Allman Brothers

[onedomino]

I don't know how old you are but I've often wondered if the last generation of music has ever even been heard by younger folks--It's good to know you grabbed some old stuff from your Dad.

I am 30. My Dad, who was a professor at the University of San Francisco, is a very cool guy. He always paid close attention to me and tried to teach me something new every day. He has a wonderful collection of vinyl records, including Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf, Son House, Cream, Allman Brothers, Chuck Berry, and lots more. Because he knew how much I liked them, he had his records copied to CD and gave them to me as a present. It is an amazing gift, and I remember it everyday because I listen to the CDs all the time. For his past birthday, I gave him the CD from Blues prodigy Jonny Lang, Wander This World, and he loves it. He is retired now and lives in Napa, Ca.

 

[Dan]

To me, Robert Johnson is the ONLY way blues should sound. This is just opinion, of course, but when I think of the blues, I think of a sad guitar and a haunted voice telling a sad story, not a 20 minute guitar solo. I saw Jimmie Vaughn open for Bob Dylan, and I nearly fell asleep during his set. It sounded like he was playing the same song over and over again.

I, too, got my musical tastes from my family (mostly). Most of my earliest memories are of listening to Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, etc. records with my Mom. My dad's into more old-school Sinatra type stuff, though I've grown to like a lot of that type stuff, too. Of course, living with Jim and my other brothers, I ended up listening to a lot of 80's metal, which for a while in high school was all I listened to.

 

[onedomino]

To me, Robert Johnson is the ONLY way blues should sound. This is just opinion, of course, but when I think of the blues, I think of a sad guitar and a haunted voice telling a sad story, not a 20 minute guitar solo. I saw Jimmie Vaughn open for Bob Dylan, and I nearly fell asleep during his set. It sounded like he was playing the same song over and over again.

I, too, got my musical tastes from my family (mostly). Most of my earliest memories are of listening to Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, etc. records with my Mom. My dad's into more old-school Sinatra type stuff, though I've grown to like a lot of that type stuff, too. Of course, living with Jim and my other brothers, I ended up listening to a lot of 80's metal, which for a while in high school was all I listened to.

Dan, tell us about seeing Dylan live. Who was he playing with? I have always wanted to revisit Highway 61.

 

[dilloduck]

I am 30. My Dad, who was a professor at the University of San Francisco, is a very cool guy. He always paid close attention to me and tried to teach me something new every day. He has a wonderful collection of vinyl records, including Robert Johnson, Howlin’ Wolf, Son House, Cream, Allman Brothers, Chuck Berry, and lots more. Because he knew how much I liked them, he had his records copied to CD and gave them to me as a present. It is an amazing gift, and I remember it everyday because I listen to the CDs all the time. For his past birthday, I gave him the CD from Blues prodigy Jonny Lang, Wander This World, and he loves it. He is retired now and lives in Napa, Ca.

I'm 54 so it's highly likely I'm close to you fathers' age. How cool of him to be such a caring and insightful father. It's great you two can share tunes !

 

[Said1]

To me, Robert Johnson is the ONLY way blues should sound. This is just opinion, of course, but when I think of the blues, I think of a sad guitar and a haunted voice telling a sad story, not a 20 minute guitar solo. I saw Jimmie Vaughn open for Bob Dylan, and I nearly fell asleep during his set. It sounded like he was playing the same song over and over again.

Depends on their style. I could listen to Buddy Guy play forever, he also puts on a great show, jumping from playing traditional accoustic style blues to old Hendrix and Cream songs. His latest CD, one of his best ever is all accoustic.
On the other hand, Jimmie Vaugh is someone I could live without listening to forever. Stephen Stills in another one of my all time favorites, he jumps between blues, rock, bluegrass etc, etc.

 

[Dan]

Dan, tell us about seeing Dylan live. Who was he playing with? I have always wanted to revisit Highway 61.

Dylan was pretty awesome live. The entire show was set up like an old-time revue, I think four bands played before Dylan, but we only saw Junior Brown (really awesome) and Jimmie Vaughn (....yeah).

I'm not sure how long Dylan's been playing with the band he had, but they were all pretty young guys. Still, they sounded really good, with a much more rocking sound than I had expected. Dylan's voice is what it is, but he was clearly putting all he had into the songs. He did bust out the harmonica a few times, but he can't really wail on it the way he used to. This is the setlist:

Maggie's Farm (Bob on keyboard, Donnie on pedal steel)
The Times They Are A-Changin'
Lonesome Day Blues (Bob on keyboard, Donnie on lap steel)
Positively 4th Street
Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
'Til I Fell In Love With You
To Ramona
Cold Irons Bound
Girl Of The North Country
Highway 61 Revisited
Sugar Baby
Summer Days
(encore)
Like A Rolling Stone
All Along The Watchtower

I was glad he played "The Times they are a'Changin'" and "Stuck Inside of Mobile.....", which are probably my two favorite Dylan songs. However, the entire show was overshadowed by the two songs during the encore. Like a Rolling Stone never had so much power as it did that night, and they really jammed out during All Along the Watchtower (has there ever been a song more conducive to jamming out?). Other than that, "Stuck Inside of Mobile..." was probably the next best song they did. Since the original recording is so old, you kind of lose a sense of what a hard rocking song that can be. All in all, it was a great show. Lots of people complain about his voice, and yeah, it was sounding kind of rough, but that's Dylan, y'know?

The only complaint I had were the $6 beers and the $30 t-shirts!

Domino, have you seen Martin Scorsese's documentary, No Direction Home? It's about Dylan's career from his folk roots to the time when he put out Highway 61 Revisited and was suddenly considered a sellout for using electric instruments. It's essential if you're a Dylan fan, but even if you're not, it's a really moving story about a guy who did exactly what he wanted, regardless of what those around him thought of it.

 

[onedomino]

Yes, Dan, I have seen "No direction Home." And as you say, it is excellent. Dylan's interview with the bizarre music media was simultaneously hilarious and disturbing. I have always liked the distinctive nature of Dylan's voice, but then I also like Tom Waits' voice, so maybe being able to stay on tune is not as important to me, as the meaning of the words. The play list you got to hear that night was fantastic and I agree with you about Stuck Inside of Memphis with the Mobile Blues Again. It is a brilliant rockin' number. It is not really very meaningful for me to tell you what my favorite song is, because that seems to change depending on my mood. But Like a Rolling Stone just might be the greatest rock song ever written. Thank you for taking the time to tell me about the concert.

How does it feel
To be on your own
With no direction home
Like a complete unknown
Like a rolling stone?

 

[onedomino]

Earlier tonight, I was listening to Cream and their album Disraeli Gears, and I decided to look for some some live Clapton performances on YouTube. I came across a tune that the folks in this thread might like: Bob Dylan and Eric Clapton doing the Robert Johnson blues number Crossroads. Very cool. Actually, Robert Johnson called the song Cross Road Blues. Then, years later, Cream recorded the song for their album Wheels of Fire. Anyway, Dylan and Clapton, Crossroads: [ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySoRt85CTM0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySoRt85CTM0[/ame]
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[jib]

good stuff.