I think I could get an actual thread out of this, because it isn't always going to be his eightieth birthday.
So the story so far is that in May I decided I was going to listen to every album, and about six months later came an actual desire to listen to and enjoy his music. And by I don't mean a "go on then" feeling to continue where I left off, I mean an actual urge to listen to "Desolation Row" and replay it a good few times in a row.
I think I did this on the other thread, but if I had to rank favourite songs so far, my top three are "It's All Over Now Baby Blue", "Desolation Row" and "Stuck Inside a Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again". Also creeping into the fold is "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" as of this week, but those other three perfectly highlight for me his lyrical, instrumental and harmonising beauty.
I honestly have no idea what direction I should be heading in, whether I should prioritise listening to the studio albums and then get stuck into the live material, The Band and whatever else there is instead of doing it chronologically; all I know is that Blood on the Tracks is coming up in a few albums time, and that I have every edition of the Bootleg Series downloaded on Apple Music and ready to go, whenever I need to press play!
That all said, I did run into a slight concern today. I've been listening to Self Portrait and despite reading it to be an unpopular effort - especially after what it followed - I've really been enjoying it! 😬
Got stuck into Blood on the Tracks, really enjoying "Idiot Wind".