This morning, as I woke up in my snow-covered cottage and run to get some wood for a stove, the very first thing that came to my mind was to play Bob Dylan.
Now, this is very strange because in usual circumstances he would not be my first choice - naturally,I am aware of his reputation and what a huge influence he had on popular music but he never really caught my attention enough to give him proper listening. Not that this was proper listening - I put on his very first LP album from 1962. and continued to run around, outside in the snow to get some more wood, inside to light it and such. Than something abut his lyrics got me - it was "Talkin' New York" that turned out to be poetic and funny and literate as anything I heard in my life. Humorous story about real,authentic mountain musician arriving in New York and looking for a job in those fashionable "coffee houses" where he is rejected for sounding like "hillbilly" - "we want folk singers here". The song was so good that I actually forgot that I disliked Dylan's basically ugly voice and listened the whole darn album several times with greatest pleasure, not to mention proper attention finally.
If there is anything to say about his recording debut, its only unfortunate lack of his own material - as a young man he idolized people like James Fuller or traditional material he covers a lot. If anything, "Talkin' New York" was so good that I wanted to hear more of his own writing. Yes, he started here and it just gets better - somehow this morning everything came in the right moment and I was finally ready to listen and enjoy his music.I am still not completely converted but I am getting there and appreciating the lyrical power of his artistry.
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