Everyone has a favorite Zimmerman

I was reading Mark's blog this evening and saw that his favorite Dylan song is "Ballad of a Thin Man". Quite a good choice on his part as it is clearly one of Dylan's best in my book as well. Earlier I had a talk with the lady Lauren & she revealed that her personal Dylan song is "Tangled Up In Blue", another fantastic pick. And for years my Dad has told me of his love for "Joey" off the "Desire" album. (probably my favorite Dylan album) As for mine, I will go with "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" from the "Live At The Royal Albert Hall" album. Never (in my opinion) has Dylan ever sounded as nasty as when he sings "started out on burgundy but soon hit the harder stuff / everybody said they'd stand behind me when the game got rough / yes but the joke was on me, there was nobody there to even call my bluff / i'm goin' back to new york city, i do believe i've had enough!". Amazing.


So what is YOUR favorite Dylan song?

summer

photo by dana

To Ramona

Ramona, come closer,
Shut softly your watery eyes.
The pangs of your sadness
Shall pass as your senses will rise.
The flowers of the city
Though breathlike, get deathlike at times.
And there's no use in tryin'
T' deal with the dyin',
Though I cannot explain that in lines.

Your cracked country lips,
I still wish to kiss,
As to be under the strength of your skin.
Your magnetic movements
Still capture the minutes I'm in.
But it grieves my heart, love,
To see you tryin' to be a part of
A world that just don't exist.
It's all just a dream, babe,
A vacuum, a scheme, babe,
That sucks you into feelin' like this.

I can see that your head
Has been twisted and fed
By worthless foam from the mouth.
I can tell you are torn
Between stayin' and returnin'
On back to the South.
You've been fooled into thinking
That the finishin' end is at hand.
Yet there's no one to beat you,
No one t' defeat you,
'Cept the thoughts of yourself feeling bad.

I've heard you say many times
That you're better 'n no one
And no one is better 'n you.
If you really believe that,
You know you got
Nothing to win and nothing to lose.
From fixtures and forces and friends,
Your sorrow does stem,
That hype you and type you,
Making you feel
That you must be exactly like them.

I'd forever talk to you,
But soon my words,
They would turn into a meaningless ring.
For deep in my heart
I know there is no help I can bring.
Everything passes,
Everything changes,
Just do what you think you should do.
And someday maybe,
Who knows, baby,
I'll come and be cryin' to you.

- Bob Dylan

rough list of songs being worked on

as of 8/5/09

- lay down your weary arms
- a boat with too many michaels
- yes i know what day it is
- no i'm not a fucking architect
- frida shoes, dylan's blues, amelia's hat
- the mission
- tired of the casual goddess
- danaesque
- ghost songs
- come on carol
- wondering
- the black & white photographer

what has he been doing?

recording recording recording recording.......etc

more updates soon. i have a wedding to attend.

congrats to my friends ian & katie!


photo by iain macadam

Outlaw Blues

how about some "outlaw blues"? feel the warmth.

Don't Let Me Down (live backyard session)

thanks to super friend of the band andy (http://www.youtube.com/user/toomanythreads) we have a clip of the graduation party we got to play at last month. check out "don't let me down" & andy's youtube channel, he has some great stuff on there. do it!

Gordon Waller 1945-2009

Gordon Waller was one half of the 1960's duo Peter & Gordon. Known for singing songs given to them by Paul McCartney, Peter & Gordon were highly successful in the early 60's with hits such as: World Without Love, I Don't Wanna See You Again, I Go To Pieces, Woman, & Nobody I Know.
I had the chance to see him perform a few years ago at Beatlefest in Irvine. He was very funny and still in strong voice. One of the interesting things about seeing him live was how much of an Elvis fan he obviously was. Peter & Gordon's close harmonies remain a huge influence on my music.
You've Had Better Times

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1960's Cover Project: Song 2 - Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)

"Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)"

(click the divshare logo to download)
The first track off the second disc of the 1966 double album Blonde on Blonde, the seventh album from singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. The lyrics speak of a man who has grown tired of the constant guessing at his partner's feelings and is going to move on with his life rather than continue fighting the unpredictability of his partner. The song presents a feeling of change and movement that was one of the trademarks of the 1960s. This song has a swinging beat and is representative of the album's sound as a whole.
I've always admired this song's lyrics and phrasing. Dylan is (obviously) the master of phrasing and I cannot say enough on how much of a influence he has been on my writing. "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)" was a bit of a challenge for me as far as the vocals were concerned. I tried giving it my own feel, but really had to let some of the Dylan style creep through just a bit. My favorite line in the whole song has to be "you say my kisses are not like his, and i'm not gonna tell you why that is, i'm just gonna let you pass, yes and i'll go last...." such venom and yet so calm in its delivery. Dylan is the man. Go find his version right now!

New Weekly Feature: The 1960's Cover Project, Song #1 Soldier Of Love

"Soldier of Love (Lay Down Your Arms)" is a 1962 song, written by Buzz Cason and Tony Moon, originally recorded by soul artist Arthur Alexander, appearing as a B-side to his single "Where Have You Been". The song was later covered by The Beatles during a 1963 session on the BBC, which is available on the album Live at the BBC.

(click on the 'divshare' logo to download the mp3)

Hello Folks! We here at the Paul Starling blog have decided to start a weekly feature we would like to call "The 1960's Cover Project". Each week I will record a new cover of a 1960's song that I find to be of rare or interesting value. Rare or interesting you say? What does that mean? Well it means you won't be hearing "Good Vibrations" or "My Girl". You WILL be hearing songs that you may have never heard before, which, is the goal of this project. The idea is that you will hear my version and then seek out the original (which will always be much better). As most of you know I am a complete Beatle-nut, and one of the things (besides the other million) I've always enjoyed was finding the original versions of songs they would cover. I've found countless artists that I would have never heard of this very way. Some of those are: Little Richard, The Shirelles, Del Shannon, Peter & Gordon, Dusty Springfield, & this weeks artist; Arthur Alexander.
I first heard "Soldier Of Love" when my parents bought me "The Beatles: Live At The BBC" for my 13th birthday. I can remember driving with my whole family to my birthday dinner and listening to "Soldier Of Love" over and over again on my discman. I couldn't believe The Beatles never officially recorded this song at Abbey Road. (I must clear something up for you non-Beatle-nuts. The "Live At The BBC" album contains songs the band recorded specifically for the BBC's radio shows of the time. This means that many songs they played live were recorded (not very well) for the radio, but not for any of their official albums) "Soldier Of Love" always stuck in my mind as the highlight of the BBC album, and I found myself using it as a warm up song quite often. The chords are very simple (Bm,D,Em,A etc) and the melody just seems cut thru so very nicely. My cover version above stays pretty close to the Beatles version, with maybe a little bit more electric guitar than they had. I highly recommend checking out their version on "Live At The BBC".