May 15, 2007 11:09

Bob Dylan labels early songs as 'demos'

Troubadour suggests lack of originality in music today

Photo Gallery: Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan has talked openly about his early albums, labelling a lot of his classic songs as "demos".

Speaking in the current issue of Rolling Stone, the star explained that his early approach to recording was extremely primitive.

Dylan explained: "Those early songs I made with just an acoustic guitar. In a way, those are like demos, because that’s what people do when they demo a song."

Meanwhile, the troubadour legend hit out at the current music scene by suggesting that the originality of the '60s is one that has been lost in today’s charts.

He said: "I come from a time when you had to be original, and you had to have some kind of God-given talent just to begin with. You couldn’t manufacture that. Just about everybody and anybody who was around in the '50s and '60s had a degree of originality."

Dylan also answered his critics who have called for him to play his earlier songs in their original state live.

The star has attracted frequent criticism from punters at his gigs who struggle to recognise his classic songs when they are performed.

He said of the people who pour scorn on his reinterpretations, “I don’t know who would, unless it’s somebody who bought that record in 1960-what. But it’s the same song, and I’m the same person.”