My Favorite Bob Dylan Years

[@judyarmstrong3368]

So good to connect with you again Calico . It’s been a long while hearing your voice again and soaking up your profound knowledge . It’s wonderful seeing you in great health . Always Peter behind my Judy

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks Peter. I appreciate it, and I hope you are well also.

[@louismartinez7387]

I'm with you Jeff...great time period you've chosen to showcase Dylan. Wow talk about a prolific artist...I love everything he put on vinyl! The man was genius with words and music...so simple but at the same time very deep and down to earth!! Timeless for sure!!...thanks for sharing your enthusiasm and knowledge of one of the greatest musical artists (poets) of our time.

[@CalicoSilver]

Thank you, Louis. As I get older and feel the latter years of life passing by so very quickly, I have really focused on those albums that mean the most to me, and have not felt the desire to listen to albums that never meant much to me. That's what prompted me to make this video, because I am not sure how many more times I will listen to albums like Knocked Out Loaded, etc., if ever again. It's not that I dislike such albums, but it is more that I'd just rather spend what time I have left on the best of the best (and each of us have different "best of the best" albums).

[@louismartinez7387]

@CalicoSilver I totally agree Jeff...for me also, I find that those albums and artists that were a part of my life in the beginning when I first started listening to music, will always remain special to me. Nothing beats sitting quietly while listening attentively to Bob, Van or Neil.

[@suzanneperrin6937]

Nashville Skyline was his happiest album -happily married and then New Morning 8:48 with songs about fatherhood! His masterpiece was Blood on the Tracks So sad when the marriage came to an end.

[@CalicoSilver]

Indeed it was sad, Suzanne. And I don't think he ever got over it, either.

[@pedrobouceiro2145]

Sir … Welcome Back !!! Every single video You post … is just a Complete Pleasure to watch !!! Thank You ! God Bless You ! Keep posting videos !!!

[@CalicoSilver]

Thank you very much, Pedro! I appreciate your kind comment. Jeff

[@Slothrop67]

Hey Jeff! Good to have you back. Believe it or not, I just watched your video as I lay in my hospital bed. Just had old man stuff, kidney stones, bad prostate, etc. But it definitely feels good to feel good. The 69 to 75 Dylan period feels like an old friend to me. I'd have it anytime. We lost Robbie Robertson not long ago and he (like so many others) mentioned how touring on the road nearly killed them. In fact I've never heard a performer yet that hasn't mentioned how arduous it is. Yet we have Mr. Dylan continuing his never ending for the 30th+ yrs. I call him the Martian from Minnesota because so much of his art has be record breaking and original (ok he may have liberated a tune here or lifted a phrase thereby as one of my favorite Dylan song goes, it's all good). I've been listening to a lot of Dylan and Brian Eno. Getting intouch with family that I haven't spoken to in years. Sometimes, the moat is lifted from one's eye for a short time which reminds me of one of my favorite jokes. I may be repeating myself. Two young cocky teenage fish are swimming through the lake one day and they pass an older wiser fish that says "Hey boy's. The water treating you pretty well today?" And as the two younger fish swim on, one fish says to the other "What the hell is water?" I leave the hospital feeling like a new man.

[@CalicoSilver]

Haha, great thought-provoking joke, Tony. Thanks. And congrats for feeling better! You sound upbeat and that’s great. I’m happy to hear that you’re doing well. Did you have a prostatectomy?

[@danwood4631]

New Morning one of those albums I can always pop in.

[@CalicoSilver]

Same here. That’s what I love about the 1967-1975 (or 1976) period: I can listen to any of it any time.

[@iheartcicada]

Oh, the benches were stained with tears and perspiration!

[@jerryg5100]

The truth was obscure, too profound and too pure To live it you had to explode- good old Vegas Street Legal - Wonderful hearing you -

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks Jerry. Yes, albums like Street Legal and Desire and Infidels and Oh Mercy are definitely in my "next favorite" list of Dylan albums.

[@jerryg5100]

I was at night of the hurricane at MSG - take care

[@spotty67]

I agree, John Westly album is a fav, That was a good era for him and the music shows it. Tom Paine , middle America setting. Biblical overtones through out the whole album. I play it four or five time a year. I enjoy your vids Calico. Thanks for airing.

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks! I really need to make a video about that magnificent Tom Paine song. I love thinking about that lyric. And what a great melodic tune.

[@spotty67]

Yeas i agree. He recorder this in Nashville. Five piece band and every one was clear headed. I think this was a happy time for him, kids young and a pretty wife. Cheer's Calico.

[@CalicoSilver]

@@spotty67 Yes! Clear headed and happy. I appreciate that about this period. It rubs off when I hear it.

[@KaueNuness]

It's an excellent period in Dylan's career. My favorite phase is the "Rolling Thunder Revue" tour, I like the closing tone in the show at Fort Collins Stadium. Hugs from your friend in Brazil.

[@CalicoSilver]

Yeah, I probably should include 1976 too, and I do like Desire and the RTRevue stuff very much. But at the time, and even to this day, I don’t quite feel the same about Desire as the albums that preceded it.

[@gibby6904]

My favorite Dylan periods are always changing.....right now Im totally into Shadow kingdom and Tell Tale Signs Bootleg series 8! His later stuff.....also Springtime In New York..... As for westerns i just watched Hell On Wheels for the 3rd time.....Anson Mount and Colm Meany are fantastic in this great series.....

[@CalicoSilver]

Hell on Wheels is great. I watched it twice myself.

[@stevehurn29]

Blood on the tracks is probably my favourite. Keep up the good work Jeff

[@CalicoSilver]

I credit Blood on the Tracks for my even being a Dylan fan today. Back in the early ‘70s, I was buying the Dylan albums but my attention was already being strongly pulled toward “fancier” and harder-rocking music, so had BOTT not come out in ‘75 and blown me away, I would have most likely eventually placed Dylan on the back burner sooner and eventually would have moved on. It was the power and beauty of BOTT that anchored me as a permanent fan (even though I did skip those ‘80s and ‘90s, Dylan-wise).

[@CaretakerWanted]

This was a fun listen, Jeff. Thanks for sharing : )

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks Sean.

[@alv4794]

Welcome back!!! Missed your videos!

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks!

[@iamegorsmith]

My personal favorite of his is without a doubt the 1974-1976 period. First, The Planet Waves album (which is probably in my top 5 of all Bob Dylan albums). Such a delightfully cheerful collection of songs with one pariah-song, that is Dirge. A harbinger of all that anger, of all that angst and sorrow and all of the other emotions that he’s going to reveal on the Blood on The Tracks album. I also have this feeling that what Dylan did on the Planet Waves album was an attempt of suppressing what he felt with putting on this laughing, optimistic exterior in hopes of distracting himself from all the shit that was going on in his personal life at the time, but that Dirge song was like the first crack that ended up destroying the whole dam. Then, Blood on The Tracks, the dam is cracking down. This is the lowest point in the journey. It paints a strikingly honest portrait of a person going through adversity. Or limping through it, should I say. Throughout the album he goes through all the emotions under the sun: hope, indifference, regret, fury, crushing sense of sadness and loneliness, nostalgia, and some sort of acceptance even. I think that this is one of the most human albums he’s ever done. Then, my favorite part, which is letting go, the celebration of your own dying, The Rolling Thunder Revue. I personally have an affinity for circuses and just theatrics in any form, that’s probably why I loved it so much. I never get tired of watching those crazy passionate performances by him and his band on KZbin. As somebody said in the Rolling Thunder Revue documentary, “It was a sense of being alive”, don’t kill me if I’m misquoting. Art in its purest form. Sorry for such a long comment, I just wanted to express my appreciation of all of this in its fullness. Definitely my favorite period in all of Bob Dylan if not all of music.

[@CalicoSilver]

I remember reading Larry "Ratso" Sloman's excellent book about the Rolling Thunder Revue and really getting into that period of Dylan heavily. I loved it. But like you so superbly explained it, I saw the "letting go" aspect of what that tour represented and it was not pretty IMO. I watched my parents go through a "letting go" period of wild behavior after their divorce that was painful to watch. Yes I know it was necessary for them (and Dylan) to go through it, but eventually it had to end. It did so for Dylan too and by 1978 he was singing an entire album about the need for change (Street Legal)....and eventually ended up in an evangelical cultish state of mind because of it. His real "letting go" was not Rolling Thunder, in my opinion, but Infidels in which he expressed so brilliantly his realization that faith in anything is so fragile (faith in relationships, in religion, in sociopolitics, etc.). There is not escape from this existential realization. Everyone deals with it in their own way. Dylan, genius that he is, has just as much trouble struggling with it as anyone else, as evidenced by his artistic output through the years. The reason I love Rough & Rowdy Ways so much is that it seems like a statement of finally understanding it all and accepting it all. Anyway, thanks for the great comment. I really appreciate it.

[@iamegorsmith]

@@CalicoSilver I haven’t read the book, but now it’s on my list and I don’t think for long, thank you. My parents are divorced too but I was very young at the time so I don’t remember every single detail about it. And probably for the best, because I couldn’t see the whole letting go thing back then. Nonetheless, I agree, it’s a violent period for sure. Like 1965-1966, The Rollong Thunder was successful, but also very stressful and visibly burning Dylan out. And eventually it did end. Of course he was lost and had to find other gods to believe in, like every person has to from time to time.

[@tayamorris4758]

Nice to see you back ❤

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks! 👍❤️

[@jjquinn2004]

Nice video. I became a Dylan fan in the second half of the 60s (Beatles, Beach Boys, and Bob Dylan) and I'd have the first half dozen of so of his albums. About 10 years ago or so, I bought the complete album edition and listened to "many" of the albums. But when I realized, it turns out that I watched the first half dozen or so. My three favorites were "Bringing It All Back Home", "Highway 61 Revisited", and "Blonde on Blonde". Sometimes I"d listen to the first 4 albums. But after listening to the later stuff, I realized I hadn't listened to most of them. So, I printed out a discography and went through one to one, after listening to all of them. Like your video, I really liked "John Wesley Harding" and "Nashville Skyline" (which I have listened to every so often). But I really liked "Blood on the Tracks" and even recently "Rough and Rowdy Ways". As a completist, I have all of the Bootleg Series (Volume 17?) but I bought what was available, i.e. 1 CD if that's all the have or 6-CD set if that's all they have. The larger sets are usually a one-listen to! But I think that I've not listened to most of them. I'll get to them.

[@CalicoSilver]

Hi John. I prefer the shorter versions of the Bootleg Series. The deluxe sets are too much for me in most cases. And I too love Rough & Rowdy Ways because I think he basically says it all on that album. Wisdom from a man who has lived a full life. Thanks for your great comment. Jeff

[@petercain6332]

Glad you’re back! I’m headed to see Bob for the first time at the Gorge next week, can’t wait.

[@CalicoSilver]

I bet the show will be great! 👍

[@suartgilmour4540]

Hey sir, good to see you back and feeling better and talking about Bob again! I'm not sure what my fav Dylan period is, but if my house was on fire, and I was only allowed to rush in and save one album, it would be the 6CD complete Basement Tapes. I just love that period and those songs. JWH is a 5 star album for me too. It might interest you to know that Joe and his friend Dylan at Tastes Like Music are doing a series of videos where they review every Dylan album in chronological order. Worth checking out, I'm enjoying it. Thanks! Stuart

[@CalicoSilver]

Great choice for a last grab, those Basement Tapes. I adore those as well. 👍😉

[@carolynellis2788]

Hi,Chris here. At 73 I have to go with Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 and Blonde on Blonde......but I have always loved Self Portrait. I find now that I don't listen to the originals much but go to the Bootleg Series and Another Side to me is maybe the best of them. Keep well and keep making videos.

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks Chris. I love the Bootleg Series too, even hearing multiple versions of the same songs.

[@electricfence61]

" Dylan Fans" love this stuff Jeff!! Thank you❤

[@CalicoSilver]

Haha! I fully realize that most of the people who watch my channel are Dylan fans. Every now and then I veer off course in topic but I always come back to making a video about Dylan. The thing is, I don't really have anything more to say about the guy. Haha!

[@TomCwimpRock]

This is absolutely my favorite Dylan period too Jeff, and I would listen to you talk about it even if this were two hours long, lol. It would be very difficult for me to rank Dylan’s albums, and it has changed over the decades, but “John Wesley Harding” has always been my absolute favorite since the first time I heard it. Just the sound of it, and the mysterious quality of the songs, the conciseness, the stripped down, bare bones production, and his vocals have always hit the spot for me. And I love “Nashville Skyline”, “Self Portrait”, “New Morning”, “Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid”, and “Blood On The Tracks” very, very, much as well, but somehow his work with The Band during these years doesn’t appeal to me quite as much, and kind of seems like a different , separate era, to me… nice video as always..👍

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks Tom. I can understand why the Dylan+Band stuff sounds like it stands out from what else he was doing during this time. I am reminded of how Dylan+Band sounded on the 1966 tour and I think that when they got together again for the 1974 tour and album, it brought that same fire out of Dylan. So it sounded more agitated than the other stuff from this period. I love it but I can understand why others might not.

[@danielhkhk7283]

Absolutely agree. Idiot Wind may be his greatest song. But I would inklude Desire. Such a great album.

[@CalicoSilver]

I thought about including Desire but then and now I just don’t connect with it as much as what came before it. Still, it IS a great album.

[@marbleteeth217]

i agree, best years. digging into the bootlegs from that era cements it!

[@CalicoSilver]

Indeed!!

[@johnwheatcroft1188]

Great video Jeff,I chuckled a few times,I am definitely in the camp where you don't need to apologise for the length of these videos, more is more😂..don't take these videos down, they are the best reviews on dylan on KZbin, it would be worse off without them..one thing, what is the 50 thing you keep referring to...iam watching your others still...thanks again John

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks, John. Comments like yours are precisely what have encouraged me to keep this channel alive. Thanks for the encouragement. As for the "50" thing, I was probably referring to a video(s) that I posted regarding 50 favorite albums. I occasionally post something like that just for fun but I don't leave them up for too long. I'll likely do another such video again in the not-too-distant future. Frivolous and temporary silliness, but fun.

[@gavinbutler5219]

I think bob was really enjoying making music again after the pressure of the 66 tour, some of my favourite covers he has done are tomorrow night from good as I have been to you and the water is wide from fragments, beautiful performances.

[@CalicoSilver]

Yes I think you’re right, Gavin. And that joy of his making music rubs right off onto listeners like me. 👍😉

[@knockedoutloaded279]

His 80s work is very underrated..hope new album soon. Make you feel my love goes back to 60s melodically..something he lost a bit..

[@jamesgriffithsmusic]

Hi Jeff. I only recently revisited your John Wesley Harding video, so it's great to hear that you've finally fallen for it. It's always been one of my favourite Dylan albums, and I agree that lyrically it kind of is more interesting to listen to than the totally free-form stuff from the 'amphetamine period'. I agree that this is a great period of Dylan, though I have a certain soft spot for some of things he did later on also. Unfortunately, the one album you showed that I just haven't managed to click with yet is 'Self Portrait'. I think it's kind of OK, but the track that always ends up defeating me is the slow live version of 'Like a Rolling Stone'!

[@CalicoSilver]

Yeah, several of those old Dylan reviews (going on 5-6 years old now) are out of date with respect to my opinions and preferences and such. Some Dylan albums I love much more than I did then, and others that I praised (or basically took an apologist stance with) in those old videos are albums I can't hardly listen to any more......which is one of the reasons why I wanted to make that series of videos honoring those albums for which my enthusiasm has never wavered over the decades. I love "Self Portrait" for three reasons: (1) I grew up with it and it is a nostalgic gem for me; (2) I hear in it a joy and happiness from Dylan that is not heard in many of his albums; and (3) I am deep down a lover of what might be called "easy listening" and "sunshine" music and especially such music that was produced using the technology and performance styles that were common with studio musicians at that time (late '60s and early '70s), so the sound of the album resonates with me. Why the Isle of Wight stuff was added, rather than some of the much more superior studio outtakes from those sessions, is a mystery to me too. Whatever.....at least Self Portrait has been an interesting topic of debate for 50+ years now, haha!

[@mikel4797]

Really enjoyed this video so i subscribed..

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks.

[@trudy5963]

I completely agree about Blood on the Tracks; it is timeless, and never gets old. If You See Her Say Hello took me to another universe - So effin good. Love and Theft is almost as wonderful. There's only one Dylan song I don't like - everyone seems to rave about it - Lay Lady Lay - what a stinker, lyrically. Good to see you back again. You could talk all day about Dylan and I'd listen.

[@trudy5963]

I also agree about the evangelical stuff - not because of the subject, but it just didn't measure up to his skill as a writer. Too easy to understand? I can't find the words.

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks Trudy. People just need to remember that Lay Lady Lay was intended for inclusion in a film about a male prostitute (Midnight Cowboy), hence the perhaps rather unsavory lyric content. Haha!

[@CalicoSilver]

@@trudy5963 I went through a very hyper-evangelical phase during those very same years that Dylan did (even though I never listened to his evangelical trilogy at the time), and it was an experience from which I learned a lot, both bad and good, but mainly I recall just how rapidly I plunged into the movement and just how rapidly I extracted myself from it with bitterness from the experience. I get the feeling Dylan went through something similar, based on his lyrics on Infidels, so frankly listening to SlowTrain (an album I never liked musically anyway) through ShotOfLove carries with it a rather bitter taste when I hear it. Still, the passion and expression of thankfulness that Dylan so powerfully and sincerely performs on Saved is marvelous to me. That harmonica solo on What Can I Do For You is worth buying the album for alone, IMO.

[@danwood4631]

@@CalicoSilver He was on fire in support of those Gospel albums. I love everything except STC.

[@CalicoSilver]

@@danwood4631 He sure was, Dan. And I love to hear it. I don’t think he ever had a more powerful performance period than during those years.

[@jameshannigan6551]

Don’t forget Masterpiece and Watching the river flow! Can you publish your list of westerns?

[@CalicoSilver]

No, James. My westerns spreadsheet is for my reference only, to help me prevent wasting time re-watching a western I didn’t like. The data on that spreadsheet should have no significant appeal or value to anyone other than me. I have learned that I have bad taste in westerns, just as I have bad taste in everything else. Haha!! (For example, I cannot stomach widely-lauded westerns such as Shane, The Searchers, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, Rio Bravo, Once Upon a Time in the West, The Wild Bunch, My Darling Clementine, and many other almost-universally-beloved westerns). See? Now you see why my westerns spreadsheet would be worthless to most fans of the genre.

[@jameshannigan6551]

I’ve told you before you underrate yourself! OK understood…

[@stephenrostkoski837]

What about his Concert for Bangla Desh performance? Other than maybe hearing a few songs on the radio, this was my first major encounter with Dylan's music. It includes what may be my favorite version of "Just Like a Woman." His voice on this set really sounds like no other performance in his career.

[@CalicoSilver]

Great suggestion, Steve. Believe it or not, I have never owned or even listened to that BanglaDesh album!!

[@stephenrostkoski837]

@@CalicoSilver Clips from the Bangladesh film are now on KZbin and the album is on streaming, so a new reissue may be in the works.

[@maggiebryan2355]

I love that period too not to say i dont love rest i hink its becauce its easy listerning

[@CalicoSilver]

Maggie, I think you've hit the nail on the head here.....I am a softy for certain "easy listening" kinds of music, particularly from the '60s and early '70s (sunshine pop, MOR, folk-country, etc.), so I think that is one of the reasons I enjoy listening to Dylan's take on some of these styles of music. But he was also quite fiery when performing with The Band during this time. That Before The Flood stuff was powerful (or at least it came across that way, haha!)

[@FrancisTheBerd]

For me the sweet spot is 1965 to 1978

[@mondoenterprises6710]

That's my favorite period also. Kind of the Americana period vs. the psychedelic period vs. the folk period vs. the born again period vs. the rock period. But I got into Dylan at Infidels, Empire Burlesque, and Oh Mercy, those albums hit for me, and then went back to that Americana time period. My favorite is The Basement Tapes of that period that I play the most. After those the trio of 61, Bringing it, and Blonde on Blonde also hit. Then finally many of the late career lps I love too. I never liked the early stuff much at all and always felt his harmonica was keyed way too high. Although he played it well on Letterman with the Plugz. Based on his latest concert shows he could be playing at The Algonquin which is not a bad way to end up.

[@CalicoSilver]

I’m glad to discover that many fans really appreciate the Basement Tapes. 👍😁

[@RickM01]

I think I enjoy you talk about Bob Dylan 1967 - 1975 more than listening to Bob Dylan from that period. Actually, I kind of agree with you although I don't really listen to Blood on the Tracks much anymore. I like Planet Waves and the earlier stuff. Not really listening to the archives even though I have them. I know they are top tier Dylan (the Bob) but it's a bit much. I like the regular recordings. I have the red Columbia set and that is fine for me. I think I bought that Dylan [1973] album for a dollar. It was in that bargain bin. But I like his versions of Lily of the West, Spanish Is The Loving Tongue, Big Yellow Taxi, and Mr. Bojangles. I think that was where I first heard those songs so for me they are the definitive versions. Weird, right? All the tired horses in the sun, how am I supposed to get any ridin' (writing) done. They said Bob Dylan was in a slump. Wrong!

[@CalicoSilver]

Haha I know what you mean about being stuck on the first versions of songs we hear. The first time I ever heard Like a Rolling Stone was on the Self Portrait album! Haha!!

[@CalicoSilver]

And no, Dylan was definitely not in any writing slump during this period. Just the opposite.

[@CookieMusic43]

Really interesting video Jeff. I agree that the Dylan 73 album is well worth a listen but I'm afraid I'm not a fan of Self Portrait. Why all the live tracks? Anyway I have been revisting Dylan in the 80's as myself and James Griffiths are planning to do a video on our ten favourite tracks from that decade. On reappraisal I think his 80's output is VERY underrated. Finally, I never realised you had surgery so I hope you are healing well. Cheers - Richard

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks, Richard. I appreciate it. I still enjoy listening to his '80s alb......well, some of his '80s albums. Believe it or not, in addition to the commonly appreciated Infidels and Oh Mercy (one of my top 5 Dylan albums!), I also very much enjoy widely-derided albums like Down In The Groove and Under The Red Sky. But he sure put out some bad stuff in the '80s too.....mostly due to the horrid production that was o' so common on albums released in 1985-87. I look forward to you and James chatting about this topic!

[@twofromthetrunk9932]

Damn i love this video. So well done. Have you collected the Fragments series that was out recently? What do you think of them? Did you like the movie Tombstone?? You are right about FM radio.

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks Tony. No I haven’t bought the Fragments (Time Out of Mind) Bootleg Series. I really like the album but don’t feel the personal desire to have this particular Bootleg Series, especially given that we already had a previous Bootleg Series devoted in quite some part to the Time Out of Mind sessions. I think that some of these releases are getting a bit too much for me. Yes I liked the movie Tombstone pretty well but it is not a personal favorite; I am very much an old-school westerns fan who prefers the westerns from the ‘50s and ‘60s and (to a lesser extent) the ‘70s. As time went on after that, westerns became a bit stylized and revisionist for my taste. But there are still some post-‘70s westerns I enjoy very much. Thanks again, Tony.

[@twofromthetrunk9932]

@@CalicoSilver there was a movie back in our day that had Gregory Peck playing johnny Ringo i think… i know i liked him in that role. I yearn for Saturday morning cowboys. But i don’t want to offend anyone.

[@CalicoSilver]

@@twofromthetrunk9932 Yeah, “The Gunfighter”. Classic. I too miss those Saturday mornings of the ‘60s. I would get up at 5am, watch the vampire/zombie/werewolf movie, then the Tarzan movie, then by 8am the cartoons would start. My mom would throw me out of the house after lunch, and I would act out some of the cartoons’ adventures in the many acres of forest and cornfields around my house. Those acres have long since been developed into housing subdivisions. Oh well. At least we have the memories.

[@twofromthetrunk9932]

@@CalicoSilver you must have had the same childhood. I do miss those times too.

[@CalicoSilver]

@@twofromthetrunk9932 Cisco Kid, Lone Ranger, Lash Larue, Gene Autry, and on and on. I remember my dad telling me about Audie Murphy being a real war hero. And all those great night time TV westerns too. I could go on and on…. Haha

[@markyoung950]

I am quite sure that you are among the listeners Dylan appreciates most. This is my favorite era as well. Have you ever considered that Dylan might be one of your viewers. It must be reassuring that people get what the critics, pundits and executives do not.

[@CalicoSilver]

Hi Mark. I do wonder what period Dylan himself would prefer he be most remembered for. I wonder if he deems his famous '65-'66 period as important as so many others do. I remember him stating many years ago in an interview that he loved his Shot Of Love album.....an album that I can barely listen to. And he also wondered why fans could possibly enjoy an album as painful as Blood On The Tracks....an album I can listen to every day. Interesting topic, for sure. As far as Dylan watching these videos, who knows? I very much doubt he wastes time on stuff like this, but one time I got a comment (on my tongue-in-cheek goofy advertisement for a "worst of Bob Dylan" compilation album) from someone who had never commented before who simple wrote, "Bob Dylan loves this video". Maybe he really did, who knows? Haha!

[@danwood4631]

Great video. My special Dylan period 1975-84. How weird is that?

[@CalicoSilver]

I have a friend here who is just like you. He loves BOTT through Infidels. He is a strongly devoted Christian so I am sure that influences his preferences, which is perfectly understandable. I loved the Saved and Infidels albums but not Slow Train or Shot of Love.

[@danwood4631]

@CalicoSilver Shot of Love essential! :) But generally I am an all-periods fan.

[@alexandervaneijken7741]

PS. I do not have a favorite Dylan ,,Period,, The record I have always enjoyed (mind I do not say Best) the most is The Basement Tapes. I think Dylan,s ,,motorcycle accident ,, was for him a blessing in disguise and that his work with The Band in Pig Pink encompasses his most happy years. That must have been something The sheer fun of playing. A Peak in inspiration. And who de F... cares about some overdubs .

[@CalicoSilver]

I’m so happy to discover that many others seem to appreciate the Basement Tapes. 👍😁

[@unstrung65]

I'm showing my age , but - I enjoyed the Dylan period UP to 'John Wesley Harding' . To me, that was vintage Dylan .

[@CalicoSilver]

Hi Douglas. Yes I can understand how the post-BlondeOnBlonde stuff must have been quite a shock at the time. And I do believe that pre-1967 will always be viewed as vintage prime Dylan output. It certain is amazing stuff. Speaking of....I wonder what period Dylan himself would prefer to be most remembered by? Interesting...

[@willemdegraaf5495]

You are so right. John Wesley Harding would have been so much better without the piercing harmonica. I could barely listen to it. I wonder if there is a mix without it. Such a shame because it is a brilliant album.

[@CalicoSilver]

The mono mix is a bit better regarding the abrasive harmonica but perhaps at the expense of dynamics a bit (to my ears, anyway….I seem to always prefer stereo over mono) so I still listen to stereo mix and hope one day a new stereo remix will address the matter. As often as new Dylan releases are sent out, it is not an impossibility.

[@alexandervaneijken7741]

Dear Jeff, are you aware of the site,,nightly moth,,? Really an avalanche of Dylan material. Performances (past and present galore, All his radio talks (on a theme) accompanied by one of his recent paintings. Great Paintings,world,s apart from his sleeve paintings (Big Pink etc.which I do not care about) Pure Americana paintings,magnificant use of colours very atmospheric. Well if you know the site ignore this . For the rest greetings.

[@CalicoSilver]

Thanks, Alexander. I have heard of the site but have never visited. Thanks for the tip. Jeff

[@gibby6904]

Have you done a video of the worst Dylan albums?? Down In The Groove....Knocked out Loaded......Empire Burlesque.....Under The Red Sky.......😂

[@CalicoSilver]

Yes I once posted a fake advertisement of a Dylan Bootleg Series album of “The Worst of Bob Dylan”. But I took it down after it served its purpose (rather silly).

[@gibby6904]

@CalicoSilver 🤣

[@danwood4631]

Did you get huge set covering that tour with the Band?

[@CalicoSilver]

No. Even I am not THAT big of a fan! Haha!! But seriously, the main reason I won’t buy it is that it is overkill and I know that I will never listen to even a fraction of it all. The same was the case when I bought the huge RollingThunder box set. I listened to 3-4 CDs and decided that the 2-CD Bootleg Series of the 1975 RTR was perfectly satisfactory. How about you? Are buying the set?

[@stephenrostkoski837]

Unless Jeff can time travel (maybe he can), this set comes out in September.

[@CalicoSilver]

@@stephenrostkoski837 I nearly choked when I happened to receive an advertisement about the upcoming (what is it, 27 CDs or something?!) box set of that ‘74 tour. Of course I love Before The Flood, and kinda sorta maybe kinda want the box set, but the reasonable portion of my brain tells me “no!”

[@danwood4631]

@@CalicoSilver I think it's under $100.

[@danwood4631]

@@stephenrostkoski837 You don't pre-order?

[@TripleThreat2405]

Why was Dylan so happy by '67? Everybody and their dog was covering his songs, I'll bet he was making a ton of $ from publishing

[@CalicoSilver]

It was his most prolific period of writing for others, yes.

[@knotwilg3596]

Academics is ... overrated. That was some delivery!

[@CalicoSilver]

I loved teaching college chemistry very much. But a motivated student could teach him/herself everything chemistry in much less time and with much less expense and mundane hoop-jumping that academia pretends to require. The same can be said for most academic disciplines.