Nashville Skyline - Bob Dylan

Nashville Skyline isn't looked on too well by the bulk of Dylan fans, never mind the music press. It's one of the latest albums I have bought, I've been putting it off and buying all the "good" albums first (although I managed to pick up Self Portrait ages ago proving that I'm a lying scumbag). The 4 for £20 HMV CD sale was too much to resist though, I may be about to go to University and hence already have no money but I can't turn down ...
.../> By no means is Nashville Skyline a great Dylan album, but as it turns out it isn't nearly as bad as some would have you believe. The story goes a little like this: Dylan brings folk music from obscurity to the forefront of popular culture. Dylan gets bored with it and then brings Rock music out of obscurity and invents 'intellectual rock' and pushes it to the forefront of the entire world. Dylan knows he's done his bit so has a little break (including ... more

Nashville Skyline isn't looked on too well by the bulk of Dylan fans, never mind the music press. It's one of the latest albums I have bought, I've been putting it off and buying all the "good" albums first (although I managed to pick up Self Portrait ages ago proving that I'm a lying scumbag). The 4 for £20 HMV CD sale was too much to resist though, I may be about to go to University and hence already have no money but I can't turn down HMV's kind offer, oh no. So anyway I had very low expectations of this album and knew it was only because I'd become a Dylan geek that I'd even bought it. Perhaps it was these low expectations that left me with something of a smile on my face after playing the album.

By no means is Nashville Skyline a great Dylan album, but as it turns out it isn't nearly as bad as some would have you believe. The story goes a little like this: Dylan brings folk music from obscurity to the forefront of popular culture. Dylan gets bored with it and then brings Rock music out of obscurity and invents 'intellectual rock' and pushes it to the forefront of the entire world. Dylan knows he's done his bit so has a little break (including a broken neck as it happens) and basically re-soaks up his roots. Having constantly brought the unpopular to popularity Dylan set upon a bigger challenge, bringing country music to popularity. Whilst it had a good audience and some massive stars like Johnny Cash it had no wider audience appeal.

That's what Nashville Skyline is, a country music album by Bob Dylan. What's remarkable is that Dylan can so brilliantly get inside of a form of music. He's always been described as a great "absorber" and it was after his absorption of English folk music that Dylan's music really developed teeth for example. People say that you'd see Dylan sat watching a concert or performer and you could see his head just sucking in every last detail.

The other big shock of this album is Dylan's voice. If you know the classic wailing voice, the one the unenlightened say can't sing then you sure as socks won't recognise that it's Dylan singing on this album. He sings in a country voice, and technically his singing is 'proper' and really quite fine. I prefer his more meaningful rough voice but it is nice to have this album to throw at people who say he can't sing. Quite how he achieved such a different voice is beyond me, it must require a hell of a lot of skill to control your voice like that. And that is something that too few realise, Dylan is one of if not the greatest vocalist of our time. He plans and controls every single note all whilst maintaining the ultimate feeling of spontaneity.

~~~~The Music~~~~

1- Girl From The North Country (with Johnny Cash) [3:38]

When Dylan started to become friendly with people like Johnny Cash the music world was set alight, what could they possibly be up to? Dylan was playing rock last time the world had really seen him, Cash was the king of Country music. Well this duet is really something special. It is a cover of the earlier Dylan folk song of the same name, this time round it is a million miles away. This is a slow and soft country song. The slow and heavy acoustic guitar strum is heavenly, it makes you sit back and close your eyes and picture that Garden of Eden with a stream of crystal shining in the warm sun. The warmth of this song is so adorable and so strong that it literally does make your whole body feel comfortable. First Dylan sings a verse in his new voice, his perfect 'country' voice. Then Johnny Cash sings a verse and already they are both working so very well together. Johnny Cash puts in a wonderfully committed performance, and Dylan is just beyond words as it takes a while to accept it's even him.

Then the really killer, the two of them sing the last two verses together. It's hard to explain why this is so good because this description may sound bad: they sing slightly out of time with one another, at times Dylan gets a full word ahead. At one point they sing different lines to each other, probably Dylan getting the line wrong as per his trademark; so it may seem a little messy. Yet there is a real sense of perfection to this song. I don't think they could have recorded it better. This is the song of the album for me and a much-overlooked gem of musical history.

2- Nashville Skyline Rag [3:10]

This is an instrumental track and I can't help feeling Dylan is showing off a little, I mean for country music with wider appeal I think it's pretty good. It's got a lovely swing and upbeat bass line. After a groovy guitar performance comes the real claim to grandness, a fantastic piano solo. In fact this little instrumental seems to fuse together all kinds of Dylan performances and instruments. The Harmonica is fantastic, the guitar, and the piano all whilst a really cool rhythm section swings away. The instruments duel from side to side and the most hilarious part is right at the end, rather than there being one instrument that does a big 'ending' to the song they all do it. Not that unusual you may think, until I tell you that they all do it in turn! Fantastic, this is a really enjoyable piece of music.

3- To Be Alone With You [2:06]

This song starts with guitar and piano and then a voice that says "Is it rolling Bob?" Love it! Being quite slow it took me a little while to realise Bob isn't talking to himself but that Bob Johnston produced the album. It's a charming little touch by my judgment. This is quite a fast little song, the bass line really thuds away in your head with a very muddy tone. The piano is whizzing away down in the right channel and the guitar is constantly threatening to take off. With a little tweaking I think this could actually be mutated into a rock'n'roller.

4- I Threw It All Away [2:21]

The mood is more downbeat on this song. The bass is sparse yet really very fat and the same goes for the drums. There is an organ mixed in very low which gives some extra solidity to the song without getting in the way of the country feel. This is quite a good song:

~~Lyrics~~
I once held her in my arms,
She said she would always stay.
But I was cruel,
I treated her like a fool,
I threw it all away.

Once I had mountains in the palm of my hand,
And rivers that ran through ev'ry day.
I must have been mad,
I never knew what I had,
Until I threw it all away.

Love is all there is, it makes the world go 'round,
Love and only love, it can't be denied.
No matter what you think about it
You just won't be able to do without it.
Take a tip from one who's tried.

So if you find someone that gives you all of her love,
Take it to your heart, don't let it stray,
For one thing that's certain,
You will surely be a-hurtin',
If you throw it all away.
~~Lyrics~~

5- Peggy Day [1:59]

Twang-ageddon. The guitars are waltzing to the country beat and I like it, I never used to think I liked country but this is really fun. The music waltzes up and down and there is a splendid lead guitar (country-o-matic) in the middle instrumental break. The production for the drums on this album is very interesting, they do their job yet are really soft and somewhat distant, it works on this song in particular. The most charming part comes at the end though when the song stops and turns into a classic 12 bar blues style ending but in a very country manner.

6- Lay Lady Lay [3:17]

Probably this is the most famous song from this album. This is a popular concert and indeed greatest hits song, which is interesting because I honestly don't think it's the best song on this album. Having said that it is very good. But the lyrics just don't seem particularly Dylan, though perhaps I'm just reading them to straight up. That said it is a good tune and Dylan sings it particularly well. The bass makes gentle strides up and down the room; the percussion at times comes through as a clickety-click like a beer can being crumpled up. The music is very well mixed, it all fits together well and in some ways the different instruments seem to merge into one at times.

7- One More Night [2:20]

If ever there was a country feel to the start of a song this must be it. The ever-so-twangy country guitar is employed to great effect. By now the listener is becoming used to the Dylan country voice and you start to realise just how good his more rough voice is. He is performing predictably well with few interestingly erratic changes in pitch. In that respect perhaps the album and this song loses a little bit of the 'edge' that makes Dylan music so interesting to listen to. It's also scary because I almost feel like dancing to this music, and I'm supposed to be a rock head, darn that man. It's a toe-tapping head-nodder.

8- Tell Me That It Isn't True [2:38]

This is a slow and gentle song about rumours that the narrator's love is being unfaithful. There's some nice acoustic lead guitar during the song, and the organ does a good job adding the odd few notes here and there. It isn't really pushing back any boundaries and in no way stands out. It has quite a nice crescendo ending nevertheless.

9- Country Pie [1:34]

Now this is a classic song even if it is so short. He's still playing this in concerts today although he doesn't use his country voice these days. It is a magnificent rolling and bouncy fusion, with a fantastic lead guitar winding its way throughout. The bass line is the ultimate in soft funk. After the words are done the song fades out on an instrumental, it's a real shame it goes so fast because this instrumental when extended is really tasty. This is my second favourite song on the album and would be my first if only it was longer, it just leaves you gagging for more and you have to play it a fair few times before feeling able to continue to the last track.

10- Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You [3:20]

The last track is sadly quite weak. It has its charms though. It bobbles along with a slow bass line with a regular rhythm and there is a guitar and a piano that do some nice fills. Dylan's new voice probably makes this song sound a little bit plain and un-unique. It's a bit of a damp-squid to end on, but hey what can you do!

~~~~Conclusions~~~~

The album is only about twenty-six minutes long in total, in other words it's really quite short. That said the regularity of the "good" (in terms of technique) voice of Dylan would probably really start to vex if the album was left to run longer. I think non-Dylan fans may appreciate this voice more than the Dylan faithful. It's pretty and accurate but it really fails to get the hairs standing on end. I personally do wish that the album was longer but not with extra songs because they aren't really the strong point of this album. I wish perhaps there had been another instrumental but above that I wish the Country Pie instrumental had been played in full rather than faded out. Dylan once speculated on releasing an entirely instrumental album, and I think the instrumental on this album and Wigwam on Self Portrait really wets-the-appetite for that sadly not yet made album.

Nashville Skyline is easy listening, not in the nasty way. It is a relaxed and quite happy album that can help take you to a more relaxed state of mind. It is also a million miles from a Dylan masterpiece, but all the same it's really not as bad as some people make out.

I'm a very open-minded person and I like just about all music, but I honestly never realised I could even stand country music until I heard this album. Now I can see it's charms and hey it's all really quite fun. Yeehaa!

I rate this album 3.5 (three and a half). But I can't so I will but won't.
 

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