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This week's Record Of Note听is

is this week's Undercover Writer and

are Live on Arrival this week on the Roddy Hart Show this

Ah, the humble album review.听 As that purveyor of fine pop music 鈥� and well known philosopher 鈥� might say, it has the capacity to 鈥渕ake one man weep, make another man sing鈥�.听 The general rule of thumb that we musicians are advised to stick to is not to read any of them: no matter how tempted we may be; no matter how favourable our neighbour from across the hall tells us they have been.听 Because for every reviewer lauding our god-like command of language and subtle use of Mariachi music against a drum n bass beat on track 8, there is sure to be some ungrateful hack who just doesn鈥檛 get the vibe we were going for, man.听 So ignorance is bliss, because quite frankly negative reviews can cut right to the bone.听 We鈥檙e a delicate bunch, of that there is no doubt, but there is also pride at stake, and so I鈥檇 wager that anyone who tells you they don鈥檛 read at least some of their own reviews is most likely a big fat liar.听

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I should of course declare an interest, dear reader, given that I have an album due for release imminently.听 Reviews are beginning to trickle in, and I am trying my best not to peek.听 But it鈥檚 hard, and I have never been a man able to exercise any sort of artistic restraint when it comes to these matters.听 One thing is certain though: the older I get, the more comfortable I am in my own skin, and the less prone I find myself to bouts of uncontrollable crying and crises of confidence over bad reviews.听 Ok, maybe I鈥檓 exaggerating (I can control the tears sometimes), but there is a sense of getting to know yourself as an artist as the years advance that means reviews don鈥檛 really matter: there are more important things in life to worry about. As long as you take care to create something that you feel is an honest interpretation of where you are as a writer and performer at that particular moment in your life, then it鈥檚 history that will be the judge of your work: not the words of someone who has probably only listened to the album a handful of times before putting pen to paper. 听

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Which brings me to this week鈥檚 Record of Note: 鈥檚 Another Self Portrait.听 Covering the period 1969-1971, it鈥檚 the tenth in the exquisitely compiled Bootleg Series, which unearths previously unheard Dylan gems from the seemingly vast and bottomless pit that is the Columbia Records vaults.听 In addition to outtakes and alternative versions of tracks from the Nashville Skyline and New Morning sessions (just wait until you hear the devine 鈥淪ign On The Window鈥� with strings, or the delicate piano version of 鈥淚f Not For You鈥�), the double album also covers Dr Zimmerman鈥檚 ill-fated Self Portrait phase.听 After years of critics falling over themselves to praise Bob as the 鈥渧oice of a generation鈥�, it was the first notable time he stumbled in public: a strange collection of cover versions and stray dogs that did little to embolden the legend.听 In fact, if the knives were being sharpened in secret during Bob鈥檚 foray into country music with Nashville Skyline, they were well and truly out when he delivered 1970鈥檚 Self Portrait.听 The reviews weren鈥檛 simply bad, they were vicious.听 In fact, magazine鈥檚 Greil Marcus famously opened his review with the devastating words: 鈥淲hat is this s**t?鈥�.

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So there is some sweet irony in the fact that Mr Marcus is the man paying tribute in the liner notes of this new Bootleg album, allowed some time and perspective to view the album in the context of the whole Dylan oeuvre.听 In fact Marcus probably wasn鈥檛 that far off the mark with his original assessment: there is no doubt that Self Portrait is bloated and challenging, the sign of an artist wishing to break free the chains of expectation and responsibility that so obviously constrained him as the 60s reached their end.听 But what the bootleg versions reveal is a man as sharp as ever in the studio: there are some stunningly tender moments to behold (Bob singing 鈥淪panish Is The Loving Tongue鈥� whilst sitting at an old upright piano, or walking his way through the traditional 鈥淧retty Saro鈥� on a charmingly out of tune guitar being just two).听 It鈥檚 revelatory, and frequently beautiful.听 And we鈥檒l be investigating from .

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In his magnificent book Chronicles, Dylan talks of the critics turning on Melville鈥檚 Moby Dick.听 鈥淏y the time of his death he was largely forgotten鈥�, says Bob, 鈥淚 had assumed that when critics dismissed my work, the same thing would happen to me鈥�.听 All art may be subjective, and all human beings entitled to freely express their opinions, but time has told us that Bob Dylan is the greatest whale hunter of them all.听 And we don鈥檛 need to read it in a goddamn review to know it.

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