The "extraordinary" writer Bob Dylan called the greatest of his time

The 'extraordinary' writer Bob Dylan called one of the best of his time Bob Dylan didn't need to spend his life searching for the kind of praise that he had in his prime. Anyone who has been considered one of the greatest voices of their generation is going to want some time away from the limelight, and the heart of it, all Dylan wanted to do was be able to make that one great song that could live up to what he had made in the past. As long as he was still searching, that was all that mattered, but he felt that there were some writers who had the kind of standards that he couldn't have possibly imagined when he started writing many of his tunes. But even when Dylan began, his dabblings in rock and roll were always minuscule. He didn't need to be talking up Little Richard's music when he was paying lip service to Woody Guthrie on every one of his songs. For many in his audience, rock and roll was the enemy in many respects, but there was a way for Dylan to find some common ground with the other side of the musical community as well. There weren't many people willing to put themselves out on the chopping block like he was during 'Like a Rolling Stone', but from the minute that he picked up an electric guitar, it was like a light bulb went off for the rest of the music world. They had found someone that they could manufacture to a certain degree, and while Dylan wasn't going to go along with the corporate machine for a second, they could make a mint out of people like Barry McGuire more or less trying to do the same schtick. That's half the reason why Simon and Garfunkel ended up becoming one of the biggest bands in the world, but Paul Simon was after something different. 'The Sound of Silence' was turned into a folk rock masterpiece against their wishes to a certain degree, and while they could definitely roll with the punches, a lot of what Simon was doing had to do with stretching the confines of what a folk artist could do. He liked the idea of combining different influences under one roof, and while that was what led to Simon and Garfunkel ultimately breaking up, that didn't stop Dylan from paying them lip service. There aren't many people who could get a recommendation from him, but Dylan felt that Simon was on a different kind of musical trip than everyone else when he first heard his tunes back in the day. The duo were already becoming one of the biggest names in folk, but Dylan felt that Simon had the kind of talent that only comes once in a generation, saying, '(Paul Simon has) written extraordinary songs, hasn't he? I consider him one of the pre-eminent songwriters of the times. Every song he does has got a vitality you don't find elsewhere.' And it's not like Simon didn't have the same kind of respect for Dylan as well whenever he made his tunes. In fact, Simon was always kicking himself to a certain degree for not having the same kind of magic that Dylan did. Mr Zimmerman was known for talking out of both sides of his mouth and sounding almost sarcastic on every other line, but Simon felt that he was never able to be anything less than sincere, which is probably why he ended up making so many switches in genres to help spice things up. Because even if you have one manner of speaking every time you make a record, that doesn't mean that you stop trying to work on new things. There was a world out there that Simon hadn't explored, and his interest in trying new things is exactly what Dylan wanted to hear every time he heard a new songwriter out in the wild.