
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, May 1, 1993                   TAG: 9305070614
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-8   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DYLAN'S ARTISTRY AT ITS FINEST

ORDINARILY I am one to chuckle at inept journalism and let it pass, but rarely do I see a piece of work quite as ridiculous as Mark Morrison's April 17 review of the Bob Dylan concert at Radford University. One question lingers after reading his review: Where was Morrison on the night of April 16? His uninformed comments and pedestrian assessment placed him anywhere but at the concert.

One of his chief complaints was that Dylan changed his music too much, and that he, as the headline whined, "should have stuck to what works." Anyone claiming to know "what works" for Dylan and his music should know enough to realize his music has changed periodically since first performing with an electric guitar at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. Dylan's long-standing philosophy has been that music will change; he is neither a robot nor a jukebox, and fans and casual listeners alike should not expect rote recitations of his songs. This basic understanding of Dylan's artistry was sadly missing in the review. Morrison's attempt to codify Dylan as a failing pop icon succeeded only in demonstrating his absence, ignorance or both.

I am what detached music journalists of these sad times calls "a Dylanist." I am a devout Dylan fan and have studied his life and work for many years, so I do not speak from an objective stance. Among those accompanying me to the concert was an 18-year-old high-school senior, fresh from the previous night's Guns n' Roses concert, who had little knowledge of Dylan's work. She was delighted and amazed at what she experienced. At the end of the concert, she confessed that Dylan's rendition of "Knockin On Heaven's Door," the song Morrison described as "dreadful," was far better than the Guns n' Roses version.

April 16 marked my ninth Dylan concert, and it was the best ever. I have seen him at his best and worst and have never once been disappointed. He did not mumble, and his band gave solid backing to old and new Dylan classics. He pursued his music with concentration, but paused occasionally to wink and wiggle at the crowd. Such are not the actions of a bored man.

The newspaper's big mistake was placing Morrison's review so close to his review of Guns n' Roses, making it painfully obvious where his sentiments rest. The Dedmon Center did not have the same MTV video atmosphere as the Roanoke Civic Center. Instead, it had the comparatively calm atmosphere of 2,500 people, most of whom were still there at the end of the concert, despite Morrison's claims, appreciating a true rock 'n' roll artist at his finest.

FRED W. CAMPBELL SALEM

by CNB