Singing lesson from Bob Dylan

I'm fascinated by the art of vocal intepretation. I love imagining what a singer is hearing as s/he re-casts a melody familiar to her audience. It's often said of Bob Dylan that what makes his singing interesting, in lieu of a voice that is innately pleasing tonally, is his phrasing, his interpretation of his own lyrics. I've seen Dylan live twice, both in the last three years. I've liked both shows, mostly because he seems so into it, and is aging gracefully. But interpretation for him now means the rhythm at which he spits out the lyrics, pretty much.

This version of I Want You is from a rather reknown bootleg, from a show in New Orleans in October, 1980. He was just coming out of his Christian period, just starting to sing his old songs again. And in this version, he is intepreting by really singing. He has an alternate melody in his head, one that nonetheless fits the song perfectly, and it undergirds a beautiful, rather desperate sounding performance. I think desperation is a good affective tone for this song.

There are some other gems from this show--particularly an awesome version of "Simple Twist of Fate"--that I may post at a later date.