[geodeticman.5]

CYANEYES , No kidding ? You know, to non-Dylan fans, that is a widely-held belief I recall as an urban legend of sorts when i was a teenager and young man - that of Dylan's voice changing after his alleged motcycle accident, from Lay-Lady-Lay.

I have to say - I liked that song, and found the voice- for Dylan or not, pleasing. So it was an affectation ? I can hear my wife typing at home to a psychologist's recorded voice notes for medical transcription our home-business at the time, where he (the psych she typed for, or LCSW etc)always started out on each patient, who had had a head injury most typically, he would say "This patient presents with a broad and bright affect, oriented times 3". I have a better feel now for what he may have meant by that. Thanks for the revelation.

As you seem a Dylan afficianado, who wrote and sometimes recorded the almost archetypal folk songs of the era , many of which I think Dylan wrote but did not sing, if memory serves, the voices I recall on *some* sound like Peter, Paul, and Mary, singing "If I Had a Hammer" , and either them, or the Kingston Trio singing , Dylan's again , I believe ("The answer is")"Blowin'In the Wind" ? I realize this is folk 101 I should know, but I have always been Lightfoot-centric on my folk tastes, albeit widely varied on other genres.

Your educating me here on this would be of actual historical value to my knowledge base ( or lack therof) out of respect to Dylan's part in the whole history of Folk. And is it true to say, as I have heard, in part or in full, the subjective comment "There would be no Dylan if there had been no Ramblin' Jack Elliot, and Woody Guthrie before that" - in ostensibly the "true" origins of folk, in the modern sense.

Its my understanding that folk, as a broad subject, is not a time period defined by certain people, but rather the genre in any culture/any time period that deals primarily with the homespun, layman's (versus professional songwriter) songs about that region, country, time period, culture, colloquial expressionism of commonly, the means of local labour, its dangers, the geographic and locals' names of local features, i.e. "The White Cliffs of Dover", and The Ash Grove", "Greensleeves" - which I know transcends genre from Christmas tune to folk heritage song etc. , and one more iconic song "Dirty Old Town".

A very nice album that encompasses a great selection of such representative classics of at least a celtic, if not just Anglo-Saxon suite of pleasant "Folk Songs Of Our Time" - by Roger Whittaker, of "The Last Farewell" notoriety, released in around 1978 or so. These songs were recorded by him before he seemed to get rather histrionic in dramatic presentation of singing in concert, where he'd later in his career get dressed-up in song-specific (Send In the Clowns....hoo by lol) get-ups that needlessly distracted from his magnificent voice in the mid - late 70's.

I've seen that youtube and Stonewall's vistory team are fond of many of these oft-recorded in the 60's somewhat white-washed ( no humour intended at all) collections of folk that sadly do not reflect what I believe to be be vastly important *historically imperative to chronicle" cultural fok songs , of which I believe folks original roots are firmly seated in , in any given culture or "under-class" - socio-economically, or by virtue of sad songs of indentured servitude.

Like slavery, such powerful, richly heartfelt cried-out for justice-type songs that when covered by some mid-to late 60's W.A.S.P. (no derogatory slang meant or implied) harmonius folk groups, lose something culturally and historically of a struggling people, or subset of a regional or time-period based working people or slave-state, when hardship-driven modes of thought arguably created our most important folk music?

As a well-informed sounding folk fan, I am curious of your take on the Dylan Q's, and the general folk-genre Q's of origins, and what may render Dylan-centric thoughts of folk origins to be academic. Or, more fairly, accurately place him in his admittedly important role in the modern progression of folk. I know little of this, so any thoughts at all are appreciated.

~geo steve