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

DATE: THURSDAY, May 6, 1993                   TAG: 9305060477
SECTION: EDITORIAL                    PAGE: A-16   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

BLASTING A LEGEND

WE UNDERSTAND why you had to blast Bob Dylan's April 16 concert at Radford University (Mark Morrison's review). Everybody thinks Dylan is a legend so, of course, a skilled critic has to find something wrong with his performance.

He played all the old favorites but in new, hard-to-catch arrangements. We took great pleasure in his versatility and creative arrangements. My wife and I saw Dylan for the first time that night, along with our son, who'd never been to a concert before. Wouldn't you be proud to say that he was your first concert? The atmosphere was great - not too crowded, not too wild, excellent acoustics and legendary licks. The mixed crowd of college students and family types got a real treat.

Dylan offers a performance different than most standard concert fare, and that's no reason to criticize him. How long has he been a legend? Twenty, 30 years? Don't you think he should have progressed beyond rote recitals and album sound-alikes by now? Are you surprised to learn that noncritics and other simpletons might find his guitar work mesmerizing, his presence awesome and his status, well, yes, legendary? LOREN MITCHELL RICHLANDS

by CNB