The Album Review Club - Christmas Break Until 8th January

[Lovebitesandeveryfing]

A smart son that elder one. ;-)

Most of my shows these days are at less than 1K venues. I mostly avoid stadiums and have greatly enjoyed ones less than 10K. Thankfully most of the bands I see are hitting these sized venues.

In my regular gig-going days (long gone) the only time I did a stadium was for the Band, Joni Mitchell, Crosby, Stills and Young on the same bill. Wembley ’74. Enough said, I think.
Saw some wonderful gigs in pubs, or in a room above them. No more than about a hundred people (or less sometimes) packed in like sardines.

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

Happy gritterman day @Black&White&BlueMoon Town .

Happy Gritterman Day to you too, our Seasonal Hero! "Turkey Chow Mein, Delicious"

I actually started my first Gritterman listen as tradition calls for on Sunday, and a few listens in between the album at hand this week has helped a lot. What's that 60 year old song tune famous line? "A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down". Watching the making of that Disney classic and then catching the new "Wicked" in the theatre Sunday night did wonders for my mood, so here we go with a review!

Blonde On Blonde - Bob Dylan

I've listened to this a few times before, and the harmonica gets key props as the musical instrument of the album as others have noted. By the time I hit that instrument's solo in "Pledging My Time", I knew he wasn't messing around and this was full on harmonica. It is the primary instrument that prevails throughout.

I like how the Hawks musicians Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson and Rick Danko joined the Nashville sessions here on this album and would later become The Band. Their background sound really worked on these tracks: "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again", "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat", "Most Likely You Go Your Way...", "Obviously Five Believers", and Sad-Eyed Lady of The Lowlands". The bluesy tone and instruments is heard throughout these and other songs, and in some cases even outshines the artist (on LSPBH in particular) on his own album.

Even though the harmonica takes the lead on this album, the organ isn't far behind on "One of Us Must Know", "I Want You", "Just Like A Woman", and "Aboslutely Sweet Marie", the middle songs I particularly like.

There are a few cases where the rhyming gets a bit forced, and even though this album is offered by music critics as a literary classic, by the time "Fourth Time Around" hits, it appears to have grown a bit weary.

If I were to score this alone, I'd probably be thinking the same as Pep this week:


But, I'm moving past Sunday and upon further reflection and with my final listen focused more on The Band than Bob on these tracks, I'm scoring a 7/10 on an album that I realize thematically was more than just a collection of songs, but a mood that was groundbreaking for its time.

 

[RobMCFC]

Being compared to KDB, that might be the best compliment ever!

Like Bobby Z my chosen act for tomorrow might be a bit Marmite but I will be rolling out one of my favourite albums. I’ll post an actual clue tomorrow.

I’m hazarding a guess that there is already a clue in there as well.

 

[BlueHammer85]

Nominating an Album whilst you’re all in a deep state of anger and rage - can we do the scoring till after you’ve stuffed Forest and all order is restored in the world ?

 

[journolud]

As usual, being someone who likes to leave my review till the last day or two I find that much of what I might want to say has already been said. So, it might not be original but still it’s mine…

When this was nominated I said that the only Dylan album I liked was Highway 61. That’s not quite true, when I looked I saw that I also had John Wesley Harding and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid downloaded. It’s just that I don’t listen to them much, in fact I can’t remember when I last did.

Hihway 61 I have on vinyl and I don’t know what it is about that album that appeals to me in the way others don’t. As a direct follow up you would think this has a chance.

There are songs on here that would almost fit on Highway 61, albeit they would weaken it as they are some of the weaker tracks on this. I’m thinking of the likes of Pledging My Time and Temporary Like Achilles. The former along with Rainy Day Woman aren’t a great start and I felt almost guilty making my wife listen to them in the car last week while coming home from a shopping trip. “Is this what they call the blues?” she said. Christ knows I thought.

But them somewhere between Stockport and Poynton I find myself settling into it and saying, “you know some of it is alright”. By the time we get to Macclesfield I’m a convert? Well, not quite, it’s the road to Macclesfield, not Damascus.

But there are some songs I really enjoy listening to. I Want You, Just :Like a Woman, Visions of Johanna, Stuck Inside of Mobile. All good. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat, hmm, less so.

But from a really strong middle it does begin to sag again and even drag. There’s a pattern for a while of good, bad, good but by the time we come to Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands and I notice it’s coming in at 11 minutes long my heart sinks a little. A shame because that is a good song but too long. Pare it down to around 6 or 7 minutes. Interesting really, I like long songs, like on Highway 61 and some of the meditative ramble of Van Morrison but this album is too long and to tack on an 11 minuter at the end is pretty trying.

I hate the idea of skipping tracks. I’m still of the mindset that if you listen to an album you listen to all of it. My attention span still allows me to do that. If this album had jettisoned some of the weaker tracks, although we’d all probably differ and what we think those are, and clocked in at around 40 minutes I would be happy to listen to it more often. Perhaps I’ll have to make myself a Dylan playlist instead, I can think of other songs of his I like (somebody mentioned Hurricane) but for it’s over long and trying moments it loses marks. Could have been a 7 or an 8 but it’s a 6. Oh and has anybody said there is too much mouth organ and some of it is awful and some of it isn’t?

 

[RobMCFC]

Well, not quite, it’s the road to Macclesfield, not Damascus.

Excellent. I can see some of us using this term in the future. The "Road to Macclesfield" indicating that we liked something, but not that much.

 

[OB1]

I’m hazarding a guess that there is already a clue in there as well.

Hopefully too vague to be of use until I post an actual clue.

 

[OB1]

Excellent. I can see some of us using this term in the future. The "Road to Macclesfield" indicating that we liked something, but not that much.

The "Road to Macclesfield", I like that but then I've taken the road to Macc so many times.

 

[journolud]

The "Road to Macclesfield", I like that but then I've taken the road to Macc so many times.

Reminds me of my much younger self when I used to produce a local fanzine of sorts called All Stations to Macclesfield, so called because it wasn't the Macclesfield Express, our local rag.

 

[OB1]

Reminds me of my much younger self when I used to produce a local fanzine of sorts called All Stations to Macclesfield, so called because it wasn't the Macclesfield Express, our local rag.

I did eventually live in Macc for a years but before that I went to School there for 7 years and many of my friends and girlfriends (including my wife) were from Macc. I'd often do two trips a day when I was in the Upper Sixth.