Bob Dylan Fans -- I need help!

magenta321 · #1 11-30-2001, 04:11 AM

Ok, I finally decided I am going to get my dad a Bob Dylan gift set for Christmas. He really likes Bob Dylan. Personally, I think Dylan would be much better if other people sang his songs, but hey -- we're not shopping for me here!

Ok, so here's where I need help. I want to get my father either a boxed set or a collection of individual albums that Dylan has made. I thought this would be easy, but I am looking at Amazon.com right now and I am completely overwhelmed. I think he had all of Dylan's albums into the 70s, but they are all rotting in the basement since he threw his turn-table away.

I do know his favorite song is that really grating one (which one isn't? Oh, sorry.) where he goes something like "Ma's in the kitchen cooking up [something], [someone's] in the basement thinking 'bout the government. Look out kid, [mumble mumble]..." I would like whatever I buy him to have this song on it.

Depending on price, I am also thinking of including a Dylan book with this gift. IE, if I already spent over $75, he doesn't get a book. If I spend under $75, he gets a book.

Thanks for any help you can give, and my appologies to Dylan fans every where. (God, now I know how my mom felt when she had to buy my cousins and I Ozzy Osbourne albums).

PS, my father HATES collections of music that have all the outtakes, or other assorted junk. He claims he likes the "real deal". Oy.

magenta321 · #2 11-30-2001, 04:44 AM

Subterrenean Homesick Blues. My father would be very angry that I did not remember the name of his favorite song. God, all those years I spent locked in my room trying not to listen to that god-awful song. I must have done a pretty good job not listening to it, despite the fact it was so LOUD!

Ahhh... thank god for the wireless head phones I got him for Father's Day.

**taurusmoon** · #3 11-30-2001, 07:28 AM

Dylan actually has a new release out now: Love and Theft. Is it possible that your father hasn't run out and bought it yet?

As far as collections go, look at:

Essential Bob Dylan
Biograph
Bootleg Series - Vol. 1-3

And, yes, there are several tribute albums where other people sing his work. That might be a good compromise for you.

Sara
Everybody must get Dylan

magenta321 · #4 11-30-2001, 11:20 AM

Ok, Love and Theft is in my shopping cart, along with an import album of his greatest hits. However, I just did some preliminary snooping, and it looks like he already has amassed a decent number of Dylan cds. He has a greatest hits cd (I'll need to take a closer look at this and make sure its not all the same greatest hits on the one I want to buy), Highway 61 Revisited, Blood on the Tracks, Times they are A Changin', and a couple others I can't think of off the top of my head. I'm wondering if he already has all the "good" songs, and my gift search is somewhat futile.

My other idea was to get the essential albums of the 60s (I was thinking a Dylan album, a Stones album, and.... hmmm... something he doesn't have, cause he has every Beatles album) and making a gift basket of them, but he seems to have a ton of Stones albums already too. Sigh.

Now mind you, I've already been shopping for this man for a month. I started out with all the gadget things, went to clothing, and now I'm on music. I am running out of options! What do you get a man who absolutely has everything, but refuses to use gift certificates!?!? Oy. Christmas is waaaaaaay too stressful!

lambchops · #5 11-30-2001, 11:43 AM

You may be better off going the 'essential' way. Check out Hendrix, The Doors, Janis Joplin, Dylan, Bowie (

), The Stones, etc...

If my dad were cooler & knew how to operate a CD player I would try it myself!

magenta321 · #6 11-30-2001, 11:46 AM

Ug, he has Love and Theft -- I didn't see it 'cause it was a burned cd. The good news is that the greatest hits album he has only has like 10 songs, and the one I want to get him has way more.

Hmm. I'm really stuck on the idea of getting him a gift basket type thing of all music (and music related books) on a theme. I think I will get him the import greatest hits still, and I have a Dylan book picked out, but I'd like two more cds from someone, not necessarily Dylan. Hmm. Scratchin' head.

This is when I start hating Christmas.

magenta321 · #7 12-12-2001, 02:29 AM

Ug. A little bit ago I posted how Amazon is RUINING my Christmas and stressing me out to no end.

Anyhoo, I decided that I need to have a complete Bob Dylan gift for my dad, and then I'll buy him the Nascar 2001 Yearbook as a second gift so that I have enough.

On the Dylan front, I am burning my father some Dylan cds. A sort of assembled "best of" type thing. Now, if any of you are Dylan fans, I could use help with the list of songs. Here's what I have so far, but I am not a Dylan fan, so if you know anything essential I am missing, please let me know!

1. Blowin In The Wind
2. Don't Think Twice It's All Right
3. A Hard Rain's A Gonna Fall
4. The Time They Are A Changin'
5. It Ain't Me Babe
6. Subterranean Homesick Blues
7. It's All Over Now Baby Blue
8. She Belongs To Me
9. Mr Tambourine Man
10. Positively 4th Street
11. Like A Rolling Stone
12. I Want You
13. Rainy Day Woman Nos 12 & 35
14. Just Like A Woman
15. All Along The Watchtower
16. I'll Be Your Baby Toight
17. Lay Lady Lay
18. If Not For You
19. I Shall Be Released
20. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
21. Forever Young
22. Tangled Up In Blue
23. Hurricane
24. Changing Of The Guard
25. Gotta Serve Somebody
26. Every Grain Of Sand
27. Jokerman
28. Emotionally Yours
29. Brownsville Girl
30. Silvio
31. Love Sick
32. Things Have Changed

Right now, I could probably make two cds out of it. If I am missing anything and anyone in EA is kind enough to point it out to me, I will just see if I can fit it on, or break it up into three cds.

What do you think of the list?

magenta321 · #8 12-12-2001, 02:36 PM

Well, I posted a little bit ago that I was not going to add any more songs, but then I realized I didn't have that "I was so much older then, I'm younger than that now" song. So I googled around and found out it's called "My Back Pages." I know my dad likes that one.

So I searched around some more, and came up with another ten or so songs. I am going to hold off on creating cd 3 though, in case I (or someone here) comes up with other must haves for this one.