Wait, You’ve Never Heard: Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde
We’ve all been there: That moment when you just realized, “Oh, my god. I’ve never listened to that.” It happens once in a blue moon for music enthusiasts, especially journalists, but it does indeed happen. Most won’t admit it, and they’ll probably just squeeze through the moment dumbfounded (and absolutely silent), but we’re a bit honest here at CoS. I mean, have you seen some of our Guilty Pleasure articles (mine included)? So, we’re back with a new feature, one that captures that awkward, tail-between-your-legs moment. It’s called “Wait, You’ve Never Heard”, and editor and writer Megan Ritt really gets the ball rolling with an all too honest confession. So, be nice… we’re only human.
-Michael Roffman, President/Editor in Chief
Imagine your life if you’d never heard Bob Dylan.
No, seriously. Imagine what it would be like if you hadn’t grown up with the angst of his growl, his gravelly voice pouring through your iPod speakers after a hard day of high school or a long day at work. What if you’d never heard a whole Dylan album, not even accidentally?
Well, until a week ago, that was me. Please don’t stone me. I realize I’m a music writer, but a person can’t know everything. As a kid, I was educated by my mom’s personal preferences, so ask me anything about Jim Croce, but as for Dylan, I had nothing. I’d heard “Like a Rolling Stone”, of course — I have ears — but I’d never heard a whole record through, and I’d never heard a song off what many consider to be his magnum opus, Blonde on Blonde. In the name of science-not to mention furthering my musical education-I gave Blonde on Blonde an introductory listen, and agreed to document it for this column.
My very first impression was, wow. People who tease Dylan for being hard to understand will get no arguments from me in the future. But the more I listened, the more the lyrics began to slip out. It’s not that he’s impossible to understand, so much as that you have to be inside the music before you can hear him. It’s like reading a book in a slightly foreign language, a la A Clockwork Orange. On my second listen, I found myself catching many more of the lyrics.
The other major thing that caught me was the delightful folk-pacing of the rhythms. The Jim Croce fan in me delighted at the way the guitar wove and played with the other sounds. Blonde on Blonde really sets up a certain vibe-sitting on paisley pillows in the back of a beat-up van, smoking cigarettes on the way to a live show. The atmospheric quality of the music was really something to experience. I wish I’d had this record in high school.
The album opens with harmonica over walloping, big-band brass, on “Rainy Day Women #12 and 35″. Laced with drug references and with hearty laughs in Dylan’s vocals, it’s the appropriate beginning to a long, strange party. The harmonica-heavy “Pledging My Time” follows, and while it’s not my favorite track, there’s little room for criticism here (except perhaps the extreme prominence of the harmonica).
On the third track, “Visions of Johanna”, Dylan’s versatility really shines. A quieter song, “Visions” rhymes and rolls along quite comfortably, but with a certain quiet beauty that makes it stand out. Even at 7:33, this song never feels too long. “One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)” picks up the pace a bit, as well as giving us an apology of sorts: “I didn’t mean to make you so sad/you just happened to be there, that’s all”. Reflecting the split responsibilities at the end of a relationship, Dylan’s protagonist airs a guilty conscience here.
“I Want You” picks up next, much quicker in pace and lighter in subject. One of Dylan’s true strengths is mixing up the emotions and paces of his songs, and the contrast here gives greater effect to each track. “Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again” really seems to give feeling to its name. “Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat” mixes extremely light and somewhat amusing lyrics with a heavier guitar line that lends a more serious feeling to the music.
“Just Like a Woman” follows, and my research for this column indicated that this track was rife with controversy. Is Dylan a misogynist? I listened to the track without reading in depth about the lyrics in question, and this woman has to admit that she doesn’t feel the slightest bit offended. I didn’t find anything exceptional in those lyrics. Just in case, though, Dylan lightens up again with “Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)”. The next track, “Temporary Like Achilles”, has a slower beat and a quieter rhythm. Again, Dylan’s mixing talents come in handy.
“Absolutely Sweet Marie” is a prime contender (along with “Visions of Johanna”) for my favorite track of the album. The punchy rhythm and light lyrics are carried nicely by the grit of Dylan’s voice, making the experience entirely enjoyable and endlessly sing-along-able. “4th Time Around” slows things down again, this time over a driving rhythm that keeps the overall pace up. “Obviously Five Believers” is quick and sassy, with a repetitive line that jazzes things up one last time.
Lastly, “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands”, an 11:23 minute mountain of a song, rolls along romantically and plaintively, containing the classic Dylan quote “Who among them do you think could resist you?” Written for his then-wife, “Lowlands” would be a lovely song to have written about oneself. I can only imagine how she felt, hearing this for the first time some forty years ago! The haunting, poetic imagery makes this song truly a classic, obvious to even the uninitiated.
Blonde on Blonde represents many of Dylan’s most famous songs, and after a few listens, the reasons for fans’ devotion to it are obvious. The man is a master of composition, balance, and mixing, and the album shines even forty years after its original 1966 release. Bob Dylan, I’m not sure how I got along without you this whole time, but now at least I know what I’ve missing.
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And so the practice of popular criticism circles the drain: “Someone who never saw Ali fight but still has seen hundreds of other bouts would still have a legitimate opinion on boxing, sir, and someone who enjoys music doesn’t require a pedigree to do so.”
It is doubtful that anyone who has seen “hundreds of … bouts” would somehow manage to miss the person whose artistry turned boxing criticism into an art.
Be that as it may–
Music can be appreciated with the lizard brain, of course, which is why the nifty switch in categories (right about “sir”) seems to work. But no one is saying that a music journalist not “enjoy” music, only that she have the ability to explain why. If that person has never listened to an album by the artist who changed the way we think about “good vocals” and lyrics, then she really has an education to tend to before she does much criticism, no matter how adorable.
Thanks to everyone who read my article! I am not embarrassed to admit I hadn’t heard the album before. And it’s not as though I didn’t know who Bob Dylan is- I just hadn’t heard an entire album. Someone who never saw Ali fight but still has seen hundreds of other bouts would still have a legitimate opinion on boxing, sir, and someone who enjoys music doesn’t require a pedigree to do so. I was raised to believe that the first step in learning is admitting to what you don’t know. I’ve tried to do that here, and I thank everyone who came along for the ride!
If you are not positioning yourself as a pop journalist, fine, have all the opinions you like. But, anonymous, I am indeed saying that you have no right to a substantial idea as a music writer if you have not listened to Elvis. (Even your use of the term “album” to refer to his work is inapt, since the album, with one exception, was not his metier.)
Ethos.
What an odd conflict of ideas Darkeyez has. He doesn’t seem to have thought through what he is actually trying to say or, at least, he fails to make his point clearly to me despite his assurance that ” I think i just made my case”…
Megan’s point - well made, clearly stated - is that it is possible for someone to discover Dylan even now. I got lucky, I bought my first Dylan album in 1964 and I can map out milestones in my life in Dylan songs. The great thing is that Dylan didn’t fade or disappear. He is still teaching us how to listen. His songs change with us - and we change. And new, young people still come to his music as if it was fresh. Because it is - Forever Young - no?
I’m impressed that Megan understood straight away how to “get into” a Dylan song. “Cast your dancing spell my way, I promise to go under it…” - get it?
No respect lost from me Megan. Enjoy the trip.
You will meet plenty of doomsayers like Darkeyez in Dylan’s darker songs.
I wasn’t saying that if you’ve never heard a Dylan/Elvis album you shouldn’t have an opinion about music, but if you don’t know who Ali is then you shouldn’t be a boxing writer. Opinion is one thing, everyone has one and legitimately so, but for someone to have part (or all) of their career dedicated to informing people about music should at LEAST have heard a complete album by one of (if not The) most influential artists of our time. Call it arrogant, or whatever you like, it makes no difference to me.
I’ve never heard a whole Elvis album. Are you saying I shouldn’t have an opinion on music? Just because I grew up listening to other music besides Elvis, and nobody around me ever pushed me to listen to an album? I can’t fully admit that? and still have an opinion? jds?
There is nothing “arrogant” about calling out a “music writer” who has never heard Dylan. If she had never heard Suicide or Wreckless Eric–well, okay, that’s understandable sort of. Heck, you can even kind of understand a “music writer” who has never heard Big Star or Nick Drake.
But Dylan? Dylan signifies in popular music as only Dylan does. Only the Beatles and Elvis are likewise sui generis and foundational.
Haha. Thanks Darkeyez. Everyone is so glad that we now know how big of a Dylan fan you are because you named your kid after him. Bravo
Congrats, Darkeyez, you have the first arrogant comment of the post.
So you’re a music writer and never heard a whole Bob Dylan album? I think i just made my case…never hearing Dylan is nothing really, Ive known people that have no idea who my kid is named after. Ive met people that hate him, people that think he was nothing but a flas in the pan, people that can’t spell his name correctly. But I’ve never met a person who’s job it is to write about music and NOT have heard a full Dylan album. Listen or don’t listen to him, it’s your choice, but don’t expect people to respect your opinion on any musical matter from the last 40 years.
Dylan is a dish that should be savored. When I got into Dylan at the age of 12, Blonde on Blonde was his latest album. Being that I couldn’t afford to buy the rest, I was forced to live with each album for over 6 months at a time. Each one has a life all it’s own. To rush through album after album because you can would be a lost opportunity to fully appreciate the beauty locked within.
hey there if you are only getting into dylan you have to heck out blood on the tracks…it is his masterpies…one of the best albums ever made id say
For someone who had never heard the record before, your critique is quite insightful. Keep listening to it, because you will keep hearing new things in it. I could live to be one hundred, and Visions of Johanna will still sound fresh to me.
some good things in life just take along time to get to you, This album and Highway 61 have never been bettered, the best rock albums ever, in my opinion..nice to see how you caught up with it. keep up the good work..
John Wesley Harding is right/correct/true/on the money… what a great place you are in, just in time - and for ever after this moment. Hurray for you.
Wait till you hear the Mono vinyl version! Miles better than ANY of the CD remasters!
Dylan at his finest. I grew up on this record, and it’ll forever be a timeless classic.
My introduction to Dylan was on a record player with the “Best of” collection volume one. Along with Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen, and Simon & Garfunkel, I met Dylan at garage sales for 50 cents a pop. (It was cheaper than buying all the CDs.) To this day, like most stuff pre-1980, Dylan still sounds better to me with a needle dropping into the groove.
My “Blonde on Blonde” was Fleetwood Mac’s “Rumours”. Boy didn’t i feel ashamed to have not listen to it in its wholeness until about 5 years ago now.
Mr. Harding, that was by far the most amicable comment we’ve ever had on CoS. Kudos, sir.
Megan, welcome. It doesn’t matter how long it takes you to discover Dylan or how you get here. Now you’re here, and you got it exactly right first time…. “Blonde on Blonde” is probably the 20th century’s greatest album, “Vision of Johanna” its greatest track and the century’s finest poem.
Now it gets better. You have all those other Dylan albums, bootlegs and lost tracks to explore. Start with “Planet Waves” or “Highway 61″… A whole new way of looking at the world awaits you.
Great review, 43 years late, but for you - just in time.