Bob Dylan, Great Singer

I've been thinking about this subject off and on for years and I've come to the conclusion that Dylan is a dynamite singer.

The accepted "wisdom" is that while Dylan is a great songwriter his singing is only tolerable because of his considerable lyrical gifts; I disagree.

I realize that I'm probably stepping in it here, but I think Dylan is a flat out terrific singer. Okay, I'll admit he doesn't have a great voice in the conventional sense, but his phrasing and his ability to convey emotion are amazing.

A lot of the examples I can think of tend toward the darker emotions, songs like "Idiot Wind" and "Like a Rolling Stone" do exceptionally well at conveying bitterness and spite, but he can be tender or funny as well.

There, I've said it, and I feel better.

Cassady

Is April here already ??????????

I appreciate the contributions of Dylan, more, through other artists. I just can't tolerate his voice and refuse to hear him out (my loss to some). Hendrix's versions of his songs are what garnered my appreciation for Dylan. So, there is no denying his influence on my part. All Along the Watchtower was brilliant, IMO.

Cassady, I am completely with you on this. I love Dylan's singing, and I love Dylan's voice. Lots of people do, and lots of people don't. For people who don't like his voice, it's going to be impossible to convince them that Dylan is a good singer. You can talk about phrasing all you want. Bob has always had a phenomenal ability to phrase songs to maximize the power of his voice. He's brilliant at it. Now, take someone who doesn't have Dylan's voice and let them phrase the song like Bob, and it probably won't work. But, it REALLY works for Dylan, as long as you can appreciate the sound of his voice. I think someone has to dig the voice first, or they'll never get it.

I've always been one to think that other people's versions of Dylan's songs pale in comparison to the originals, with a few exceptions. Again, a lot of people disagree, and that's fine. At least most people can appreciate his talent as a songwriter. And then there's Simon Cowell...

It can be frustrating, because we hear it so plainly, we think, "How could anyone NOT like Dylan's singing?" But they don't, just as I don't like Celine Dion's singing. Just as I'm not impressed that Kenny G can hold a note for 45 minutes, or whatever it was. Just as the mention of Nickelback makes me want to yarp, and so on. But think of how boring the world would be if everyone liked the same thing. I'm glad a lot of people can't tolerate Bob Dylan's voice. It keeps ticket prices reasonable.

I love to hear Bob Dylan sing...that doesn't mean I think he's the best singer, I also love John Hiatt...

But, no question in my mind, Bob Dylan's the best song writer of all time. Bar none.

...I like his singin style and teck-neek but ---------nerr mine!


0le FUZZY

I don't think that anybody can deliver his word like he can. I don't think his voic is very trained but it sounds like he knows what he's doing. I love his Blonde on Blonde and Highway 61 era.

In my opinion, there isn't a better band than Bob Dylan with The Band.

I agree - I think he's one of the best singers. Sure lots of people don't like his voice, but that's their opinion. To me there's a lot more to being a great singer than jusy a pitch-perfect voice. I can see thousands of those on all the Idols-type TV shows. But you'll never see someone that delivers the song better than Dylan - in my opinion. Though I have to add, when I saw him live in Rotterdam he had some quirks that got on my nerves after a while.

I think he's a brilliant singer, but his actual singing voice has been pretty scary since he had heart trouble a few years back...

Cheers, Tim

I think he's worth listening to for the quality of his lyrics and I think he uses his voice very effectively; but he wasn't born with the natural vocal talent that allows some people to develop into great singers, so I don't think he could be considered one.

voice-wise, Dylan did more with less than (IMHO) anyone ever did.

Nobody else could possibly sound like him, his voice is one of the defining voices in modern music so hemust be a good singer!

voice-wise, Dylan did more with less than (IMHO) anyone ever did.
here goes the wise woodman one more time. i totally agree.

Nobody else could possibly sound like him, his voice is one of the defining voices in modern music so hemust be a good singer!

Two answers to this:

1) Mark Knopfler tries!

2) No one else sounds like my sister, and she's definitely not a great singer!

I like his recorded voice, but can't really say I think it's too great live - although I only saw him once, a few years back at Wembley London where the acoustics are not the best.

I like his singing. It's unique, kinda like Hendrix, Waits, and Cohen amongst others.

Eric said: "I like his singing. It's unique, kinda like Hendrix, Waits, and Cohen amongst others."

That's the whole thing with Bob Dylan - so many people have been massively influenced by him, his songs, and the way he SINGS. Amongst them: the Beatles, the Stones, the Byrds, Jimi Hendrix and every other 60's band. Everyone in the 70's and ever since.... Tom Petty, Lou Reed, Mark Knopfler, Bruce Springsteen, the list is absolutely endless. These guys know what sounds good, and they all developed a vocal style with huge and obvious Bob Dylan influences.

In my book that means he's a fair decent singer. Maybe he can't sing opera, but then again all the tenors and divas in the world together couldn't write a single song like Bob Dylan, and they sure couldn't sing one of his right either!

I always thought Hendrix sang like a black Dylan.

Bob is not a great singer by the conventional definition of the term, but he is a fantastic vocal stylist, and my favorite interpreter of his work.

Definitely one of my favorite singers.

I like Dylan.
His delivery is almost rap-like at times.
Could he be credited with being the father of rap???

I would like to agree that Bob Dylan is a great singer... but I can't stand listening to the guy. But what I do know, I have to listen to my own singing and I don't know what is worse.

How can anyone speak of his "phrasing and his ability to convey emotion" without mentioning "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright?" Whenever I hear the Peter, Paul, and Mary version, I cringe.

I have heard Dylan described as a great blues singer.
I love his voice and his phrasing - perfect for what he does.


Gotta admit, he kinda lost me with the "new" voice he took on during the "Nashville Skyline" period - I missed the Dylan of "Another Side" and "Highway '61."

Maybe it's like Muddy Water's microtonal slide playing. For some people the less than perfect pitch and overall tone of the instrument are annoying. For other people it's those qualities that make the performer so uniquely expressive and enjoyable. I've always liked Dylan -- not all Dylan, but if you consider the number of songs he's written over the last 40 some odd years, there's an amazing number of great songs. To me - there's never been a better songwriter. And, again just my opinion but it's not like Dylan had a choice in the matter. It's like a lightning bolt and he just happened to be the one that got this little "blessing." Oh yeah, and I'm nuts about Muddy's slide playing, too.
....Kerry

There, I've said it, and I feel better.

Cassady

Thanks. I agree wholeheartedly!

For me, Dylan is an excellant singer as is Jerry Garcia.

Way back Dylan said something to the effect of "I sing as good as Caruso. I hit all the same notes, you just gotta listen". I've been listening for a long time Bob and enjoying it thoroughly!

Fret

I like Dylan.
His delivery is almost rap-like at times.
Could he be credited with being the father of rap???

Most of the time, he's trying to sing. But early on, he was trying to pattern himself off Woody Guthrie, so his singing sort of evolved from a bad Woody Guthrie impression.

On his self titled album, which I think was released in 1962, he does a song called "Talkin' New York" where he's obviously trying not to sing. In a sing songy type of way. But I'm pretty sure Woodie Guthry and Pete Segar both beat Bob to doing Rap songs

I like a whole lot of what Bob Dylan's done, but calling him a great singer would be a stretch. He's a great entertainer, and that's what counts.

Couldn't find this on youtube, but this is my favorite moment from Bob Dylan's career: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-1374654037235767093

I always loved Bobby D's phrasing and I've not thought he had pitch problems.. I think a lot of people don't enjoy the timbre or character of his voice... but hearing is believing.. (http://homepage.mac.com/macmanager/.Public/biggirl.mp4) it is everything I like in a vocal and a song. (it kind of reminds me of what I love about Frank Sinatra's Wee Small Hours)

I love Dylan, but I don't think his vocals are his strong point. His phrasing is very interesting and unique, I think he sounds a little nasaly, but Hey, he's an icon and has his own vocal style that is all his own and is immediately recognizable.

I think his studio vocals, especially the earlier stuff, are great, but live, leaves alot to be desired. I've seen him 6 or 8 times, and always his live vocals are often unintelligible, mumbly, muddy. Maybe he needs a new sound man. But I'll always go back for more next time I have a chance to see him!!!!

If you have to have great vocal agility to be a great singer, we'd better rethink our views on a lot of legends.
I think I'm right in saying that Billie Holiday had a range of less than an octave, but Id listen to her rather than Ella Fitzgerald any day.
Dylan is awesome and in my opinion a great singer. His limitations make him great.
Isnt that what we all talk about with regard to guitarists, doing more with less?

I like what Woodie Guthrie supposedly said about Dylan: "I don't know about them lyrics, but he's got a hell of a voice on him."

Was Woodie Guthrie deaf??? I can tolerate Dylan on his latest album, but for everything else, it's like finger nails on a chalk board.

Choose one or the other......

I've been thinking about this subject off and on for years and I've come to the conclusion that Dylan is a dynamite singer.

The accepted "wisdom" is that while Dylan is a great songwriter his singing is only tolerable because of his considerable lyrical gifts; I disagree.

I realize that I'm probably stepping in it here, but I think Dylan is a flat out terrific singer. Okay, I'll admit he doesn't have a great voice in the conventional sense, but his phrasing and his ability to convey emotion are amazing.

A lot of the examples I can think of tend toward the darker emotions, songs like "Idiot Wind" and "Like a Rolling Stone" do exceptionally well at conveying bitterness and spite, but he can be tender or funny as well.

There, I've said it, and I feel better.

Cassady

I agree.

Nope... can't agree here even if you do have a terrific screen name. I've seen Dylan in concert three times and own all his early albums, end even though I like a lot of his music... he ain't no singer. His recent voice isn't even singing... it's croaking.

Lately I've changed my mind about a lot of other things regarding Dylan too. After watching that four hour PBS special about him, I'm really curious to know if he was really the leader of a movement... or a not very nice, not very smart guy that had an amazing ability to write songs that appealed to the masses... songs he himself really didn't believe in much.

Oh man, I better go put on a fire suit.

Cassidy :cool:

:lol:

Choose one or the other......

Dang, For a minute there, I thought you were disagreeing with yourself. Even after going back to the first post, I still thought that. Took the second time to catch on. Oh well..........! I agree with Cassidy.Nope... can't agree here even if you do have a terrific screen name. I've seen Dylan in concert three times and own all his early albums, end even though I like a lot of his music... he ain't no singer. His recent voice isn't even singing... it's croaking.

Lately I've changed my mind about a lot of other things regarding Dylan too. After watching that four hour PBS special about him, I'm really curious to know if he was really the leader of a movement... or a not very nice, not very smart guy that had an amazing ability to write songs that appealed to the masses... songs he himself really didn't believe in much.

Oh man, I better go put on a fire suit.

Cassidy :cool:

Here's a relatively recent performance of a Johnny Cash song by Bob, that is a big favorite of mine. [url]www.youtube.com/watch?v=axAGsmwgIVK/url] EDIT - sorry, the link doesn't seem to work. I was able to view it a moment ago by googling "youtube dylan train of love".

axAGsmwgIVk

for my friend with my favorite screen name. Cheers Dogs run free!

Well, way back when, when I was a kid... There was alot of good singers out there... Perry Como, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Frank Sinatra... Those guys were crooners, and they sure sang nice... Then, around 1962, this kid named Bob Dylan came along singin' these folk songs... He certainly was no crooner... He could not croon to save his life... But somehow, when he sang a song he had wrote, it got you in the gut... His singin' was a whole different thing that nobody had heard before... It was poetry set to music... He was reciting poetry, like the Beats had, set to music... Alot of people started to react to his songs, and those songs started alot of people singing in a different way... Trying not so much to make a pretty sound, as to make you think and feel something...

Dylan came out of the folk boom, and his singing was patterned on folk artists like Woody Guthrie and the black country blues singers... It was meant as a vehicle to convey his poetry, and deliver a message, and to express his feelings... To employ a much used phrase, either you "get it" or you don't... You see, it doesn't really matter whether Dylan is a "good singer" or not, cause that's not what he's been trying to do for the last 45 years... He is a great songwriter, and a great interpreter of his songs...

Cheers,
JM

I like Dylans singing. I think it has gotten worse over the years from smoking and touring (he seems to be on the road all the time). His voice was "better" earlier is career. I think John Wesley Hardin and Nashville Skyline were his vocal best. Supposedly he was not smoking during this period. I think the vocals were also "better" on Self Portrait (I like Self Portrait) and New Morning. His vocals were also good on Blonde on Blonde and Highway 51.

[note: I like Richard Thompson, John Martyn, and the Incredible String Band, and even Roger Chapman]

I love Dylan's vocals, but then I also love Neil Young and Eddie Vedder's voices, so I may not be the best judge.

Probably, but you have good taste.

He doesnt have a great voice, but he's a helluva singer. Yeah, its his phrasing. But its much more than that. When he tells you a hard rain's a gonna fall, you take shelter. Isnt that great singing?
Nina Simone doesnt have a great voice, but I still get the chills listening to her.

Can't say I enjoy his singing all the time, but if it's phrasing/timing/feel that we're alluding to, nobody nails it better than Dylan on Subterranean Homesick Blues...

The great thing about Dylans voice is that it is like a fine old instrument, say an old scarred guitar - lots of tear and wear by the use and abuse time has
put it through, but with a fine and unique timbre and oh so soulful! And I toatally agree also with the remarks on his phrasing and timing!
The "more is less" principle really works for him; he doesn't need to "move above the fifth fret"..! ;O)

Watching No Direction Home recently, I got the idea that his later, electrified singing style developed with a sneer in it as he was playing AT the folkies in the audience who were booing him. That footage of Leopard-Skin Pillbox Hat in London is hilarious.

I don't like the acoustic stuff so much--I think the setting is a little too sparse for his voice, and god, that awful harmonica--but Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde...those are some of the best rock albums ever made, IMO, and I can't imagine anyone else singing those songs, or singing them any better.

He's a fine singer and I wish I could sing as well as him

or Neil Young

or anybody other than Keefer!

...i am of the firm belief that one hundred years from now he will be recognized as one of the greatest singers of all time.

but i'm shocked by this thread, as i really believed that i was the only one with a genuine appreciation for dylan's singing.

you folks obviously don't have "mainstream taste".

-dh

I think Bob would sound like a good singer only if I was snorting laundry detergent. In another post someone mentioned Lou Reed along the same lines. These guys are not singers. While I listen to Dylan, my favorite being Subterranean Homesick Blues, I am not foolish enough to compare him or Lou Reed to a good vocalist. 2 examples of good vocalists would be Geoff Tate or Chris Cornell. Even Ringo Starr is a better singer than Bob.

when he wants to be, yes.

when he wants to be, yes.


e.g. Nashville Skyline

He sings his songs, great songs, the way he wants to sing them. Songs for his and our time.

No one has sung more great songs than Bob Dylan. Listen to Blood on the Tracks, Highway 61 Revisted. Blowing in the Wind, Like A Rolling Stone, Positively Fourth Street, Desolation Row, A Hard Rain...

If you don't think there's great singing going on there, well maybe you just don't get it, do you Mr. Jones.

Maybe Dylan's voice has been aged, road-tested and smoke-tested,for the last 40 years, but the guy has delivered and sung more great, classic songs that practically anyone on the planet.

There's more to singing than just a pretty voice...

At some of our TDPRI jams in Kingston, NY we do the song "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues." Anyone who'e ever sung that song, and tried to keep up with Dylan's lyrics can appreciate what a great singer Dylan is.

It doesn't really matter whether you like his tone, timbre, and or that his voice isn't smooth or sweet, like some warbler on American Idol.

He's already left his mark on the Great American Songbook, and is one of the great musical voices of modern music.

Sometimes I can't believe people who actually play guitar (and try to sing a song at the same time) could actually question, or have doubts that Bob Dylan is a great singer. I just don't get it.

"bob is my favorite singer"

rick danko

Song writer yes.....

Singer no way......

The best thing that I can say on the subject:

At least when he's singing, he can't blow that harmonica.

I like hearing Dylan sing.....but then I like having diarrhea:rolleyes:

Bob sings all those songs he wrote with great success. Most musicians are in awe of his writing and delivery. This doesn't mean one has to like everything the man has done to respect what he does, which is write and sing 99% his own works.
My personal answer is yes, Bob Dylan is a great song writer and singer!

An unbelievable singer, an even better songwriter. I love his voice most of the time, too, although the video of his MSG 30th Anniversary shindig was bizarre (not in a real good way).

Joan Baez loves how he blows harmonica.

One thing Bob is great at is always making it believable.

He never really sings stuff that his voice doesn't suit, or vice versa.

For instance: You'll never hear Bob Dylan trying to cover Aaron Neville...although that would be pretty amusing.