The Next Bob Dylan - Concert Preview
The Next Bob DylanThis originally ran in the Redding Record Searchlight in September 2002
If you follow entertainment news, chances are you have heard the phrase “the next Bob Dylan” more than a few times. This title has been applied to almost every singer/songwriter who has uttered a unique song phrase while playing guitar, harmonica, or both simultaneously. Bruce Springsteen, John Prine, Donovan, Beck, and Jakob Dylan are just a few of the performers who have born this unwieldy mantle. It is an unrealistic title, however, and should be discarded.
Bob Dylan has become the archetype of the original, innovative musician. As such, he has become both the “voice of a generation” and a “living legend.” Any musician who makes an impression with their originality will be compared to this legendary Dylan. Even the present Dylan is compared to this legendary Dylan. When he has succeeded in making an album that Dylan fans love, the Dylan world exclaims “Dylan is back.” When he fails to meet the expectations of his fan base, they turn to him with rancor and ask “why have you forsaken us?” Dylan has made a remarkable number of “comebacks” in his career, the first, “John Wesley Harding,” occurred in 1968, only seven years after his breakthrough.
Through all of the ups, downs, and “comebacks” of his forty-plus year career, Dylan has continued to write, record, and tour. Despite the prevailing sentiment of whether or not he is gone or back, Dylan has continued to evolve as a performer. He has played many bad shows, indeed. He has played over 110 shows a year since 1988 and the law of averages dictates that some of them will be bad. He has played a far greater number of great shows. His recorded material has gone through quality lapses as well. Whatever the quality of his recorded material or his performances, Dylan has never been gone, he has always been present.
The scary truth about Bob Dylan is that he is inexplicable. This is perhaps his most enduring characteristic. He has moved from blues, to “protest music,” to psychedelic rock, to folk, to country, to rock, to lounge, to Christian rock, back to rock, and then folk, and then further. That which cannot be explained cannot be reproduced. One listen to his latest album, “Love and Theft” illustrates this point well. How do you explain an album that covers an entire cross-section of American music? Does he play folk music, rock music, folk-rock, or something different still?
Unfortunately, there won’t be a “next Bob Dylan,” at least not in any realistic sense. Perhaps there will be Dylan impersonators as there are Elvis impersonators. However, these folks will make the impact on the world that the original has made. The closest thing to the next Dylan is the current, constantly-evolving, human Bob Dylan. He who is “still on the road heading for another joint.” He who “keeps on keepin’ on.” He who is coming to Red Bluff on October 7. Dylan is constant in only his touring and his evolution. The next Bob Dylan is the one who is playing tonight, tomorrow night, and, hopefully, many tomorrows to come. More than likely he will not only continue to change, he will also continue to delight and inspire.
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posted by Brian J. Kenny @ 11:55 PM
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