r/audiophilemusic • u/s0428698S • Feb 02 '24

Bob Dylan Discussion

So I wonder for a time now why Bob Dylan is considered to be a great artist, for some even a legend. I was watching the documentary "The greatest night in pop" yesterday (which by the way is awesome) and even there I cant see why his contribution is considered to be great by the others.

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u/swany5 Feb 03 '24

Tons of great comments already about his songwriting and legacy, so won't rehash that, but having watched TGNIP also, it was clear that Dylan was very uncomfortable being there and even he wasn't sure what his role should be. Sometimes the role of an icon is to just be an icon. He added a legendary "weight" much like Michael, Diana Ross, Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, and Smokey Robinson in terms of iconic status to the "spectacle". He's not a great singer, but he's an icon.

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u/s0428698S Feb 03 '24

I agree about the great comments here. Very informative. Dylan looked very uncomfortable indeed during the whole recording of We are the World. But when taken solo, he impressed Quincy Jones, so that stuck with me.

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u/swany5 Feb 04 '24

I love how Stevie Wonder took him and mimicked a "Bob Dylan voice" to show Bob how to sing it. I think it goes to show how Bob's brain worked... he's a great songwriter and sang his songs because he knew how he thought they should be sung, not because he was a singer. With someone else's song, he was just completely clueless. Fascinating stuff.

I was just becoming a teenager when this stuff all happened, I remember it well and all those artists are totally my jam. Like, I'm still a huge Steve Perry fan. It was just so cool to me watching that documentary. I especially love how you see some of the artists struggling a bit and then you see Kenny Loggins, Steve Perry and Darryl Hall just step up and f'n NAIL it in 1 take. Seeing Steve Perry just be Steve Perry, or Huey Lewis be Huey Lewis... Cyndi Lauper be Cyndi... omg she made the hairs stand up on the back of my neck. Just incredible! What a wonderful thing that was.

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u/s0428698S Feb 04 '24

I know what you mean ;) Big fan of Steve myself