Sam Shepard Has Died
 

A bit late on this, I know, but I have to say – the song Sam Shephard co-wrote with Dylan called ‘Brownsville Girl’ is Dylan’s lost mid-80s masterpiece. The story, the imagery, Dylan’s phrasing & the rhythm in his voice, etc. – just stunning. If that was the standard that Dylan and Shephard were going to set, I only wish they’d written a few more songs together. RIP in Sam.

Yes, a tremendous song on a pretty terrible album. And it's something like nine minutes long.

Agreed John. Dylan's work between Infidels (1983) and Oh Mercy (1989) wasn't great, the notable exception is 'Brownsville Girl' (and possibly Dark 'Eyes').

Who knows, maybe Bob wasn't really trying in the mid-80s, although the deplorable production technqiues of the day certainly didn't help. Ah the 80s - the decade that music & fashion forgot.

As you say! But if those are the dates of the Traveling Wilburys, there are also songs like "Tweeter and the Monkey Man":

Tweeter was a boy scout till she went to Vietnam,
And found out the hard way nobody gives a damn.

That's in my pantheon of Dylan couplets.

Cheers,
John

I like that. Great pickup.

Off the top of my head, my favourite Dylan couplet, is from the 1978 live version of ‘The Man in Me’

I can't believe it, I can't believe it's true
I'm lying next to her, but I'm dreaming of you

To chat about Dylan a moment more... and I guess he's been endorsed from Sweden....
Is that off the Budokan album? I had and perhaps still have that. I'm thinking you in 1978 might be God.
Hard to pick a favorite Dylan couplet, but I for some reason think of Highway 61 Revisited:

God said to Abraham, kill me a son;
Abe said Man, you must be putting me on.

There was a UK call-in for the top openings in rock history, and i believe that won.

Cheers,
John

It's not on Budokan - it's from a great bootleg I have from the '78 tour called 'Rundown Rehearsals' which should definitely be released by Columbia Records some day.

Hard to top that opening to 'Highway 61 Revisisted'. We could probably go on for hours, but I always loved the opening to the Warren Zevon song 'For My Next Trick I'll Need a Volunteer':

I can saw a woman in two
But you won't want to look in the box when I’m through

I have a soft spot for Warren Zevon. Thanks for sharing that opening, it's new to me...
I think another contender was a-wop bop a lu-bop a wop bam-boom!

Cheers,
John