Opening Day Look Back at the Weird, Old America

Martin Scorsese's new documentary ROLLING THUNDER REVUE - A BOB DYLAN STORY premiered on Netflix today, and I eagerly renewed my lapsed subscription to enjoy it on Opening Day. I had a complicated response to it and probably won't be writing about it anywhere else at great length, but three things I will say:

1) Dylan's alert and seething performances are Punk BEFORE Punk;

2) Joni Mitchell sure had some ace chord changes in her;

and 3) the escalating duel of masks between Dylan and Roger McGuinn during the chorus of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" is as scary as anything in ONIBABA.

Because it's gnawing at me, I'll toss in one more:

4) I've never considered Allen Ginsberg a great poet, but he was a writer - and thus well above playing valet to anyone on this tour, as a requirement of staying on it. Just hearing about this indignity recalled to mind the words "dime", "prime" and "didn't you?"

(c) 2019 by Tim Lucas. All rights reserved.