I was reading the thread, trying to think how to express my love for Dylan’s singing and I think this is it. I also love Kim Carnes’ voice and Lou Reed’s singing.
I’m seeing Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and John Mellencamp in a couple of months. While some of Dylan’s recordings are good, I’ve never heard anything good about his live performances. I’m kind of dreading seeing his show and may even bring a book of Jumble puzzles or something similar to occupy my time while he’s on stage.
I remember up through The River, a good number of folk would say they couldn’t stand Springsteen’s voice.
And when I joined a band in college in 80, the front man said he never thought he could sing, until one day he was listening to Dylan and thought, “If HE can do it…”
Nowadays I tend towards bluegrass/oldtime. IMO, Del McCoury is just about as good as a traditional 5-piece BG band gets. Yet A LOT of folk say his voice makes their ears bleed.
Judge for yourself!
Ain’t personal taste a wonderous thing!
BTW - High on a Mountain was written by Ola Belle Reed. If you’ve never heard of her, you oughta!
Dylan was an oddity, even in his most prolific time as a folk singer, in the early 1960s, before he hired The Band and switched to rock. His weird, almost hypnotic vocal style made him stand out, and many people thought of him as a joke, but they couldn’t deny his writing. Though many people on the folk scene had nice or at least adequate voices (Tom Paxton for example), many others didn’t. I never could stand Joan Baez, but she was huge, as was Joni Mitchell, who definitely had a peculiar singing voice. I still can’t listen to Neil Young, however. It’s a matter of taste.
My first thought was “No, that’s one of the other Wilburys sounding like Bob. They really influenced each other.”
From the comments on YouTube:
Tom Petty sings the first 4 lines of the verses (“as i was slowly passing…”). George Harrison sings from line 5 to 8 from the verses (“a lonely boy was standing…”). Jeff Lynne sings the first part of the chorus (“I’m nobody’s child…”) and Bob Dylan the second part of the chorus (“got no mommy’s kisses…”).
Now if we are talking about irritating voices… 
^Too soon!!
He actually switched from rock to folk and then back again. He played rock in Minnesota, and his single “Mixed Up Confusion” from very early is quite a nice rock song.
As for his voice, pick an era. He sounds different on his first album than he does on Highway 61 than he does on Nashville Skyline than he does on the Wilburys than he does using his gravelly voice today. I like all of them myself.
I feel like I should like Joni Mitchell, and I just can’t due to her voice. Maybe that’s how some feel about Dylan.
And then there’s Tom Waits.
You are not alone. I was 15 when “Like a Rolling Stone” was released, couldn’t stand his “singing” then, never have since. The only exception I can think of is “Nashville Skyline” - the singing was more bearable but I didn’t like the songs.
However, I do understand that I’m missing out on some lyrics that apparently blow people away. My loss.
I like a lot of Dylan’s songs but not his singing. I felt the same way about Willie Nelson, except that I liked him so much on a personal level that I really wished I liked his singing. With both, I much preferred hearing their work sung by other people.
Over the decades, I did come to like Willie’s singing but it was a gradual process and took a long time. With Dylan, there are a few songs now that I don’t mind hearing him do but, for the most part, the best I can say is that I generally hate his singing less than I used to.
I also really dislike Joan Baez’s voice. When I’m watching Woodstock and she comes on, I know it’s time to go make a sandwich.
Consider the lead singers of Pink Floyd. One of them has a wonderfully smooth round voice, the other sounds like that red spot on your knee where you fell on the pavement. The nice voice largely gets used for singing the nice parts, the raw voice sings lyrics intended to evoke strong emotions. The latter can be challenging to appreciate, but he sure puts a lot of feeling into it.
(yes, there is a third guy, but he is used almost entirely to desaturate the first guy’s voice)
For a looong time the number one song on Rolling Stone’s The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time was ‘Like A Rolling Stone’. Both on their 2004 and 20010 list. To me that’s ludicrous. For context, they’ve placed The Beatles, ‘Eleanor Rigby’ at 243. Let that sink in.
Dylan has amassed a mythical reputation. He’s worked hard written a few good tunes but nothing I would consider groundbreaking. Most of his early career was spent refurbishing old folk tunes and melodies. I don’t hate Dylan, I don’t switch channels when he comes on, but I feel strongly that he does not deserve his reputation. Like I said, some good songs but “The pump don’t work 'cause the vandal stole the handle”? Come on.
As for his singing, I don’t like it. Even when he’s at his best, it’s not good.
Then you might enjoy this thread I started.
That’s fine I enjoy buskers, but why, then, put him on such a pedestal? Singers and musicians being “real” is irrelevant to me. I want good music. Out of tune screeching is not good no matter how real it is.
I can’t stand that song.
I’m a lifelong music buff, but I’ve pretty much steered clear of Dylan because of his voice.
To me, Cohen is passable and Young is bad, but Dylan is unlistenable.
To me, vocals are no different to other instruments in that you need to have a good sound and know how to play (sic for vocals) for it to be enjoyable. With these out of the way, I welcome…nah demand variety and personality.
You know what song I can’t stand? Elton John’s Tiny Dancer. But I can allow myself the objectivity to understand that it’s a good song. One doesn’t have to like something to appreciate that by general standards metrics, it’s good.
I’m starting to wonder if “real” is a euphemism for “harsh and ugly” in this context, with the implication that anything that sounds good and pleasant is not “real”.
That was his non-smoker’s voice.
I tend to disagree. Emotion can and often is evoked with a smooth voice. Also, a ‘raw’ voice isn’t always or even often nasal, strangled, and off key. One examle: Janis Jopplin.