MusicRadar column on one of Bob Dylan’s greatest hits

Posted byEthan 5 Comments on MusicRadar column on one of Bob Dylan’s greatest hits

To tie in with the new Dylan movie, MusicRadar asked me to analyze “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.” My first choice would have been “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)”, my favorite Dylan song and one of my favorite songs by anyone ever, but I was happy to go with their request too, it’s a beauty.

I use “Don’t Think Twice” in music theory class because it’s an interesting example of the V/V chord. In the key of C, that’s a D7 chord. Bob uses the chord twice. The first time, he uses it “correctly”, so it resolves to G7, which in turn resolves to C. The second time, however, he uses it “incorrectly”, so it resolves straight back to C, forming a “Lydian cadence”.

I haven’t yet seen the movie, it’s on my list but in all likelihood I’ll watch it on my phone three months from now while folding laundry. Still, it’s nice to have Bob in the discourse, because once you get past all the hype and the backlash to the hype, those songs are pretty wonderful.

5 replies on “MusicRadar column on one of Bob Dylan’s greatest hits”

  1. You left out the only version of ‘DON’T THIN TWICE’ that matters. Ramblin’ Jack Elliot’s version on his album ‘YOUNG BRIGHAM’… your pal, Roy Ruiz Clayton

  2. I went to Music Radar and read the whole article. Very fine research and writing! I haven’t listened to 1960s Dylan much in the last few years but was able to hear it all in my mind as you described it. As mercurial as his first decade was, I most love his brief Christian Phase and most of the past 3 decades, starting with Time Out of Mind. I really like him best as the world-weary old man. I have 14 linear feet of his music on CD (mostly thin jewel cases of hundreds of concert bootlegs), and I’ve seen him play maybe 8 or 10 times, but I found the concerts themselves to be surprisingly uptight affairs, maybe my Deadhead youth created unrealistic standards from unrepeatable events.

    1. I love Time Out Of Mind too, in some ways Bob makes a lot more sense as an old man than he ever did as a young one. And “Slow Train Coming” is so heavy and funky.

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