Comrades From The North
The times move so fast and here we are at the start of another subscription year. For those continuing subscribers we appreciate your support and for those newly on-board - welcome and thanks. We hope you enjoy the ride.And what a busy period it has been between issues. Dylan has turned sixty, of course, which led to a veritable rain forest's worth of newspaper and magazine articles and a digital deluge of radio shows and TV retrospectives. Mostly these ploughed predictable furrows or were lazy tabloidese but a few pierced the dust of convenience.
On top of that, collector's bookshelves must be fair groaning under the weight of newly-penned tomes on our Main Man. You'll find reviews of these publications elsewhere in this issue. Like the Never Ending Tour, it is just possible that the publications mill might benefit from a sabbatical. And the irony of this statement is not lost on your Comrades who annually increase this pile!
In this issue we are delighted to present the next installment of Michael Krogsgaard's epic sessionography. We know that a great many of you have been looking forward to it. Also within these pages is another contribution from Roy Kelly. Judging by the very positive feedback following Roy's last article, we have no doubt that you will enjoy Roy's eloquent, stimulating and thoughtful inclusion this time round.
Not too long after you receive your copy of The Bridge, there will be a new Dylan album of original songs in the stores. Having listened to a pressing of the album, USA Today's long-time Dylan fan, Edna Gundersen, painted an intriguing word-portrait of this new work (see JDN for details). It seems like it's still impossible to second-guess Dylan's recorded output. Unfortunately the same cannot always be said of his live work. The recent UK appearaces in Liverpool and Stirling may well have been well received but clear-headed evaluation revealed an artist taking few chances, crowd-pleasing and, to some extent, going through the motions. Of course as with any Dylan concert, there were some highs but the overall feeling was of creeping staleness. You may have a different view, your concerts may have been brilliant. If so, why not tell us?
Wherever you are reading this we wish you a peaceful time.
May you climb on every rung.
Mike and John