“My concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God’s side…” – Abraham Lincoln (1809 -1865)

There are many questions about Bob Dylan, few definitive answers.

1- Is he the greatest songwriter ever?

The answer is clearly subjective, but there are several objective indicators he is:

A- He is the only songwriter to have received the Nobel Prize for Literature.

B- He is the only songwriter to have received the United States’ highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of Freedom in addition to the French Legion of Honor.

C- Rolling Stone magazine (2016), listing the greatest 100 songwriters ever, deemed him #1. (#s 2 and 3 were some unknowns named Paul McCartney and John Lennon.)

D- As a salient manifestation of his influence, both the magazine itself and #6 on its list, the group helmed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, are named for his song Like a Rolling Stone.

E- He has had more of his songs covered by other artists than any other songwriter. (Including Jimi Hendrix’s biggest hit and the first two songs on Peter, Paul and Mary’s Greatest Hits album.)

F- In the Coen Brothers’ cinematic tribute to folk music, Inside Llewyn Davis” climax, as an unidentified singer begins to perform (Dylan’s song Farewell), the audiences in the film and the movie theater instantaneously realize this is farewell. Nothing will ever be the same. He has irreversibly changed folk music.

2- Is he the greatest song performer ever?

By any objective parameter, not even close. The evidence is undeniable:

A- Covers of his songs by other artists far outsell his renditions. (Peter, Paul and Mary recorded nine of his songs, shared the same Jewish manager, Albert Grossman, sold more records and popularized his songs more than he did.)

B- His son Jakob’s album Bringing Down the Horse sold more copies than any of his own.

C- Over time, unlike his contemporaneous peers, his concerts were forced to move to smaller venues in more out-of-the-way cities.

Every performer knows what their audience wants, their favorite songs performed as they remember them. Dylan instead plays what he wants, as unpredictably as he wants, often mumbling. Even if he plays one of his iconic songs, the audience doesn’t recognize it.

Furthermore, while all performers’ voices inevitably deteriorate with age, they try to compensate for it. He seems to savor it.

Every audience wants to feel a kinship with the performer, why performers acknowledge the city they’re in and compliment the audience. Dylan does neither. He won’t even talk to the audience (except to introduce his band) often won’t look at them, turns his back, hides behind his piano or music-stand, and/or wears a hoodie.

Performing with other headliners, he plays first, then leaves at intermission, advertising to the audience he........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)