jewels santana Wrote:
Rick Derris Wrote:
Yeah I would like, because it would be a exercise in futility. Every example you could give I could provide evidence to the contrary where Dylan matches or betters him in every way.
you don't really endear me to have a conversation with you, but i'll put together my thoughts. I'll preface taht i didn't pick a favorite. I love them both, and saying one is better than the other is indeed silly. But i think when it comes to their respective instruments that Neil does indeed have him beat. The whole package is a whole other story, but that isn't what i was saying.
Harmonica - Dylan gets the job done, and often pulled out a gem but more often than not just seemed like he was blowing. Too often he physically hurts the ears. Neil plays precise and beautiful melody. I'll give Dylan a nod in the last decade or so where Dylan can finally play the damn thing like the seasoned pro he is and Neil is treading water (beautiful treading, but not breaking any new ground for himself.)
Piano - i won't argue this one too much because i don't really know the piano, and when i saw Bob play piano i couldn't really hear the thing. It was as if it was there as a prop. Most of the great Dylan piano parts are played by someone else, but i don't know that he couldn't play them himself.
Guitar -Bob can obviously play, but Neil might be my favorite guitar player. I don't have much more of an argument than that.
Wasn't trying to "endear" myself to you jewelsy, just trying to coax something out of you other than "i like him better" or "neil is better at instruments".
I'd actually say that neither are necessarily virtuoso's at the piano or harmonica. I'd say they're both solid players that play what is right for the song. I understand the argument against Dylan's harmonica playing but I'd argue that's a personal preference with the actual recording. A lot of times on those 60's records the harmonica is very loud, especially on Blonde on Blonde. But, Dylan also plays great parts on songs like "She Belongs to Me" and "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" that suit the song every bit as good as say Neil does on "Heart of Gold".
As for piano, I don't really have a major argument other than I'll take "Ballad of a Thin Man" over "A Man Needs A Maid". I know Dylan wrote a lot of songs on the piano that never made it to record on the piano. I know "Like A Rolling Stone" and "Forever Young" were written on piano but recorded with the guitar as the main instrument.
Not sure that really bolsters any argument for Dylan. Really just comes down to preference. For the record, I've seen Dylan a few times and I'd rather go to a Neil show but I'll still argue for Dylan overall.
