Music: Simple Twist of Brilliance
Late last year, Sony put out a delicious two-cd Bob Dylan set entitled "The Bootleg Series Volume 5: The Rolling Thunder Revue." This collection captures 22 tracks from Bob Dylan's remarkable 1975 tour. The Rolling Thunder Revue, in my opinion, is one of those things I would honestly have loved to experience in person. Bob and his band (which included at times Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn of the Byrds, Mick Ronson, T. Bone Burnett and Scarlet Rivera among many others) were performing at the height of a live band's powers. The Rolling Thunder Revue performed a pile of reimagined work from Bob's catalog as well as a slew of new songs from Bob's best albums of the 70s, "Blood on the Tracks" and "Desire." For a Bob Dylan fan (who hasn't delved into the voluminous archive of actual bootleg material) this work is a revelation.
Another thing aficionados have noticed in this live collection is Bob's tinkering with song lyrics as he puts them through their paces. Now each "if," "a" or "uh" certainly doesn't require analysis. But I've noticed one track on the Rolling Thunder Revue which has a drastically different set of lyrics. The song, "Simple Twist of Fate," would have only been a year or so old, but could easily be overlooked because of the stunning series of revisions undergone by it's record-mate "Tangled Up In Blue." "Tangled" is on the Rolling Thunder Revue album as well, and its minor changes fit into the general arc of revisions that Bob put the song through during the recording. (the original is available on the first Bootleg release from Sony, and a subsequent live version is available on Dylan's 1984 "Real Live" release.)
However, "Simple Twist of Fate" undergoes a tremendous change which gifts the slight story of a chance encounter between two lovers with a new depth and beauty. The original song is colored with only a hint of regret. Rather, the song seems to rue the fickleness of chance, not the mis-steps of the song's protagonist. In the revision performed on the Rolling Thunder Revue disk, the narrator is sad and introspective, and tastes a hint of bitterness for the beauty that he has lost.
People tell me it's a crime/
to know too much for too long a time/
She should have caught me in my prime/
She would have stayed with me/
'stead of going off to sea/
And leaving me too many times/
upon that simple twist of fate
This post is already too long, but check out the original lyrics of this final verse of "Simple Twist of Fate" and contrast the voice and tenor. The difference is amazing, and Dylan's continued work on the song is a reward for his fans.
Late last year, Sony put out a delicious two-cd Bob Dylan set entitled "The Bootleg Series Volume 5: The Rolling Thunder Revue." This collection captures 22 tracks from Bob Dylan's remarkable 1975 tour. The Rolling Thunder Revue, in my opinion, is one of those things I would honestly have loved to experience in person. Bob and his band (which included at times Joan Baez, Roger McGuinn of the Byrds, Mick Ronson, T. Bone Burnett and Scarlet Rivera among many others) were performing at the height of a live band's powers. The Rolling Thunder Revue performed a pile of reimagined work from Bob's catalog as well as a slew of new songs from Bob's best albums of the 70s, "Blood on the Tracks" and "Desire." For a Bob Dylan fan (who hasn't delved into the voluminous archive of actual bootleg material) this work is a revelation.
Another thing aficionados have noticed in this live collection is Bob's tinkering with song lyrics as he puts them through their paces. Now each "if," "a" or "uh" certainly doesn't require analysis. But I've noticed one track on the Rolling Thunder Revue which has a drastically different set of lyrics. The song, "Simple Twist of Fate," would have only been a year or so old, but could easily be overlooked because of the stunning series of revisions undergone by it's record-mate "Tangled Up In Blue." "Tangled" is on the Rolling Thunder Revue album as well, and its minor changes fit into the general arc of revisions that Bob put the song through during the recording. (the original is available on the first Bootleg release from Sony, and a subsequent live version is available on Dylan's 1984 "Real Live" release.)
However, "Simple Twist of Fate" undergoes a tremendous change which gifts the slight story of a chance encounter between two lovers with a new depth and beauty. The original song is colored with only a hint of regret. Rather, the song seems to rue the fickleness of chance, not the mis-steps of the song's protagonist. In the revision performed on the Rolling Thunder Revue disk, the narrator is sad and introspective, and tastes a hint of bitterness for the beauty that he has lost.
People tell me it's a crime/
to know too much for too long a time/
She should have caught me in my prime/
She would have stayed with me/
'stead of going off to sea/
And leaving me too many times/
upon that simple twist of fate
This post is already too long, but check out the original lyrics of this final verse of "Simple Twist of Fate" and contrast the voice and tenor. The difference is amazing, and Dylan's continued work on the song is a reward for his fans.
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