Doug - I have absolutely no idea what Andy Devine sounds like, I'm sorry to say...so I don't know quite what to make of the comparison between him and Dylan.

If you listen to just one example: Bob Dylan singing the song "Blind Willie McTell" (it's on a Dylan collection)...see if you can borrow it or something...

Then tell me that is not GOOD blues singing! I dare ya.

I've seen & heard Bob sing well, very well, not so well, badly, tunefully, tunelessly, off key, on key, pure, gruff, strong, weak, and every other way imaginable...he's unpredictable. (unlike, for example, Burl Ives or Gordon Lightfoot who always sound the same...not to say they don't sound good)

But when Dylan is good he's very good (and that's at least 1/2 to 2/3 of the time throughout most of his career). Lightfoot is a great admirer of Dylan's writing and his performance skills. That should tell you something.

But like you say, it's still a matter of opinion, and I still hate the taste of beer and whiskey, and don't consider pizza to be real food, but rather some crude form of entertainment. We all have our prejudices.

- LH