Bob Dylan names the lowest point of his career
It only requires one viewing of his most infamous interviews to understand that Bob Dylan doesn’t seem like a person who scares easily. Even for all of the accolades he has accumulated over the years, the rock and roll poet has made his living as if he was a lonesome drifter, always showing fans a glimpse into his life whenever he straps on his guitar. Although Dylan prides himself on being authentic, there were a handful of times when he felt he was letting his artistry suffer.
Throughout the first phase of Dylan’s career, though, there were always questions about whether he was taking things in the right direction. While his original vision to be the next answer to Woody Guthrie resulted in outstanding hymns like ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’, the rock and roll revolution led to him rethinking his style entirely.
Looking to rebel against the counterculture he was a part of, Dylan’s decision to go electric remained one of the most polarising decisions in rock history. Though Dylan’s debut of electric instruments sparked as much ridicule as it did praise, it would only be the first in a long line of stylistic changes he would incorporate over the years.
By the time he had reached the end of the 1970s, Dylan had started to find his answer through spirituality, eventually working his faith into albums like Slow Train Coming. Although Dylan may have been proud to wear his personal beliefs on his sleeve for a while, it was only a matter of time before he returned to the stage as the seasoned rock and roller.
After using The Band on his earliest recordings, Dylan had the idea of bringing Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers to serve as his backing group throughout the mid-1980s. While Petty and the band were ecstatic at the opportunity to work alongside one of the legends of rock and roll, Dylan wouldn’t look back on this era of his work all that fondly.
When talking about this era in his book Chronicles Vol. 1, Dylan mentioned feeling out of touch with his material half the time, writing, “I had no connection to any kind of inspiration. Whatever was there to begin with had all vanished and shrunk. Tom was at the top of his game, and I was at the bottom of mine. I couldn’t overcome the odds. Everything was smashed”.
Despite Dylan’s distaste for this era of his career, the rest of the Heartbreakers recalled learning much from playing with him every night. Since the maestro wasn’t one for rehearsal, most of the group would follow him whenever he played, usually making up different magic moments on the spot.
When talking about performing with him, each of the band members thought that it was some of the most exciting shows they had ever been a part of, with drummer Stan Lynch recalling, “It’s anarchy. It’s playing for your life. It’s the real deal, man”. Although Dylan would eventually write a handful of tunes with Petty, his luck would soon change when working alongside fellow rock legends.
After becoming friendly with the Heartbreakers, Dylan eventually earned one of his biggest successes with the Traveling Wilburys, creating a supergroup with George Harrison, Petty, Jeff Lynne, and Roy Orbison. Dylan may have been lost in the woods when getting back onstage, but it sometimes takes a few years of fumbling around before one’s luck starts to change.
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