Chimes of Freedom Commentary, Part 4

So here we are.  Four posts later, four discs later and about 5 hours later, I finally wrap up this:  the most unnecessary series of entries ever.  I'm still not sure if this compilation deserved four entire entries, but its one of those things that seemed like a good idea at the time.  Besides, I got it in my head that I wanted to not just listen to this entire compilation, I really wanted to take it in and absorb the effort that went into it.  I wanted to give every song a fair shot and then see where that left me in the end:  Wanting to delve into the Bob Dylan catalog proper?  Or to just walk away without a care.

Chimes of Change Commentary, Part 3

And so we know the drill by now.  I listen to folks cover Bob Dylan and I talk about it.  Sometimes I like it and sometimes I don't.  In almost every case, though, I'm saying:  "Somebody get me a Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits CD."

Chimes of Change Commentary Part 2

If there is one thing I can take away from the first disc (besides the fact that Mariachi El Bronx is far better than the concept is on paper), it's that I desperately need to get my hands on Bob Dylan's proper back catalog.  The best part of all the songs are the songs themselves, regardless of who is covering them and how.

Chimes of Change Commentary, Part 1

Here's a little secret for you:  I'm not that well versed in the works of Bob Dylan.  Sure, I know the big Dylan songs.  I know about the watchtowers and the times that are a-changin', but the rest of his extremely large back catalog has always seemed far too intimidating for me to step into.  It's one of those things that I keep saying I'll do eventually, but it seems like every year that goes by, there's a new album or well reviewed installment in his Bootleg Series that gets added to the pile of albums that I'm not currently listening to.

So, this puts me in a strange position for the recently released 4-disc compilation:  Chimes of Freedom:  The Songs of Bob Dylan, a massive work featuring 70-some different artists and bands tackling the songs of Bob Dylan in support of Amnesty International.  One would think that I'd be better served listening to 4 random actual Dylan albums; or, at the least, some of his many greatest-hits compilations that are out there.  That's probably true.