The Album Review Club - *** Christmas Break Playlist (next album 7/1/26) ***

I am a hypocrite - I don't like Bob Dylan's voice and prefer his songs when other people sing them.... apart from the ones he sings better than everyone else. And this is album is one where no one else but him can sing it!

What an opening track Rainy Day Woman is. It's just magnificent and part of me wonders what it would sound like if the Stones did it - I think they are the only band that could cover this song with any justice. But in reality, the production, the words, the mood is just spot on.

And so it goes on, every song is brilliant there's no filler here. It's incredible to think this album was made in 1966 - what a year for albums that was: this, Pet Sounds, Revolver and then England won the World Cup! I was born in the wrong decade!

He really is a phenomenal songwriter, an absolute genius and this is certainly one of his best albums, if not the best. Great selection @BlueHammer85 - not heard this for a while!

10/10.
 


I know the Lord of the Rings and Bob Dylan comparison has been made before but I feel it is very apt. When the Peter Jackson LotR trilogy came out I enjoyed them very much and particular reading all about it and how much chainmail they crafted; the clever tricks they did to make the hobbits seem small etc. My favourite moment is when Sean Bean dies and the film goes silent. I've also read the books and enjoyed them. I'd say I like LotR and I'd say I like Bob Dylan. But I just prefer not to watch or read Tolkiens masterpiece nor do I want to listen to Bob Dylan. It's just so much effort.

Rainy Day Woman is a good opener but is roughly twice as long as it needs to be. I do like the little laugh he does in the first verse and in general I am a fan of musicians shouting off mic. Sure seems like it was a fun session but really I think it sounds like he's 14 and trying to say naughty words. But I'm told he's a lyrical genius.

When my kids were growing up they liked to watch a TV series called Jessie. There is one scene where she joins a NYC improv class and they do the Yes And exercise. This exercise involves one person making a statement and the other person expanding on the idea with a "Yes and.....". It's painful and repetitive.

The rag man draws circles up and down the block. Yes and grandpa died last week and was buried in the rocks.

It probably means something but it's just so much effort. It's probably worth the effort though so Bob Dylan is a guilty non pleasure. Liking Bob Dylan is like hating Hitler - it implies you're a good, thoughtful, intelligent person who enjoys fine food and wine. This is who I want to be but really I like crisp butties and vimto. Sorry I'm not sophisticated.

This is obviously good and I'm one of the rare types who actually likes Dylans voice - it's unmistakably his and I like his delivery particularly when he raises up at the end lines like he was in Neighbours. But with millions of songs in the world sometimes i just want to listen to something easier. The Lord of the Rings trilogy are great movies but I'd rather watch Big Trouble in Little China most of the time.

Favourite song is "I Want You" in particular how it doesn't repeat the chorus like it should. It does sound like he's just trying to write rhymes but it feels significant so I'm conflicted. I don't want to appear that I like Hitler so am tempted just to give it a 10 yes and I want to be honest and say this requires much more effort than I'm prepared to give it so the real score is 6 and I am shamed posting in the middle of the night so no one notices.
 
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mrbelfry said:


I know the Lord of the Rings and Bob Dylan comparison has been made before but I feel it is very apt. When the Peter Jackson LotR trilogy came out I enjoyed them very much and particular reading all about it and how much chainmail they crafted; the clever tricks they did to make the hobbits seem small etc. My favourite moment is when Sean Bean dies and the film goes silent. I've also read the books and enjoyed them. I'd say I like LotR and I'd say I like Bob Dylan. But I just prefer not to watch or read Tolkiens masterpiece nor do I want to listen to Bob Dylan. It's just so much effort.

Rainy Day Woman is a good opener but is roughly twice as long as it needs to be. I do like the little laugh he does in the first verse and in general I am a fan of musicians shouting off mic. Sure seems like it was a fun session but really I think it sounds like he's 14 and trying to say naughty words. But I'm told he's a lyrical genius.

When my kids were growing up they liked to watch a TV series called Jessie. There is one scene where she joins a NYC improv class and they do the Yes And exercise. This exercise involves one person making a statement and the other person expanding on the idea with a "Yes and.....". It's painful and repetitive.

The rag man draws circles up and down the block. Yes and grandpa died last week and was buried in the rocks.

It probably means something but it's just so much effort. It's probably worth the effort though so Bob Dylan is a guilty non pleasure. Liking Bob Dylan is like hating Hitler - it implies you're a good, thoughtful, intelligent person who enjoys fine food and wine. This is who I want to be but really I like crisp butties and vimto. Sorry I'm not sophisticated.

This is obviously good and I'm one of the rare types who actually likes Dylans voice - it's unmistakably his and I like his delivery particularly when he raises up at the end lines like he was in Neighbours. But with millions of songs in the world sometimes i just want to listen to something easier. The Lord of the Rings trilogy are great movies but I'd rather watch Big Trouble in Little China most of the time.

Favourite song is "I Want You" in particular how it doesn't repeat the chorus like it should. It does sound like he's just trying to write rhymes but it feels significant so I'm conflicted. I don't want to appear that I like Hitler so am tempted just to give it a 10 yes and I want to be honest and say this requires much more effort than I'm prepared to give it so the real score is 6 and I am shamed posting in the middle of the night so no one notices.
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I actually think if Dylan was a Bluemoon poster - you would be him.
You have a cryptic way with words that I cant quite fathom. Anyhow, kudos about Dylan’s voice , it is unique and works perfectly for his lyrics - also think particularly for this Album it’s the best his sounded.

Ps: I’ve never seen Lord of the rings !
 
mrbelfry said:


Favourite song is "I Want You" in particular how it doesn't repeat the chorus like it should. It does sound like he's just trying to write rhymes but it feels significant so I'm conflicted. I don't want to appear that I like Hitler so am tempted just to give it a 10 yes and I want to be honest and say this requires much more effort than I'm prepared to give it so the real score is 6 and I am shamed posting in the middle of the night so no one notices.
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It's still evening somewhere. ;-)

Extra credit for posting the High Fidelity clip. Now I'm trying to figure out which one of you lot is Jack Black/"Barry Judd". ;-) Maybe Rob is just "Rob" too. And extra extra credit for the Echo & the Bunnymen reference. THAT film had it all, I need to see it again.
 
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BlueHammer85 said:
This is probably my favorite genre from the 80's , that kind of dark melodic jangly post punk sound that few bands could pull off - reminded me of a cross between previous nomination Cocteau Twins and The Cure but can also see the influence of The Doors - so quite a winning combo! however not all of it i could warm to as much as i thought i would - for sure the stand out is the biggest hit ' Killing Moon ' , 'Seven Seas' & 'Silver' both very good , also enjoyed 'My Kingdom' and 'Nocturnal Me' - Good lyrics, Production is perfect, love the strings throughout.

7/10
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Recall an interview with McCulloch saying the band spent years trying to shake off all The Doors comparisons - and then went and covered ''People Are Strange''
 
Black&White&BlueMoon Town said:
It's still evening somewhere. ;-)

Extra credit for posting the High Fidelity clip. Now I'm trying to figure out which one of you lot is Jack Black/"Barry Judd". ;-) Maybe Rob is just "Rob" too. And extra extra credit for the Echo & the Bunnymen reference. THAT film had it all, I need to see it again.
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Ha yeah I thought the Echo reference was a funny coincidence.

For clarity I'm the girl who asks "is this the new Greenday?"
 
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BlueHammer85 said:
I actually think if Dylan was a Bluemoon poster - you would be him.
You have a cryptic way with words that I cant quite fathom. Anyhow, kudos about Dylan’s voice , it is unique and works perfectly for his lyrics - also think particularly for this Album it’s the best his sounded.

Ps: I’ve never seen Lord of the rings !
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I actually took out a line that read
"If Dylan had written this review people would write dissertations discussing its meaning. But I wrote it so you can dismiss it as a rambling pile of garbage."

Dylan & LotR are great but it feels like homework
 
RobMCFC said:
That's a very astute observation.

I'm still listening and formulating my review, but some of this album is hard work. And I'm a Dylan fan (well, some of his work, anyway).
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Yeh it's not a Album to really get in a day or even a week for sure. Need a lot of time, which i seemed to have pre kids.
 
BlueHammer85 said:
Well done Rob, easy peasy and you know me to well.

It is of course Big Bad Bob.

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I’ve waited long enough but finally it’s time to nominate my favorite Robert Allen Zimmerman Album and one of my favorite albums ever – Blonde On Blonde

I did weigh this up with Highway 61 revisited, Bringing It Back Home (What a ridiculous run of Albums from 65-66) or go for a later Dylan Album ‘Blood On The Tracks’, ‘Time Out Of Mind’ or even a 00's one, too many to choose from but for me ‘Blonde On Blonde’ is the perfect peak Dylan spot – I cant recall any other artist than can conjure up the imagery in lyrics like Dylan does and so many tracks on here just keep me engaged with the next line after the next, even after countless listens. There is a perfect mix on here, Rock, Blues, Folk, slow stuff and Dylan goofing around.

The production is perfect, rich and layered through out yet retains that 60’s folk sound – From the psychedelic opener ‘Rainy Day Women’ ..everybody must get stoned! To upbeat blues rock stuff ‘Pledging My Time/Absolutely Sweet Marie/Obviously Fiver Believers’ , slow lyrical classis ‘Visions Of Johanna’ & ‘Sad Eyed Lady’ it’s just a perfect mix. My favourite is probably ‘Temporary Like Achilles’ if only for that Harmonica Intro and the opening lyrics and also 'I Want You' is a sweet number, there's very little fillers here although i do confess to skipping 'Visions Of Johanna' and 'Sad Eyed Lady' at times, both classics of course but do drag on a bit.

It was actually my History teacher that played a Dylan song in the class-room once, I think it would have been Blowin’ In The Wind he played to a classroom full of 14/15 year old stoners, cap wearers and little shits like myself at the time – most of the class didn’t give much notice to Mr Little as he put this on and talked about war and oppression but I remember hearing something so unique and going up to Mr Little after class and asking what that was – the next day Mr Little bought in a cassette tape with some of Dylans best tracks. I played it through when I got home, remember Dylans voice grating and some tracks sounded horrendous so I didn’t really persist – however, around a year later and working my first job at the Co-Op , standing at the till, late at night in a empty shop – ‘Like A Rolling Stone’ blasted on, boom – that was it, I was hooked on Dylan.

The next few years I was obsessed, bought as many CDs as I could and nearly had the whole catalogue.

After that I was clubbing and too into girls and drugs and put Dylan back on the shelf – yet whenever I had some alone time and feeling the blues, I would always reach for one of his albums and it would take me away from the confusion and stresses in life.

Back to the Album and using a bit of Wiki - Blond On Blonde is the seventh studio album by the American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released as a double album on June 20, 1966.

Critics often rank Blonde on Blonde as one of the greatest albums of all time. Combining the expertise of Nashville session musicians with a modernist literary sensibility, the album's songs have been described as operating on a grand scale musically, while featuring lyrics one critic called "a unique mixture of the visionary and the colloquial".It was one of the first double albums in rock music.

The album peaked at number nine on the Billboard Top LPs chart in the US, where it eventually was certified double platinum, and it reached number three in the UK. Blonde on Blonde spawned two singles that were top-twenty hits in the US: "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" and "I Want You". Two additional songs—"Just Like a Woman" and "Visions of Johanna"—have been named as among Dylan's greatest compositions and were featured in Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time" list in 2003. In 1999, the album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, and was ranked number 38 in Rolling Stone's list of the "500 Greatest Albums of All Time" in 2020

-

Now, I know many on here can’t stand Dylan and I will have my bingo card at the ready for how many will say ‘it’s just his voice is unbearable’ or something like that – but hopefully away from the endless discussion about his voice some will enjoy the music, the lyrics, the imagery and much more from this. Enjoy!
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Thats a really nice personal review mate. I don't mind Dylan's voice in the slightest (it wouldn't be Dylan without it) albeit Highway 61 remains my favourite after many years of listening. That would get a 9 from me whereas this gets an 8. If you had proposed Lord of the Rings, that would have got a 10 but of course thats not an album (well it is actually someone tried to compose some music to it in the 70's and then of course there is the soundtrack to the PJ trilogy but you know what I mean) :-)
 
mrbelfry said:
I actually took out a line that read
"If Dylan had written this review people would write dissertations discussing its meaning. But I wrote it so you can dismiss it as a rambling pile of garbage."

Dylan & LotR are great but it feels like homework
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You really shouldn't have taken it out mate. It was very good.

But as Tolkien once said,
To the sea, to the sea! The white gulls are crying,
The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying.
West, west away, the round sun is falling,
Grey ship, grey ship, do you hear them calling,
The voices of my people that have gone before me?
I will leave, I will leave the woods that bore me;
For our days are ending and our years failing.
I will pass the wide waters lonely sailing.
Long are the waves on the Last Shore falling,
Sweet are the voices in the Lost Isle calling,
In Eressea, in Elvenhome that no man can discover,
Where the leaves fall not: land of my people forever!”

At least there were no 'ever and anon's' in that
Btw. The Silmarillion has even better prose :-)
 
Saddleworth2 said:
You really shouldn't have taken it out mate. It was very good.

But as Tolkien once said,
To the sea, to the sea! The white gulls are crying,
The wind is blowing, and the white foam is flying.
West, west away, the round sun is falling,
Grey ship, grey ship, do you hear them calling,
The voices of my people that have gone before me?
I will leave, I will leave the woods that bore me;
For our days are ending and our years failing.
I will pass the wide waters lonely sailing.
Long are the waves on the Last Shore falling,
Sweet are the voices in the Lost Isle calling,
In Eressea, in Elvenhome that no man can discover,
Where the leaves fall not: land of my people forever!”

At least there were no 'ever and anon's' in that
Btw. The Silmarillion has even better prose :-)
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My dad had the Silmarillion but I don't think i have ever seen him read a book. He also had a collection of books based in the wild West. I remember in one a cowboy cut off someone's nipple. I dont Tolkien would have approved.
 
Of that run of three albums mentioned my preferences actually run in release order which I've been told by more than one Dylanista illustrates my crassness/laziness/stupidity, delete as appropriate. It's all slightly academic as I only ever listen to Dylan in bite size chunks anyway; nothing to do with his voice which over the years I've grown quite fond of.

I'm debating whether to listen to this album 3 times end to end without skipping but that seems a bit mad because, I've never felt compelled to do that before so why would I start now when it would probably only result in me knocking a point off what I'm likely to score it?

On the crisp butty and Vimto front, it's entirely dependent on flavour of crisp involved as to whether than makes Belfry an uncouth savage or not. I've eaten in some nice places over the years but having long considered what my final meal would be were I to face a firing squad I'm resolved it would be a bacon oven bottom with brown sauce.
 
threespires said:
Of that run of three albums mentioned my preferences actually run in release order which I've been told by more than one Dylanista illustrates my crassness/laziness/stupidity, delete as appropriate. It's all slightly academic as I only ever listen to Dylan in bite size chunks anyway; nothing to do with his voice which over the years I've grown quite fond of.

I'm debating whether to listen to this album 3 times end to end without skipping but that seems a bit mad because, I've never felt compelled to do that before so why would I start now when it would probably only result in me knocking a point off what I'm likely to score it?

On the crisp butty and Vimto front, it's entirely dependent on flavour of crisp involved as to whether than makes Belfry an uncouth savage or not. I've eaten in some nice places over the years but having long considered what my final meal would be were I to face a firing squad I'm resolved it would be a bacon oven bottom with brown sauce.
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I'd do the bacon without the sauce but otherwise thats perfect. Crisps wise it's no strong preference but probably salt and vinegar UNLESS I'm also putting beef paste on it in which case my crisp of choice would be cheese and onion.
 
Had a first listen. This album is so similar and yet so different from the last pick. Hopefully this time (out of all the other times I tried to like Dylan) the effort pays off.
 
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