Is Bob Dylan over-rated?

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  1. thirdmillenium profile image60
    thirdmilleniumposted 14 years ago

    Is he still relevant?

    1. profile image0
      Poppa Bluesposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I went to one of his concerts recently and I was disappointed. I don`t think he`s doing anything relavent any longer and his singing isn`t too good. Also his shows are kinda boring and his picture policy is way too strict. He was good though back in the day!

  2. profile image0
    Ken R. Abellposted 14 years ago

    No, he is not over rated. 

    And yes, he is still relevant.

    His 2001 album "Love and Theft" was number two on Newsweek's top albums of the decade. 

    An exceptional work, but in my opinion, the follow-up to it, "Modern Times", released a year after Katrina, is even better, musically & lyrically.

    Toss in "Together Through Life" released in the spring of 2009, a fine work of bluesy story songs, along with "Christmas In The Heart" in October & we see an artist with lots of mileage still being a creative force.

    All the proceeds from the Christmas album were donated to Feed America, so his social conscience also remains alive & well.

    I admit I am biased.  I wrote a hub called "How Does It Feel?" about his music & its impact on me.

  3. Pearldiver profile image67
    Pearldiverposted 14 years ago

    Have you ever bothered to listen to his music and understand his lyrics? hmm
    Guess not.... or you wouldn't need to ask the question of such a talented artist and writer sad

    1. thirdmillenium profile image60
      thirdmilleniumposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      Hey  I give an excerpt from one of my hubs here. I am not allowed of course to give  give the URL. But you can easily find it, ..........


      Which brings us to the quintessence of American response with the Monkees who were unabashedly just another Beatles, the Archies and the Beach Boys. Many amongst the readers must be shocked that Brian Wilson should have been included in this list but even his die-hard fans (this writer is one) would agree that the raw energy of Lennon and McCartney was clearly missing even in the peppiest numbers the Beach Boys belted out. An unlikely hero emerged out of nowhere and surpassed even the Lennon and McCartney team. Shedding his Jewish name, a Woodie Guthrie fanatic, now named Bob Dylan, with a nasal twang burst on the scene and held sway. Critics soon lampooned him for turning electric but he went on doggedly, and thank God for that!

      i am a die-hard or even died-hard fan of his!

  4. rebekahELLE profile image85
    rebekahELLEposted 14 years ago

    there is no one else like Dylan. he has a huge fan base because he's the real thing.

  5. Happyontheinside profile image71
    Happyontheinsideposted 14 years ago

    one word;

    SACRILEDGE

    *hrumph*

    1. sunforged profile image70
      sunforgedposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      whats that? a bookshelf for a bible?


      Ive skipped the recent live concerts, Dylan has come by a couple of times in the last couple of years, his voice is shot...it takes about 2 hours of pre-game partying and pot smoking in the parking lot to actually enjoy a performance nowadays. (So I hear)

      recent live performances on TV seem to illustrate this problem with his voice too.

      IS he relevant! of course, still an amazing writer and american icon and a continued source of inspiration for many...but as a big fan, I still have to say I would rather hear a mastered and produced recording than a live show nowadays

      1. Sally's Trove profile image76
        Sally's Troveposted 14 years agoin reply to this

        Agreed.

        And adding that his singular horrible musical voice (it was horrible then; it is horrible now) opened many doors for young people to pick up a guitar, write lyrics and a melody, and not worry too much about the vocal quality of the delivery...they just sang their hearts out and so did their friends. It was a kind of freedom.

  6. profile image0
    sneakorocksolidposted 14 years ago

    Dylan-no.
    Lady Gaga-yes.

  7. WriteAngled profile image75
    WriteAngledposted 14 years ago

    I like his songs, but prefer other people to sing them. His voice is out of tune and grates on me.

  8. profile image0
    A Texanposted 14 years ago

    Is Bob Dylan over-rated?

    Is he still alive?

  9. Shinkicker profile image52
    Shinkickerposted 14 years ago

    Never overrated and always relevant as music is timeless and his words were superb.

  10. tobey100 profile image60
    tobey100posted 14 years ago

    Yes

  11. Flightkeeper profile image65
    Flightkeeperposted 14 years ago

    YES, definitely overrated. His voice would make a lovesick moose turn celibate.

    1. tobey100 profile image60
      tobey100posted 14 years agoin reply to this

      lol lol lol

      1. tobey100 profile image60
        tobey100posted 14 years agoin reply to this

        Sorry folks, I grew up in the Dylan was a god age.  Didn't buy it then, don't now that he's older.

        1. profile image0
          A Texanposted 14 years agoin reply to this

          I'm pretty sure he is dead and nobody has told him yet.

    2. Jim Strutzin profile image81
      Jim Strutzinposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I almost can't believe what I'm hearing. Asking if a man who has over 50 years of solid music (sure some of the new stuff is questionable, the old stuff legendary) and an icon in folk and American rock as a whole is overrated is just baffling!

      One of the best songwriters in history hands down, and as I mentioned before, a large influence on American music and countless artists apparently aren't enough credentials.

      Granted, his voice isn't the best, but it has a lot of personality and is at very least unique. If you judge music strictly on vocal quality and how many octives one can hit, Mariah Carey would be the best artist of all time.

  12. Bard of Ely profile image81
    Bard of Elyposted 14 years ago

    Dylan in my opinion is a genius and he was the singer and writer that inspired me to become a singer-songwriter.

    1. Tom Cornett profile image82
      Tom Cornettposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      I agree..."Blowin' In The Wind"...a master piece.

  13. tobey100 profile image60
    tobey100posted 14 years ago

    Speaking of being dead or Bob Dylan....................

    Texan, heard a fairly good one for ya.  The reason they don't know how much oil's in Texas is because all the dipsticks are in Washington DC

    1. profile image0
      A Texanposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      That is good!

  14. optimus grimlock profile image59
    optimus grimlockposted 14 years ago

    bob dylan as a singer horrible, but hes a good writer. to me hes like neal young when there on the radio i change to another station.Id like to add neither of them have as many hits as ac/dc, clapton, aerosmith,lynard skynard,or the who!

  15. H.C Porter profile image80
    H.C Porterposted 14 years ago

    Have you ever listened to his songs or heard his story and who he is as a person? If so, you would know that he is one of the greatest lyric writers of the past 50 years. Here are just a few of his masterpieces.

    Blowing in the Wind-
    Was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Sam Cooke was influenced by this song, thinking it could be about racial injustice-and he wrote A Change is Gonna Come-which is said to be largely influenced by Dylan. This Song was also preformed by Peter Paul & Mary in the early 60’s, when Dylan wasn’t as known-it was a #2 hit in 1963 for them.
    Like a Rolling Stone-
    Was a big hit as well. In its time the average song was only about 3 minutes long-Like a Rolling Stone is 6 minutes and 13 seconds. It was pretty much unheard of for any song of that length to get radio play-but it did, songs with so many different lyrics from verse to verse usually did not do well commercially-but it did.
    The Hurricane-
    Was written by Dylan to tell the story of a Black Boxer-Ruben Carter who was wrongly prosecuted and sentenced for murdering 3 white people in New Jersey in 1966. About 8 years into his life sentence-Carter sent Dylan his autobiography which intrigued Dylan enough to go visit Carter-after the visit is when The Hurricane was written-to bring attention to racial injustice in the case of Ruben ‘Hurricane’ Carter.
    Mr. Tambourine Man-
    Was another hit of Dylan’s-Written in reference to the use of drugs to escape a troubled reality. The drugs referenced including Crystal Meth, LSD, Heroine as well as their distribution. At that time, it was not allowed/approved to write about such things, so he wrote about it in a different sense, using forgotten terms such as Mr. Tambourine Man (which was a old fashion word for drug dealer-as well as a the man that leads the funeral procession in New Orleans Louisiana).

    A man who has influenced, spoken up for and brought attention to so many people and issues, could never be considered ‘Over Rated’, that is like saying that Van Gogh is over Rated for his artwork or Jesus is over rated due to the Bible. But that is just my opinion. It was writers such as he who allow others to write and express themselves freely. His way of thinking probably influenced someone that has influenced each and every one of us...But that is just my opinion (and I love every masterpiece Dylan has created)  smile

  16. torimari profile image67
    torimariposted 14 years ago

    Never was a fan...granted I'm sure he is more relevant to those who grew up listening to his music unlike me.

    I don't want to say he is overrated as I just don't understand his fandom but there is a reason for it.

    So I respect that though I don't like his music personally.

  17. Flightkeeper profile image65
    Flightkeeperposted 14 years ago

    Well, it was freedom for the singer, not for the listener. big_smile

    1. Sally's Trove profile image76
      Sally's Troveposted 14 years agoin reply to this

      LOL...you had to be there to understand that freedom of listening. In the early years, it was a time with a cause and a purpose: if the words rang true and struck a nerve, if the beat held strong, and if there were plenty of coffee and smokes in a brick-walled coffee house, the listener was free, too.

 
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