Having made a point over the years of being eclectic in my choice of songs, I include a number of Dylan's in my repertoire. I find they are invariably well received at gigs, singarounds and parties. Mighty Quinn is almost as good a general purpose singalong as American Pie in virtually any setting. Love Minus Zero is handy for ladies' birthdays (Bow down to her on Sunday, salute her when her birthday comes ....).

I know at least one seriously traditional singer, squeezebox player and step dancer who confesses, albeit in his cups, that he wishes he played guitar just so he could sing Dylan. Meanwhile he just sings along.

Dammit, early Dylan songs are about as old now as some "Traditional" songs were when I started in the sixties.

OK Dylan's no Pavarotti, but neither is Leonard Cohen, nor was Woody Guthrie. It's the song that counts, and the great thing about Dylan is that you can interpret the songs in so many ways.