Bob Dylan / 5:36
Musicians
Bob Dylan: vocals, piano Robbie Robertson: guitar
Recording Studio
The Village Recorder, West Los Angeles, California / Studio B: November 14, 1973
Technical Team
Producers: Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, and Rob Fraboni
Sound Engineer: Rob Fraboni
If “Forever Young” is the most touching song on the album Planet Waves, “Dirge” is the darkest and the most enigmatic. The song starts with the line, “I hate myself for lovin’ you.” Of whom or what is he thinking? The folk movement? One woman in particular? Drugs? The last line of the fourth verse, “I’ve paid the price of solitude, but at least I’m out of debt” might be addressed to critics who once adored him, but then criticized him sharply after the release of Self Portrait. But Dylan has overcome adversity, and his song ends with an optimistic line, “Lady Luck, who shines on me, will tell you where I’m at.”
Bob Dylan wrote “Dirge” during the sessions for Planet Waves. A first take was probably recorded on November 10, 1973. But the master take used on the album is from November 14. Rob Fraboni: “Bob went out and played the piano while we were mixing. All of a sudden, he came in and said, ‘I’d like to try “Dirge” on the piano.’ We had recorded a version with only acoustic guitar and vocal a few days earlier… We weren’t ready at all, we were mixing. But we put up a tape and he said to Robbie, ‘Maybe you could play guitar on this.’ They did it once, Bob playing piano and singing, and Robbie playing acoustic guitar. The second time was the take.”103
Dylan is majestic. His interpretation is on a par with his strongest songs, the last dating from the album John Wesley Harding. The vocal is dark; his intonation is full of emotion. Playing piano, he delivers a version characterized by Fraboni as, “another one of those incredible, one-time performances.”103 Robertson’s acoustic guitar with a slight delay provides excellent support and gives the piece an essential bluesy touch. He plays the “mandolin” trills that he particularly likes.
For the mix, Fraboni notes, Dylan “wanted a kind of barroom sound from the piano” and a “raunchy vocal sound.” Fraboni and Robertson mixed “Dirge” immediately after recording it. It is perhaps the most beautiful song on Planet Waves.
Bob Dylan / 2:54
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Robbie Robertson: guitar; Richard Manuel: piano; Garth Hudson: keyboards; Rick Danko: bass; Levon Helm: drums / Recording Studio: The Village Recorder, West Los Angeles, California / Studio B: November 5, 1973 / Producers: Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, and Rob Fraboni / Sound Engineer: Rob Fraboni
After the darker overtone of “Dirge,” Dylan returns to a much more optimistic mood with “You Angel You,” a fine example by the eclectic songwriter. This song, which could be described as minor, is just a friendly pop song, another aspect of Dylan’s style. But Dylan was not really proud of it, as he confided the 1985: “I might have written this at one of the sessions probably, you know, on the spot, standing in front of the mike… it sounds to me like dummy lyrics.”12
“You Angel You” was recorded on November 5, 1973, in one take. Although the song is good, it suffers from a lack of work. For instance, in the second line, Dylan makes an error and does not rectify it. Instead of singing, “You’re as fine as anything’s fine,” he sings, “You’re as… got me under your wing.” It is curious that no one asked him to redo it. Similarly, the group has some difficulties with the arrangement. Despite good individual performances, it quickly becomes messy in some places. The piece simply lacks careful production. “You Angel You” does not sound right, and could not be saved in the mix.
To date, Dylan has performed “You Angel You” twice onstage: January 14, 1990, at the Recreation Hall in State College, Pennsylvania, and February 8, 1990, at the Hammersmith Odeon in London.
Bob Dylan / 2:54
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Robbie Robertson: guitar; Richard Manuel: drums (?); Garth Hudson: piano (?); Rick Danko: bass; Levon Helm: drums (?) / Recording Studio: The Village Recorder, West Los Angeles, California / Studio B: November 2, 1973 / Producers: Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, and Rob Fraboni / Sound Engineer: Rob Fraboni
“Never Say Goodbye” was written several months before the recording sessions for Planet Waves. After Dylan had left the East Coast for Malibu in California, Roger McGuinn visited him. He wanted to collaborate with him again and perhaps repeat the success of “Ballad of Easy Rider. “[W]e were trying to write a song together and I asked him if he had anything, and he said he had one that he started, but he was probably gonna use it himself, and he started playing ‘Never Say Goodbye.’”66 “Forever Young,” “Nobody ’Cept You,” and “Never Say Goodbye” are the three demoed songs recorded during an informal session in June 1973.
“Never Say Goodbye” is a song about a love song rather than a straightforward love song. It is also a song about childhood, a recurring theme in Planet Waves. The “twilight on the frozen lake,” “north wind,” and “dreams… made of iron and steel” refer to Duluth, Minnesota, Dylan’s hometown on the shores of Lake Superior, known at the time mostly for its steel industry.
Five months after the demo, Dylan recorded “Never Say Goodbye” with the Band. Seven takes were performed the first day of the sessions; the last was selected for Planet Waves. Rob Fraboni recalls this recording: “They initially came in on Friday, November 2, to get set up and to get a feel for the studio. We did use one song we recorded that day.”103
“Never Say Goodbye” served somehow as a kind of test, as much for the musicians as for the sound recording. Levon Helm seems absent from the recording. Apparently, Richard Manuel handles the drums. Thus, Hudson plays piano, while Dylan, Danko, and Robertson play their respective instruments. The introduction on acoustic guitar is quite unusual for Dylan; the sound recalls harmonies like Jimmy Page’s. But the overall performance lacks rigor. “Never Say Goodbye” has never been performed onstage.