The Album Review Club - Week #147 - (page 1942) - Blonde On Blonde - Bob Dylan

[Coatigan]

First concert I ever went to was Bob Dylan. I went with my dad but was too young to appreciate it. I remember I had a carton of orange in my pocket that had got very warm by the end of the gig. Literally remember nothing else. It may have been at Maine Road or the Apollo.

My mum and dad just spent an absolute fortune going to see him in Edinburgh last month.

There is a good metaphor in there somewhere.

 

[Coatigan]

I am assuming Rob smashed it out the park with his guess, and there's no point going further.

But just in case, Kiss - dressed to kill :)

 

[bennyboy]

If it is Dylan is this another lp with the same sounding harmonica all the way through.

 

[BlueHammer85]

Well done Rob, easy peasy and you know me to well.

It is of course Big Bad Bob.




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!

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

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.

Very nice write-up, felt like I was there seeing all of this take place, all the way to the Co-Op.

Looking forward to giving this a re-listen and cheers on picking such a great year for a release of great things! ;-)

 

[journolud]

1966!? I had no idea this album was that old. For some reason the only Dylan album I've ever really been able to take to is Highway 61 which I love, it has a fairly unique mood. I've listened to this before and discarded it so will be interesting to give it another go.

 

[Black&White&BlueMoon Town]

1966!? I had no idea this album was that old. For some reason the only Dylan album I've ever really been able to take to is Highway 61 which I love, it has a fairly unique mood. I've listened to this before and discarded it so will be interesting to give it another go.

This is the first reviewed album that actually might have a page on this thread discussing it in the year it was released. D-Day is in 2 pages. Those of us numbers obsessed think like that. ;-)

 

[BlueHammer85]

1966!? I had no idea this album was that old. For some reason the only Dylan album I've ever really been able to take to is Highway 61 which I love, it has a fairly unique mood. I've listened to this before and discarded it so will be interesting to give it another go.

Highway 61 is like the Sister album to this one for me, both superb and released within months together - crazy how he was churning out these songs in short succession, similar to the Beatles - Blonde On Blonde is probably a bit more melodic and richer than Highway 61 so just gets the edge.

 

[RobMCFC]

Well done Rob, easy peasy and you know me to well.

It is of course Big Bad Bob.

View attachment 139121


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!

I thought you'd go for this sooner or later. It was the leopard-skin hat that gave it away.

 

[Kippaxpete]

Well done Rob, easy peasy and you know me to well.

It is of course Big Bad Bob.

View attachment 139121


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!

I hope that bingo card includes an entry for Dylan's much derided mouth organ playing BH! I'm not a huge Dylan fan but, in spite of his detractors in the harmonica department, I quite enjoy its raw quality.