The Bob Dylan list is necessarily subjective. But like all birthday presents, it’s the thought that counts.

Sherman Ewing’s Single Room Saloon arrived with a sound that is at once intuitive and raw, but somehow well-worn and familiar, too. You May Also Like: Fernando Perdomo, progressive rocker: Something Else! Interview Lucas Lee, progressive rocker: Something Else! Interview Ben Craven, progressive rocker: Something Else! Interview

by Nick DeRiso There are songs you listen to with one elbow jutting out a car window, the gas pedal cutting into the floor mat. Then there are the things that open up different vistas, albums that bring you around to quieter places — sounds that force you to stopRead More

Photo by Pieter M Van Hattem by Mark Saleski I have no doubt that a lot of Bob Dylan fans will be incensed at what I’m about to admit, but here we go: if you don’t count his first Greatest Hits collection (which I inherited from my sister), the firstRead More

photo: Jimmy Katz by Pico Bob Dylan is a towering figure in folk, and as we were reminded a few days ago, his legacy extends deep into rock music, too, via the all the strong and memorable covers done by rock bands, especially The Byrds. What’s more interesting is thatRead More

Daniel Lanois had a guiding hand as producer in creating several signature recordings of the 1980s. Here’s a look back.

George Harrison remains the Beatles’ great unresolved mystery — the guy who might have actually done more had he been in any another band after 1965. Or not. His solo records are a frustrating mix of the sublime, the blatant and the unremarkable. Sometimes within a three-song sweep. Sometimes withinRead More

Released in the time immediately following the Woodstock basement recordings (which wouldn’t see the light of day ’til the dawn — or is that yawn? — of disco), Bob Dylan goes twangy — and with resounding success. Folksy, without too much folk. “Rolling Stone” said “John Wesley Harding” helped setRead More

As noted, a “leak” of some new Dylan tracks from his own record label (ahem) got me back into the stacks – and back into Bob. We’re mixing and matching here, old and new, relevant and pee-yew. That’s Dylan for you … raising our sights, but occasionally frustrating our desires,Read More

Public Broadcasting always delves into its musical archives, come pledge-drive time, and this week was no different. The local station presented an edited version of “The Concert for Bangaladesh,” the early 1970s proto-benefit show organized by Beatle buddy and future Wilbury bandmate George Harrison – and it was a specialRead More