I am pretty sure if you ask the opinion of Dylan fans about the last decade, they will be very positive. Love and Theft, Modern Times, Tell Tale signs, Tempest, Pulitzer prize, and so on. And I agree. However on the downside (let us not talk about another Dylan involved film flop, Masked and Anonymous, New York times wrote: “As a movie, this tale of a benefit concert organized in the middle of a civil war, is an unholy, incoherent mess”), there are constant accusations of plagiarism. Dylan said in a Rolling Stone interview that it is part of a rich and enriching tradition. And I agree again. However, what he did for example in the Asian series is not enriching, but plain copying. There’s also a growing number of concert goers that can’t cope anymore with Dylan’s voice delivering unintelligible songs. I was shocked to read the reviews on Ticketmaster: a lot of one star ratings (typical reaction: “I’ve never seen so many people walk out of a concert. He croaks, not sings”). As well as there’s a growing number of blogs advising Dylan to make this tour his last. The score is not negative yet, but it’s getting there. It would be indeed wise for Dylan to refrain from giving concerts for at least one year, but I am convinced Dylan is addicted to touring.
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He’s been pretty bad in concert for 10 years now . . . people who don’t know what to expect when they go and end up walking out are morons.
Also, just curious as to why you would encourage Dylan to come back in one year. Do you think his 71-year-old vocal chords will improve in the interim and he’ll regain his long-lost voice at 72? I don’t think so
That’s a good question Keith. You could be right that the damage to his voice is irreversible. I noticed however that during recordings (happening in periods when Dylan is not touring) his voice is in better shape. Listen to Modern Times or more recently Tempest. Who knows what the effect of a year sabbatical is. Fact is he can’t go on like this.