Bob Dylan — Something There Is About You. Planet Waves. 1974
Bob Dylan and The Band
Bob Dylan -- Guitar, Harmonica /
THE BAND
Robbie Robertson -- Guitar
Rick Danko -- Bass
Levon Helm -- Drums
Garth Hudson -- Organ
Richard Manual -- Drums, Piano
Recorded November 5, 6 & 9 1973.
Village Recorder, 1616 Butler, West LA
Engineer -- Bob Fraboni
Assisted -- Nat Jeffery
Special Assistance -- Robbie Robertson
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Released 17th January, 1974
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I recall the first time listening to this album. The weeks afterwards, listening more.. a cold bright winter, many years ago. I tend to listen to the album more in the winter, and associate it with that time. Thank you to Robbie Robertson, for all the music over the years. Thank you to Bob Dylan, and The Band. ~
"May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift"
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Over the years I would often consider Planet Waves as being up there with one of my favourite Bob Dylan albums (with about another 25 or more of them.. haha), it always seems to have an usual feel to it, maybe as I associate with this time, cold late afternoon winter days, turning into nights.. I was in a cold attic room, and by lamplight I could sometimes see my breath — listening to this album, the songs seemed to reflect that in some kind of way, and the spirit in me would sing. .. opening a bottle of dark red wine, walking down the line
"Thought I’d shaken the wonder and the phantoms of my youth
Rainy days on the Great Lakes, walkin’ the hills of old Duluth
There was me and Danny Lopez, cold eyes, black night and then there was Ruth
Something there is about you that brings back a long-forgotten truth"
Maybe recently I haven't listened to the album as much as I did a decade or two ago, but I am listening to it today today. On a hot summer's day.
"Something there is about you that strikes a match in me
Is it the way your body moves or is it the way your hair blows free?
Or is it because you remind me of something that used to be
Somethin’ that crossed over from another century?"
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Thank you for this reflection. These songs turned the soul of this fine poet back to his sources and origin that had been covered by dirt, wine, bad-dark women, song, dirty money...the Spirit helped him tear the masks away, and take the weight of self-lies and listening to other people including family&friends telling him who he should be. There's still mixture, but his heart was asking significant and meaningful questions...Dirge-the naked Truth is still taboo/I hate myself for loving you, the need that was expressed in that dirty hotel/as I walked down on 7th Street/where angels weep and play with sin/...here's a man who hungers for Jesus/a way out of the confusion expressed in Blonde on blonde, which I call confusion upon confusion of walking down the wrong road...but this is a great testament album to a fine poet and man of God who is finding forgiveness not only from God, but from himself...this demanding perfectionist artist/man hard on himself..and as he said in a recent album in 2022-23--I was carrying a load I wasn't meant to carry...think Robbie Robertson understood something about taking THE WEIGHT off Annie, and put it right back on me. Thank you.