Columbia Performing Artist

Bob Dylan

I’m very happy Timothée Chalamet has been nominated for an Academy Award for his portrayal of Bob Dylan, and very excited that he is hosting Saturday Night Live this week. We can only hope he will continue to explore his characterization along with Bob fan and SNL and A Complete Unknown cast member James Austin Johnson. Just as Timothée worked hard to master Bob’s singing and guitar playing, Bob himself toiled to hone his own skills as well. As a result, early live performances like “Rocks and Gravel” at the Gaslight in 1962 are astounding.

If someone should tell you Bob Dylan can’t sing, or it’s difficult to listen to his voice, just play them the following.

The fascinating thing about the recording above is that it comes in the middle of the sessions for The Times They Are a-Changin. It wasn’t a warm up, and it wasn’t like it was done because Dylan had no material of his own, as the album ultimately is all Dylan originals. I think it’s evidence that even within the confines of an LP, Dylan is thinking along the lines of a concert setlist. Certain types of songs, regardless of who wrote them, are going to be needed to be delivered in a certain way at certain points during the listening experience. Larry Starr points out in his book Listening to Bob Dylan, that the harmonica is Dylan’s second voice, and this too is on full display in his recording of the traditional song “Moonshiner.”

The sauce may just be Bob’s favorite inspiration because he’s at his best yet again on another traditional song about making your own booze.

His singing voice on the much maligned Self Portrait is among my favorites. The official bootleg series release Another Self Portrait was ear opening because it removed a lot of the production. Without his original songwriting, Dylan once again proves that he is a brilliant performing artist of any material that speaks to him.

Luckily for us, such a diverse scope of songs appeal to Dylan. When a non-Dylan person in my life wants me to recommend something of his to listen to, I like to tailor the request to what music I know they already like. As much as I want to showcase his unique songwriting talent, I’m always tempted to give them a song he has interpreted because the sound and vibe often seem more important to me than the words themselves. This seems to be true for Dylan himself when he’s recording a new album. He’ll often start with other’s songs that capture a certain mood, something to meditate on till the band has the feeling he’s listening for.

Another time period where the sound of Dylan’s voice really resonates with me is during The Basement Tapes, perhaps because he’s not singing for a record or an audience. As this beautiful vocal proves, I understand the feeling because of how he’s singing the words, even if they don’t make logical sense.

This is not to say that Bob’s words aren’t audacious, indelible, wise, hilarious, and worthy of study. But as Bob said in his Nobel lecture, “the words in Shakespeare’s plays were meant to be acted on the stage. Just as lyrics in songs are meant to be sung, not read on a page.” Is there a greater purveyor of song than Bob Dylan?