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Leamington Letters #59: Bob Dylan and the Poetry of the Blues

9/11/2013

14 Comments

 
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Michael Gray, Dylan's Diderot.
Dylan's annual visits to these shores are always keenly anticipated, especially in this household. Over the years, we have seen some memorable gigs in this country. Notable recently was the run at Brixton Academy in 2005, when he performed London Calling as an encore, and three terrific nights at Hammersmith in 2011 with that guy from Dire Straits.

But of course the great years for those of us of a certain age were 1965 and 1966. For all the talk recently of Lou Reed ’transforming’ rock music in the early 70s, the 1966 shows by Bob Dylan and the Band were seminal moments in the lives of our generation; genuine turning-points in the history of rock music.

I remember in particular the De Montford Hall in Leicester, when an organised walk-out by the Stalinist folkies meant that there were probably only a couple of hundred of us left at the end. And although I was in Manchester, I have no recollection of the infamous Judas! shout. Probably still in the bar.

So the best show, for me, was the second night at the Royal Albert Hall. (And I actually mean the Royal Albert Hall show, not the famously misattributed Manchester Free Trade Hall gig  of a few days previously.)

This year, Bob returns to the Royal Albert Hall for the first time since then. Jill has come out of retirement (she announced her intention of maintaining the memory of Dylan at Carcassonne in 2009 as her final show) to be present at this event. I know Bob will be pleased. I am.

We are fortunate to have front row tickets on November 27th. And I will also be as close to the front as possible a couple of weeks earlier at LAMP in Leamington when Michael Gray will give his celebrated lecture, Bob Dylan and the Poetry of the Blues, on Thursday the 14th.

It's something of a coup for the guys at LAMP that a writer of the stature and reputation of Michael Gray is appearing at this venue, in this town. He is the Diderot of Dylan, the encyclopœdist of all things Bob, author of Song and Dance Man, and a highly acclaimed biography of Blind Willie McTell.

Even in a university town such as this, we seldom attract such luminaries. It will be a privilege to welcome him and listen to his talk which is, as he says, “illustrated with loud music and rare video footage”.

I have been lucky enough to hear him on a previous occasion. He speaks as well as he writes. (And he writes exceptionally well.) His talk takes us through the ways in which Bob draws upon those mythical pre-War bluesmen, not merely or not solely as hommage, but as a source of what is important - musically, politically, socially.

From the point of view of a musicologist, this is fascinating stuff and, as we used to say, extremely well related to the text. From the point of view of a sociologist, it identifies the musical threads that reflect the changes in the way we live and act. From the point of view of people like me, your average Dylan fan, it provides an academic framework for our admiration and, alright then, our obsession.

Importantly, however, Michael is not a nerd. Knowledgeable and erudite, yes, but no nerd. In fact, the nerds in the Dylan world dislike him intensely because he will have no truck with that particular form of worship. Rather, he draws the bigger picture, which he illuminates with surprising connections and rewarding insights.

He's very good. And the couple of hours (with a break) makes for a fascinating, enjoyable and highly entertaining evening from which you will emerge wiser, better informed and with a smile on your face.

Michael Gray delivers Bob Dylan and the Poetry of the Blues at LAMP Leamington at 8pm on Thursday 14th. Tickets are a miserly £10. Worth booking your place on 01926 886699.


Today from the everysmith vault: It could have been any Bob show from 1966, but I have clicked on Paris - notable for the fact that the French audience were booing even throughout the acoustic set!

14 Comments
Matt
9/11/2013 03:40:52

He's a legend. Michael I mean. He used to do a great Bob blog which he has sadly discontinued. Maybe you could take over ...

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Jude
9/11/2013 03:54:05

I think Song and Dance Man was brilliant and it is still one of the books I keep by my bed. But the bio of Blind Willie McTell is a great read. You are right. He writes very well.

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JohnL
9/11/2013 04:05:26

I'll be there fighting you for front row seats! Agree. Great coup for LAMP. Like these guys a lot.

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Darren
9/11/2013 05:57:45

Me too. Have never heard Gray speak, although have the books. Looking forward to it. And also visiting LAMP for the first time. So many friends rave about it.

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Allan
9/11/2013 04:36:51

I can sense some Leavisite comments in the pipeline. So want to point out that the textual analysis that MG provides is only a small part of his work. He makes his general points - appropriate for a lecture - and backs with particular and specific exemplars. I wish I lived less than the thousand miles or so from Leamington so I could be there on Thursday. Enjoy - I know you will.
PS what did the French audience do in 1966? You seem to have missed a few words ...

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Max
9/11/2013 04:42:30

So I did. Sorry. They booed even through the acoustic set! My only recording of the show is an iffy aud tape, and you can hardly hear Bob at all. They had made up their minds before he even played a chord. But then the Communist Party was particularly influential, and in the UK, there was a diktat issued re the electric music. Probably the same under Duclos in France. Things might have been different after les évenements two years later! I will address the problem on the blog itself as soon as.

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Brian
9/11/2013 05:05:58

I remember. The Party regarded the electrification of folk music as a heinous crime and we were encouraged to attend and walk out at the beginning of the second set, when Bob brought out the Band. Denselow is good on the general culture of the time but doesn't mention this. CP lee also has interesting stuff to say, as have you in the past. I suspect we will be reading a lot about this as Bob returns to the Albert Hall.

Anders
9/11/2013 09:18:43

It's a measure of Dylan's greatness that his work demands Ricks- and Gray-like exegesis. I am not sure how much my listening is improved by reading them, but I enjoy reading them. And gray is a wonderful source of esoterica when the dinner party gets round to Bob! I have always wondered what bob's reaction to all this stuff might be. I mean the serious work not weberman etc. Has Michael conversed with Bob? You might ask him if you get a chance.

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CJ
10/11/2013 00:45:09

What a contrary bastard you are. Some of the greatest music ever played available to you, and you choose to listen to the sound of French booing!

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Katie
11/11/2013 03:13:05

I wish I could be there. Not just because I would love to hear Gray talk, but also because Leamington Arts and Music project sounds such a great idea. You have written before about the changing nature of the town. This kind of event, in this kind of venue, shows that the essence of a Bohemian town remains intact, despite chain stores, new developments, chain restaurants, councils, strip clubs and all the rest of the stuff.

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Paul
11/11/2013 12:04:36

It's the poetry of the blues that I love. It is poetry.

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Thomas
11/11/2013 13:26:29

I'm sitting in your bar listening to the Pips and reading the flyer about MG's talk. You are moving round the room and gave just said hi even though you don't know us from Adam and Eve . You are a great host. We will try to be at the talk in Thursday. Thanks. We're having a great evening. Xx

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Gareth
12/11/2013 04:25:07

Lots of points here. That Brixton run was one of the highlights of my life. 66 only know from recordings. Envy you being there. I guess you really are 60 something! Use Michael Gray for reference primarily but would have liked to hear him talk the walk. Enjoy your two dates with. Bob.

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George
12/11/2013 09:55:08

Influences on Bob are very diverse and varied. But as MG points out, they all ultimately derive from the blues. Of course they do. That 's where all good popular music comes from! But Bob did some weird and wonderful things with the blues.

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    Max Smith

    European writer, radical, restaurateur and Red Sox fan. 70-something husband, father, step-father, grandfather and son. Resident in Warwick, England.

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