Growing up in the ‘70s and ‘80s, radio was a major cultural force. It would remain so even through the rise and reign of MTV. By the late ‘90s, the Internet went from being “What is Internet? to everyone is on this thing in fairly short order. When radio stations started streaming on the World Wide Web (as was novel to say back then, many saw it as just another channel to hear what was being broadcast on terrestrial radio. While that was happening, people were happily curating playlists and sharing files with people all over the world. Even here at Popdose in 2008, I used to do a weekly feature called Mix Six that had an MP3 file one could download and save. I suppose those mixes (and playlists I’d create on iTunes) were my attempts at being a music director.
I worked in the radio industry for decades and did various jobs. But one that I never got a chance to do (even though I thought it would be my dream job in the industry) was music director. I felt all those years in a DJ studio playing songs that were proven hits, or those where a record label was really pushing (via legal payola)on the public through connections with program directors and music directors, had tuned my ears to what makes for a radio-friendly song. I’m not sure there are hard and fast rules for radio-friendly songs, but if you spend enough time listening to music for the masses and being a DJ at weddings, school dances, company parties, and the like, you will learn pretty quickly what makes people happy and what gets a thumbs down.
I’ll be honest and say that often people have bad taste, but they like what they like – even though I may not like what they like. That’s just the nature of music. It’s a subjective experience where one person loves something that others think is crap.
Bob Dylan is one of those artists whose subjective experience of his music is pretty stark.
His voice is polarizing.
His persona is easily the stuff of ridicule.
He can be an asshole in interviews.
What’s to like?
Well, for me, a lot. He’s been a prolific songwriter throughout his career. He’s toured consistently for decades. He’s won awards for his albums. But he’s also a guy who just does his own thing. Rarely does he make a record with the intention of spinning off 2-3 hit singles. However, that doesn’t mean he doesn’t have radio-friendly songs. He does. And it’s not from his salad days. Indeed, as this list will make clear from 1980 onward, Dylan had, more often than not, a song or two on a record that could easily be played in high rotation on rock stations – and some were for a time. But if Dylan’s contemporaries are still the stuff of classic rock playlists, Dylan’s post-70s output can easily find an enduring place, too.
Now, I’m not so Pollyannaish as to think that these ten songs won’t be contested by Dylan know-it-alls. That’s fine. Comment away and go out and build a rival list. To me, the more the merrier. I don’t claim to be an authority on his music or that my list is somehow the end-all and be-all of radio-friendly lists. I went with my gut and my radio-conditioned ears to compile a list of songs (listed here in chronological order) that would sound great on rock radio stations if added to playlists.
Let’s get started, shall we?
“Saved” (From the album Saved, released June 23, 1980). Part II of Dylan’s God trilogy albums. His conversion to Christianity could have been driven by some personal travails in his life, but whatever the case may be, Dylan’s overt love letter to a higher power is done so with an overt love letter to gospel music. Lyrically, Dylan isn’t offering anything new as to why he’s lovin’ the lord; it’s mostly a drowning man being saved:
Nobody to rescue me
Nobody would dare
I was going down for the last time
But by His mercy I’ve been spared
Not by works
But by faith in Him who called
For so long I’ve been hindered
For so long I’ve been stalled
What I love about this song and why it’s radio-friendly is that it has many layers that make it interesting to one’s ears. The driving beat, the background singers, the absolutely passionate playing by the band, and, of course, Dylan being nakedly honest in his singing. I’m sure there was more than a smidge of snark when this record came out, with many in the music press looking for a way to discount his religiosity by finding fault with the music. But, to me, this song can go toe-to-toe with others of its stylistic ilk and would sound fresh on the radio. I mean, if The Rolling Stones could do something similar with “Saint of Me” (which probably does get some airplay to this day), why can’t Dylan’s “Saved” get a shot of love?
“Jokerman” (From the album Infidels, released October 27, 1983). Produced by one of my favorites, Mark Knopfler, “Jokerman” comes off Dylan’s 22nd album, Infidels. The God-themed songs were still part of his creative output, but on “Jokerman,” it’s more oblique. What makes this song so radio-friendly is the strong rhythm section of Robbie Shakespeare and Sly Dunbar. Mark Knopfler and Mick Taylor on guitar are the cherry on top (musically), allowing Dylan to get it all out in a six-minute tour de force. Sure, the single stiffed in 1983, and had Dylan recorded a proper studio version of the one performed on Late Night with David Letterman in 1984 with The Plugz, it’s possible the song would have flourished on college radio. Since everything old is new again, I think reintroducing “Jokerman” to the public by adding it to the rotation on a rock station would give it a second life – a second coming, if you will.
“Tight Connection to My Heart” (From the album Empire Burlesque, released June 8, 1985). The album Empire Burlesque was my gateway into Dylan’s work. It was because I watched the video for this song on MTV that I bought the cassette – and liked it a lot. I had a vague notion of Dylan’s religious phase in his music, but I thought that he was an important enough artist that I’d better start absorbing his music if I wanted to consider myself a future member of the Music Snobs Club. Only later did I learn from the Bootleg series released in 1991 that a version of this song, “Someone’s Got a Hold of My Heart,” was recorded for the Infidels album, but shelved. While the video is a mess, the song itself is a gem. The addition of the background vocalists and the ‘80s production sheen added by Arthur Baker was Manna for my ears at the time. The song felt contemporary, like Dylan was trying to get with the times and be relevant to a younger audience, like many of his musical generation were at the time. It may sound a bit hokey now, but I think it still holds up and is clearly a radio-friendly single that did well on the U.S. Billboard Top Rock Tracks (number 19), but totally tanked on the singles chart (peaking at 103).
“Silvio” (From the album Down in the Groove, released May 30, 1988). To be frank, the album Down in the Groove is not good. But it contains this stellar track – and one of the most popular of Dylan’s. Co-written by Robert Hunter and Bob Dylan, “Silvio” has The Grateful Dead written all over it. Dylan had just come off a tour with The Dead in 1987 and got members from the band to lend their talents to co-vocals on this song, as the album credits note:
Bob Dylan — Vocals, Guitar
Nathan East — Bass
Mike Baird — Drums
Madelyn Quebec, Carol Dennis — Additional Vocals
Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Brent Mydland, Additional Vocals
In 1990, I met Robert Hunter at a book signing at Brentano’s – located at the time in the San Francisco Centre mall– after he published Box of Rain: Lyrics: 1965-1993. Hunter was just packing up, but had a moment to sign one more book (mine) before leaving. I asked him how he and Dylan wrote “Silvio,” and he said that Bob came over to his house, asking if he had any songs that he could use for an upcoming project. Hunter said he handed Dylan his notebook, and Bob disappeared into his bedroom for about an hour. When he came out, Bob said he found a couple of songs he liked – “Silvio” being one of them. After choosing the songs, he left. Robert added, “Bob’s like that. He just kind of shows up – and leaves when he’s done.” Well, Dylan picked a great song. However, without the bouncy rhythm, strong co-vocals, and upbeat feel, I don’t think “Silvio” would be the enduring, radio-friendly jewel it is.
“Political World” (From the album Oh Mercy, released September 12, 1989). Talk about an anthem for the times. 1989 was a significant year with the Berlin Wall coming down in November, well after Dylan wrote “Political World,” but landing at at time when political change was in the air outside of the U.S. This record was Dylan’s first collaboration with producer Daniel Lanois, and it proved to be the right choice in terms of making a solid album. Lanois had worked his magic for Peter Gabriel, U2, and Robbie Robertson, so having him on board to right the proverbial ship after the two previous albums were poorly received proved to be the rocket fuel needed for a “Dylan’s back!” moment. “Political World” has a heavy feel with the production, but Lanois was able to create a lot of separation in the music that keeps the crunching guitars and the accents Lanois adds on the dobro balanced with Dylan’s voice. While the song has a very forward-moving feel, it lacks a chorus and bridge to break up the song into a more traditional structure. That choice works to its benefit because it amps up the urgency of its message by keeping the gas pedal floored to the final fade out. Great stuff and the kind of music that made Dylan feel relevant to the times that were, um, a-changin’.
“Cat’s In the Well”(From the album Under the Red Sky, released September 10, 1990). One can easily do the twist to this song. And as they used to say on American Bandstand during the “Rate a Record segment,” It’s got a good beat, and you can dance to it.” Dylan’s music is not known for its get-down-and-boogie feel, but this one does have that barroom dance beat that gets one’s head nodding and butt shaking. Some may find it odd that I picked a song from this disappointing follow-up to Oh Mercy, but it’s an innocuous song that’s playful, silly, and lacks the lyrical heaviness of the previous album. If I’m in a serious Dylan mood, this song wouldn’t necessarily bubble up on a playlist, but we’re talking about radio-friendly here, so while it may have its shortcomings, it’s got the right amount of ear candy to keep many radio listeners locked on a station that’s playing it.
“Series of Dreams” (From the album, The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991). An outtake from the Oh Mercy sessions that was supposed to be the lead single from that album. I think it was wise to hold this one back because while it’s a really well-produced song that has great music hooks, it’s better as a single than part of a larger musical statement on a record. And as a single, it’s a banger with a lush production that gives the listener a sonic feast of sounds that elevate Dylan’s vocals.
“Love Sick” (From the album Time Out of Mind, released September 30, 1997). Bringing Daniel Lanois back into the producer’s chair was, to me, a smart move on this record because what he wrought on this song was something otherworldly and timeless. It’s such a haunting piece about the narrator who is not so much pining away for another person, but rather sick of love – well, sort of. At the end, the narrator says, Just don’t know what to do/I’d give anything to be with you, which more than suggests that the play on the words love sick is a sly one, as it shows that love is a double-edged sword. Why this song, with its thick production and liberal use of studio effects, is a radio-friendly song lies in counter-programming music. It’s not always the toe-tappin’ hits that make for a good playlist. Sometimes you gotta mix up the flow, tempo, and feel by presenting a song that really changes the mood. Too many soundalikes means the music mix is more wallpaper for the ears than a painting that reveals layers of human emotion.
“Beyond Here Lies Nothin’” (From the album Together Through Life, released April 18, 2009). Dylan didn’t like the production Daniel Lanois did on Time Out of Mind, but, ironically, he keeps that noir feel front and center on this Robert Hunter co-penned tune. Like “Love Sick,” this song makes effective use of studio sonics, creating a thick throwback feel to it. Its dark underbelly is probably why the song’s video, with its extreme violence, was so polarizing. He must have liked it because Dylan continued the violent theme in his Christmas video for the cover of “Must Be Santa.” But videos aren’t played on the radio. Music is. And with “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’”, Dylan has created a grim, gritty, and ultimately great song.
“Duquesne Whistle” (From the album Tempest, released August 27, 2012). Another composition co-written by Robert Hunter. Again, the video for the song continues the theme of violence that was in the previous videos, but lyrically, the song is anything but violent. Indeed, it’s more about moving on down the line while flashing back to a lost love. The rhythm of the song keeps the train-chuggin’-down-the-tracks vibe as the main motif, and it works to great effect. Dylan’s voice is now ragged with age, and its rough texture gives the song a sense of history. To me, the narrator rides the rails not just to get somewhere, but to stay ahead of a past he’s trying to forget.
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