Bob Dylan - Blonde on Blonde
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Free Music Notes for Blonde on Blonde
Free Music Review: Without question one of the greatest albums of the rock era
Hit: 5 Stars
The amazing thing about BLONDE ON BLONDE is that the worst thing you can say about it is that while it is easily one of the ten greatest albums of the rock era, it is possibly only his second best album. The eternal debate: HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED versus BLONDE ON BLONDE. Dylan fans almost always prefer one or the other, but it is in the end a not very important debate: all Dylan fans agree that both are masterpieces of the highest order.
I realized that I was not a genius while listening to this album. Let's face it: many of us, if we were to devote our lives to songwriting, could probably write songs as good as many performers. But the second I heard a line from "Visions of Johanna," I knew that Dylan was a genius and I was not. In the second verse (the entire first verse, by the way, is as good a verse as anyone has written) he sings:
The ghost of 'lectricity howls in the bones of her face
Now, I know for a fact that if given a hundred years I could never come up with a line that striking and unexpected. Apart from Dylan I'm not sure who could. Leonard Cohen can sometimes match Dylan for lyric brilliance, so perhaps him, but possibly no one else.
In the debate between Dylan fans about which of the two main candidates is Dylan's supreme masterpiece I tend to go with HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED. I have a few reasons for preferring it. First, its historical importance. There is a near universal consensus that "Like a Rolling Stone" is the greatest single in the history of rock. You could almost divide the history of rock and indeed of popular music as pre- and post-"Like a Rolling Stone." The lyrical content of songs was relatively unimportant before this song. Afterwards it was crucial. The song rippled through the entire musical community, causing songwriters as diverse as Lennon and McCartney, Jagger and Richards, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, Pete Townshend, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, and a host of others to rethink their approach to songwriting. Almost overnight rock and roll took on a new depth it didn't previously possess. No other song of the past fifty years had such an impact. And this song is included on HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED. Furthermore the album contained several other songs of the highest order, including "Ballad of a Thin Man," "Highway 61 Revisited," and "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," and this is before the album raps up with the astonishing "Desolation Row." There is not a single weak cut on the disc while at least five songs are exceptional by any standard. I don't think BLONDE ON BLONDE quite matches it on the musical level and it certainly did not have the impact on music as a whole that the earlier album did.
Nonetheless, BLONDE ON BLONDE was and is a stupendous achievement. If it isn't quite as consistently superb as HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED, it amazes by its sheer length. And though it does not possess as many musical highpoints, there are at least three or four songs as good as Dylan ever wrote. The album as a whole was as diverse as any he would ever record, with songs popping up written in a variety of modes. It is also somewhat mellower than the earlier one, possible a result of featuring Robbie Robertson on guitar than the exhilarating Michael Bloomfield. But for myself I find that some of the songs simply aren't among Dylan's finest.
"Visions of Johanna" is simply one of Dylan's greatest songs. A lot of people like to accuse Dylan of not being a good vocalist, let alone a great one. Widely viewed as a song about his break up with Joan Baez, it contains a host of unforgettable images and wonderful lines. The entire first verse, as I noted above, is especially marvelous. It reminds me of those paintings of Edward Hopper in which he presents a scene that has quiet undertones of desperation and despair and longing. But anyone who doesn't think Dylan is a great singer should try to sing along with him. His phrasing is impossible to imitate and one quickly realizes that despite the rap he is in fact a very special vocalist.
Though "Visions of Johanna" is one of Dylan's greatest compositions, the album boasts several very nearly as good. "Just Like a Woman" is one of Dylan's best known song, though I must confess that I find it a tad too pop and lacking the complexity and depth of the other songs on the album. "Absolutely Sweet Marie" is, along with "Visions of Johanna," perhaps my favorite cut on the disc. The title alone is one of my favorites of all time. What does it mean to be "absolutely sweet"? The adverb is vague but delicious. The song itself is stuff with imagery that is typical Dylan with its humor and wit. The song is driven by the brightest, hardest beat on the album with some of his best harmonica work. Though this is one of the songs where you wish that Bloomfield rather than Robertson were on guitar. Many songs on the album are nearly as rich as these, from the almost ramshackle "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" to "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" to "I Want You" to "Temporarily Like Achilles." There are a couple of weak links, however. "Sad Eyed Lady of the Low Lands" is one of the less stellar songs included on any album from Dylan's peak years and there are a couple of others almost as week. My own thinking is that if Dylan had cut the weakest numbers and settled for a single vinyl disc on its initial release instead of two, the album would have been fully the musical equal of HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED.
But like I said, even if this is Dylan's second finest album, it is nonetheless one of the very greatest albums ever released. It might even be in the top five. I personally would put HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED. When the less and less authoritative Rolling Stone did their list of the 500 Greatest Albums ever they put HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED #4, but only after three albums that were profoundly influenced by the Dylan: SGT. PEPPER'S, the hideously overrated PET SOUNDS (which I truly do not believe belongs in the top 100), and REVOLVER (which I personally think is the Beatles best). No Dylan and none of these three albums would exist. They put BLONDE ON BLONDE #9, but I think this was a bit low. But see, I said that the worst thing one could say about the album is that it is merely one of the ten best albums ever.
Free Music Review: I Need More Stars for Blonde on Blonde
Hit: 5 Stars
I own the record, the cassette and the CD of this record. The album was a double gatefold with a startling, good looking picture of Dylan on the cover. From looking at this cover, you get the impression of a young Brando. And like the defiant Brando of those early years, we see a defiant Dylan here, making music his way and damn the critics. This is a rocker, just witness the lead off song. It's also got the long "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" taking up the whole last side on the second disc of the double record. That must have really blown some minds back then. There is dynamite organ work, terrific piano work, knock 'em dead guitar work on this record. Every song is a gem and every song seems to redefine Dylan, a man who has been defined and redefined so many times in his career. Not only is this record one of his best, but it's one of the best records ever made. I know that's been said before, but it's true.Free Music Review: One of the All Time Best Records Ever Made
Hit: 5 Stars
Listening to "Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 36" one almost gets the sense of Bob Dylan rolling on the floor laughing as he's singing. You really get the sense that Dylan is feeling pretty good about himself, even though there were many of his fans who were upset with the fact that he'd gone all electric on them. This ain't no folk record, that's for sure, but then again, the last couple weren't folk records either, but they came so close together and the some of the folkies of the day were apparently a little slow in getting the picture. From "Rainy Day Woman" Dylan seques right into the rockin' bluesy "Pledging My Time," which is my favorite song on the record, though I really like rollickin', rockin' "Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat" as well. Oh heck, I like the whole bloody record. What's not to like?Free Music Review: Stuck Inside a Masterpiece
Hit: 5 Stars
This record builds on the excellent "Highway 61 Revisited" enhancing not only Dylan's musical genius, but his mystique as well. What is he here? I mean what did they think of him back then, back when this record came out. Rock and Roll star, sure. Poet, sure. No longer involved in the politics of the day, but involved in so much more. Mr. Jones didn't get it on the last record and he's probably not getting it now. However lots of folks did get it, or thought they got it. I like to think I would've, but I don't know if I understand this record even now, after all this time, but I plan on listening to it over and over till I do finally understand this musical masterpiece, because I know it's important and it is just so very good, so wonderful.Free Music Review: Very Long, but Not Long Enough, My Favorite Dylan Record
Hit: 5 Stars
This record opens with "Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 36" and I can remember driving from LA to TJ with that record on the cassette player. I was riding with three friends and we played that record all the way there. Over and Over listening to that refrain, "Everybody must get stoned." We were college girls out for a good time. We did tequila shooters south of the border, but we were back Stateside by dark, I guess we weren't quite as daring as we thought we were. In the motel in Chula Vista we played the whole album on my portable cassette player. We cried during "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" even though it's probably not a crying song. "Vision of Johanna" is just the best. "I Want You," is a gripping rocker. "Just Like a Woman," is just like this whole record, Just outstanding, superb, really.