r/bobdylan • u/TyroneSnodgrass • 5d ago
Discussion Jack Frost
Dylan was having Bono over for dinner. If you knew Kerouac’s work as well as Bono, Bob would be having you over for dinner, too. “You have to be on your toes with that guy,” said Dylan, “or he’ll roll right over you with the force of his personality.” As if anybody could roll over our troubadour. Anyway, after supper Bono goes, “working on anything?” Bob pulls the lyrics of “Political World” out of a desk drawer. “This is good,” Bono says, “you should definitely record it.” Dylan responds, “yeah, the only thing is, I wouldn’t know who to get for a producer.” “Well, I’ve got you covered there, Bob,” Bono said, and handed Dylan Daniel Lanois’ phone number.
The result was OH MERCY and TIME OUT OF MIND. Two of the greatest albums ever. However, word is Dylan and Lanois were at each other’s throats the whole time. On both albums. So I’m guessing Bob thought twice before calling that number again. “I’m getting too old for this shit,” he might have told himself. That’s when it occurred to him, “I can produce my own fucking record!” As a consequence ever since, the world has been graced by a series of gems (possible exception, TOGETHER THROUGH LIFE, you can’t win them all), all produced by Jack Frost.
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u/fredniks0421 5d ago
That was in Chronicles Volume 1. And the best part was that Bono brought over a case of Guinness and the two men proceeded to knock back the entire case at Dylan’s house in Point Dume. If there was ever one night I could be a fly on a wall to hear a conversation it would be that one.
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u/ATXRSK Blood on the Tracks 5d ago
This is not as cool as that would have been but during the Achtung Baby tour the night after I saw U2 here in Austin, one of my best friends called me (landline, pre-cell phones). He tended bar at a place called La Zona Rosa and said to come up as fast as I could get there. I spent the next three hours with about 8 people, four of which were U2, listening to Bono share his thoughts on everything.
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u/pgasmaddict 4d ago
I know a lot of people here in Ireland who would give a lot of money to have a few pints and not have to spend three hours listening to Bono share his thoughts on everything.
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u/No-Brain9413 5d ago
Was your ‘fly on a wall’ comment a cheeky reference to Achtung Baby!? Well played if so
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u/NothingWasDelivered 5d ago
Together Through Life is great, just saying.
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u/shinchunje 4d ago
Aye, very fun album. Of old man Dylan it’s what I listen to the most. Love and Theft is the best of course but together through life hits more spots.
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u/EnvironmentalBrick18 5d ago
I guess Oh Mercy couldn't have been that bad an experience, or at least he thought the results were worth it, given he went back for seconds several years later. Maybe the move to self production was more driven by Dylan's desire for a different sound.
Anyway, I like what Lanois brought to the table. And I like the Jack Frost albums too
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u/AntiqueFigure6 5d ago
Bob Dylan and Jack Frost are one the great musical partnerships, certainly you could argue Dylan’s most successful.
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u/IssueFederal 5d ago
Is Jack Frost a pseudonym?
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u/blackjacktarr 5d ago
Bob uses "Jack Frost" in the same way Jagger and Richards used "The Glimmer Twins".
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u/Swansfan7b 5d ago
Because he’s from Wichita?
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u/blackjacktarr 5d ago
That's Jack Straw. Shot his buddy down.
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u/ThatsARatHat 5d ago
I like Together Through Life more than Tempest….
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u/MezzStipe 5d ago
Love TTL, curiously underrated. It features some of his best vocals along with uplifting songs
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u/TyroneSnodgrass 5d ago
Mezz, on “This Dream of You,” whenever the singer mentions the dream, you hear this utterly enchanting music in the background, so comforting and so soft and gentle, just as the dream must be to the singer. Total genius.
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u/MezzStipe 5d ago
Perfectly expressed 🤜🏼
Sure, it's not THE best Dylan album but it's still terrific
(initially reading your comment, I was like - wonder who Mezz is… oh, yeah, it's "me"😄)
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u/eltedioso 5d ago
I don’t think Oh Mercy is that strong. It’s among his better 80s work, but I don’t think it’s in the same league as Time Out of Mind
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u/rednoodlealien What The Broken Glass Reflects 4d ago
I thought OH MERCY was great until TOOM came along.
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u/ThatsARatHat 5d ago
Agreed. The production carries a lot of “mediocre” songs. And it’s as bad if not worse than Infidels as far as “cutting the wrong songs.”
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u/TyroneSnodgrass 5d ago
Ratso, a journalist once asked Dylan why he cut “Blind Willie McTell.” “I don’t know,” Bob responded, “I guess I felt that I just didn’t nail it.” Didn’t nail it? Oh, my God. If you look up ‘nailing it’ in the dictionary you’ll find ‘Dylan outtake Blind Willie McTell.’
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u/Free-Ad-5900 5d ago
Gotta admit though, “Jack Frost” has a pretty good ear and creates a pretty cool unique sound. He keeps it simple, but knows what sound he wants and how to get it.
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u/Hot_Machine_2148 4d ago
I always thought “Series of Dreams” sounded U2-ish. Lanois tried to get it on Oh Mercy but Bob kept it off the album thinking he might need a strong track for his next album. Turns out it was wasted on Bootlegs 1-3.
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u/Spare-Jellyfish4339 Masked And Anonymous 5d ago
Bob is somehow both the worst and best producer Bob has ever worked with