More of the Music of Bob Dylan
Reviews and Commentaries for the Music of Bob Dylan
It takes a well-mastered copy to get the vocals and the harmonica — key elements of course — to sound smooth, full-bodied and clear. Any “pinched” quality will be obvious to the listener. You lose a lot of points for that shortcoming here at Better Records.
We Noticed, But Has Anyone Else?
Here’s a little something that you may have come across on your own, but since we’ve never seen it mentioned anywhere else, perhaps this will come as news to you the way it came as news to us about ten years ago.
There is a stamper used on some Blonde on Blonde side fours that is so ridiculously bad, you might as well be listening to a warped cassette that’s playing underwater.
To be sure, we pick up plenty of mediocre copies all the time, but these side fours are so beyond terrible it’s clear someone was asleep at the wheel.
They’re almost fascinating to hear in a way, because it’s simply shocking that a good recording could sound THAT bad. Like the best pressings of our favorites (but in a VERY different way), words don’t do it justice. Its awfulness has to be heard to be believed.
TRACK LISTING
Side One
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
Pledging My Time
Visions of Johanna
One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)
Side Two
I Want You
Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
Just Like a Woman
Side Three
Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine
Temporary Like Achilles
Absolutely Sweet Marie
4th Time Around
Obviously 5 Believers
Side Four
Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands
AMG 5 Star Rave Review!
Blonde on Blonde is an album of enormous depth, providing endless lyrical and musical revelations on each play. Leavening the edginess of Highway 61 with a sense of the absurd, Blonde on Blonde is comprised entirely of songs driven by inventive, surreal, and witty wordplay, not only on the rockers but also on winding, moving ballads like “Visions of Johanna,” “Just Like a Woman,” and “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands.” Throughout the record, the music matches the inventiveness of the songs, filled with cutting guitar riffs, liquid organ riffs, crisp pianos, and even woozy brass bands (“Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”). It’s the culmination of Dylan’s electric rock & roll period — he would never release a studio record that rocked this hard, or had such bizarre imagery, ever again.