Monthly Archives: April 2010

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Song of the Day #637: ‘Mr. Bojangles’ – Bob Dylan

Did I say Self Portrait was considered Bob Dylan’s worst album? Let me take that back. 1973’s Dylan is actually the album that would likely earn that title.

Self Portrait has the worse reputation because it came out of nowhere and flew in the face of high expectations. But Dylan is an album of outtakes from Self Portrait… so basically, these are the songs that weren’t good enough to be on Dylan’s worst album. You do the math.

Dylan wasn’t involved in the creation or release of this album. It was pushed out by Columbia after he briefly left the label, some say as a deliberate attempt at sabotage (an official album was due to be released just a few months later).

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Song of the Day #636: ‘Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door’ – Bob Dylan

This weekend I’ll highlight two albums that Bob Dylan released in 1973, three years after New Morning. The first is the soundtrack album for the film Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, in which Dylan appeared as an actor.

Both the film and soundtrack marked a difficult time for Dylan, creatively. His first foray into acting resulted in a sketchy role that was mostly left on the cutting room floor and the music has largely been forgotten over time.

With one exception.

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Song of the Day #635: ‘Once Upon a Time There Was an Ocean’ – Paul Simon

Following You’re the One, Paul Simon took a break from recording almost as long as the one after The Rhythm of the Saints. Finally, in 2006, he released Surprise.

The album lived up to its name. Produced by Brian Eno, it marked Simon’s first foray into electronica. Now, I’m not saying Paul Simon put out a club album, but it’s a far cry from the organic rhythms of his world music crossover albums. I haven’t warmed to this album the way I have to Simon’s others, maybe because of that stylistic shift.

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Song of the Day #634: ‘Darling Lorraine’ – Paul Simon

After the Capeman disaster, Simon retreated to lick his wounds and three years later came back with 2000’s You’re the One. The album fared far better, both critically and commercially, and was nominated for the Album of the Year Grammy (making Simon the first artist to earn that nomination in five consecutive decades).

I haven’t given this album a whole lot of attention over the years, but in listening to it to prepare for this blog entry, I was impressed by how good it is. For some reason the long break after The Rhythm of the Saints and the hit-or-miss quality of Songs From The Capeman kind of put Simon on a back burner for me. And while this album is far from the equal of his best work, I probably haven’t given it the credit it deserves.

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Song of the Day #633: ‘The Vampires’ – Paul Simon

The Rhythm of the Saints marked the end of Paul Simon’s incredible comeback. After his first few solo albums were lavished with praise and hit singles, he hit a slump that several years, only to reinvent himself with his two finest albums. So then what?

A seven year wait, that’s what. I used to whine on a regular basis during that time about how long it had been since Simon had released his last album. Where was the next Saints or Graceland? What was the man doing with his time? Marrying Edie Brickell and having three kids, as it turns out, which must not have left much time for music.

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