In 1965 Bob Dylan went electric, stood firm when audiences tried to boo him off stage (or else turned the amps up twice as loud) and moved the goalposts again with the unforgettable 'Highway 61 Revisited'. It opens with what must be the most famous single drumbeat in rock music and Al Kooper's ... Read review
A review by JOHNV on Highway 61 Revisited/John Wesley Harding - Bob Dylan September 29th, 2000
Author's product rating:
Originality
Groundbreaking
Lyrics
Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks
Flawless
How does it rate alongside the competition
Outstanding
Value for Money
Advantages:
Two seminal albums from rock's greatest singer - songwriter
Disadvantages:
Rather an odd coupling
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
In 1965 Bob Dylan went electric, stood firm when audiences tried to boo him off stage (or else turned the amps up twice as loud) and moved the goalposts again with the unforgettable 'Highway 61 Revisited'. It opens with what must be the most famous single drumbeat in rock music and Al Kooper's matchless swirling organ work on the intro to "Like a Rolling Stone", a song which still sounds just as powerful now as it did the first time round. Poet meets rock'n'roller again on the next track, the action-packed "Tombstone Blues", takes a breather for the finger-pointing "Ballad of a Thin Man" ('something's happening but you don't know what it is, do you Mr Jones?') and the bluesy "It Takes a Lot to Laugh...". There's a mesmerising, surreal quality to "Queen Jane Approximately" and "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues", and the whole record culminates in a descent into a world of dark imagery and startling happenings in the 11-minute magnum opus "Desolation Row".
'John Wesley Harding', recorded nearly three years later after Dylan's period of hibernation (the story at the time was that he had an almost fatal motorbike accident, but now it seems that may have been a smokescreen), is a more reflective, relaxed piece of work. Mainly acoustic, with little more than bass and drums accompanying his vocals, harmonica and acoustic guitar, its themes are steeped in Biblical and religious imagery on songs like "All Along the Watchtower" (immortalised by Hendrix a few months later) and "I Dreamed I Saw St Augustine", wild west mythology in the title track, and what many take to be an autobiographical lyric, "Drifter's Escape" - in other words, his escape from the punishing schedule of his life 1965-66. The last two tracks are a pointer towards the country music he embraced on the next album, 'Nashville Skyline' (an album Dylan fans either love or hate, frankly I can't abide it!), the mellow "Down Along the Cove" and the much-covered "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight".
I'm not convinced these albums really fit together as a pair, especially as they leave out the magnificent "Blonde on Blonde" which came in between, but if you want to start your Dylan collection, this is as good a place as any.
Advantages: the songs man, the songs! Disadvantages: it would be nitpicking.
...this is an opinion on Highway 61 revisited. not the double album. i have reviewed JWH separately. but ciao so far have refused to move this op.
a major major step onward and upward from "bringing it all back home" (AKA "subterrranean homesick blues"), this album has a very similar musical feel, but the lyrics are quite a few notches above those of its predecessor. for the most obvious examples of this being the powerful opening track, "like a rolling ... ...scope of this album is set out by those two tracks framing the album... it's ambitious to lead and end with amazingly strong tracks if the filler is just filler. but bob has not become the most respected songwriter ever for producing just filler... the songs in between these majestic highlights are all highlights themselves.
"tombstone blues" is a dirty drum-driven bleeding organ of a rock song. the fuzziness of the guitar sounds, the subtlety of ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful
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very helpful
28.05.2001
(09.06.2001)
A quality duo Review ofHighway 61 Revisited/John Wesley Harding - Bob Dylanby
jamiegiles
Advantages: Disadvantages:
...featuring guitarist Michael Bloomfield, for Highway 61 Revisited. Opening with the epic "Like a Rolling Stone," Highway 61 Revisted careens through nine songs that range from reflective folk-rock ("Desolation Row") and blues ("It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry") to flat-out garage rock ("Tombstone Blues," "From a Buick 6," "Highway 61 Revisted"). Dylan had not only changed his sound, but his persona, trading the folk troubadour for ... ...the most revolutionary thing about Highway 61 Revisited — it proved that rock & roll needn't be collegiate and tame in order to be literate, poetic and complex. Bob Dylan returned from exile with John Wesley Harding, a quiet, country-tinged album that split dramatically from his previous three albums. A calm, reflective album, John Wesley Harding strips away all of the wilder tendencies of Dylan's rock albums — even the then-unreleased Basement Tapes ...
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Lyrics
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helpful
02.07.2000
Essential Album Review ofHighway 61 Revisited/John Wesley Harding - Bob Dylanby
Tony
Advantages: Absolutely essential for anyone interested in popular music. Disadvantages: Probably can't dance to it
Highway 61 Revisited opens with the gun shot drum beat of 'Like A Rolling Stone', surely a major contender for best rock single of all time. After it was released in 1965, nothing was the same in US and European popular music. Although Dylan understood the British pop scene, he knew that rock music belonged to the USA and that even the Beatles were formed out of Buddy Holly, Chuck Berry and Elvis. The sound is tough, loud guitars, organ and Dylan's ... ...American. Making the title track Highway 61, the huge road that runs down the US is typical. Dylan's lyrics flash from one street scene to another, pausing to watch the characters living in a society where just about anything goes. Coupled with great melodies, it means there isn't a bad song on this album. It ends with Desolation Row, with its cast of heroes and villians spread over 11 minutes with a wonderful harmonica solo. It makes you wonder ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful
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