bob dylan's self titled debut album released 47 years ago today!

is it really possible that we're approaching the 50th anniversary of the release of bob dylan's self titled debut album - which received little if any attention at that time. march 17, 1962, is barely five months earlier than the day i was born! what a sobering concept.

interestingly, the dylan news story of the day has nothing to do with music whatsoever. in fact, it concerns an entirely different sense (or sensibility). dylan's malibu neighbors are up in arms over the stench apparently blowing in the wind - wafting, uninvited, over to them from dylan's property. the porta-johns he installed (for the benefit of his agrarian hands) have made life so unbearable for his neighbors that they installed five industrial sized fans to blow it back to him! that fan plan failed, so now authorities have been brought in to investigate. once again, truth is stranger than fiction.

back to bob dylan (the album), it only contained two original songs, the rest were covers of tradition folk standards. it didn't make much of a splash, didn't receive critical acclaim, and didn't send dylan into rock stardom. that would all have to wait until his second album, "the freewheelin' bob dylan," was released a year later. then, as they say, the rest was history.

and then, three years later, bob dylan went "electric" with his 5th album, "bringing it all back home!"

i'm still a big fan of dylan. though that passion ebbs and flows (especially since i hear so many dylan covers via bob weir and ratdog - not to mention garcia versions as well). last summer we went to prospect park and heard dylan al fresco. last fall i reread "chronicles, volume one," - and hope, as intimated, that volume two is published this year.

maybe there's another dylan concert in store for me this year?