I DON'T AGREE WITH JOSH ABOUT "TALKIN' JOHN BIRCH SOCIETEY BLUES" AS A "REFUSED" SONG. IT'S MY OPINION THAT EVEN IN BOB'S EARLY DAYS AS AN ARTIST NO ONE COULD FORCE HIM TO LEAVE A SONG OUT FOR WATHEVER REASON THE "ED SULLIVAN SHOW INCIDENT" COMFIRMS THATPLAUSIBLE REASONS FOR THE FOUR OTHERS SONGS ARE GIVEN BY RICHARD WILLIAMS IN HIS BOOK "DYLAN - A MAN CALLED ALIAS" DYLAN HIMSELF WANTED TO REPLACE FOUR SONGS APPARENTLY BECAUSE HE BELIEVED THEY INCLINED TOO MUCH TOWARDS THE CHARACTER OF HIS FIRST ALBUM. THE SECOND ALBUM WOULD BE TOO CLOSE TO WOODY GUTHRIE AND THE BLUES SINGERS AND IN FACT THERE WAS NO REFLECTION OF HIS DEVELOPEMENT AS A SONGWRITER. DYLAN HIMSELF DECIDED WHICH 4 SONGS WERE OUT PROBABLY TO THE COMPANY'S INTENSE RELIEF THE OUTSPOKEN "JOHN BIRCH" WAS ONE OF THEM. MAYBE DYLAN WAS ALREADY SATISFIED WITH ALL THE COMMOTION ABOUT THE SONG, KNEW THAT THE TOPIC OF THIS SONG WASN'T TIMELESS AND AFTER ALL HE MADE HIS POINT
WITH THE FOUR NEW (POWERFULL) SONGS DYLAN INTRODUCED A YOUNG BLACK PRODUCER, TOM WILSON. WILSON, WHO HAD RECORDED AVANT-GARDE JAZZ ARTISTS, WAS PRETTY UNFAMILIAR WITH FOLK MUSIC. AFTER THE RECORDINGS WITH DYLAN HE SAID " I THOUGHT FOLK MUSIC WAS FOR DUMB GUYS" " THIS GUY (BOB) PLAYED LIKE THE DUMB GUYS, BUT THEN THESE WORDS CAME OUT. I WAS FLABBERGASTED"
ALTHOUGH I THINK BOB DID A GREAT JOB TO CHANGE THE FOUR SONGS, I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY HE LEFT "RAMBLIN' GAMBLING' WILLIE" OUT. I KNOW THE LYRIC STARTS LIKE GUTHRIE'S "PRETTY BOY FLOYD" AND THE SONG IS BASED ON THE OLD IRISH BALLAD "BRENNAN ON THE MOOR", BUT BOB'S TALE OF THE OUTLAW WILLIE O'CONLEY IS ENERGETIC AND BEAUTIFUL IN WORDS AND MUSIC. IT'S ONE OF MY FAVOURITE SONGS
TO SETH I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THAT "MASTERS OF WAR" (WRITTEN EARLY 1963)IS DYLAN'S BLISTERING INDICTMENT OF ALL KINDS OF WAR PROFITEERS MAKING LOTS OF MONEY OUT OF THE MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX
EARLY 1963, IN THE 21 YEARS OF HIS LIFE THERE WERE WORLD WAR II, THE KOREAN WAR (WITH McARTHUR WANTING TO USE NUCLEAR POWER), THE COLD WAR AT IT'S PEAK AND OFCOURSE THE CUBAN MISSILE INCIDENT (WITH NUCLEAR DESTRUCTION ON THE THRESHOLD OF HIS OWN COUNTRY) ON 18 NOVEMBER 1961 KENNEDY SENDS WEAPONS AND 18.00O SOLDIERS TO VIETNAM TO TO SUPPORT SOUTH VIETNAM'S PREMIER NGO DINH DIEM. AMERICA WAS FIGHTING THE "COMMIES' AGAIN DURING THE COLD WAR DYLAN LIVED IN A COUNTRY WHO'S MINISTER OF DEFENCE ROBERT McNAMARA (WHO STUDIED PHILOSOPHY) WAS A DEDICATED FOLLOWER OF THE MAD-DOCTRINE. (MUTUAL ASSURED DESTRUCTION)
"YOU THAT NEVER DONE NOTHIN' BUT BUILD TO DESTROY YOU PLAY WITH MY WORLD LIKE IT'S YOUR LITTLE TOY YOU PUT A GUN IN MY HAND AND YOU HIDE FROM MY EYES AND YOU TURN AND RUN FARTHER WHEN THE FAST BULLETS FLY YOU'VE THROWN THE WORST FEAR THAT CAN EVER BE HURLED FEAR TO BRING CHILDREN INTO THE WORLD FOR THREATHENING MY BABY UNBORN AND UNNAMED YOU AIN'T WORTH THE BLOOD THAT RUNS IN YOUR VEINS" "A HARD RAIN'S A-GONNA FALL (ALSO ON "FREEWHEELIN'BOB DYLAN") IS PICASSO'S "GUERNICA" IN WORDS IT'S A APOCALYPTIC VISION. IT'S ABOUT THE RUINS OF A PUSH-BUTTON WAR. DYLAN GIVES US A CHAIN OF FLASHING IMAGES AND EACH LISTENER FINDS SOMETHING DIFFERENT IN THIS CATALOG OF IMAGES
"I'LL WALK TO THE DEPTHS OF THE DEEPEST BLACK FOREST, WHERE PEOPLE ARE MANY AND THEIR HANDS ARE ALL EMPTY"
"WHERE THE EXECUTIONER'S FACE IS ALWAYS WELL HIDDEN, WHERE HUNGER IS UGLY, WHERE SOULS ARE FORGOTTEN, WHERE BLACK IS THE COLOR, WHERE NONE IS THE NUMBER, AND I'LL TELL IT AND THINK IT AND SPEAK IT AND BREATHE IT AND REFLECT IT FROM THE MOUNTAIN SO ALL SOULS CAN SEE IT THEN I'LL STAND ON THE OCEAN UNTIL I START SINKIN' BUT I'LL KNOW MY SONG WELL BEFORE START SINGIN' AND IT'S A HARD, IT'S A HARD, IT'S A HARD, IT'S A HARD IT'S A HARD RAIN'S A-GONNA FALL"
"DESCRIBING THE PLIGHT OF THE NEEDY OF THE EARTH, DYLAN SWEARS HE WILL RESPOND BY SINGING ABOUT THE SITUATION SO THE WORLD WILL HEAR AND KNOW" - PAUL WILLIAMS
TODAY THE 20th CENTURY ENDS AND A NEW MILLENIUM STARTS GOD BLESS YOU AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL OF YOU
WILLEM LINDEBOOM - THE NETHERLANDS