The illustrator R. Crumb is known for his love of the music of the 1920s and 1930s. In the early 1980s, he began illustrating a series of trading cards for his musical heroes of that time period. The series was eventually released in book form in 2006’s R. Crumb’s Heroes of Blues, Jazz & Country.Continue reading “High Water (For Charley Patton)”
Author Archives: Recliner Notes
Goin’ to Acapulco
My ideal response to a song after listening is that I want to have the urge to inhabit the world of the song. Sometimes this inhabitation means living inside the world as created literally by the lyrics being sung, or to go on the same adventure or share the same experiences as depicted by theContinue reading “Goin’ to Acapulco”
The Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar
Nick Tosches writes in his book Where Dead Voices Gather: “Some people are so cool, so lie-down hip, that they can steal the right breezes simply by breathing…inhale one vision, exhale another. To steal consciously is the way of art and of craft. To steal through breath is the way of wisdom and of artContinue reading “The Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar”
Girl from the North Country
Released in 1963, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan was Bob Dylan’s coming out party. Boasting a number of songs that would eventually become classics, Dylan announced to the world that he had arrived as a songwriter and performer. Freewheelin’ displayed Dylan’s full breadth of songwriting talent as it included finger-pointing protest songs (“Masters of War”), humorousContinue reading “Girl from the North Country”
Foot of Pride
Like “Blind Willie McTell,” “Foot of Pride” was originally recorded in 1983, left off of Infidels, and finally released on The Bootleg Series, Vol 1-3: Rare & Unreleased 1961-1991. The song has a slinky groove with minimal instrumentation; the only musical solos are occasional harmonica flourishes by Bob Dylan. The song maintains this spare soundContinue reading “Foot of Pride”
Floater (Too Much to Ask)
Who is Jack Frost? According to Wikipedia, he is a “variant of Old Man Winter who is held responsible for frosty weather…leaving fern-like patterns on cold windows in winter.” Jack is depicted as “a sprite-like character, sometimes appearing as a sinister mischief-maker or as a hero.” Starting in 1990, a certain Jack Frost appeared inContinue reading “Floater (Too Much to Ask)”
Every Grain of Sand
In 1985, Cameron Crowe asked Bob Dylan about the song “Every Grain of Sand” for the Biograph box set. Dylan said: “That was an inspired song that came to me. It wasn’t really too difficult. I felt like I was just putting words down that were coming from somewhere else, and I just stuck itContinue reading “Every Grain of Sand”
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
In 1966, Bob Dylan was in the midst of his insane tour with The Hawks, welcomed as heroes in some cities, while defiantly fighting off boos in others. Sometimes they would have to deal with both at the same time in the same city. Concurrently, Dylan was attempting to record his follow up album toContinue reading “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again”
Crash on the Levee (Down in the Flood)
Find me on a certain day and The Basement Tapes is my favorite Bob Dylan album. It has been written about extensively, most notably by Greil Marcus in The Old Weird America: The World of Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes and has been the subject of two different releases by Dylan: the first official release inContinue reading “Crash on the Levee (Down in the Flood)”
Copper Kettle
Released in 1969, the Great White Wonder was the first bootleg album of an established recording audience to gain widespread popularity and sales. In 1985, Bob Dylan told Cameron Crowe for the Biograph liner notes about 1970’s Self Portrait: “[It] was a bunch of tracks that we’d done all the time I’d gone to Nashville.Continue reading “Copper Kettle”
Recliner Notes 