Engagingly dour Dylan. Perhaps his second best album (April 23, 2009)

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.

Worth having (January 27, 2008)

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.

(3.5 stars) Not brilliant, but pretty good (August 6, 2007)

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.

My favorite Bob album of all time... (March 12, 2007)

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.

Everybody Should be Free (September 4, 2006)

The opening track, "The Times they are a-Changin'" is a call to arms. It was heeded in the Sixties when the streets were filled with protesters, kids who wanted an end to the war in Vietnam. Dylan has sung this song countless times over the years, talking about the battle that is outside raging, but somehow we've forgotten this message, though we sing the words with Dylan at almost every concert he's given on his never ending tour. Sadly there are almost no protesters today. And it seems if one does raise a voice, bad things could happen to him.

Lord, I have to wonder if God ever was on our side. Bob Dylan doesn't think he was, but there are so many today who are convinced he is, maybe they should listen to this record. At least we've done something about the horrible racism Dylan sings about on "Only a Pawn in Their Game" and the haunting "Ballad of Hollis Brown," but we have a long way to go. I think all those people who are so against those who only want to better themselves by coming to America should be forced to sit down and listen to this record. That's what I think.