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Jesse: "To me John Lennon doesn't belong anywhere near this conversation. He is a great songwriter, but clearly his lyrics can't hang with the others mentioned here."
I’ve followed Dylan’s work all my adult life and have seen him twice on stage. (The live concerts were garbled and poorly produced , imo.) He has been, without question, the quintessential bard of our time. From the standpoint of folk music, he catalyzed the genre and sent it hurtling into rock. Unquestionably a great artist and a fine poet.
But for pure artistic genius and for the sheer honesty of his solo work I still want Lennon on the stage with Dylan, reflecting the angst of our times, speaking relentlessly about love, writing unvarnished personal lyrics of pain and redemption and religion and family and power and war.
Just Gimme some truth, The kind Mr. Tambourine Man played in the jingle jangle morning, and I’ll follow.
John: "Bob Dylan is not a pop singer."
No he's not. Nor is Lennon's solo work (see my response to Jesse). I like my music lyrics like I like my poetry: first and foremost personal, with clear, broader implications. Both Dylan and Lennon are masters at that.
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