His songs continuously evolve. For him, it's all about getting the track to fit the words, not the other way around. That's why there are so many bootlegs, six versions of 'Like A Rolling Stone', four 'Visions Of Johanna'. Bob is constantly changing it: 'What key are we in?' 'G.' 'What tempo?' '85 bpm, Bob.' 'Okay, well let's do it in C-minor, and let's crank up the tempo to 104, and, Charlie, I want you on electric instead of acoustic, Tony, I want you to play upright bass instead of electric, oh, and I want you playing lap-steel.' And we're like, 'Ooookay…' He's always trying to find the arrangement that works best with the sentiment he's trying to express. He might say, 'I'm kinda hearing this old Billie Holiday song.' And so we'll start with that: the band will actually start playing that song, try to get that sound, and then he'll go, 'Okay, and this is how my song goes.' It's a weird process, unique to him out of any bands I've worked with over 22 years."
https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/life-with-bob-dylan-1989-2006-30130/5/
_- Steve
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