Customer Reviews

Portraits of Bob Dylan

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The song selection is diverse, the singers are diverse, Steve Howe's guitar playing is diverse. What more could you ask for? The only disappointment are the songs where Howe sings lead vocals. I say much better to have used outside singers on all the songs. Each vocalist brings a different perspective to each song. From Jon Anderson to Phoebe Snow. Not some of your most well known vocalists, but immensely talented they are. Especially liked the loose, laid back vocal by Allan Clarke on "Don't think twice". If I didn't know better, I never would have guessed this was the lead singer of the Hollies.

This album drew me in more with each listen.Initially I bought this just because of it being a Steve Howe release,I believed I would only listen to it once,yet it stayed in my cd player for six months and I found I was listening to it several times a day.Although the cover notes down play the guitar playing as not a guitar album but a collection of songs,if you listen you'll find the guitar playing to be incredible!Portraits of Bob Dylan not only reinforced my love for Steve Howes guitar playing but introduced me to Bob Dylan(who I held in the absolute lowest regard untill now).Thanks to Steve Howe I am now a fan of Bob Dylan.

Did not know what I would be getting with this one. YES guitarist singing a few Dylan songs with other singers taking over the other songs. This cd is not great, but good enough for Dylan fans that want to explore other artists interpretations of Dylans work. It would have been nice if Jon Anderson sang more than the first song, but what a first song it is-12 minutes of pure beauty as Andersons vocals glide over the musical landscape of 'Sad Eyed Lady of the lowlands'. What a great opening rendition. Howe's own vocals are rough, but ok.Other highlights include the versions of It's All Over Baby Blue (reminiscent of Judy Collins' version on Judy Collins sings Dylan),Going Going, Gone;Lay lady La, and Buckets of Rain. Interesting stuff indeed.

Great tribute album of sorts. Features some of Dylan's best. Howe plays a nice supporting role to his fellow artists' memorable interpretations of Dylan. Sad Eyed Lady has a repeating rhythm that is surprisingly like a mantra you never tire of. I think it could rank with some of Yes' best material; it would be great to hear it on their current tour. All of the guest vocalists do a fine job and give the album a great blend of unique styles. Some tribute albums don't work, this one does!

Guitarrist Steve Howe did a subtle and heartful tribute to his idol, Bob Dylan. The record is good, but some of the songs are not the best from Dylan. Anyway, it's a great effort and a good introduction to those few who doesn't know Dylan's music. It has a different singer in each song, although the rest of the band is the same. Good

People who know Steve Howe soley by reputation will be suprised after hearing this album. Howe's skillful playing is still evident, don't get me wrong (especially his picking on "Don't Think Twice" and "Buckets of Rain"), but this Bob Dylan tribute sticks to being a song-oriented project, first & foremost.

Whenever I hear these tunes, I feel like I'm sitting with some friends around a bonfire late at night. Both Steve Howe & Bob Dylan fans should approve, as well as music fans in general.

Even if it is my first exposure to this CD, I must say that Steve Howe covered Dylan's tunes superbly with guest vocalists that did the songs justice. I just saw Dylan in Winston-Salem the other night and his voice is faltering with age so those who can belt out his songs coherently give us a chance to embrace his poetic genius. We must never forget that genius and I always love to see him live!

The CD case was bad: there was a BB size hole in it. Luckily the CD was good. I gave this CD as a gift for Christmas, and, besides the fact that the recipient already had it, it was not very presentable in its original state. If it was'nt for my good job with the wrapping paper and my known poor status, I would have been very embarrassed. Instead they just felt sorry for me.

It doesn't take much for me to like Howe albums. Just shut up and play yer guitar! It's not the singing that puts me off so much, the debut Steve Howe Beginnings albums singing didn't put me off, but this one lacks the dynamic and exciting playing. He doesn't take much risks. The singing is not very good even for other singers. It almost all seems passable. Sad Eyed Lady is the exception with Jon singing, and Baby Blue featuring Annie Haslam of Rennaisance. I'm not the biggest fan of Bob Dylan but I feel that I could appreciate him enough to enjoy Steve Howe doing Dylan. I think what would have worked more for me is acoustic guitar versions of his songs, and perhaps that's what I expected after hearing him do some Dylan on acoustic on a recording of his performance for the Montreal Jazz festival. I just yawn on this one, usually there is something that will keep me interested, or one or two tracks I might be tempted to skip, but this one I rarely play, and only played it a couple of times since I bought it, and I have listened to and enjoyed stuff of his from Maybelline in '63 to Remedy, and almost all of it is great, most of it is fantastic. This just pales in comparison. I think the selections of songs could have been more mainstream so I would hear more familiar tunes? I don't know, it's just not the kind of project I'm interested. I don't know how he could have done it better than he did in the way he did it. It's just the approach he took was too "authentic" sounding, too respectful, not risky, not progressive, yeah not progressive.