Hard Rain & Slow Trains: Bob Dylan & Fellow Travelers

In April of 1963, Bob Dylan showcased his own songs to his largest audience yet, he finished recording for his second album, and he returned to the stages of coffee houses and clubs…until he became too big for coffee houses and clubs. Take a “Highway of Diamonds” back 60 years to the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in April of 1963...60 years ago to the month. This episode is exceptionally long (the longest ever) as it attempts to showcase Dylan’s repertoire in April of 1963 by selecting different performances from that month. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from the world of Bob Dylan, both in April of 1963 and in 2023. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote and tell us who did "Seven Curses" better: Bob Dylan on the stage of Town Hall on April 12, 1963 or Joan Baez accompanied with Bob Weir 60 years later in 2023. Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

A happy 82nd birthday to Bob Dylan from HARD RAIN & SLOW TRAINS: BOB DYLAN & FELLOW TRAVELERS from 2019 to today!

This episode is marchin' down the line...to explore Bob Dylan's March of 1963. The 60th anniversary is the diamond anniversary – visit the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in March of 1963...60 years ago to the month. Dylan appears on television for the first time in the United States, he does a couple different radio shows, he again records for Witmark and Sons, his publishing company, and his lyrics are featured in two issues of BROADSIDE magazine. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from the world of Bob Dylan, both in March of 1963 and 2023, including memorials to Billy "The Kid" Emerson, Harry Belafonte, and Gordon Lightfoot, and news about a forthcoming Dylan album due in June. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote and tell us who did "Walkin' Down the Line" better: Arlo Guthrie at Woodstock or Sierra Ferrell. Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

Dylan is in the midst of a five-night residency at the Tokyo Garden Theater before he concludes his 11-date tour of Japan with three nights in Nagoya. To commemorate his 2023 tour of Japan, HARD RAIN & SLOW TRAINS: BOB DYLAN & FELLOW TRAVELERS concludes a two-part series featuring "'Pearls from Japan': Bob Dylan in Japan." Hear highlights of Bob Dylan's Japanese concerts over the decades: 1978 to 2018. This second part features performances from 1994 to 2023...just the other night! "20 Pounds of Headlines" includes an update on Dylan's 2023 tour itinerary and news about James Mangold's upcoming biopic of Dylan, A COMPLETE UNKNOWN. "Who Did It Better?" returns this week and we ask you to vote and tell us who did "Forever Young" better: Japanese tenor Yosuke Yamamoto or Bob Dylan in Tokyo on February 28, 1978? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

On April 6, Bob Dylan returned to the stage for the first concert of 2023...in Japan. To commemorate the occasion, HARD RAIN & SLOW TRAINS: BOB DYLAN & FELLOW TRAVELERS launches the first of a two-part series featuring "'Pearls from Japan': Bob Dylan in Japan part 1". Hear highlights of Bob Dylan's Japanese concerts over the decades: 1978 to 2018. This first part features performances from 1978 to 1994. "20 Pounds of Headlines" includes an update on Dylan's 2023 tour itinerary, news about his new drummer, the relocation and opening date of the Heaven's Door whiskey bar, The Last Refuge, and the two portraits of Dylan that featured in Celine's "Portrait of a Performer" ad campaign. "Who Did It Better?" will return next week in part two.

It is an ice-cold, snowy, slushy-street February in New York City in 1963, which is where the “Highway of Diamonds” takes us this month. The 60th anniversary is the diamond anniversary – visit the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in February of 1963...60 years ago to the month. Dylan appears on a radio show, records for both Witmark and Broadside, is photographed for the cover of his next album, and has 12 songs recorded – in some accompanied by Happy Traum on banjo – for what would eventually be called “The Banjo Tape.” In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from the world of Bob Dylan, both in February of 1963 and February of 2023. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote and tell us who did "Only a Hobo" better: Bob Dylan in Folkways Studios for BROADSIDE Records in February of 1963 or Hamilton Camp  in 1964 for his second album. Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

It is a new year, which means that the “Highway of Diamonds” that takes us back 60 years – the 60th anniversary is the diamond anniversary – now takes us back to a new destination: 1963.  Visit the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in January of 1963...60 years ago to the month. The year begins with Dylan in London, rehearsing for the BBC television play authored by Evan Jones: MADHOUSE ON CASTLE STREET, performing in London clubs, and interviewed by Ronnie Gilbert for THE SCENE. On January 4, the taping for MADHOUSE ON CASTLE STREET occurs, wherein Dylan appears as Bobby the Hobo. The next day he flies to Rome where he attends an Odetta concert, performs at a folk music club, and visits the Catacombs; he records with Richard Fariña, Eric Von Schmidt, and Ethan Signer back in London; he returns to NYC and reunites with Suze Rotolo after a seven-month absence; he records with Happy Traum for Broadside Records, and he performs his new song "Masters of War" for Izzy Young and Alan Lomax in Lomax's NYC apartment while a tape recorder is running. Other new songs this month include "Girl from the North Country" and "Boots of Spanish Leather." In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from the world of Bob Dylan, both in January of 1963 and early 2023. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote and tell us who did "Masters of War" better: Bob Dylan in Alan Lomax's apartment in January of 1963 or Judy Collins a few months later in 1963 for her third album? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

We don't know what’s around the bend, but we’re heading there through 2023. This episode plays Dylan songs & those of fellow travelers dealing with what's around the bend. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we round up news from the world of Bob Dylan, which includes news about a new Dylan art book, a reminder about the forthcoming Bootleg Series, Dylan's ranking on ROLLING STONE'S new "200 Greatest Singers" list (a revision of its 2008 "100 Greatest Singers" list), and speculation about a 4k restoration of a film with Dylan in it that may be released in 2023. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to tell us who did "Death is Not the End" better: The Waterboys or Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds? Be sure to go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

Our fourth annual end-of-year, year in review episode of HARD RAIN & SLOW TRAINS: BOB DYAN & FELLOW TRAVELERS looks back to the year's worth of activities of the philosopher pirate, Bob Dylan. We remember those who we lost in 2022 and also review 2022 highlights from the world of Bob Dylan from another busy year. Happy New Year everybody!

This episode concludes the 2022 monthly series that has been celebrating the tenth anniversary of TEMPEST with this the tenth and final episode, exploring the album’s final song, "Roll on John," John Lennon, and death as an odyssey. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we round up news from the world of Bob Dylan, which includes director James Mangold’s announcement about the title of his upcoming Bob Dylan biopic and news about Ryan Adams’s recording – and making available as a free digital download on his website – his own version of Blood on the Tracks. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote this week to tell us who did “Roll on John" (the Margaret Mayo/Rufus Crisp song) better: Bob Dylan in 1962 or The Greenbriar Boys in 1964? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

In this episode we wrap up our year-long exploration of Bob Dylan's 1962. This month we are visiting December, when Bob Dylan enters Columbia Recording Studio A for the seventh and what he believed would be the final time before completing his second studio album (this turned out not to be the case), and then he boards a plane on December 16 in order to head to London to perform in Madhouse on Castle Street for the BBC: his first trip abroad. A 60th anniversary is a diamond anniversary, so this week – as we have throughout 2022 – we take a trip on "a highway of diamonds," exploring the events of Bob Dylan's career sixty years ago. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from the world of Bob Dylan, both in December of 1962 and December of 2022. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote and tell us which version of "Hero Blues" is better: the first or the fourth take? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

This episode continues a monthly, ten-part series celebrating the tenth anniversary of TEMPEST, featuring the eighth track on the album, "Tin Angel," necessitating a consideration of the presence of the murder ballad in Dylan's work and his narrative songs in general. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we round up news from the world of Bob Dylan, which includes Dylan's statement about his use of Autopen, the opening of Retrospectrum in Rome, and some developments that may get the proposed James Mangold Dylan biopic, Going Electric, closer to being greenlit. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote this week to tell us who did “Blackjack Davey" better: Bob Dylan or The White Stripes? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

Visit the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in November of 1962 as we travel "A Highway of Diamonds" back 60 years. Dylan returns to the Columbia Recording Studio A in Manhattan to finish recording his first single and to continue recording his second album. He performs at Gerde's Folk City and he prepares to leave for England. A 60th anniversary is a diamond anniversary, so this week, and throughout the year, we will periodically take a trip on "a highway of diamonds," exploring the events of Bob Dylan's career sixty years ago. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from the world of Bob Dylan, both in November of 1962 and November of 2022. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote and tell us which version of "Mixed Up Confusion" is better: the one recorded on November 1, 1962 and released 23 years later on BIOGRAPH or the one recorded on November 14, 1962 and released one month later as the A-side to Dylan's first single? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

This episode continues a monthly, ten-part series celebrating the tenth anniversary of TEMPEST, featuring the seventh track on the album, "Early Roman Kings." In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we round up news from the world of Bob Dylan, which includes the long-awaited news about Bootleg Series vol. 17 on TIME OUT OF MIND, the wrapping up of Dylan's 2022 tour, and the passing of a musician fellow traveler. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote this week to tell us who did “Early Roman Kings" better: Peter Case or Bob Dylan? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

Because of the Cuban Missile Crisis, it is a fraught month, but the day before the Crisis begins — although the Crisis was not made public for another week — Dylan performs the first of what could legitimately join his (considerably long) list of "greatest concerts." Certainly, his Gaslight performance after hours with the closed sign on the door reveals Dylan in a character and mood he would not often sustain for an entire concert again. At the end of the month, he is back in the studio performing songs for what would become The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, but instead of leaning into the tender emotive voice of the Gaslight show less than two weeks before, he plays a couple rock & roll numbers. A 60th anniversary is a diamond anniversary, so this week we are back to walking "a highway of diamonds," exploring the events of Bob Dylan's career sixty years ago. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from the world of Bob Dylan, both in October of 1962 and October of 2022. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote and tell us who did "Corrina Corrina" better: Bob Dylan, from the B-side of his first single, or the just recently departed Jerry Lee Lewis? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

“It could have been a last waltz,” Bill Flanagan wrote, “instead, it turned out to be rock & roll's greatest half time show." Thirty years ago, Sony Music hosted Columbia Records Celebrates the Music of Bob Dylan at Madison Square Garden on October 16, 1992. A double-CD concert album and a concert film, both titled Bob Dylan: The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration were released to memorialize the event. This episode will memorialize the memorialization, contextualize the concert within the lineage of other great multiact, multiheaded concerts and festivals, and it will also strip bare some of the event’s mythologization. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we round up news from the world of Bob Dylan as it was in 1992 and today, including a brief clip of Dylan reading from his forthcoming THE PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SONG, an update on his current tour itinerary, and a special guest review of another much more recent Bob Dylan Tribute Concert that took place at Town Hall in New York City, this review written by our listener Jon Olson of Arlington. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you who did "When I Paint My Masterpiece" better live, Jerry Garcia and John Kahn or The Band (minus Robbie Robertson) with Richard Bell and Jim Weider on the stage of Madison Square Garden for Columbia Records Celebrates the Music of Bob Dylan? For past episodes featuring the music of the Columbia Records Celebrates the Music of Bob Dylan concert, look up the following episodes of HARD RAIN & SLOW TRAINS: BOB DYLAN & FELLOW TRAVELERS: 10/29/2020: “All Those Who’ve Sailed with Me: Bob Dylan & His Bands part 3,” 6/10/2021: “The Great Pretender: The Music of Chrissie Hynde,” 11/11/2021: “Bloomington,” and 11/25/2021: “Playing to the Big Crowds, Playing to the Cheap Seats: Bob Dylan & The Beatles part 2.” You might also like to listen to 10/8/2020: “The Rock Era” for some more context concerning multiact and multiheaded concerts and festivals.

Last Friday, September 30, 2022 was the 25th anniversary of the release of Time Out of Mind, an album whose artistic and commercial success proved an important contributor to Dylan’s continued reinvigoration and late career success, a success that has continued to this day. This episode celebrates that album with a consideration of its making, its distinctiveness, and, of course, through its music. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we update you on Dylan’s European tour itinerary, tell you who will be reading the audiobook version of Dylan's forthcoming THE PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SONG, and mark the passing of a powerful and distinctive songwriter and singer. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote for which version of “Mississippi,” as recorded for TIME OUT OF MIND, is better: The outtake from the 1996 Teatro recording sessions in Oxnard, California, or outtake #2 or #3 from Criteria Studios in Miami.Please check out the Dylan.FM podcast over at the Freak Music Club: https://dylanfmc.castos.com. Craig Danuloff has put together a nice collection of essays celebrating the 25th anniversary of TIME OUT OF MIND and his work is a wonderful contribution to our understanding of Bob Dylan's masterpiece, now a quarter of a century old. I would like to again thank Mr. Danuloff for his permission to replay part of his interview with Scott Warmuth, a perennial friend to HARD RAIN & SLOW TRAINS: BOB DYLAN & FELLOW TRAVELERS.  

25 years ago Bob Dylan released an album whose artistic and commercial success proved an important contributor to his continued reinvigoration and late career success, a success that has continued to this day. This episode celebrates that album with a consideration of its making, its distinctiveness, and, of course, through its music. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we update you on Dylan’s European tour itinerary, remind you about a great Youtube Channel, and provide more information about both the SHADOW KINGDOM and T-Bone Burnett Ionic Originals recording sessions from 2021. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote for which version of “Can’t Wait” is better: The alternate version from the Teatro in Oxnard, California, the alternate version from Criteria Studios in Miami, or the album version.

Visit the pivotal developments of Bob Dylan's professional life in August and September of 1962 as we travel "A Highway of Diamonds" back 60 years ago. Dylan takes a trip back to Minnesota and, missing his girlfriend who was in Italy, calls up Dave Van Ronk in New York and tells John Cohen that he may never  return there without her. He legally changes his name to Bob Dylan, signs with Albert Grossman, plays parties for friends and joins the Carnegie Hall Hootenanny sixty years ago to the night of this episode's broadcast, where he unveils "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" to the world (he had debuted it before a small crowd at the Gaslight Cafe a few days earlier). A 60th anniversary is a diamond anniversary, so this week, and throughout the year, we will periodically take a trip on "a highway of diamonds," exploring the events of Bob Dylan's career sixty years ago. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from the world of Bob Dylan, both in August & September of 1962 and September of 2022. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote and tell us who did "Tomorrow is a Long Time" better: Ian & Sylvia or The Seldom Scene? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

This episode continues a monthly, ten-part series celebrating the tenth anniversary of TEMPEST, featuring the sixth track on the album, "Scarlet Town." In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we round up news from the world of Bob Dylan, which includes a countdown (from 10) until  Dylan's first tour of Europe in 3 years begins in 10 days. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote this week to tell us who did the seventeenth-century traditional Scottish ballad "Barbara Allen"  better: the Everly Brothers or Bob Dylan? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!