Dylan and Charlie Patton

[Terje Larson]

I'm a big Dylan fan, have been for years. His lyrics are what taught me english actually. Some teachers tried to help out too but I never listened much to them. The Mighty Bob however, I hung on to every damn word.

He's pretty old now. His voice is more or less gone but still, in some wierd way, it sounds better than ever. Really scary but in a manly way. He said at a press conference regarding his latest recording "Love And Theft" that he finally thinks his voice has been recorded properly. And if you thihk for a moment and remember that one of his great idols is Charlie Patton I guess his voice is finally starting to get there.

And that's something you might think until you put Charlie Patton on... which is when you realize that even though he's one of the most interesting singers in the world of pop music Dylan still has a long way to go to reach that kind of mastery. And talking of scary. There is no more frightening voice to me than Patton's.

It's just so wide open. He doesn't hide. His whole personality, which was far from sympathetic, comes through at all times. And what a huge guitar sound he had. One of the biggest ever.

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If you can't hear the others you're too loud, if you can't hear yourself you've gone deaf

[Brendan Dunn]

Charlie Patton is one of my all time favorites ... not only his voice, but that same spirit comes through in his guitar playing... powerful! I've read that he was quite a showman too...putting his guitar up behind his head while he was playing it, without dropping a beat! I think Chester Burnett carried on that vibe after Charlie passed.