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US-BOOK-DYLAN

Bob Dylan bootlegs



A new collection of previously unheard Bob Dylan demos offers an intimate listening experience of the musician's early work and documents a milestone in the history of recorded music that would change the fortunes of musicians forever, writes Graeme Thomson

Every few years over the past two decades, Bob Dylan has gathered up a few armfuls of his musical waifs and strays and made honest songs out of them. The ninth in the sprawling and always fascinating series of Dylan's Bootleg Series, The Witmark Demos comprises 47 solo recordings made between 1962 and 1964 for his publishing company, M Witmark & Sons, and never officially released until now.

It captures a period of dizzying artistic acceleration. On the opening track Man in the Street, Dylan sounds like just one of many Greenwich Village strummers channelling Woody Guthrie and Ramblin' Jack Elliott; quickly he moves up a gear, writing opaque but topical tone-poems such as A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall, which absorbed the structure and language of folk music but took it somewhere else entirely. Soon after, he's alone in the stratosphere: hearing Mr Tambourine Man bashed out on piano - Dylan's foot kicking time on the floor - it's like the moment in The Wizard of Oz where the world turns Technicolor.

Many of these recordings have been circulating illicitly for years. Of the 47 tracks, 15 are compositions that have never before been released in any form. Some are real finds - Ballad for a Friend is sad and beautiful and features some fine blues guitar - but most are rather generic folk strums and blues-based trifles that have remained in the vaults with good reason. The Witmark Demos is not the most riveting of Dylan's bootleg albums, primarily because these are not performances in the strictest sense. They are more like recitations, designed to get the words and melody down on tape with as little fuss as possible so the songs can be sold to other acts. It's work. At one point Dylan laments before recording Let Me Die in my Footsteps: "You want this? 'Cos it's awful long..."

But of course, eavesdropping on anything not originally intended for public consumption can be fascinating. Hearing Dylan creak and cough and crack up during these songs brings him closer to us, and with a gift as permanently "on" as his was at this time, he can't help but breathe fire into The Times They Are a-Changin' and Mama, You Been on My Mind as he records them for the very first time.

What lends this latest instalment of Dylan's marginalia added significance is what it reveals about an industry that was in the throes of a seismic shakedown every bit as game-changing as the one it's currently experiencing. In the first 60 years of the 20th century, there was a clear division of labour in the music industry: commercial songwriters would write and professional performers would perform. "Cover version" was an unheard-of phrase; all pop songs were cover versions. The cabal of Manhattan music publishers collectively known as Tin Pan Alley would circulate tapes of material to prospective singers. Albums by artists such as Frank Sinatra or Nat King Cole would feature songs by a variety of songwriters affiliated to a variety of publishers. Everyone, in effect, got a slice of the pie.

Dylan changed all that. Despite the title, not all of these recordings were made for Witmark. Some of the earliest were recorded for Leeds-Duchess Music, to whom Dylan signed shortly after releasing his first album in 1961. Once he hooked up with his manager Albert Grossman - a Rottweiler trapped inside the body of a St Bernard - Dylan was swiftly manoeuvred out of his contract with Leeds-Duchess to sign a more lucrative deal with Witmark.

Grossman realised that publishing was crucial. On Dylan's second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, 11 of the 13 songs were original compositions, ensuring he fulfilled the role of both writer and performer. Aside from the immense freedom this gave him as an artist - and he certainly did use it - it meant he held all the aces. And he, Grossman and just one publisher got all of the pie.

By the end of The Witmark Demos, Dylan had established himself as an auteur who could have it both ways. He was following his wayward muse and writing strictly for his own satisfaction, and yet in 1965, 48 different artists covered his songs, attracted to the sound of something a million times more culturally resonant than anything coming out of the offices of uptown Manhattan. It wasn't really rock 'n' roll that killed Tin Pan Alley so much as a growing thirst for creative self-expression.

Soon everyone - including, crucially, Brian Epstein and the Beatles - realised that writing their own material was where the power lay. So when Dylan mugs and loons his way through the gloriously lascivious All Over You on The Witmark Demos it's not just the sound of a 22-year-old folkie goofing around. It's the sound of the music industry turning on its axis. "Tin Pan Alley is gone," he later said. "I put an end to it".

The Bootleg Series Vol 9 - The Witmark Demos (Sony) is out now.

How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
  1. Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

Malcolm & Marie

Directed by: Sam Levinson

Starring: John David Washington and Zendaya

Three stars

Ipaf in numbers

Established: 2008

Prize money:  $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.

Winning novels: 13

Shortlisted novels: 66

Longlisted novels: 111

Total number of novels submitted: 1,780

Novels translated internationally: 66

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21

  1. Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
  2. Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
  3. Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
  4. Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
  5. Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
  6. Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
  7. Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
  8. Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
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How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
  • The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
  • The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
  • The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
  • The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
  • The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
The 12

England

Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Tottenham Hotspur

Italy
AC Milan, Inter Milan, Juventus

Spain
Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid

The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

North Pole stats

Distance covered: 160km

Temperature: -40°C

Weight of equipment: 45kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 0

Terrain: Ice rock

South Pole stats

Distance covered: 130km

Temperature: -50°C

Weight of equipment: 50kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300

Terrain: Flat ice
 

The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Power: 510hp at 9,000rpm
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Price: From Dh801,800

 

 

UAE - India ties

The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China

Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion

The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India

Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015

His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016

Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017

Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25

TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

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