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Comrades From The North

As we write this Dylan has just begun his first tour of the year. It’s a very late start to the annual and never-ending event and this time around he began the touring year in the fair city of Stockholm. As ever, you never know what to expect so it’s always safest to expect the unexpected. Well, this time around it looks like Dylan has fallen in love with the electric guitar again. Having scorned the instrument for the past few years in favour of electric keyboards he was strapped in and soaring on half of the first set of the tour in a small venue. He also took the opportunity to roll out some material from the new album, the first time in Europe. True to form, the next night, same city, different venue he gave us a largely different set featuring more European song debuts. Seems like there’s still plenty of energy and motivation there. By the time you read this many of you will have been able to judge first-hand.

We have often commented in this column about the sheer volume of articles, references both obvious and oblique and tributes slight and expansive about or drawing upon Dylan’s work. The latest and most visible addition to the mountain is what can only be described as the Bryan Ferry campaign. Ferry has recorded an album of Dylan covers, BBC4 have screened extensive footage from the sessions which yielded these songs and Ferry himself is everywhere – newspaper, radio, TV – explaining his passion for Dylan’s music and quite co-incidentally plugging the album like mad. His versions won’t be to everyone’s tastes and might even test the patience of some listeners but it hasn’t half kept the Dylan profile even higher, at least in the UK.

Talking of Dylan cover versions, the recent UK tour by Joan Baez was distinguished by a number of them in particular lovely renditions of Farewell Angelina and Love Is Just A Four-Letter Word alongside a haunting reading of Seven Curses. More unexpected was a show-stopping moment in the Robin Williamson/John Renbourn tour where they showcased a beautifully relaxed and expertly played Buckets of Rain. The man’s shadow is long and getting longer.

Sadly, during February 2007 we witnessed the passing of three musicians with major Dylan connections, Eric von Schmidt, Ian Wallace and Mark Spoelstra.

We were very remiss in the last issue not point out the significance of the photos on the cover and page 34, these were from the final Dylan show John Bauldie attended, our thanks go to John Hume who kindly supplied them.

We were very remiss in the last issue not point out the significance of the photos on the cover and page 34, these were from the final Dylan show John Bauldie attended, our thanks go to John Hume who kindly supplied them.

Hope you enjoy the European tour or the one after that or any tour yet to be. See you next time.

May you climb on every rung ..........



Mike & John


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