Nashville Skyline (1969)

I love this album. It's not a groundbreaking LP, it isn't a lyrical masterpiece, it won't feature at the very top of anyone's all time list of Dylan's recordings but, damn it, listening to Nashville Skyline makes me feel good. When the sun is out, the road is clear and the car windows are all the way down, this is what's playing on the stereo.  Hell, even my wife - who despairs of the length of the 'D' section of the record collection - thinks this is lovely.

His voice has taken another half step towards the back of his throat and sounds almost strangled at times. But despite that - because of that? - Dylan's tones are a rich and textured as at any point in his career. His voice caresses the melodies rather than stabbing at them accusingly as he has before. This is a sound that suits the songs perfectly.

Within the context of the career of his Bobness, the songs are in some ways unremarkable. Lyrically, they are, at their heart, simple love songs or regrets at lost love; there are no Mr Joneses, Frankie Lees or Judas Priests here and certainly no leopard-skin pill-box hats. This is straightforward unpretentious songwriting for straightforward unpretentious songs with the folk part of country-folk taking a back seat.

While Lay Lady Lay is probably the only song that you'd find on one of those greatest hits or best of packages, Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You and I Threw It All Away are just as worthy of note. Beautiful melodies with heartfelt lyrics, simple and lovely. Short too - other than the opening track, nothing here comes in over three and a half minutes. This is solid, no nonsense, enjoyable song writing.

Enjoyable is the thing that comes over. It sounds like they were having fun, keeping it simple and not trying to go anywhere too fast. Almost throwaway in places, tracks like Nashville Skyline Rag, Peggy Day or Country Pie are guaranteed to raise a smile.

And you get a bit of Johnny Cash. The choice of opening the LP with a song from The Freewhleein' album and a duet with the country legend Cash is an odd one but it works. It works even though towards the end of the track it sounds like their certainly singing different words and melody, possibly in different keys and even maybe separate songs. It works because its Johnny Cash. And Dylan. Singing Girl From the North Country, for goodness sake. (and that for most of the time they don't try to harmonise). 

This was never going to change the world but it makes me very happy every time I listen to it. All the tracks work in their own way and there are some real beauties on here. Good stuff.

Out of five?
Five.

Favourite track?
Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You

Next up?
Self Portrait