Bob Dylan

My wife says he is monotonous and boring. I say no, you've got to listen carefully to what he sings. She says that she does not understand him...

Sigh. In our years of marriage, this is one of those rare occasions when we cannot see eye-to-eye.

We were disagreeing about, in my opinion, one of the greatest singer-songwriter artistes of the 20th century: Robert Zimmerman. Or, to use his more popularly known moniker, Bob Dylan.

Ever since I heard his songs in the late 1960s, I had been drawn, first to his tunes and then to his lyrics. And I've never grown tired of listening to him since. Or to interpretations of his songs.

Actually, there's nothing much more I can say about Bob Dylan that has not already been said about him. Except, perhaps one thing .... how I wish I can listen to his radio programmes over the American satellite station XM Radio. He's been running the Bob Dylan Time Theme Radio Hour for almost a year now, and my friends in the States and now England who say they can hear this programme are praising it for Dylan's wide musical knowledge. He doesn't sing on these weekly programmes but he picks choices of songs that fit into the theme of the week.

Anyway, here's a quick snapshot of his vinyl records and CDs in my small collection, including interpretations by the Byrds, the Hollies, the Band and many others.