Bringing It All Back Home (1965)

[Warning: The next two albums fit easily into the top 3 in my list of favourite Dylan releases and so might prompt some unpalatable gushing.] 

This must be one of the best openings to any album out there. A few chugs of acoustic guitar and then... twang - Dylan goes electric. If the infectious rhythm hadn't got you in a couple of bars then the lyrics were about to finish the job:  

Johnny’s in the basement
Mixing up the medicine

I’m on the pavement
Thinking about the government

 

In my book that's up there with "Well it's one for the money, two for the show" in the pantheon of opening lines. And he carries on and on and on with a litany of perfect images. It may be surreal and have no discernible logical narrative but it all sort of make sense. You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, don't follow leaders, watch the parking meters and, of course, the pump don't work 'cos the vandals took the handles. It's absolutely perfect nonsense that, I guess, digs at the some of the dafter elements of the protest movement (if there ever was such a thing).

Given the brouhaha that Dylan's electrification caused, it's tempting to imagine a bearded folkie reverently sliding the vinyl from the sleeve, carefully placing it on the turntable and, with a shaking hand, lowering the needle into the opening groove and... then... BLAM! the shock of being face to face with a Fender Stratocaster causes him to swallow his pipe and cough burning tobacco all over Wavy Gravy who had come round for tea and lentils. Unfortunately, Subterranean Homesick Blues had already been out as a single for the best part of a month so this would not have happened. Which is a shame.

Still this is a seminal moment in the history of rock and roll (and that's not hyperbole). The only mystery for me is why those who had a philosophical objection to Dylan's use of electric instruments didn't have that tempered by the thought that 'actually, that is a damn good song.'

But I digress. Dylan clearly knew what he was doing and that was to cement what he had started on Another Side and run a country mile from the archduke of protest role that had been bestowed on him (though by releasing The Times They Are A-Changin' he was hardly blameless on that account himself). If the 'don't follow leaders' line in the opening track was just a hint, he goes full guns on the wonderful Maggie's Farm:

Well, I try my best
To be just like I am
But everybody wants you
To be just like them
They say sing while you slave and I just get bored
I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more

Clear enough for you?

The irony here is that all but four of the tracks (Subterranean Homesick Blues, Maggie's Farm, Outlaw Blues and On The Road Again), production-wise, wouldn't be completely amiss if they were found on The Freewheelin'. She Belongs To You and Love Minus Zero have band accompaniment but are gently treated by producer Tom Wilson. Bob Dylan's 115th Dream is a slightly more raucous affair but is not a million miles away from the talking blues of his early albums, and side two of the LP is essentially, if not entirely, acoustic.

The difference here is not just the instrumentation but the songwriting. Dylan has found another gear on this LP; musically, yes, but more so lyrically. The imagery is stunning in places, the turn of phrase is perfection and it is always intelligent; It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) in particular showing off his ear for a beautiful line of poetry. To start to quote exemplars would probably lead to reproducing the whole LP and there are probably laws against such a thing.

Particularly effective and endearing is Dylan's use of tales of - dystopia would be too strong - shall we say, living in a persistently unfortunate or bizarre world. Maggie's Farm, 115th Dream and On The Road Again all follow this pattern,

Well, I woke up in the morning
There’s frogs inside my socks
Your mama, she’s a-hidin’
Inside the icebox
Your daddy walks in wearin’
A Napoleon Bonaparte mask
Then you ask why I don’t live here
Honey, do you have to ask?

It's a style that (probably) Dylan first adopted in the 1962 Freewheelin' outtake Talkin' Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues and reaches its climax in Ballad Of A Thin Man which we shall come to next week.  

There are no weak points in this album which makes it difficult to critique. There are some songs that are, how should one put this.... not as excellent as the rest  - I'm not as crazy about Gates Of Eden as others and Outlaw Blues is probably lyrically the least notable of all - but it would be a churlish man who'd nitpick like that. 

[I was just debating the merits of Outlaw Blues when the track faded out and was quickly followed by the harmonica intro to On The Road Again -  a start of a song so gorgeous that it made the train of thought seem trivial. That's how good this LP is.]

It's an album to cherish and the fact that it doesn't make number one in my own personal Dylan chart is just a measure of the back catalogue we're dealing with here. And we're about to move on to Highway 61 Revisited. Crikey.

Out of five?  Five

Favourite track? Subterranean Homesick Blues

Up next? Highway 61 Revisited

Another Side Of Bob Dylan (1964)

In some ways this a curious LP, sitting awkwardly between The Times They Are A-Changing and Bringing It All Back Home. As the title of Another Side (apparently Tom Wilson's choice) not so subtly suggests, this is Dylan doing a quick side-step to escape the label of protest singer that he brought upon himself with his two previous LPs. That said, bearing in mind what was about to come, this isn't any great departure. It's a straightforward folk album, almost a throwback to his first release; just Dylan alone with a mixture of styles including a couple of lighthearted diversions.

Just like the first album Another Side was recorded in a hurry; finished in a day and sometimes it shows. Timings fall off on occasions, Dylan laughs at points (although that is endearing) and on Motorpsycho Nightmare there are hints that he hasn't quite worked out how the lyrics fit with the tune yet. Actually, at points in the recording he sounds a bit pissed (to our American friends, I mean drunk - which is not beyond the realms of possibility given an all day recording session and a fondness for cheap red wine) especially on the ale-house piano based Black Crow Blues.

Unlike on his previous LP, Dylan gives us a couple of humorous numbers. Both Motorpsycho Nightmare and I Shall Be Free No. 10 are amusing but, ultimately, inconsequential songs with the odd political wisecrack thrown in for good measure. Neither have the quality or consistency of some of his talking blues but they are decent enough and, essentially, funny. And yes, yes, I know I criticised the last LP for not having any lighter moments - I'm just saying, that's all.

There is also the first appearance of Dylan's venomous streak. He'd been no shrinking violet before - see Masters of War - but then it was political; this time it's personal. In Ballad In Plain D Dylan gives a gloves off account of his breakup with Suze Rotolo that ended with a spectacular row with her sister:

Of the two sisters, I loved the young
With sensitive instincts, she was the creative one
The constant scapegoat, she was easily undone
By the jealousy of others around her

For her parasite sister, I had no respect
Bound by her boredom, her pride to protect
Countless visions of the other she’d reflect
As a crutch for her scenes and her society

It's warts and all and a precursor to spleen vents like Idiot Wind and Positively 4th Street. Uncomfortable listening but a damn fine song.

This might sound like a bit of whinge but it's not. Though this LP appears somewhat of a brain-dump before moving on to the next stage of his career, there are many extraordinary songs here. Chimes of Freedom, To Ramona - especially To Ramona - My Back Pages, I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met), Ballad in Plain D and It Ain't Me Babe. Now those are songs. As a song writer, the quality that Dylan is, seemingly, churning out at this stage is something quite incredible.

[I particularly like the ending of the album,  It Ain't Me, which has a killer last verse. After imploring the woman to go away from his door because he's not worthy he finally admits it's because he's with someone else.

Go melt back into the night, babe
Everything inside is made of stone
There’s nothing in here moving
An’ anyway I’m not alone.

Genius.]

I stand by my opinion that this LP as a whole has an odd feel both in its rushed sound and its place in the evolution of Dylan as a recording artist  but, my, there is some quality songwriting. This is going to get four and a half stars in a line's time or so but only in the context that we're moving onto Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 next. For any other artist this would be an album to be jealous of. And knocked out in one day.

Out of five?

Four and a half.

Favourite track?

To Ramona

Next up?

Bringing It All Back Home.