Hard Rain & Slow Trains: Bob Dylan & Fellow Travelers

This episode continues our monthly series featuring a single Dylan song and marks the 60th anniversary of the composition of "Blowin' in the Wind" in April of 1962. You'll hear studio and live performances of "Blowin' in the Wind" by Dylan and fellow travelers and a special medley of 28 different versions of the song. The weekly news segment "20 Pounds of Headlines" tells you about a new recording project for Dylan done in partnership with T-Bone Burnett and announces the new director of the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to tell us which version of "Blowin' in the Wind" is better: Bob Dylan in Budokan on March 1, 1978 or Bob Dylan at Earl's Court in London on June 27, 1981? Go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

Join us for a tour of Bob Dylan's professional life in April of 1962 as we travel "A Highway of Diamonds" back 60 years ago to the month and visit Dylan as he writes "Blowin' in the Wind," begins the recording sessions for his second album, and performs at Gerde's and other locations both alone and with fellow travelers. A 60th anniversary is a diamond anniversary, so this week, and throughout the year, we will periodically take a trip on "a highway of diamonds," exploring the events of Bob Dylan's career sixty years ago. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from the world of Bob Dylan, both in April of 1962 and April of 2022. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote and tell us who did "Milkcow's Calf Blues" better: Robert Johnson or Bob Dylan as recorded on April 25, 1962? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

This episode continues a monthly, ten-part series celebrating the tenth anniversary of TEMPEST. Broadcasting on April 14th, the 110th anniversary of the Titanic's fateful convergence with the iceberg, how could we not dedicate this episode to the song that gave the album its name, "Tempest"? In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we round up news from the world of Bob Dylan, which includes a final update on Dylan's spring 2022 tour, which concludes this evening. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote this week to tell us who did "When That Great Ship Went Down" better: Woody Guthrie or Bob Gibson? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

This episode continues the expedition we began last week, following the musical map Dylan has drawn for us as the spring tour winds to a close. The weekly news segment "20 Pounds of Headlines" keeps you updated on the itinerary for the final week of Dylan's spring tour, updates you on the appeal result for Claudia Levy's suit against Dylan, and updates you on ticket availability for the festivities surrounding the opening of the Bob Dylan Center. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to tell us who did "Maybe Baby" better: Waylon Jennings or Buddy Holly? Go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote.

Dylan has told us that he is a musical expeditionary. In the midst of his band introductions throughout the fall and spring tours he mentioned performers local to the city he is playing. Join us for this two-part series where we draw a musical map of the musical expedition Dylan has led us on even as the spring tour winds to a close. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we round up news from the world of Bob Dylan, which updates you on the imminent itinerary of Dylan's tour and alerts you to the appearance of a Dylan song in a popular new streaming show, news on 4k UHD releases for THE LAST WALTZ and PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID, and alerts you that Dylan's November book, THE PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SONG can now be pre-ordered through Simon & Schuster. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote this week to tell us who did "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" better: Richie Havens or The Seldom Scene? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

This episode continues our monthly series featuring a single Dylan song and today's episode occurs the day after the 33rd anniversary of the recording of "Series of Dreams" in New Orleans, where Dylan just performed last Saturday. You'll hear studio and live performances of "Series of Dreams" by Dylan and fellow travelers. The weekly news segment "20 Pounds of Headlines" will keep you updated on the imminent itinerary of Dylan's tour and some exciting news about events preceding the opening of the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to tell us who did "Series of Dreams" better: Zimmermen or Zita Swoon? Go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote.

The recording session with Victoria Spivey & Big Joe Williams, playing some tunes at a NYC apartment gathering, finishing "Let Me Die in My Footsteps, writing "Talking Folklore Center," and, of course, the debut of his first album: join us for a tour of Bob Dylan's professional life in March of 1962 as we travel "A Highway of Diamonds" back 60 years ago to the month. A 60th anniversary is a diamond anniversary, so this week, and throughout the year, we will periodically take a trip on "a highway of diamonds," exploring the events of Bob Dylan's career sixty years ago. This week, we listen to what Bob Dylan was up to in March of 1962. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we bring you news from the world of Bob Dylan, both in March of 1962 and March of 2022. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote and tell us who did "You're No Good" better: Jesse Fuller or Bob Dylan off his debut album released on March 19, 1962? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

This episode covers highlights of the first week of Bob Dylan's Spring 2022 tour, focusing on performances from Tucson and Albuquerque. In addition to performances from Tucson and Albuquerque, you will hear music from Buddy Holly, who was born in Lubbock, Texas where Dylan played this past Tuesday, March 8th. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we round up news from the world of Bob Dylan, including the surprising news of THE PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SONG, a collection of sixty essays by Bob Dylan to be published by Simon & Schuster November 8, 2022, and we also cover Dylan's upcoming tour itinerary. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to tell us who did recent tour-highlight "I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You" better, the Cowboy Junkies or Trapper Schoepp? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

Tonight, March 3rd, Bob Dylan returns to the stage for the first day of Dylan's 28-date concert tour through the Southwest and South of the United States. This "pregame" episode features music from the individual members of Dylan's touring band as well as highlights from Dylan's Fall 2021 tour. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we cover the first week-and-a-half of Dylan's Spring tour itinerary, the May 10th opening of the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Dylan getting into NFTs, and Randy Newman postponing his European tour due to a neck injury. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to tell us who did "I'm Movin' On" better: Hank Snow or Leon Russell with Dylan's touring guitarist Bob Britt? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!

This episode launches a monthly, ten-part series celebrating the tenth anniversary of TEMPEST by taking a deep dive into each of the album's songs. This first episode features the first track on the album: "Duquesne Whistle" by playing cover versions, songs that influenced Dylan & Robert Hunter when they wrote the song, and also by considering the song's meaning. In "20 Pounds of Headlines," we round up news from the world of Bob Dylan, which includes news on Dylan's Spring 2022 tour, beginning in one week. In "Who Did It Better?" we ask you to vote this week to tell us who did "Duquesne Whistle" better: Benmont Tench or Ed McKendry? Listen to the episode, then go to our Twitter page @RainTrains to vote!