Not wanting to offend anybody, but there were some pretty good songwriters
that pre-dated Dylan and the Beatles and were (maybe) even better than
Gershwin (sorry, Paul I). For example:
Cole Porter and Irving Berlin (both of whom wrote their own lyrics: IMHO
Porter was better than just about anyone); Ellington (although Billy
Strayhorn probably composed many of the tunes popularly attributed to
Ellington); Rodgers & Hart; Bernstein; and my own idol Stephen Sondheim,
probably the best lyricist ever, and not a bad composer either..
Even earlier there was (odd that I, as a Canadian, would idolize this
essentially American songwriter) Stephen Foster, one of the greatest melody
writers who ever lived.
In this company Dylan is pretty small: I certainly agree with whoever it was
who wrote that Dylan's lyrics tend to be an undisciplined pile of random
images that may or may not work.
IMHO, both Joni Mitchell and Tom Waits are better lyricists than Bob Dylan,
because their work is more polished. To me, that counts.
When I listen to The Hissing of Summer Lawns, I feel like I'm in the
presence of a great genius: a master not only of lyrics and music, but the
best of all pop artists when it comes to putting the two together.
Yeah, I know Blonde on Blonde well. For my taste (IMHO and all that) it's
not as good as For the Roses or Court and Spark or HOSL or Hejira or
Christmas and the Beads of Sweat or Blue Valentine or A Little Night Music.
I've been listening to Don Juan's Reckless Daughter a lot lately: it's
f*cking amazing. I'd trade it for the entire output of Bob Dylan and
consider myself much the wealthier for the exchange.
That's my 2 cents worth.
Roberto
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