 "Engagingly dour Dylan. Perhaps his second best album" | 2009-04-23 |
| - Reviewed By dfle3 |
Recently I reviewed "The freewheelin' Bob Dylan", and after having listened to more Bob Dylan albums in the meantime, I'd say that that album is his best...it's upbeat, and has a masterpiece on it (Masters of war). Separating some of Bob Dylan's other albums is a bit harder. I'm going with "The times they are a changin'" as my pick for his second best album. If you like his upbeat albums, there are a few to listen to there. But, for something a bit gloomier, there's less to go around. Dylan does gloomy here, very well indeed.
The title track opens this album, and it is perhaps his greatest song. I was late in discovering "Masters of war" (which I found out about through hearing bits of it played on one or more documentaries on Dylan), but maybe hadn't appreciated how good this song was until I bought this album. As with all the songs on this album, the instruments used are accoustic guitar, or accoustic guitar with harmonica bursts. This song features the harmonica. It's not usually mentioned, I don't think, but the lyrics to this song cut both ways...in the movie "Bob Roberts", I think, there is a parody of this song, of sorts. It takes a more conservative view of things. In any case, there is nothing necessarily left-wing about this song, I don't think. The simple strumming on this song is a pleasure, but if I am to find fault with this song, there is a point towards its end, where you feel Dylan falls too much in love with his words, and he perhaps uses too many of them. Minor flaw, in any case.
Only a pawn in their game: my pick as the albums second best song. Again, this is a song which I only found out about by watching a documentary on Dylan (I've seen two...one from the late 60's I think, and Martin Scorcese's one, I think). Surprisingly, this song, like many I consider to be his best (like "Masters of war"), don't appear on "Best of" compilations. It has political analysis of race politics during the time of America's own Apartheid. The names invoked in this song were lost on me, as an Australian, but I got the gist of the song's intent.
Other songs I liked well enough:
North country blues: I'm a huge fan of Billy Joel, and I consider "Allentown" one of his greatest songs. This seems to be Bob Dylan's own "Allentown", without that later song's catchy poppiness. Dylan's song is just him on his accoustic guitar, with no harmonica. Languid style, with a grungy word picture painted by the man. His plaintive vocals work well.
The lonesome death of Hattie Carroll: Dylan as a chronicler of a miscarriage of justice, due to class factors. Probably based on a true story, but, again, the American references are lost on me. Dylan's harmonica playing here is a treat at times. Features harmonica to good effect.
Restless farewell: This song, and Dylan almost sound Irish here. The guitar sound in this song is quite interesting...occasionally stuttering, and sounding a bit like a harp or some such.
A couple other songs of interest:
With God on our side: longest song on the album, at 7:07 minutest long. Every now and again people I interact with on the web would quote this song. It seems to be the song which holds a mirror up to American society, and reflects back a harsh reality on it. As far as I can tell, this is the only song you could perhaps infer had a Jewish writer from Dylan's catalogue. Dylan is in fact Jewish, but I think this is the only song where Jewish history gets a mention. Quite a scathing critique of what invoking God allows one to do or get away with. Features harmonica to good effect.
Ballad of Hollis Brown: again, could be based on a true story. An affecting word picture of quiet desperation.
Watching those documentaries on Dylan, he'd often protest that he wasn't a protest singer. With many songs on these albums, you'd have to say that he was fooling himself. Dylan protests all manner of subject here: uses/abuses of religion, social injustice, racism etc. Perhaps Dylan saw himself as more the artist than a protester. One can ponder on the rights and wrongs of naming names in many songs in here...people who have died tragic deaths, and whether turning their songs into art is fair on their loved ones. If Dylan wrote these songs not too long after some of the tragedies mentioned in his songs, you could view that as being exploitative of the victims.
As an Australian unaffected by some of these tragedies, I can't say that these rights and wrongs have much to do with me.
Even though Amazon lists this unremastered cd as out of circulation, I recentlyish bought it new in a chain store in Australia. In some cases, for some albums, I'm not sure that a remaster is a clear winner (as for "The freewheelin' Bob Dylan"). In other cases, maybe there is something to be said for the remaster (as for "Blonde on blonde"). In the case of this album, I'm inclined to think saving money on an unremastered cd is the smarter choice...just because the sound is so sparse and not given to the more wider sound-scape of albums like "Blonde on blonde".
Anyway, if you are inclined to the moody, this album's downbeat themes and occasionally plaintive vocals could be a revealation for you. Dylan's guitar playing tends sometimes to plucking notes, and sometimes to softly strumming. This album is a good antidote to Dylan's more upbeat albums.
Some recommened Dylan albums:
For accoustic guitar: especially "The freewheelin' Bob Dylan", which is quite upbeat. His self-titled debut is not without interest either.
For upbeat albums: try "Blonde on blonde", though this does feature electric guitar.
If you like "The times they are a changin'" for the general mood of the album, I tend to like "Blood on the track" for similar reasons...although it has a different mood to this album. It's more "chill out" music. A Dylan for every mood. |
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 "Savage with a Promise of Hope" | 2008-04-10 |
| - Reviewed By bootleg_press |
I was a senior at Lakewood High School in Southern California when this record came out, I was waiting for it and I wasn't disappointed. From the opening song you knew, just knew the times were a-changin'. You wanted them to be, at least. Only two and a half months earlier JFK had been gunned down in Dallas and for a lot of us the times really sucked. LBJ was in the White House, the war in Vietnam was hotting up, black people were being clubbed to death in the south, oftentimes by the police, the Russians had big bombs pointed our way and we theirs.
So when I put on this record, heard the first song in that gut wrenching voice, I wanted to believe, as did many, but sadly not all. "The Ballad of Hollis Brown" rang oh so true, it was an indictment of us all. The very long "With God on Our Side" -- a song I thought very strong back then, but doesn't seem to hold up, I don't know why -- really got me in the chest, especially since I was already in the Marine Corps, signed up, but not having to go till the day after graduation. Boy what a dumb thing that was I did, but kids are dumb and I was dumber than most. After listening to that real long track, I really wasn't looking forward to boot camp. I really didn't want to go.
I can't say enough how much I love "One too Many Mornings". I play it all the time. In fact I play this whole record a lot, can't help it, it's just so good. If you close your eyes, sit back and really listen to this record, "Hollis Brown", "Hattie Carroll" and "Pawn" will make you cry and "When the Ship Comes In" will make you wonder. But for me the best track is still the title track, because it'll make you hope, it still does me.
Ken Douglas, author of Dead Ringer, Desperation Moon & Running Scared. |
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| "Worth having" | 2008-01-27 |
| - Reviewed By brad_maloney2000 |
| This is coming from someone who is not a die hard Bob Dylan fan, in fact most of his music just leaves me flat, but I enjoy listening to this album from beginning to end. His voice & guitar playing are both strong & the songs are heartfelt & meaningful. If you are put off by the legacy of Dylan, this album is worth an objective listening. |
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| "(3.5 stars) Not brilliant, but pretty good" | 2007-08-06 |
| - Reviewed By radioactiveman12 |
I don't get why so many people are quick to jump on this as the weakest disc of Dylan's acoustic period. I actually think it's pretty good myself - about as good as Freewheelin', which I find to be slightly overrated (good, though) - both are far behind my pick for the best acoustic disc, Another Side Of, but whatever. Onto the review.
Now, let's be fair, there are a couple weak songs on this album. I don't find either Ballad of Hollis Brown or North Country blues enlightening, well-intentioned as both protests surely are, they don't have any musical or lyrical interest. I'm not crazy about Boots of Spanish Leather, either; it's not nearly as touching as Girl from the North Country, nor is it as complex and insightful as Don't Think Twice, It's All Right, my favorite Dylan love song. Whereas Don't Think Twice has some clever, self-depricating humor to match its jibes at the former lover, Spanish Leather is merely morose and meandering (Alliteration is fun!), not making tis point until the end of the song - by that point, I've long since tuned out. And Restless Farewell left me, well... restless. Is that the most obvious insult in history for that song? Most likely. But it applies, because it's not a terribly exciting tune.
Now let's get to the good stuff. You don't need me here telling you the prophetic title track is great: just listen to it, because it's more than worth hearing. Even better is my personal favorite, One Too Many Mornings. Yes, subsequent live versions (particularly the Rolling Thunder version) gave it more cathartic power, but it's a moving song regardless. With God On Our Side is another undisputable highlight, probably the one with the strongest, most thought-provoking lyrics on the album: it's also a common target for the numerous people who don't like this disc. Yes, it's long, and no, the melody isn't all that exciting. But if you zone in on the lyrics, you'll find it's one of his best written songs. And I highly advise you focus on Only a Pawn in Their Game's lyrics, too, a strong protest against racism and how politicians use it for power. My issue with the song is the rambling, unfocused, downright distracting guitar part. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll is a striking song about William Zantzinger's real-life racist murder of barmaid Hattie Carroll. The song digs pretty deep, deep enough for Zantzinger himself to be enraged by it: he denies its accuarcy to this day, but anyone who would commit a racist murder is bound to be wrong in the head. Anyone who knows anything should know that Zantzinger, and not Dylan, is the "No-account son of a b****". Enough tooting my own horn, though: good song right there. My favorite part is the last verse, where Dylan builds the suspense about the "fairness and justice" of our court system, only to reveal that Zantzinger somehow got off easy. A great move on Dylan's part, taking a swipe at the court system while he was at it. The last of my favorite songs is When the Ship Comes In. It's the only optimistic song on the album, and even then its optimism deals with the horrible death of Dylan's enemies. Maybe a bit unnecessarily spiteful, but a very solid song nonetheless, and anyway how many great Dylan songs aren't unnecessarily spiteful? Let's see, Positively 4th Street, Like a Rolling Stone, Maggie's Farm, Idiot Wind...
So that's my assessment, I guess. A pretty good work. Not in the first class of Dylan recordings, but with enough solid songs to make it a must for any serious Dylan fan who's heard the first-class recordings. |
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| "My favorite Bob album of all time..." | 2007-03-13 |
| - Reviewed By adamsfam34 |
| was also the first one I purchased, although it was his third release. It is dark, depressing in spots, bleak and bitter, but oh, so powerful back in 1963! Buying Dylan back then,even for a college sophomore was kind of a radical act in my somewhat racist family. We were lifelong denizens of New Jersey, but uncomfortable with all the civil rights agitation just the same. I bought the record because I had seen Bob perform "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" on the Steve Allen late-night TV variety show. To find out what made Dylan famous BEFORE he went to electrified rock, get this item. |
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| "10.0/10.0" | 2006-12-15 |
| - Reviewed By nohbody |
This is the greatest album ever recorded.
Unfortunately, I now find myself having to back off that that original statement: I haven't listened to every work of recorded music in history. In fact, I haven't even listened to most of all that music. I own a modest collection of about 110 compact discs, spanning tastes that are both predictable and eccentric (from Belle & Sebastian's Tigermilk to Felix Mendelssohn's complete music for cello). But while the first sentence in this review may sound a bit too scientific, too factual, it does not change where the music lies in my mind. Let me explain to you why I feel so certain.
The control of metaphor, the directness of the theme, and the obvious genius of the song structures on this album could not ever be exceeded. When Bob Dylan created this album, he created a work of music that was transcendent in its lyrical quality. Paired with that is a brilliant, minimalist, textured aural quality that backs his words.
The emotions involved in Dylan's opus here could not be more compelling; they are at once the corralling of sorrow, desperation, and reckless hope within the human spirit. But the emotion is not lawless or implosive here; they are steered by the themes Dylan wishes to present his audience: ultimately, human choice, surrounded with its questions of free will, destiny, good and evil.
The singer's vocals are capable of conveying weary misery and overweening, sarcastic pride ("you got more than the blacks, don't complain / you're better than them! / You've been born with white skin, they explain.")
Sure, the album will be considered "protest"-ant, since, at times on this album, he does undermine the social establishment from within its own mores (I consider this a kind of socially progressive parody). But it's so much more than that, and no one who's really listened to this whole thing will call it a "protest album;" this is no concept album. It expresses the darkness of being a human being, and in so doing, illuminates the experience for the listeners. Notice the technique on "Boots of Spanish Leather" where lovers are distraught and torn from one another: essentially it is a situation of misfortune. But when listened to, it becomes a celebration of lovers.
The album is brimming with searing, tender emotion and beautiful imagery, and questions that cannot be answered quickly. A moment in time is sealed in this music: a moment of authenticity and fervor and peace all exquisitely arranged to strike at once. A piece of honesty that is transformative is caught in here. Listen to it carefully and closely, and hold it in your mind a long, long, time. |
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