Sunday, August 09, 2009

Dylan Christmas Album

This should be good (Reuters):
Bob Dylan is set to release an album of Christmas songs, including "Here Comes Santa Claus" and the carol "O Little Town of Bethlehem," according to music websites.

Rumours of the album first emerged on Isis magazine website, which is devoted to Dylan. It later reported the songs had been recorded in Jackson Browne's studio in Santa Monica, California, in May.

David Hidalgo of Los Lobos, who played accordion on Dylan's chart-topping latest album "Together Through Life," is one of the musicians who took part in the sessions, it said.

"It is a personal project of Dylan himself rather than an idea put forward by his record company," Isis said.

Billboard magazine said it had confirmed the album existed. Other songs included "Must Be Santa" and "I'll be Home for Christmas," it said.

Dylan was originally of the Jewish faith and was a Born Again Christian from 1979-1981, releasing three religious-themed albums.

"At first glance it may sound bizarre, but I don't think Dylan cares much about what his detractors might make of it," Scott Marshall, who has written a book 'God and Bob Dylan: A Spiritual Life' told bullypulpit.com.

"He's both never renounced being Jewish or renounced his experience with Jesus some three decades ago," Marshall said.

This is classic Advancement on a number of levels. Being religious is Advanced, as is liking Christmas (especially if you're Jewish), but recording a Christmas record after releasing three critically acclaimed albums in a row and doing it at Jackson Browne's studio with a member of Los Lobos is amazing. This record is also an example of an Advanced musician managing to do something unexpected that is also not the opposite of what is expected. By now I thought I had a handle on Dylan, but a Christmas album is surpising, but exactly why that is I can't say, nor can I say why he would want to do one.

4 comments:

Roger Camden said...

The painted-face Dylan photo threw me more than the notion of a christmas album. I did some research and what I found was suitably strange: during Bob's Rolling Thunder Revue, a mid-1970s return to touring, he wore white face paint (or, occasionally, a rubber mask) to ensure that audiences focused on his words rather than his face. I would think that slathering grease paint on your face would draw more attention to it, but I guess Dylan's opinion differs.
Such is Advancement, after all.

Unknown said...

Definitely one of his more Advanced tours, and yes, Dylan's opinion always seems to differ from everyone else's. Such is Advancement indeed.

Anonymous said...

I love this story. This might be a good post, Jase. I especially like the second to last line. What do you think?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32422777/ns/entertainment-celebrities/

Teacherfriend

Yan Naing said...

If you give what can be taken, you are not really giving. Take what you are given, not what you want to be given.

Merry Christmas ! :)