The Obligatory “Another Self Portrait — First Reactions” post

Another Self Portrait

I thought I’d make the “First Reactions” post short and sweet:

1. Time passes slowly #1 & 2 are definitely keepers.

2. The new piano version of Spanish Is The Loving Tongue is nice too, but nowhere near the circulating solo piano version. It’s a step in the direction of its consummate cousin, but it comes nowhere near it on any scale.

3.  does not redeem (“What’s this shit?”) as an album, but the new tracks do add to a more nuanced picture of the project (or less pompously: the development) that Self Portrait is a witness of.

4. The Isle of Wight concert is the first and probably the most radical re-invention Dylan has made in his entire career. Going electric was nothing in comparison.

5. Who will be the first to find the source from which Dylan has stolen the cover image? A flickr account? An underrated b/w photographer from the 30s? A Barnes & Nobles commercial delivered to the tour bus in Stirling Castle during the 2003 2001 tour?

More to come. Tabs too.

14 thoughts on “The Obligatory “Another Self Portrait — First Reactions” post”

  1. i suspect the art was done by dylan, getting into the spirit of the original by making an even shittier painting.

      1. by the way, eyolf, your site seems to think i’m using both linux and safari :P (i’m using chromium of course).

          1. Yup – now it thinks I’m on safari too. So chromium apparently doesn’t set its own stamp on the webkit engine strongly enough to distinguish it from Safari. Interesting.

  2. The cover art was no doubt done by Dylan but it is not a self-portrait. Looks like a portrait of Tommy Makem.

    1. That’s actually a very interesting suggestion. It does look like Makem, and he would be a fitting illustration to an album — which actually contains very little Oyrish. Even the old ballad House Carpenter has been turned into a blues song.

  3. Miss the Point here maybe;its straight outta basement Tapes Feeling and with Lots of Great singing,Fun for just Doing it and Being in Love with your Life your wive and your Kids.and the two gypsies are striking both,;as was the Take on NM

  4. Please write an entire post about the Isle of Wight.

    Now I have a recording good enough to listen to on headphones, I am increasingly fascinated by it, and I suspect you can tell me something about why. I was there, and I had a great time, but I knew in the moment it wasn’t 1966 anymore, and that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. And who else, except perhaps Elvis Presley, would screw up the words to his biggest hit and still release that take?

  5. Sorry guys, you’re all barking up the wrong tree.

    It’s a stunningly life-like portrait of Mick McCarthy, former Irish Republic football manager. A plain-speaking Barnsley born & bred Yorkshire tyke.

    Opens up whole new realms of Zimmy-related speculation, I’d hazard!

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