The 1996 song Billy Joel and Bob Dylan called the best: “The greatest ever”
Billy Joel and Bob Dylan feel like they belong in two different worlds when looking at most of their tunes.
Dylan was never meant to focus on the mechanics of what recording meant when he made his first records, whereas Joel was making the kind of musical inventions that would have left most average rock and roll fans questioning what the hell they were even listening to. But if there was one piece of common ground that they had, it was that both of them knew that a good song could break through any kind of bullshit that you put in front of it.
That said, it’s not like all of those classics came easy for Joel. Whereas Dylan was the kind of person that could come up with a classic on the fly back in the day, Joel knew that every single song was going to whotake hard work before it was actually ready for primetime. That’s half the reason why he quit making music after River of Dreams, but it’s not like Dylan was ever claiming that writing songs was a walk in the park, either.
He has said on many occasions that he doesn’t even recognise the kid that was up there singing ‘Masters of War’ back in the day, and while he’s more than happy to have written those anthems in the past, don’t ask him to write something just as good again. He wasn’t interested in repeating himself all that often, but he could still look in awe when other songwriters knocked it out of the park.
And in the 1960s, no one seemed to tell their stories better than country musicians. The biggest names in country had the kind of standalone stories that could break people’s hearts within only a few minutes, and while Glen Campbell was always on the fringes of country music half the time, the ‘Rhinestone Cowboy’ did manage to strike gold when he performed Jimmy Webb’s ‘Wichita Lineman’.
There are plenty of songs that had more sophisticated wordplay, but Dylan didn’t need a bunch of flowery language to get on board with Webb’s song, calling it “the greatest song ever written.” And while Joel was always looking for something more out of his music, there are subtle touches in the production that make the song feel absolutely timeless.
Joel was always interested in throwing in some more nuanced instrumental parts in his songs, and when Campbell picked up the six-string bass for the final verse of the song, he delivered one of the most tasteful performances that anyone had ever done. That’s the work of someone who truly knows the song they’re playing inside and out, and Joel felt that he would have done anything to have a song that good under his belt.
‘Just the Way You Are’ and ‘Scenes From an Italian Restaurant’ definitely come close, but Joel felt that he would have done anything to make a song like this, saying, “If I could write a song as good as ‘Wichita Lineman’, I’d be a very happy man. I tried. There’s a song called ‘Stop in Nevada’. I was trying to write ‘Wichita Lineman’. How do I evoke that?” But hitting on a song that sounds as good as the Webb classic doesn’t come from someone slaving away at their instrument like Joel says.
It’s about someone capturing a piece of history and being able to put a little piece of their heart in between the notes whenever they perform. It’s not every day that someone gets those magic moments, and while Webb was happy to have written the song, what matters is the people who keep those songs alive whenever they bring up what great songwriting is supposed to be.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out Bob Dylan Newsletter
All the latest stories about Bob Dylan from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.