“Soon After Midnight” (2012) – Bob Dylan * Written and produced by Bob Dylan * LP: Tempest * Label: Columbia
Bob Dylan, as an active participant in the folk and pop culture processes of reshaping idioms and traditions to create new art, has been no stranger—since the early days of his career—to accusations of plagiarism. Many of them are maybe too paltry to apply to a prolific force of nature like Dylan, and they do tend to distract from the big picture. Consider, too, how often he’s been ripped off. In September 2012, though, he lashed out at “wussies” who pointed out similarities between his work right at a time when his newly-released Tempest album had unveiled a song called “Soon After Midnight,” in which he uses the entire chord structure and musical road map of Bobby Fuller’s “New Shade of Blue.” Although Fuller and co-writer Mary Stone have both passed on, this seems like a case where gracious acknowledgment of the source would be in order. (From a previous post at Boneyard Media.)
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