The Greatest American Songwriter.

Originally posted by HenryPatrick
It is truly a shame that more people don't know more of the music that he made after the break-up of the Beatles

That is a fact.

If you compare John's solo stuff with Paul's you can really see who was the one who kept the Beatles music 'cool', and not all Muzac as Paul tended towards.

The only song of John's that makes me cringe is Imagine, probably because it's been so overplayed.

reply to post by HenryPatrick


I know that Iam kind o fmusically and poeticaly a ignoramus of sorts for not being turned on by Dylan, but he just can't seep into my heart, I once jammed a couple of tiimes with friends to "Ya Gotta Serve Somebody" and I felt the message as I played the guitar(sic).
But it may be his voice, it may be his hat, but I've never bought a record of his



But it does haunt me from time to time , so i will as you advise try again?

If its an English speaking songwriter, then David Bowie must be mentioned?

The sheer volume of brilliant original songs is awesome in quality and scope?

To the doubters here are a few titles

Space Oddity, The Jean Genie,Life on Mars, Changes,Surfragette City, The Bewlay Brothers, Quicksand,John

I'm Only Dancing, Golden Years, Fame ,Wild Is The Wind ,Five Years, Ashes To Ashes, Teenage Wildlife,

The Lonliest Guy, Modern love, Loving The Alien, Letter To Hermoine, The Cygnet Commitee, Warsawa, Sense Of Doubt, Sound And Vision, 1984, We Are The Dead, Rebel Rebel,....and dare I say "Song For Bob Dylan"

reply to post by Dr Expired


I am a huge David Bowie fan myself. A true genius, he is. I am not too sure I would put him in the "greatest ever" discussion, but that is hard to say and he certainly is as close as you can get. Hard to think of a better song than "Moonage Daydream" though.

And if the conventional Dylan you have heard doesn't turn you on, may I suggest picking up the "At Budokan" double disc? It is electric Dylan and both discs are great, but disc 1 is off the charts fantastic and all the songs are arranged differently than you have heard before. Just a suggestion, also the bootleg series discs they have been releasing the last decade are great too.

reply to post by HenryPatrick
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You kno wthe freakiest thing is today I was trying to remember which song I left out of the post I posted last night when pretty drunk on cheap Lambrusco....it was Moonage Daydream....the song you know of course stated so decisively as a brilliant song.
That is weird mate, because that is the song both in recorded and live version that is a s you say.

As a kid I played that at volume ten over and over.

They say Bowie played the adrogynous card , but I never saw him at all in a sexual way, I saw him as a seeker, someone who had the confidence to ride the space between the stars, and say ' Fook the grey, Fook the 9 to 5, Fook the selling out to the pay packet doing prostitution, fook the knockers, fook the bully boys, fook the sneering hateful sniping dogs that urinate on my dreams,Iam DAVID BOWIE.

Fook I wish I had one tenth of his courage, and the width of his circle.

Bernard Summner, Peter Hook, Stephen Morris , the surviving three of Joy Division plus of course Ian Curtis when he was alive only?

Listen to them , and even Bowie sings "My death " without coming across as an angel of darkness, he just sounds still bloody scary.

reply to post by HenryPatrick


I love Zappa (that's how I found myself in your thread haha) but what I've heard of this guy, while pleasant and sincere, conflicts with my own evaluation of the "greatest" American songwriters

Zappa being a given, I think that folks like Michael Hedges and Leo Kottke get FAAAAR too little recognition..

sure they have their fans, but the problem with a lot of "experimental" or "outsider" music, is that their fans AREN'T evangelists like the fans of Linkin Park or something like that.. Fans of Zappa LOVE the music itself and RESPECT the man behind it, but there's not much of a cult of personality, as there is with most pop.

Also, R. Stevie Moore is an artist that has been entirely ignored by most people (even fans of experimental music) because he doesn't entirely reside in Pop or Outsider-music (although he is often labeled the latter) but I think that this quality itself, is all the more reason to listen!!!

also, Moondog is another musician that i will promote until my deathbed haha. The man wrote albums upon albums of amazing material that most people haven't heard (he influenced both Philip Glass and Steve Reich and was actually a mentor and good friend with both of them)

just my few cents.