hi
no doubt in my mind that bob changed music as we know it. in a very big &
significant way. yes, it probably would have changed without him, but in
some different way.
but then, bob was influenced too. the way i heard it, (though i am fully
aware that i am no expert) he started off as a little richard style rock 'n
roll piano player (??), was then influenced to get into folk music, largely
due to woody guthrie, & then changed to folk rock after hearing the byrds
version of mr tambourine man. (tho some people insist it was hearing house
of the rising sun by the animals - who knows)
but if you keep applying that logic, you will just find a whole long list of
musicians who have influenced & changed music, all the way back to the cave
man who discovered his club made different sounds when banged on different
peoples skulls.....................
i must say, that tho i agree that bob is often a great songwriter, he is
imho not a patch on joni. bobs lyrics often (but definitely not always) come
across to me as sheer nonsense cobbled together because it sounds right, and
appears to be deep & significant.
jonis writing on the other hand is pretty much imaculate, with every
smallest detail carefully planned and placed where it should be.
kind of like the difference bewteen a shotgun, and a surgeons scalpel??
ron
