My Thoughts on Bob Dylan and “Highway 61 Revisited”

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Next Sunday (27th September 2015) I am organising a night commemorating the 50th anniversary of the song “Like a Rolling Stone” and the album it is from “Highway 61 Revisited”, at the Musician Pub in Leicester. I’ve got a few days to go and I’m beginning to get a bit nervous now. Some of Leicester’s best are coming to perform their favourite tracks from the album and other songs from the other great mid 60s records, when Dylan decided to “plug in” (“Bringing It All Back Home” and “Blonde on Blonde”). 50 years is a long time but the songs and music have not lost their power. In fact, to my ears, they seem even more startling and profoundly modern. Not only have they stood the test of time but they are in the pantheon of great 20th Century Art along with T.S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land”, Jackson Pollock’s evocative splatterings and Charlie Parker’s mindbending improvisations. It had never been done before and it will never be done again. It stands alone!

Of the three great “electric” records “Highway 61 Revisited” is the pinnacle. It is the first Dylan album that he was part of a real band rather than a soloist with backing musicians. “Bringing It All Back Home” paved the way with some really exciting performances, especially “Subterranean Homesick Blues” and “Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream” but half of it was acoustic although the songs were like nothing heard before. Dylan had rejected political protest and replaced it with a kind of explosive, image laden, nihilistic stream of consciousness. Popular music had never experienced anything like it. “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” takes an Everly Brothers lick and creates a blast of vitriolic energy which is mindblowing: ” Old lady judges watch people in pairs, limited in sex they dare, to push fake morals insult and stare, while money doesn’t talk, it swears, obscenity who really cares, propaganda all is phony”. But, in this record he is still making sense. “Highway 61″ moves the song writing into a different realm. This is a world in which the songs seem to mean something but you can’t quite place what it is. ” Ballad of a Thin Man” epitomises this: “Something is happening but you don’t know what it is, do you Mr. Jones?”. A series of bizarre incidents follow involving sword swallowers, professors and geeks and how your imagination is being attacked! This is the ultimate statement of the Hip/Straight divide that was emerging in the growing counterculture of the 1960s. Most of the songs on “Highway 61” defy logic. They are absurdist and mysterious and yet seem to pertain to a deeper meaning that washes over us and draws us in. “They’re selling post cards of the hanging, they’re painting the passports brown, the beauty parlour is full of sailors, the circus is in town” and all through the song we learn that “Desolation Row” is either the place to be or the place you are prevented from going. “Right now I can’t read too good, don’t send me no more letters no, not unless you mail them from Desolation Row”.

Perhaps the ultimate Dylan song is “Like a Rolling Stone”. Bruce Springsteen described the beginning of this, the opening song on “Highway 61 Revisited”, as the “snare shot that sounded like somebody’d kicked open the door to your mind.” Folk singer Phil Ochs was even more rhapsodic about the LP: “It’s impossibly good… How can a human mind do this?” When I first heard this song I moved from being a fan of Pop Music to someone who wanted to play and write songs and that desire has never left me. That’s why I’m looking forward to the gig next Sunday and am also quite nervous about it. It is commemorating something that changed my life!!

Jimmy Page, Aleister Crowley and the curse of Eddie And The Hot Rods

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peterwatts1975's avatarThe Great Wen

For the full story of the curse of “Do Anything You Wanna Do”, see my interview with the band in this month’s issue of Uncut magazine. 

It’s easy to turn your nose up at any mention of Aleister Crowley, especially if you have little interest in the occult and esoteric world in which he thrived. But to do so means ignoring the man’s often brilliant writing – his Diary of A Drug Fiend is a superior pulp classic, for instance – and also missing out on some of the greatest anecdotes of the 20th century.

For the uninitiated, Crowley (1875–1947) was a British writer who used sex, drugs and magic –often simultaneously – to try to attain altered states of mind and who achieved such a level of notoriety for his activities that he was brandished the ‘wickedest man in the world’. If not wicked, he was certainly a character. As well as signing his letters ‘666’ and conducting numerous affairs…

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Robert Fraser: the butterfly, Performance and the Rolling Stones

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Another good 60s London piece.

peterwatts1975's avatarThe Great Wen

I’ve often thought that when William Rees-Mogg wrote his famous editorial in the wake of the Redlands court case, the butterfly was not so much Mick Jagger or Keith Richards but the third party in that sorry affair. Art dealer Robert Fraser was convicted alongside the Rolling Stones for possession, but while Richards and Jagger were spared prison partly thanks to the Times editorial, Fraser pleaded guilt and was sent to Wormwood Scrubs. It’s difficult now to think of Richards and Jagger as butterflies; Fraser was the one that got left behind to get broken.

Some of letters and telegrams Fraser received and sent while during his four months at the Scrubs feature in the Pace Gallery’s superb exhibition, A Strong Sweet Smell Of Incense, which runs until 28th March. The title comes from Richard Hamilton’s collage, created as a response to the Redlands bust.

It is displayed alongside one…

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Syd, psychedelia, If…. and the Olympics: an interview with Kevin Whitney

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I enjoyed reading this. Insight into Syd Barrett and the London counterculture of the 60s.

peterwatts1975's avatarThe Great Wen

I have a piece in the current issue of Uncut about Psychedelia,  a film made in 1969 and featuring Syd Barrett. The film has been sitting underneath Kevin Whitney’s bed for 40 years, but will be shown in June 2014 at the ICA ahead of its sale. Whitney was on the fringes of the psychedelic movement in the late-1960s and later became the first official artist of the Olympic movement. ‘In my work there are still hints of psychedelic imagery,’ he tells me. ‘But using beautiful athletes instead of mad freaks.’ 

Psychedelia can be seen at Room&Book: ICA Art Book Fair, ICA, 6-8 June. 

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‘I was at art school until 1970 and during I was making the film. I was inspired by psychedelic light shows, which I’d screen on the front of Chelsea Art School  at underground pop shows at the Roundhouse. Chelsea Art School was a modern building off…

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My European Interail Diary Part 3 29th April 2015

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Well, I started off with such high hopes! You probably realise if you’ve read the last two posts that I was writing a diary in real time. Unfortunately once I got past Madrid that went out of the window and now I’m back in the UK writing a retrospective. A shame really because that was what I wanted to do and looking back on my last two posts it was definitely the right thing to do. I just didn’t do it! Well, there are reasons why but I won’t go into that now! Maybe next time!!

On the 8th I was on the way to Madrid but I didn’t stop there. Well, not for long. I arrived at the Atocha station which is one of the best buildings in Madrid. It’s amazing with a whole area that resembles a jungle. In the jungle is a pond filled with turtles.

Turtles at Atocha Station, Madrid

I didn’t want to stay in Madrid right then because that’s where I was flying back from on the 16th April so I was going to leave Madrid until the end. Where to now then. I decided on Salamanca, a place I’ve never visited which scores high on the must-see tourist barometer. I travelled on the Madrid underground (Metro) to the other big station Chamartin and got a train to Salamanca. A four hour journey because it wasn’t a high speed train. When I got to Salamanca I booked into an out of town hotel which was quite modern with proper showers and a lift. Luxury!! I immediately had two showers and wasn’t afraid to use the toilet!!

Like many Spanish cities the outskirts can be a bit off putting but that’s probably true of many places. The old town centre of Salamanca is an absolute delight full of grand, austere buildings. It’s an old university town that is reminiscent of Cambridge or York. I had a great time looking around their two cathedrals that are strangely joined together.

Salamanca Cathedral and Plaza. It rained all day so I bought myself an umbrella. It didn’t spoil anything though.

Another place worth visiting is the Art Nouveau museum. It has a wonderful display and the tearoom is lovely with the best cup of tea I had all the time I was in Spain. Also, in Salamanca, it is the first time I have seen storks nesting. They had taken over the tops of various church towers around the town.

Storks nesting on a church tower.

Seville

When you get an Interail ticket you don’t have long to hang around if you want to make the most of it. I had five days travel to be completed in the space of ten. To use it, the most I could do was to stay two days in each place, which isn’t very long. In fact, I ended up only using four days. It was a load of fun but next time I won’t bother with Interail. You can do it cheaper and easier using last minute fares like you can with UK trains and air flights. It’s also more spontaneous because you don’t have to have separate reservations. You can use buses and aeroplanes as well. If you don’t mind where you’re going you can do it for next to nothing! Okay, that’s the next one sorted!

Next stop was Seville, a place I visited over forty years ago and I haven’t been back since. Would I recognise it? It certainly sticks in my mind as a lovely place with streets lined with orange trees (the sort that are too bitter to eat). I had to change at Madrid and cross town again. After about six hours total travelling I was walking the streets of Seville looking for the hotel I had booked, La Casa de la Luna. How romantic it sounded and, yes, it was in the old town down a narrow alley that looked a bit like heaven.

La Casa de la Luna, Seville

La Casa de la Luna Hotel, Seville. A lovely, friendly small hotel.

Seville bike with my hoody on the handlebars. The steering’s a bit heavy!

Seville is a fantastic place. It’s a real city with real people containing some of the best architecture and parks in the world. There’s a fairly pointless tram line which is fun and cheap but doesn’t go very far, but the best way to get round is by bike. For the first time ever I rented a bike from the stands scattered around town. They’re great! You can go where you want and park up, and you’re not left lumbered with the bike! It’s also quite cheap to use. Much easier than walking but the narrow roads full of pedestrians can be a bit of a problem. I had some near misses!

Seville street culture. Pavement art, guitar playing, drinking, radical book stalls and crazy people. Just the way I like it!

The highlight of my stay in Seville was a brilliant flamenco bar over the river. It was quite tricky to find and I can’t remember the name of it now! It was full of people and the atmosphere and music and dancing were spectacular. It’s fantastic that flamenco culture is still such a real part of the city.

Flamenco Bar in Seville. Brilliant atmosphere!

Cordoba

One of the problems of visiting so many places in such a short time is that they all start melting into one in my memory. Fortunately, the photos I took are dated so I know where they are taken otherwise I might have a job telling them apart. One place really stands out in Cordoba, though, and that’s the Cathedral. It is on the site of probably the most beautiful mosque in the ancient Arabic world. The Mezquita is one of the most spectacular buildings I have ever been to. It is a strange mix of Christian and Islamic architecture that tells it’s own story of years of strife and conflict based in the same country, but also of incredible artistic and architectural achievement. This building is one that everyone should see. The myriad arches and intricate Muslim designs impart a feeling of peace and tranquility that seems to be infinite. The Christian imagery appears almost violent in contrast with agonised pictures and sculptures of Christ on the Cross!

The Mezquita, Cordoba.

Madrid and Toledo

Towards the end of my trip I had to make some hard decisions. Should I go to Valencia and Barcelona again, eventually ending up in Madrid, or just go to Madrid and visit the famous town of Toledo for a day? I kind of wanted to get my money’s worth so Valencia would have made sense, and it would have been nice to go back to the Harlem Jazz Club in Barcelona for another blues jam. But I was already feeling a bit tired and that schedule seemed exhausting. Plus, there was also the hassle of booking (and finding!) hotels. As I’ve said, one of the most tiring things about this journey was acclimatizing to new places all the time. So, I decided on Madrid, with a day trip to Toledo which is fairly close. It meant I didn’t use all my travel days but I did keep my sanity!

If you’re not too fussy you can find hotels in Spain that are really cheap.  I stayed in a hotel in Madrid about 200 metres from the Atocha station and about 400 metres from the famous Prado Art Gallery for €30 a night. Unbelievable! It had the grand title of Hostal Rivera but it was quite hard to find because it wasn’t where Google maps said it should be. Also, there was no sign outside and the hostal was really just an apartment. It took about 15 minutes to get any one to open the front door!! Still, it was clean with good wifi and I could come and go as I wanted. What more could I want! The people who ran it were also very friendly.

Atocha Station, Madrid. A beautiful building.

Next day I travelled to Toledo on the train. Again, this is a lovely place and I had a good look round but I think I was beginning to get Beautiful Town and City Syndrome, a condition that means if you see any more old buildings you have a physical and mental meltdown. It is an interesting place though. There is a Don Quixote walk which is fun. Also, there are two ancient synagogues which are both beautiful and sad, considering what happened to the Jewish population who had lived in Cordoba for hundreds of years. One of them has an interior which is startlingly like the Mezquita in Cordoba.

Synagogue in Toledo with similar arches to the Mezquita at Cordoba

To round off the trip. The day before I flew back from Madrid I went to the Prado Art Gallery one of the top art galleries in the world. It contains some amazing pictures. A whole gallery of El Greco’s and another of Goya. Perhaps the peak was seeing the original Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymus Bosch, a truly awe inspiring and surreal work from the 15th Century.

Hieronymous Bosch “The Garden of Earthly Delights” in the Prado

The Prado with a statue of Velasquez

On the last day I decided to stay in a hotel at the airport so that I didn’t have to go far for an early flight. Big mistake! I’d have been better off staying in my cheap hovel. There was a bus to the airport from the station that was cheap and quick. It would have been much better. Instead I went on a bizarre journey to the Madrid Airport Holiday Inn Express that involved buses, trains and walking along what I think was a motorway with cars racing by at great speed. What a nightmare! The hotel isn’t that near to the airport either and was in what seemed like a post-apocalyptical waste land, and it cost me €20 taxi fare to get to the terminal the following day. The room was nice though!