What is this shit? Well, this shit is Bob Dylan’s “Self Portrait”. Greil Marcus from “Rolling Stone” Magazine famously decried this album with the opening line of my review; but isn’t that what Bob wanted all along?
I chose to focus mainly on the song “Copper Kettle” from this album. Like most of the offerings, this is a cover of an old folk tune. Written by Alfred Frank Beddoe, this seems to be the one saving grace people find on this less than critically acclaimed record. The song has historical tones and what could be loosely veiled as an allusion of the drug culture prevalent in Dylan’s time. Lyrically this song is not all that special. It is a cover, so first off Dylan’s own lyrical gift is not touching this certain set. Secondly, the song is basically just giving a nondescript set of directions on how to make moonshine in a copper kettle. Riveting stuff I know.
Even Bob can't stay up through it.
Bob Dylan’s motorcycle accident in 1966 caused a lot of change in Bob Dylan. He went on the straight and narrow, cleaned up his drug habit and began his family life. He has a previous song, “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” where a certain man is mixing up medicine in the basement; this could be almost a direct correlation. This song could have been chosen so he could do the same song, just with prohibition instead of methamphetamines. He also understands that life style; constantly hiding your addictions and wrong doings. He had to hide his relationships, his drugs and aspects of his personal life from the public. He had to quit touring and go into exile post accident to gain any semblance of a stable life.
This delving into his past also conjures up thoughts of his previous fan base, as this song was made famous by one Joan Baez in 1962. Whether or not Dylan knew this, and I believe he would have, may have been another reason he chose to do it. It matches up with some of his antics and lifestyle (that of being a jerk).
This was an interesting release for Dylan as he was coming off the ultra successful run in the 1960s. He has even said it was kind of a joke and he used it to get the “voice of a generation” tag off his back. Why a man would flee from the adulation he was seeking is only a question Bob Dylan can answer. Good luck understanding his garbled words though. Despite his attempt, even at 72, Dylan is still very much in the public eye. He also looks like my pal Blake Hammond.
