Expecting Rain

I've seen these 3 connected in so many places, and personally they're my 3 favourite, inspirational artists. Anyone else find a connection with them?

Well they're definitely 3 of my favorites. I see a connection in this: They all like to play acoustic, but they can also rock out when the time is right. Also, they are all pretty good songwriters.

Yea, most definitly, also they have stuck to their guns about their own belief's and have always remained true to the spirit of their music, not selling out to anyone

definitely,springsteen is great on nebraska
simple narrative ,bare bones guitar
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You're all just pissin' in the wind. And there ain't nothing like a friend who can tell you you're just pissin' in the wind.

Are you refering to neil's lyrics or trying to say that we're wasting our time talking about it

Stand together on stage. For example Neil and Bruce for "Down by the river", Neil and Bob did some concerts together and Bob and Bruce sang together "Watchtower" and "Forever Young".

I have to say I was surprised that Bruce wasn't at the 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration...

i have a connection w/ dylan and young but never at the same time. they come in phases

i cant connect with springsteen and i dont put him in the catagory of dylan/young...they are in a catogory in my opion

Well, I like Dylan, Young and Van Morrison. I don't see any connection between the last two, but I sure see it between Dylan&Young and Dylan&Morrison. After all, in a year 1998 Dylan and Morrison did a tour together and even sang some songs together. Bruce is also great, I saw him in Vienna last year.

Well i see everyone's seeing a connection with dylan & young, but not so much with springsteen. I think this could be due to people focusing on bruce's most misunderstood album, Born in the USA. Commercial it is, good it maybe but it isn't true Bruce. If you listen and analyse his earliest work, from Greetings, Wild & Innocent all the way to Nebraska and Ghost of Tom Joad, you'll see the connection with his work and dylan's & young's. As people they have always been different, outcasts and loners and this is reflected in what they write. About the blue collar workers, the migrants, the outsiders, all that is wrong and corrupt about american 'democracy', an oxymoron if ever i heard one. They have always stuck to their guns, appreciated their roots, and remembered where they came from. Never bowing out to what was expected by socitey, only obeying what they believed to be important and true, and as musicians, are as powerful and unique today, as they were 30 - 40 years ago

1. instrumentally, obviously. They are all known for that harmonica brace, acoustic guitar thing. Bruce less so, but he has still done it, and done in front of big audiences. But it goes beyond that. Bob thought Neil's Harvest record stole his sound, and Bruce's current flirtation with the violin sound can be traced to Desire.

2. the ability to speak truth to power in a way that is successful. Young's Ohio and Bruce's Streets of Philadelphia come to mind.

3. their idiosyncratic vocals. Springsteen is a better pure singer--that dude can wail--but they each have a way of delivering a song that is deeply personal, and puts such a strong stamp that covering them is a dangerous business.

4. unkillable. Young should've been a non-entity after the stuff he pulled on David Geffen, but he came back with great albums like Sleeps with Angels. Bruce was never as unsuccessful as Dylan or Neil, but the double release of Human Touch and Lucky Town was a low point from which he really might never have recovered...but then The Rising.

5. dubious relationship with the press/mass media. Dylan sold Times Changin' and Lovesick, and Bruce was co-opted by Reagan with Born in the USA. Inexplicably, Bruce's fans were unaware of his politics when he openly supported Kerry. Neil recorded Let's Roll, which may or may not be jingoistic. When things like this happen to other artists, it doesn't matter. These 3 are lantern lights of dignity and self-control in the sea of darkness that is our celebrity culture.

6. Both Young and Springsteen openly acknowledge their debt to Dylan. Dylan fans may wish they did so more, but we can sometimes be sycophantic in that way. Springsteen did Dylan's induction into the Hall of Fame, and he and Dylan played together on more than one occasion.

thats interesting bob thought young stole is sound w/ the release of Harvest...imo it doesnt sound like dylan

I think you can definitely relate early bob dylan and early bruce springsteen. Maybe because they both left to NYC

Does anybody think Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits might fit into this category as well?? These two don't rock out like Bob, Bruce and Neil but as songwriters I do see a connection there. Anybody else agree?

I would agree, they all write great songs.Some people in my family put Tom Waits on the same level as bob

I wouldn't agree cause I have to agree. In my opinion Waits is on the same level like Dylan. They are the best of the best. But I see Young, Cohen, Cave very close to them.

I make the biggest connection between Dylan, Young, and Clapton

What about Paul Simon?

Not making any special connection but for me the great triumverate are:

Bob Dylan
Leonard Cohen
Joni Mitchell

Neil Young has been responsible for the most exciting concert I ever attended: Birmingham NEC 1982 Trans Tour & the most excrutiatingly boring: Greendale bollocks Hammersmith Apollo 2003.

Springsteen: Saw him in 1981 and it was all fur coat and no knickers. Maybe things changed since then .... but guess i'll never know.

Other greats in songwriting terms, to me are:

Tom Waits
Morrissey
Nick Cave
Neil Hanlon (Divine Comedy)

I think it's tempting to compare Neil Young to Bob Dylan, but Young rarely gets as abstract in his lyrics. He tends to keep things really simple. Also, and this is a BIG difference, Neil Young is about as agnostic as Bob is religious. I think in all of his songs I've heard Neil mention Jesus once and even then in an offhanded way. I gotta say, for a 60's generation musician this is mighty refreshing. On the other hand, Bob tends to keep a much shrewder head when discussing politics.

That was amazingly wrapped up, and basically everything I needed to say!

Dylan, Springsteen and Young - my favourite artists of all time, probably. Amazing.

And :

Leonard Cohen & Bob Dylan are good friends.

In light of this discussion, a comedian (Rich Hall) who at the time was playing the guitar and had a harmonica strapped around his head, said, "Why is it that if you can play the guitar and harmonica at the same time, people will think you're a genius like Dylan, Neil Young or Springsteen.....but once you put a pair of cymbals on your knees, people will cross the street to avoid walking past you?"

Just felt it right to mention that Bruce had a violinist as early as 1975.

While I find Cohen rather boring from his lyrics to his voice(?) Waits is another story. Mr Waits can write with the top 10 singer-songwiters of the past 50 years or so.