BBC Four Bob Dylan Season (200

As it's longer, more complete than D612 it's got to be better, doesn't it ?
Well.
What've we got, a 'Tribute Concert', even the words should be forever banned, compered by our own Billy Bragg, someone whose 'raison d'etre' evaporated a long time ago, [1997] who also throws in a couple of sub-standard covers.
"Readings" by a Kerry Shale, in his best BBC "Anne of Green Gables" American accent, God, he could have been reading out Bob's shopping list, the audience would have applauded anyway.
Odetta may have been a 'Folk & Blues Legend', but she still managed to murder her 2 contributions.
Willy Mason ? who he ?
Surely it'll liven up with Martin Carthy ?, one of the reasons I got this, but no, he's been doing "Hattie Carroll" since '98's "Signs of Life" CD, so OK he knows the words, but here ? well he seems too afraid to make any mistakes that he kills it dead. Scarborough Fair ? there are reasons it should be here, but maybe he should have taken time out to learn another Bob song.
Roy Harper, another has-been, producing nothing of lasting value since the early '70's. "Girl From The N. Country" is OK, but as with "..Old Cricketer.." [the Bob connection being ??, maybe he too should have bought a Bob songbook] only proves that he should stick to songs within his vocal range.
Liam Clancy, no problems with the voice there, but the routine's too polished, stories that have been told and told and told on the N. American Folk Cabaret circuit, they've lost all meaning, all feeling. It is just a cabaret routine.
But at least that lot were preferable to Barb Junger with her impersonation of Judy Collins impersonating Bob.
Robyn Hitchcock at least had the guts to tackle a later Bob song,- he shouldn't have bothered.
Picture the BBC exec's lounge, there they are going over the running order, "hey, what about the young folk, "[ although they'd include words like 'demographic' 'target audience' etc] "Who the hell can we get ?". "Well there's this youngish female, folkish, [sorta], Scots quine whose been known to do a Bob song in the past " So someone who, if there was any God, would be lucky to be allowed to take the stage at a folk clubs open-night, ends up headlining.
But the audience lapped it up, why, was there lot's of 'frantic applause now' lights flashing above the stage and out of camera-shot ?
Tribute Concert ? it's got all the hallmarks of a Memorial Service, the reverential tone, even down to Bob's picture projected on the back of the stage. All that's missing is a Priest or two, [maybe they couldn't figure out just what variety of one to get ]
This is dire fare, 1 star's generous.