Dylan is forever and ever a poet. When asked if he would consider recording a bluegrass album, by someone who if they had anything more than a vague idea of what bluegrass is would not have asked the question, would you expect him to answer just yes or no? Condense his answer to "I stick to what I do best".
It’s not bluegrass, but I would say it’s deeply rooted. Legend has it that Mike helped Bob get into songwriting by doing traditional songs better than Bob could do himself. So Bob thought he might be better off writing his own songs. Thanks Mike. Thanks Bob.
Dylan is mentioned numerous times in the two biographies of Bill Monroe I’m reading. Based on those biographies, I’d guess he was a huge fan of Bill Monroe and “old school” bluegrass, as one put it.
Besides being a poet and a songwriter, Dylan is a musicologist. I'm saying that as a fan. I think it is like the iceberg, only a small part of what he knows actually surfaces in his songwriting references. Speaking of which, critics have accused him for years of "stealing" lines from old songs and reusing them in his songs (and he is guilty of that) -- but hardly an issue for me, as most blues-based music uses phrases common to the vernacular and are often repeated in other songs. At this point, he has been at it so long he is starting to "plagiarize" himself! Not to mention, the rhymes that you see coming a mile away, even though Dylan is better than most. Usually, when I hear a real bad line in one of his songs I have to figure he did it on purpose, to make me ask, really, Bob? Like I say, I'm glad he is still out there doing it and hopefully having fun, but then again, it has been a long time since "Tangled Up In Blue," IMHO.....
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