Expecting Rain

I've noticed in a number of performances Bob's instrument appears to not even be in the audio mix. I was watching the musical clips from Renaldo and Clara - and his guitar is completely silent even as he is pounding away and making a show of playing it. And watching some tapes from 2003 onward you cannot hear the keyboard at all - even as he is pounding away.

Of course there are times he plays, in the mid 90s especially, and you clearly know it's Dylan's guitar because he'll have one rift that he plays 30 times through the song, so perhaps he's playing an instrument sometimes to have something to do with his hands during the performance, but it's not contributing to the sound the audience hears. Or do you think he's playing and it can be heard through the feedback for the band to follow - just not in the mix the audience hears?

It's all been a scam!! All he can manage on the piano is chopsticks. But he makes a flourish of it(see avatar). And he insists on playing it so they turn it down. And the guitar.....don't get me started.

I am not sure about Bob's piano playing presently. I have not seen him yet, but I would argue that Bob's playing is integral to these songs: Dirge and Ring Them Bells, Blind Willie McTell, Spanish Is The Loving Tongue. Also great is When He Returns, live. Maybe more but those come to mind right away. He is not a trained pianist, but he plays like he sings....with great musical phrasing.

I recently downloaded the Rochester '04 show and there is some nice piano work there, also.

I gotta turn up the sound...
Someone’s always yelling turn it down!

Turning down Bob's electric guitar is considered a crime against humanity by the World Court at The Hague. I can't imagine anyone risking the death penalty over that but one thing is for certain... even the thought of doing something like that shows the darkness and evil of one's heart.

He's playing. Have you listened to the rolling thunder performance of "I Pity That Poor Immigrant"? You can hear him screw up a blues riff at the end of one of the lines

And sometimes it seems the other instruments are (because he's too loud).

For the most part Dylan's guitar used to be inaudible wehn he played with a band (from about 1965 to 1988). There are exceptions, of course, like Shelter from the Storm on Hard Rain and so on, but generally the only time you heard him was if he started the tune off...once the band came in he was gone.

He's since turned up quite a bit and often played a more active role in the music-making, however, it has been noted that sometimes his hand moves as if strumming but he doesn't actually hit the strings. The piano and organ have both been all over the place during the modern era. Sometimes too quiet, sometimes too loud, occasionally just right.

Watched a you tube performance of RDW at one of the recent s. america shows. D's guitar was way up in the mix atonally pranging away. Lovely stuff.

I've never heard the organ too quiet but in my imagination that would be quite a thing.

Yes, " HE PLAYS LIKE HE SINGS, with great musical phrasing" !
Exactly right ! for me
And, i have just a question :
Bob would be able to composed all his wonderful songs if he wasn't a trained pianist ?
I have the same question for the accoustic guitar ?
If his way to play would be different, his songs would be different too. Every musicians have theirs style, like for painting or drawing etc.

Jack

Sorry i forgot something :

May be, he can't playing the Beethoven's symphonys but do you think Van Gogh isn't a trained painter because he doesn't paint like Leonard de Vinci ? Perhaps, i'm wrong. I just wondering.
Jack

I think you are onto something there, Jack. Perhaps Bob's lack of learned technical skill on instruments is critical to the development of his songs. I have found that I am almost always drawn to musicians that aren't technicians. There is normally something lacking. They just don't resonate emotionally for me. Bob plays and sings with his heart which is another reason why it is clearly obvious when his heart isn't into a performance. For an example, I think it's Love Minus Zero at Newport '65 that just falls flat (to me) because his heart just wasn't there.

"But me, I can't cover who I am."

I'm totally agree with you because i think the most importants things for an artist are : emotion and transmission. Technical come after, for me too. My questions were not against you.
What do you mean in your last phrase ?

I was quoting a phrase from Bob's song Abandoned Love. Though Bob is an enigma, I still think he wears his heart on his sleeve and I think his own words express that.

I also did not at all feel your questions were against me.

Can i send you a pm, i have something to say to you.

of course!