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I only started collecting records in the early 1970s. My interests were primarily in the music of that time, mostly the glam rock of David Bowie and Alice Cooper. But right from the beginning I found myself looking back. I bought a Sha Na Na album as my second LP; it was a very secondhand introduction into 1950s rock and roll, but it was start. My first LP though, was the 1960s archetype, 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'.
Once I'd begun, I did not stop. I rapidly picked up most of the worthwhile music of the early to mid 1970s, rapidly because there really wasn't an awful lot going on. In 1974, the New Musical Express music paper published a list of their 100 best albums, and I began to use that a buying guide. I'm glad I did too, for I ended up with a lot of music I might not have heard otherwise.
No. 1 in that list was 'Sgt. Pepper'. No. 2 was Bob Dylan's 'Blonde on Blonde' I bought it in 1975, nine years after it was originally released.
Nine years in rock in those days was a lifetime. Looking back, it's astonishing how compressed the development of the music seemed, from its beginnings in the mid-1950s into the 1970s. Music that was just a year old at that seemed to belong to another era. You did not expect any album from an artist to sound much like its predecessor. Rock was exploding in dozens of new directions all at once, recording techniques were being revamped and refined all the time, and the pressure to be new and exciting seemed to be at its peak. It was only in the 1970s that self-referential music began to appear with the neo-1950s rock and roll of bands such a Sha Na Na, or the much more subtle incorporation of those influences into the music of glam art artists like Roxy Music.
So when I heard 'Blonde on Blonde', I was hearing a sound that had already passed. Dylan himself had long abandoned such a style, and new recordings by other artists were not picking up on it. Not until the 1980s and 1990s would a comprehensive attempt be made to revisit the sound of the mid 1960s. In 1975 the vogue was for spacious, multi-tracked recordings frequently incorporating a much wider range of instruments than the piano, guitar, organ, bass and drums of almost all of 'Blonde on Blonde'. Only on that album's 'Rainy Day Women Nos. #12 & 35' was there much of any brass (and brass that was quite at odds with conventional 1960s rock or soul music – more like a Salvation Army band).
So I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. Bob Dylan's voice always takes a bit of getting used to, a sound like 'sand and glue' as David Bowie described it in his 'Song For Bob Dylan'. The tracks are a blend of blues songs, lengthy folk-derived ballads and some prettily melodic tunes such as 'Just Like A Woman'. What does catch the ear from the first are the lyrics. These are playful, surreal, arresting and often quite profound even when there seems to be sense of word-spinning almost for its own sake. What does not catch the ear at first, but does on the second, tenth or the fortieth listening are the most subtle musical arrangements you could hope to hear. The interplay of guitar, piano and organ, bass and drums is simply astonishing. It appears to verge on the ramshackle, but close attention reveals the perfect placement of every note. Much of this credit goes to the electric guitarists, notably Robbie Robertson of The Band, who (in contrast to the rapidly developing penchant for loud and lengthy guitar solos emerging at the time) chooses to weave his lines within the body of the music, adding rhythm and color to an already gorgeously fluid pulse generated by Nashville session players like Charlie McCoy and Kenny Buttrey. Paul Griffen plays a similarly critical role on piano.
The result is a very hard rocking record that sounds deceptively unforced and casual. This is rare quality in rock and roll playing and one to treasure. These days when I listen to 'Blonde on Blonde' I listen the music more than the lyrics, most of which I've internalized and digested. This is where my interest currently lies. And I'm enjoying it by listening to both the mono and stereo versions of the album. It's a treat.
Stardancer said:
Nice review, Richard.:up:
musickna said:
Thanks, Star – listening to music is just the thing on these wet, cold and short days! 🙂
lokutus-prime said:
Good review, Richard. I remember that time too and I bought 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band' a little earlier when it came out and I still have it, in its original cover with all of the 'accoutrement' that came with it. I have all the latest technology in entertainment – being an apple guy – except for a modern turntable. But in my attic loft there is a grand toshiba music center with turntable, tape cassette and FM/LW/SW radio all in one, covered in a glass/acrylic top, that gently lowers down over all. It's a hefty size, oblong, and valve driven, as I recall. You stir up a lot of memories. I guess I really should get that music center down and clean the spark plugs and start it up again. Got some serious big stand alone teak speakers up there too, all with volumes knobs that turn way up to number 11!Thanks for bringing back so many memories. I thought of you when I was in Jackson square. I will admit I would have stayed if I could have, but green cards are rarer than gold dollars and I don't know anyone in the immigration dept who owes me. But one day..one day all that may change… 😉
musickna said:
Thank you, Loku! :)I sense you left a little of your heart in New Orleans! I was there myself about 20 years ago, well before Katrina, and found it enchanting.I'll bet that the sound of your venerable sound system, complete with the warmth that only valve technology can bring, is utterly delightful!
lokutus-prime said:
Originally posted by musickna:
Thank you Richard, and you are right about that. I looked at the mighty Mississippi and felt at home in N.O. You must be so proud of your country and your compatriots. They are kindness and gentility personified and in a world where such things are sadly lacking – I refer to the 'world' over here, in Europe (though I suppose I must not generalize too much) the courtesy and smiles and good humor and patience awarded to those who use services, or even ask the way to somewhere, is like something from a fairy tale, long ago and far away where such virtues are always magically present. I cannot speak too highly of those who represent your country in such a wonderful way and with such a positive attitude. :)Originally posted by musickna:
Yes it is. How marvelous that it was made with high quality of output. Back then – 30 odd years ago – we never knew that, in a far future, full of dazzling gizzmos and amazing gadgets and things that are now part of what we would then have imagined only existed in "Sci-Fi" stories, valve technology would still hold up well decades later. :up:Thank you Richard 🙂
edwardpiercy said:
Boy Dylan sure did take some heat from his fans when he switched to an electric band. More of that expansion you talk about I guess. It's good to see/read you post on music again. :yes:
musickna said:
Thanks, Ed. I was watching Antonioni's 'Blowup' again on DVD while in bed and there was a poster on wall 'R.I.P. Bob Dylan – died at the Albert Hall'. That, of course, was the famous incident of 'Judas' being yelled as he and The Band (The Hawks at that time) began another electric song. Oh, and it wasn't the Albert Hall, the actual incident occurred in Manchester but legends are legends. All seems so stupid now, but people get worked up about the strangest things.
lokutus-prime said:
Originally posted by musickna:
That's for sure!
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