The man born Robert Zimmerman is the only rock star to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. He's written more than 600 songs in his six decades on the world's stage and had countless books, documentaries, and even a museum dedicated to investigating his life and music. But unlike most institutions, Bob Dylan is still in flux, continuing to write, record, and tour.
Before he plays two dates at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts, New Times takes a look at five songs that serve as a worthy primer to the man whose image shows up when you type into a search engine the term "singer-songwriter."
"A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall"
Bob Dylan wrote so many folk classics in his early years, from "Blowin' in the Wind" to "Masters of War" to "Mr. Tambourine Man," it should be hard to pick just one, but this 1963 classic off The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan stands out as the most epic. It has one foot in the blues and another in protest, with each verse inviting interpretation. About the urgency of its lyrics, Dylan said in the album's liner notes, "Every line in it is actually the start of a whole new song. But when I wrote it, I thought I wouldn't have enough time alive to write all those songs, so I put all I could into this one.""Like a Rolling Stone"
Whenever a magazine or website makes a comprehensive list of the greatest songs in the rock 'n' roll era, "Like a Rolling Stone" is always at or near the top of the rankings. The 1965 song off Highway 61 Revisited came after he pissed off the folk traditionalists for plugging his guitar into an amp. The electric guitar, the organ, and the harmonica make it sound like a party, even if what's being served is awfully bitter. For close to 60 years, when a film or TV director wanted to portray freedom and bohemianism, this song has been willing to serve as shorthand as Bob sings, "When you ain't got nothing, you got nothing to lose.""Lay Lady Lay"
Country music always had a big influence on Dylan. His 1969 album Nashville Skyline was an attempt to pay tribute to the genre, which started with a duet with Johnny Cash. Side B of the album kicks with one of his more romantic ballads, "Lay Lady Lay." While to modern ears, "Lay Lady Lay" sounds much closer to folk than the polished twang we currently associate with country, you can tell Dylan was trying something different by the way he completely altered his vocal register."The Man in Me"
The 1970 song off of New Morning got a second life when it served as the opening credit soundtrack for the 1998 cult favorite movie The Big Lebowski. As Dylan sings "la la la" over and over and over, he radiates joy, hopefulness, and a smidgen of carefree drunkenness in a way he rarely had before or ever since."Love Sick"
The one album of Dylan's that was recorded right here in Miami at Criterion Studios, 1997's Time Out of Mind, was the beginning of his second (or third or fourth, depending on how you're keeping score) chapter. It had been six years since he had released any new music when, in some strange Mobius loop of musical influences, Dylan decided he wanted to make something reminiscent of Beck's 1996 Odelay album. Right from this opening song, the listener is greeted with a new lounge lizard version of Bob Dylan, which has been über-productive ever since releasing ten more records, touring nonstop, and even for a few years hosting a weekly radio show.Bob Dylan. 8 p.m. Friday, March 1, and Saturday, March 2, at the Broward Center for Performing Arts, 201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale; 954-462-0222; browardcenter.org. Tickets cost $59.50 to $704.50 via ticketmaster.com.
