I have always been a fan of Bob Dylan as a songwriter and learned guitar and harmonica to play his many memorable songs. It was a delight to see his musical, Girl from the North Country, created and directed by Irish playwright, Conor McPherson, and broadcast recently by PBS. The cast, though relatively unknown to the general public, was excellent. The production reimagined 20 Bob Dylan songs, some relatively unknown except for the showstopper, “Like a Rolling Stone,” and it is set in 1934 Duluth, Minnesota, during the great depression. Duluth is Bob Dylan’s hometown. Tony Award-winning orchestrator Simon Hale provided the music for the show.
The plot is nonexistent. A group of travelers meet in a guesthouse and express themselves through music. The show has a feel reminiscent of John Steinbeck’s novel, Grapes of Wrath. Though many of the songs do not directly connect with the dramatic situation, they are songs that still resonate, including: "Forever Young," "All Along the Watchtower," "Hurricane," and, of course, "Like A Rolling Stone," Dylan’s most celebrated song. Currently, “Like a Rolling Stone” is the number one most significant popular song by an American, moving up from being number two. In the musical, Girl from the North Country, Mare Winningham sings “Like a Rolling Stone, playing a woman who is mentally disabled and whose husband is cheating on her; she gives a thrilling performance.
I find Dylan’s voice expressive and moving, though he can sound angry in some of the early “protest” songs. That is appropriate. He comes from a folk and blues tradition. For someone with a voice that is considered noncommercial, Dylan seems to have many of them and sang his effective, “Restless Farewell” at the 80th birthday celebration for Frank Sinatra. Sinatra chose the song. In a lineup that included Tony Bennet, Bruce Springsteen, Ray Charles, Natalie
Cole, Salt-N-Pepa, Bono and Tony Bennett, Bob Dylan were the standout and did the only original song.
Bob Dylan has often been criticized for his blues-sounding husky drawl and once struck back at the critics. Here he is at an awards event in 2015 speaking to his critics:
“Critics have been giving me a hard time since day one,” he said. “Critics say I can’t sing. I croak. Sound like a frog. Why don’t critics say that same thing about Tom Waits? Critics say my voice is shot. That I have no voice. Why don’t they say those things about Leonard Cohen? Why do I get special treatment? Critics say I can’t carry a tune and I talk my way through a song. Really? I’ve never heard that said about Lou Reed. Why does he get to go scot-free?”
Dylan left out Louis Armstrong, a great trumpet player known for his gravelly voice.
I agree with Dylan’s assessment of the critics. Do folk singers and pop vocalists need mellifluous voices? Had Dylan remained an obscure folk singer and not become one of the most famous singer-songwriters on the planet, no one would have criticized his vocals, which on some albums were actually quite smooth. The album, New Morning, comes to mind. Shadows in the Night released by Columbia Records on February 3, 2015, consists of covers of traditional pop standards made famous by Frank Sinatra. Dylan found a softer voice to pull it off.
If PBS reruns the film of the stage show, “Girl from the North Country,” don’t miss it.
(0) comments
Welcome to the discussion.
Log In