Late To The Party

Last week our local PBS station (KERA-TV, Dallas, TX) had a 90-minute program of selections from The Other Side Of The Mirror: Bob Dylan Live At The Newport Folk Festival 1963-1965, and offered the DVD and Dylan compilation CDs to those who would pledge various amounts of money to support the station.

Despite having grown up as a teenager during the 1960s, this was the first time I paid any real attention to Bob Dylan's music. Oh, I remember "Lay, Lady, Lay" being a hit, and his performance in The Concert for Bangladesh, and all the other songs he's known for, but I guess I just considered him to be more of a folk singer than a rock musician, so I ignored him. I didn't even listen to him when he entered his Christian phase (Slow Train Coming, Saved, etc.).

Well, it didn't take long for the scenes and songs from The Other Side Of The Mirror to get my attention. What an amazing songwriter!

So I bought the DVD yesterday ($19.99 retail - much cheaper than the KERA "donation" price) and began getting acquainted with someone who has unfortunately been pretty much of a stranger to me for 45 years.