’s cloaked in mystery, she’s acting like some character from Agatha Christie…’ or such lines as ..’I can remember the carefully sharpened eyeballs…’ These lyrics are intelligently written and we feel disappointed with the music of today, where the majority is so awfully uninspiring that we yearn to hear colourful lyrics like the ones Geldof gave us so it could marginally make up for the lack of musical talent…. Written by Geldof and Gerry Cott, I feel that Bob was probably better off writing alone.
‘Nice n’ Neat’ is one of those examples of Bob writing alone. I feel that he allows his lyrics not to be cloaked too much in gyrating musical noise. With an acompliment in the most important places of just a drum solo, his words stand out practically on stilts. A fast and furious track with heavy punk themes, it is far from the Sex Pistols, (please don’t be put off here, not all punk was the Sex Pistols, it came in many forms..) It is very mainstream, watered down punk which was far more listenable and likable. It was the diversity of punk that gave us, eventually, new wave.
Again, in this delightful piece of intricate acoustic playing at the opening to give it a Mediterranean feel, we hear Geldof writing alone. This wonderful Spanish guitar takes us away gently and not against out will to another style of music that was sometimes adapted by other new wave artists. We remember Blondie using a strong reggae theme for ‘The Tide Is High.’ This is a pleasing track for Rat fans and new ones alike, it stands out against the rest on this album as it shows us that the Rats could actually play proper music. Occasional piano allows the track to swing. It is most danceable and reminds me a little of the B. A Robertson records that followed shortly. An unusual piece of a music genre that at the other end of the scale we have the very forgettable , ‘Je suis un rock star..’ By the ever bewildering Bill Wyman….mmm, okay….
Today, we know Bob Geldof for shouting a lot and slamming his fists on desks and generally making a political nonsense of himself, I guess, after listening to this album, you would say that nothing has changed. We do however, yawn when we see him now but yet he still needs to be admired for his courage, determination, steadfastness and superiority over politicians and other established members of society. ‘Do They Know Its Christmas?’ sold two million copies in the first two days of its release. A feat, that I’m afraid to say, the Rats would never have accomplished. So what would we prefer? The Rats still caught in the Rat Trap or Sir Bob forcing his Dublin accent down our throats and into out wallets? I have to admit, I loved one of his sides, but only marginally respected the other. He is though, the very example of the saying,…’squeaky doors get oiled…’
He will also be remembered for marrying Paula Yates, and then getting dumped by her…He might even be remembered for his ghostly solo career where he jumped into rock folk music in his ventures as an aging new wavist. ‘This Is The World Calling’ in October 1986 (Number 25) and ‘The Great Song Of Indifference,’ in June 1990 (Number 15.)
For the exceptional songwriter, what do we remember him for? Two hits and Johnny Fingers known for wearing pyjamas.
Perhaps it is better to be remembered as the sole spokesperson for the human race…
Another recommended album;
‘A Tonic For The Troops.’ 1978, (re issued December 1983)
All songs written by The Boomtown Rats.
Produced by Mutt Lange
Recorded at Phonogram Studios, Hilversum, Holland.
© sam1942 2006..
Monday, July 24, 2006
A Ramble Through The Cobwebs Of Time...
What could be defind as a truly brilliant album?
Is it the fact that it has been replaced so many times over the years due to over playing? It is cuddle more than your teddy bear? Does it go on holiday with you (but not to the point that you book it it's very own flight seat)? I will take this opportunity to ramble, (as I must) through that rough pile holding up the wonky side board that I laughing refer to as my record collection....
Ladies and Gentlemen, today I give you....
'The Times' Are A Changin'' by the legendary Mr Bob Dylan....
Born into the world as Robert Allen Zimmerman on the 24th day of May 1941, to his parents, the world could not have been a lesser welcoming place. Their new son, despite the World War situation he started his life in, became the most influential songwriter of his generation and beyond. He has produced the most originally political anthems studying the thoughts and social issues predominately throughout the sixties. Embarking on a mission, he became a voice in the mist of social change.
Using folk and country genres of music. He adapted this style and used it as the fundamental basis of his astute and unique lyrics.
Sturdy, yet sometimes challenged by his contempories, he a remained steadfast in his beliefs and has maintained his ability to surprise and shock his audience from the flower movement to politicians and heads of state, not just in America but around the world.
Legally changing his name in tribute to the obscure writer, Dylan Thomas in 1962, he created his persona in first, the small clubs, folk gatherings and coffee houses downtown. He released a single in March 1962, ‘Mixed Up Confusion,’ and an album quickly followed in June the same year. Both failed to enter either chart on any score. Not enough for the young artist who continued to work towards the next accomplishment.
With the release of the cult, free thinking, full spirited ‘Freewheelin’’ in 1963, he made his mark instantly and by the following year, he had become the firm Bohemian voice then playing over two hundred concerts in his first year. Forever in demand, his followers adopted not just a belief in his lyrics but was touched by his plain, simple and unaffected way of life. Armed with just a guitar and a harmonica, he was a unique picture of everything free and peaceful.
‘The Times They Are A Changin’’ was a mixed album of both personal and political speaking out, and set the pace off for a generation to question political strategies and their future. Dylan had ignited a flame that burnt heavily within the minds of the American youth.
Within this album, he found his first U,K single in the release in March 1965 of the title track. Reaching number 9. A fairly reputable position for a singer treading new ground. It was a mark of personal history, a couple of years before the hippie movement and the infamous Summer Of Love, he was primarily ahead of his time. With his tuneful ear to the ground, he had connected immediately with the new born feeling of a soon to be changing world. With his finger on the pulse of the youngsters of that time. He had stepped up on a social platform, a position that was never challenged and always respected., no matter how much of a protest singer he was temporarily labelled.
Engaging in his career of anti establishment values, he was never to be a ‘singles’ artist. Finding a flowing, creative voice through albums rather than 45’s, he gathered the more serious and intelligent listener around him. With the release of this album in July 1964,he was not at all in a rush produce a single from it. The album has to be listened to as a whole product. Dylan’s mind, the restless public speaker.
Although not reached the chart topping standards as ‘Freewheelin,’’ the previous year, it still comfortably sat at number 4. In the 2005 edition of ‘The Times They Are A Changin’’, it is complete with the original recordings of the 1964 album. Thankfully, there are no signs of tampering here. No extended remixes or bonus tracks (actually should be bogus tracks..). Dylan, isn’t someone who can be brought into the twenty first century with a few funky beats and a kettle whistling in the background. It just couldn’t be done, so gladly, what we hear is what was already there, and nothing else…
The inside sleeve denotes the ‘11 Outlined Epitaphs By Bob Dylan.’ Don’t be fooled into thinking that these are the controversial lyrics. What they appear to be, is an elongated prose of Dylan’s life. His thoughts on the world around him including conversations in passing that have stuck in his mind and influenced him. They are, I suppose, wishes, hopes and dreams of a man whose fears have haunted his mind. What we read here is the world viewed through eyes opened where other eyes have been blinkered.
‘Gather around people, where ever you roam…’ opens this album in a rolling folk piece accompanied by a harmonica. A short piece in running length, it drifts and allows his voice to roam free over the flowing lyrics. A timeless piece very much a part of the world we live in today as much as it was a track picturing the times of then. Musically he knew how to adapt his untrained voice to his style and left his unique song writing abilities and wonderful collaboration of notes to others who had the vocal range to compliment it. A song that casts the mind back to a time of uncertainty and illusion. The world was seen as a different place and ‘the bomb’ still a sobering thought. Idealism wasn’t an issue. What Dylan speaks of is a cold reality, not perhaps bringing hope but presenting war as a tool to fix matters, speech limited and minds closeted. 1984, depicted the way in which George Orwell saw the future of mankind. In this album, we look at the way in which Dylan saw the world through his music.
‘The Ballad Of Hollis Brown,’ puts in mind a scene of a road rolling wagon train crossing the wide open baron south of the deep American country. A backdrop of southern life in the sixties. One can feel the heat of the burning sun pounding down hard on the lifeless country. The hard life, dirty and bleak is enhanced through his throw away voice; cold and defined, this track fills our ears with no emotion. His words denote a life with a shot gum in one hand and a single life or death thought in the mind. The flitting of his hand dropping to a low note and the quickly up again across the strings gives the song a flippancy about it, like this life he talks of, holds no importance. It fades with the same speed as a tossed apple core out of a moving car. No thought from its disillusioned theme.
The religious context of ‘With God On Our Side,’ is a tribute to the history of American civilisation.
Musically, it is a track that slows at points and picks up in moments like a freewheeling bicycle up and down a hilly path. He tells of the native American people and how they had been treated. An ironic track lyrically, it speaks of civil war and the people treading the new land with a gun and God on their side. It makes a mockery of this American history by saying, ’well, we did round up the Indians like cattle and we did take away their land and we have started wars with other races and other countries and we do kill each other, but its okay as because God says it is…’ A statement like this, made by a folk singer, was an incredibly bold one and such freedom of speech would have led to all sorts of trouble if matched today. Dylan seemed to capture a certain power to sing such lyrics about his own country. I would suspect that, the Americans perhaps didn’t actually get the full meaning of this track when it was first heard. I do believe that they had seen this song, initially as a defiant anthem to the greatness of the USA, but a tale of American fighting history, he picks out the poor and the meaningless political reasons behind it. A widely critical and controversial piece, it sparked the analysis of Dylan’s work from then and the rest of his life. Slowing graciously to a defiant end, it is solemn like a prayer. He adds a hint of disgust to his voice and by this, he is painting a picture of his dislike of the human race. In this piece, it could be easily said that it was this song that marked the beginning of the ‘rebellion’ of the youth culture. Perhaps the generation of the peace movement would not have happened if it wasn’t for Dylan?
The personal account of an over worked mind fills the theme of ‘One Too Many Mornings.’ Perhaps a reflective and sobering thoughts of a man increasingly questioning himself as a person as opposed to his references to the American government that appears to be the anthem of most of his songs around that time. Perhaps many of us can retrospectively find a kin to the lyrics of this soft, mellowing track (another song on the same theme that springs to mind is the very well titled, ‘Mellow,’ By Elton John from his 1972 album, Honky Tonk Chateaux.) There has been many a time for many people who’ve experienced too many mornings! Musically, a peaceful song to calm any hangover.
‘North Country Blues,’ reflects the same musical mood as ‘Ballad Of Hollis Brown.’ One can start to imagine one man on a swamping stage with a single spot light and a silent crowd. With a guitar strap around his neck and a harmonica to his lip, his acoustic complement seems quite incidental as Dylan would have had just the same impact if he had stood and recited his lyrics in a normal voice.
It has to be said that Dylan, single handedly and profoundly changed the world with his powerful and poignant songs. It appears that the voice of Dylan, (if you didn’t see him as the very young man that he was,) the listener would think that this was a voice of an old, wise and well travelled man. He held an incredibly old head on his shoulders. Not just his voice; gravely and droning as it was, his wise, observant words were strangely unreal from such a tender aged young man.
‘Only The Pawn In Their Game.’ reminds the listener of a Don MacLean track lyrically. It tells an abstract story of ‘Alice In Wonderland’ themes. He seems obsessed with rhyming a word several times or at least, as many times as he can. Anything rhyming with the word; game, name, same etc.. Dylan, here, feels a drive to explain to the world what it feels like to be caught between a decision of life and death. Cold lyrics are spat out like a bad taste. Dylan’s music was rather dull in sound, but it was lyrics alone that carried his finest work to millions of attentive ears.
‘Boots Of Spanish Leather,’ is a wonderful play on words title that pleases the listener. His rolling guitar looping the same handful for notes, reminds the listener of a Simon and Garfunkel track, years before Simon and Garfunkel came to the fore. With Dylan’s vocals cascading in and around and back to complete a full circle with each note, his words are fundamentally depressing and probably not an album to listen to when the listener is sorrowful. Although this is an album that presents the early, more widely known work of Dylan as a non conventional political songwriter, it is still categorised as folk. For those who can’t stand folk music, then I would suggest that Dylan’s later work when electrical influences took hold and his sound became blues based. His lyrics, in the latter, where not so engaging or shocking. With this in mind, folk music had been the perfect genre for Dylan to speak and be heard clearly. Such lyrics can be found in this song, ’..take heed of the western wind…’ and its with these in our ears, that the longing forces us to pack the bags and travel and be free (well, some of us anyway…). To clear the head of all material woes and angst. This album will cleanse the soul and if it doesn’t, it will leave you feeling more depressed than ever.
Moving on, we are delighted to hear an optimistic and future thinking song with its welcomed up tempo feel. We are entering the track titled, ’When The Ship Comes In.’ (sounds hopeful) The hand flickers fast across the strings and the re introduction of the piercing harmonica is heard (we hadn’t missed it). This track is welcomed relief to this simple, but sometimes morbid folk album. This track will please the ears.
‘The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll,’ probably won’t fill you with much happiness from the sound of the title. Fortunately it is written on a higher octave and requires Dylan to attempt to sing. Not a successful feat, but at this point in the album, we are now engrossed so much in the lyrics, we actually don’t care any more about his untrained voice.
‘Restless Farewell,’ is the final track of an album that will leave you either wanting to don a caftan and opened toed sandals or shelving it for good to collect dust. Perhaps an album for the camp fire (no, not the bonfire) and appreciated by Scouts…but a starry sky and the Australian outback are a necessity for the listener. It would certainly have more impact in such an atmospheric setting rather than perched over the coffee table with the six o’clock news on mute. The powerfulness of this album will take you back to a time of home made banners on nuclear war and protest marches with fellow students. This last track is a closing note to this collection of songs. A slow ’farewell,’ by the singer, almost reflecting on his own life in his ’dying’ moments. A solemn presence in the album as it draws the curtain on a remarkable piece of political and social history as seen through the eyes of a great songwriter.
Bob Dylan. Famously enigmatic, his career faltered during the seventies when after the controversial Vietnam War, there seemed little left for Dylan to say. He returned to studio work after failing to have the major impact of his earlier recordings. Dated and mildly middle of the road, it appeared that Dylan had lost his touch. From once being a powerful presence when rowdy audiences suddenly listened intently as soon as he walked on stage, his voice became weak and unmentionable than in his thought provoking songs.
Indulging in a career of writing for other admired artists, he guested on other peoples albums, almost reluctantly wanting to record his own (he did still continue to release throughout the seventies) Perhaps it could be said that this had been a wise career move. Residing to a back seat place in the ever changing music industry, he still remained on sleeve notes and credits on a great number of inspiring albums. His influence still felt through a whole range of other music genres other than his own. Over all, Dylan has continued to work tireless from decade to decade, refusing to retire and rest on his laurels, he still grows from acclaim to acclaim.
So what was the concept of this album? Was it a ordinary folk album? A moment in political history? Or the ramblings of a outspoken young man?
However you see this album from beginning to end, it will still strike a chord in your mind and set off a train of thought. Either way, it is just as prominent today as it was then…
Bought music zone 2006, nine pounds bobdylan.com
© sam1942 2006.
Is it the fact that it has been replaced so many times over the years due to over playing? It is cuddle more than your teddy bear? Does it go on holiday with you (but not to the point that you book it it's very own flight seat)? I will take this opportunity to ramble, (as I must) through that rough pile holding up the wonky side board that I laughing refer to as my record collection....
Ladies and Gentlemen, today I give you....
'The Times' Are A Changin'' by the legendary Mr Bob Dylan....
Born into the world as Robert Allen Zimmerman on the 24th day of May 1941, to his parents, the world could not have been a lesser welcoming place. Their new son, despite the World War situation he started his life in, became the most influential songwriter of his generation and beyond. He has produced the most originally political anthems studying the thoughts and social issues predominately throughout the sixties. Embarking on a mission, he became a voice in the mist of social change.
Using folk and country genres of music. He adapted this style and used it as the fundamental basis of his astute and unique lyrics.
Sturdy, yet sometimes challenged by his contempories, he a remained steadfast in his beliefs and has maintained his ability to surprise and shock his audience from the flower movement to politicians and heads of state, not just in America but around the world.
Legally changing his name in tribute to the obscure writer, Dylan Thomas in 1962, he created his persona in first, the small clubs, folk gatherings and coffee houses downtown. He released a single in March 1962, ‘Mixed Up Confusion,’ and an album quickly followed in June the same year. Both failed to enter either chart on any score. Not enough for the young artist who continued to work towards the next accomplishment.
With the release of the cult, free thinking, full spirited ‘Freewheelin’’ in 1963, he made his mark instantly and by the following year, he had become the firm Bohemian voice then playing over two hundred concerts in his first year. Forever in demand, his followers adopted not just a belief in his lyrics but was touched by his plain, simple and unaffected way of life. Armed with just a guitar and a harmonica, he was a unique picture of everything free and peaceful.
‘The Times They Are A Changin’’ was a mixed album of both personal and political speaking out, and set the pace off for a generation to question political strategies and their future. Dylan had ignited a flame that burnt heavily within the minds of the American youth.
Within this album, he found his first U,K single in the release in March 1965 of the title track. Reaching number 9. A fairly reputable position for a singer treading new ground. It was a mark of personal history, a couple of years before the hippie movement and the infamous Summer Of Love, he was primarily ahead of his time. With his tuneful ear to the ground, he had connected immediately with the new born feeling of a soon to be changing world. With his finger on the pulse of the youngsters of that time. He had stepped up on a social platform, a position that was never challenged and always respected., no matter how much of a protest singer he was temporarily labelled.
Engaging in his career of anti establishment values, he was never to be a ‘singles’ artist. Finding a flowing, creative voice through albums rather than 45’s, he gathered the more serious and intelligent listener around him. With the release of this album in July 1964,he was not at all in a rush produce a single from it. The album has to be listened to as a whole product. Dylan’s mind, the restless public speaker.
Although not reached the chart topping standards as ‘Freewheelin,’’ the previous year, it still comfortably sat at number 4. In the 2005 edition of ‘The Times They Are A Changin’’, it is complete with the original recordings of the 1964 album. Thankfully, there are no signs of tampering here. No extended remixes or bonus tracks (actually should be bogus tracks..). Dylan, isn’t someone who can be brought into the twenty first century with a few funky beats and a kettle whistling in the background. It just couldn’t be done, so gladly, what we hear is what was already there, and nothing else…
The inside sleeve denotes the ‘11 Outlined Epitaphs By Bob Dylan.’ Don’t be fooled into thinking that these are the controversial lyrics. What they appear to be, is an elongated prose of Dylan’s life. His thoughts on the world around him including conversations in passing that have stuck in his mind and influenced him. They are, I suppose, wishes, hopes and dreams of a man whose fears have haunted his mind. What we read here is the world viewed through eyes opened where other eyes have been blinkered.
‘Gather around people, where ever you roam…’ opens this album in a rolling folk piece accompanied by a harmonica. A short piece in running length, it drifts and allows his voice to roam free over the flowing lyrics. A timeless piece very much a part of the world we live in today as much as it was a track picturing the times of then. Musically he knew how to adapt his untrained voice to his style and left his unique song writing abilities and wonderful collaboration of notes to others who had the vocal range to compliment it. A song that casts the mind back to a time of uncertainty and illusion. The world was seen as a different place and ‘the bomb’ still a sobering thought. Idealism wasn’t an issue. What Dylan speaks of is a cold reality, not perhaps bringing hope but presenting war as a tool to fix matters, speech limited and minds closeted. 1984, depicted the way in which George Orwell saw the future of mankind. In this album, we look at the way in which Dylan saw the world through his music.
‘The Ballad Of Hollis Brown,’ puts in mind a scene of a road rolling wagon train crossing the wide open baron south of the deep American country. A backdrop of southern life in the sixties. One can feel the heat of the burning sun pounding down hard on the lifeless country. The hard life, dirty and bleak is enhanced through his throw away voice; cold and defined, this track fills our ears with no emotion. His words denote a life with a shot gum in one hand and a single life or death thought in the mind. The flitting of his hand dropping to a low note and the quickly up again across the strings gives the song a flippancy about it, like this life he talks of, holds no importance. It fades with the same speed as a tossed apple core out of a moving car. No thought from its disillusioned theme.
The religious context of ‘With God On Our Side,’ is a tribute to the history of American civilisation.
Musically, it is a track that slows at points and picks up in moments like a freewheeling bicycle up and down a hilly path. He tells of the native American people and how they had been treated. An ironic track lyrically, it speaks of civil war and the people treading the new land with a gun and God on their side. It makes a mockery of this American history by saying, ’well, we did round up the Indians like cattle and we did take away their land and we have started wars with other races and other countries and we do kill each other, but its okay as because God says it is…’ A statement like this, made by a folk singer, was an incredibly bold one and such freedom of speech would have led to all sorts of trouble if matched today. Dylan seemed to capture a certain power to sing such lyrics about his own country. I would suspect that, the Americans perhaps didn’t actually get the full meaning of this track when it was first heard. I do believe that they had seen this song, initially as a defiant anthem to the greatness of the USA, but a tale of American fighting history, he picks out the poor and the meaningless political reasons behind it. A widely critical and controversial piece, it sparked the analysis of Dylan’s work from then and the rest of his life. Slowing graciously to a defiant end, it is solemn like a prayer. He adds a hint of disgust to his voice and by this, he is painting a picture of his dislike of the human race. In this piece, it could be easily said that it was this song that marked the beginning of the ‘rebellion’ of the youth culture. Perhaps the generation of the peace movement would not have happened if it wasn’t for Dylan?
The personal account of an over worked mind fills the theme of ‘One Too Many Mornings.’ Perhaps a reflective and sobering thoughts of a man increasingly questioning himself as a person as opposed to his references to the American government that appears to be the anthem of most of his songs around that time. Perhaps many of us can retrospectively find a kin to the lyrics of this soft, mellowing track (another song on the same theme that springs to mind is the very well titled, ‘Mellow,’ By Elton John from his 1972 album, Honky Tonk Chateaux.) There has been many a time for many people who’ve experienced too many mornings! Musically, a peaceful song to calm any hangover.
‘North Country Blues,’ reflects the same musical mood as ‘Ballad Of Hollis Brown.’ One can start to imagine one man on a swamping stage with a single spot light and a silent crowd. With a guitar strap around his neck and a harmonica to his lip, his acoustic complement seems quite incidental as Dylan would have had just the same impact if he had stood and recited his lyrics in a normal voice.
It has to be said that Dylan, single handedly and profoundly changed the world with his powerful and poignant songs. It appears that the voice of Dylan, (if you didn’t see him as the very young man that he was,) the listener would think that this was a voice of an old, wise and well travelled man. He held an incredibly old head on his shoulders. Not just his voice; gravely and droning as it was, his wise, observant words were strangely unreal from such a tender aged young man.
‘Only The Pawn In Their Game.’ reminds the listener of a Don MacLean track lyrically. It tells an abstract story of ‘Alice In Wonderland’ themes. He seems obsessed with rhyming a word several times or at least, as many times as he can. Anything rhyming with the word; game, name, same etc.. Dylan, here, feels a drive to explain to the world what it feels like to be caught between a decision of life and death. Cold lyrics are spat out like a bad taste. Dylan’s music was rather dull in sound, but it was lyrics alone that carried his finest work to millions of attentive ears.
‘Boots Of Spanish Leather,’ is a wonderful play on words title that pleases the listener. His rolling guitar looping the same handful for notes, reminds the listener of a Simon and Garfunkel track, years before Simon and Garfunkel came to the fore. With Dylan’s vocals cascading in and around and back to complete a full circle with each note, his words are fundamentally depressing and probably not an album to listen to when the listener is sorrowful. Although this is an album that presents the early, more widely known work of Dylan as a non conventional political songwriter, it is still categorised as folk. For those who can’t stand folk music, then I would suggest that Dylan’s later work when electrical influences took hold and his sound became blues based. His lyrics, in the latter, where not so engaging or shocking. With this in mind, folk music had been the perfect genre for Dylan to speak and be heard clearly. Such lyrics can be found in this song, ’..take heed of the western wind…’ and its with these in our ears, that the longing forces us to pack the bags and travel and be free (well, some of us anyway…). To clear the head of all material woes and angst. This album will cleanse the soul and if it doesn’t, it will leave you feeling more depressed than ever.
Moving on, we are delighted to hear an optimistic and future thinking song with its welcomed up tempo feel. We are entering the track titled, ’When The Ship Comes In.’ (sounds hopeful) The hand flickers fast across the strings and the re introduction of the piercing harmonica is heard (we hadn’t missed it). This track is welcomed relief to this simple, but sometimes morbid folk album. This track will please the ears.
‘The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll,’ probably won’t fill you with much happiness from the sound of the title. Fortunately it is written on a higher octave and requires Dylan to attempt to sing. Not a successful feat, but at this point in the album, we are now engrossed so much in the lyrics, we actually don’t care any more about his untrained voice.
‘Restless Farewell,’ is the final track of an album that will leave you either wanting to don a caftan and opened toed sandals or shelving it for good to collect dust. Perhaps an album for the camp fire (no, not the bonfire) and appreciated by Scouts…but a starry sky and the Australian outback are a necessity for the listener. It would certainly have more impact in such an atmospheric setting rather than perched over the coffee table with the six o’clock news on mute. The powerfulness of this album will take you back to a time of home made banners on nuclear war and protest marches with fellow students. This last track is a closing note to this collection of songs. A slow ’farewell,’ by the singer, almost reflecting on his own life in his ’dying’ moments. A solemn presence in the album as it draws the curtain on a remarkable piece of political and social history as seen through the eyes of a great songwriter.
Bob Dylan. Famously enigmatic, his career faltered during the seventies when after the controversial Vietnam War, there seemed little left for Dylan to say. He returned to studio work after failing to have the major impact of his earlier recordings. Dated and mildly middle of the road, it appeared that Dylan had lost his touch. From once being a powerful presence when rowdy audiences suddenly listened intently as soon as he walked on stage, his voice became weak and unmentionable than in his thought provoking songs.
Indulging in a career of writing for other admired artists, he guested on other peoples albums, almost reluctantly wanting to record his own (he did still continue to release throughout the seventies) Perhaps it could be said that this had been a wise career move. Residing to a back seat place in the ever changing music industry, he still remained on sleeve notes and credits on a great number of inspiring albums. His influence still felt through a whole range of other music genres other than his own. Over all, Dylan has continued to work tireless from decade to decade, refusing to retire and rest on his laurels, he still grows from acclaim to acclaim.
So what was the concept of this album? Was it a ordinary folk album? A moment in political history? Or the ramblings of a outspoken young man?
However you see this album from beginning to end, it will still strike a chord in your mind and set off a train of thought. Either way, it is just as prominent today as it was then…
Bought music zone 2006, nine pounds bobdylan.com
© sam1942 2006.
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