Jakob Dylan: Seeing and things...
Jakob Dylan has never had any particular problem in the songwriting department. With The Wallflowers he managed to write some great, contemporary (if MOR) pop-rock albums like Red Letter Days, Rebel Sweetheart, (Breach), and the star making Bringing Down The Horse in 1996. BDTH yielded singles aplenty: "One Headlight", "6th Ave. Heartache", "The Difference" and "Three Marlenas". It also yielded him two Grammy Awards, and it sold over 4 million albums in the U.S - twice as many as his father's Blood On The Tracks sold in 20 years.
Now, if you were to say, "Jakob Dylan went acoustic," there certainly wouldn't be the same hue and cry as the one that erupted from American folkies in 1965 when his father did the opposite. But with a new album out his month, Seeing Things, the younger Dylan eschews his regular rock band, The Wallflowers, in favor of recording ten straight up folk songs. No band to speak of, just him, a couple of guitars and some introspective melodies revolving around conflict and home with Rick Rubin at the helm. Kind of like a Dylan alternate universe.
What JD supporters at Fuji Rock will be wanting to know this year is: exactly which Jakob Dylan are we going to be seeing?
The Wallflowers are still together, and are touring this summer throughout North America.
Jakob is touring solo in support of Seeing Things, as well, sometimes booked as "Jakob Dylan and the Gold Mountain Rebels" (as he is for Bonnaroo, Rothbury, and The Austin City Limits Festival).
For Fuji Rock Festival, though, he is booked as "Jakob Dylan from The Wallflowers"
A shizoprenic schedule, to say the least, but as long as he shows up, fans can probably expect a little of bit of everything - a few new mellow acoustic numbers, some revamped older hits. For fans of the younger Dylan, not a bad way to enjoy the Sunday evening twilight on the Green Stage.
Jeff
