[Harp-L] Bob Dylan as a harmonica player

["John F. Potts" <hvyj@xxxxxxx>]

	I read an interview with Sugar Blue who did  session work on a Dylan  
album that resulted in out takes that were eventually released on  
"The Bootleg Series."  Sugar Blue said that Dylan's harmonica skills  
should not be judged based upon what he plays on his own albums  
because he is capable of *doing a lot more* on the harmonica than  
what he usually plays.  I thought that Sugar Blue may just have said  
that to be gracious,, but Sugar Blue does not have a reputation for  
being particularly gracious.
	Anyway, Dylan's use of 4th position on "All Along the Watchtower"  
indicates that Dylan had more than casual familiarity with the  
instrument, whether or not his breath technique and playing were  
particularly proficient.
	Btw, Bryan Ferry (the front man for Roxy Music) released a solo  
album of Dylan covers titled "Dylanesque.*  Ferry plays harmonica on  
the album in a style and manner that is perhaps best described  
as...Dylanesque.  The studio band on that album  is pretty good,  
though, particularly the slide guitar player.