1. Bob Dylan – Desire
One of things that really hit me when I first heard that record as a teenager was the violin on it. The violin was my first instrument, so when I was a teenager, whenever I’d hear violin in music, especially if it was more kind of rock music instead of just folk or classical, I would really light up. The violin-playing on that record is just so stunning to me: I just love the performance. I can’t verify if this is true, but I heard at some point that that violinist was a street musician Bob Dylan found. I also love Emmylou Harris’s backing vocals on that record, and their two voices combined. I heard that she wasn’t happy with her performances on that record, maybe even tried to get them not to use it. It’s kind of sad, but on one hand I’m like, ‘oh gosh, maybe they should’ve respected her wishes’, but on the other hand I’m like, ‘I’m glad they kept that in there’, because it’s really raw and beautiful I think. Do you have a favourite track from the album? The one that comes to mind first is that song ‘Joey’ [sings ‘Joey’], and Emmylou Harris on that song [imitates Emmylou] – the way she just belts it out there is just beautiful. When I first started listening to that album it was all about ‘Hurricane’. That song as a late teenager just totally blew my mind. I’ve always been a fan of epic songs and epic stories in songs. It’s like that song just chugs along like a train – it’s unstoppable, and it just drags you along with it. I’ve never quite done anything like that. I’m not sure if I could [laughs], but it really did inspire me. I think that song really shakes people a bit, not only just in the power of its delivery, but the content itself is obviously a bit of a wake-up call.
