Kinshasa, the fight, hear the lion will roar
But the greatest has faded, can’t dance anymore
The monster, Foreman, has fists filled with lead
first round, maybe 2, he’ll hand Ali his head
Look away, I can’t watch, he can’t get off the ropes
But you know now, all about that dope
Look quick, do you see, Floreman’s on the floor
And the greatest, the greatest is the champion once more
In “Murder Most Foul,” the first single off Rough & Rowdy Ways that also became Dylan’s first number 1 song, oh and it’s 16 minutes and 54 seconds long, he sings:
Where we ask no quarter, and no quarter do we give
We’re right down the street from the street where you live
They mutilated his body, and they took out his brain
What more could they do?
They piled on the pain
But his soul’s not there where it was supposed to be at
For the last fifty years they’ve been searchin’ for that
I should stop there, because what else can you write about an album like this. The songs are not about what you think they are about. Put every stanza in a hopper and draw one at random. Put the 10 best song writers alive today in a room and start the bidding. “My immortal soul,” will be the opening bid.
And the best blues guys playing today would trade all their elite skills for these riffs. You don’t need to “play guitar behind your head” to tap into the force.
“I Contain Multitudes” is the greatest non-memory song ever written by someone in his 70s. “My Own Version of You” is “Positively 4th Street,” only better. “I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You” is “What is a Sweetheart Like You Doing in a Place Like This,” only better. “Mother of Muses,” is what “Mr. Tambourine Man” has become. It’s not better because that’s impossible. It’s after the Man has done all those things. He’s “danced beneath open skies with one-hand waving free, silhouetted by the trees, waiting only for [his] boot heels to go wandering.” He’s not waiting anymore. He’s done it. “Crossing the Rubicon” is the statement that makes it true. And “Key West (Philosopher Pirate) is – listen closely to that opening organ chord – “Like a Rolling Stone” who knows how it feels. Doesn’t have to ask. Rough and Rowdy Ways may well be the history of the Baby Boom generation. Still searching for its soul. http://www.bobdylan.com
Credits:
Musicians
Bob Dylan – vocals, guitar, production
Bob Britt – guitar
Matt Chamberlain – drums
Tony Garnier – bass guitar
Donnie Herron – steel guitar, violin, accordion
Charlie Sexton – guitar
Additional musicians
Fiona Apple – vocals
Blake Mills
Alan Pasqua
Tommy Rhodes
Benmont Tench
Engineers
Greg Calbi – mastering
Joseph Lorge – assistant engineering
Chris Shaw – engineering, mixing
Artwork
Ian Berry – front cover photo
Josh Cheuse – album design
6 thoughts on “REVIEW: Bob Dylan’s “Rough and Rowdy Ways” Never Stop Searching”