I’ve always had the highest admiration for Dylan’s 1966 release, Blonde on Blonde. Musically & lyrically, it’s a high achievement, & has been justifiably praised as one of the best rock albums ever released. Dylan himself likes the album—according to journalist Jules Siegel, who was present when Dylan first listened to the initial pressing, Dylan exclaimed, "Now that is religious music! That is religious carnival music. I just got that real old-time religious carnival sound there, didn't I?"
Obviously, Blonde on Blonde, like its precursor, Highway 61 Revisited, is of great interest to anyone who likes blues music, since Dylan performed a masterful transformation of the blues in the music on both albums. But today’s song is one of the least blues-based numbers on Blonde on Blonde. Interestingly, Dylan proclaimed it his favorite song on the album. I’ve always loved “Visions of Johanna.” There’s something stark & haunted & true about the song, even when the lyrics occasionally seem mean-spirited, as in parts of the “museum” verse.
I’m playing slide style on my Gold Tone dobro, tuned as always to an open D chord; I did capo this one, so the actual key is Eb. Hope you enjoy it!
Oh I like it! I can understand every single word. I think Dylan is a great poet, but I absolutely hate to listen to him. I can never understand a word he says; it's like he's singing with mush in his mouth. I know I'm out-on-a-limb saying this to a musician such as you, but there you have it.
ReplyDeleteHi Lizzy: Thanks! Diction isn't one of Dylan's strong points, & I know some very good musicians who can't stand to listen to him sing. Me, I'm sympathetic to quirky singing voices, since I have one myself.
ReplyDeleteOne of my all time favorite Dylan songs--so many classic lines. You perform it in a nice understated fashion that lets the poetry come through. This is the song I played as my entry in the class "show and tell' for my high school Creative Writing class in 1967. The class was a bit puzzled, but the teacher liked it. I love his voice, but I know some consider it torture and many can't follow it--maybe you need to do "Idiot Wind" next because no one can understand the lyrics to that the way Dylan sings 'em. ;-)
ReplyDeleteHi Hedgewitch: Thanks! Yes, this is definitely something that could be done for a writing class, tho I can imagine a class in 67 being most puzzled--but good for the teacher, I say! Funny, "Idiot Wind" is a song I like Dylan singing but not one that has ever drawn me to sing & play. But I agree: he really garbles the lyrics of that one!
ReplyDeleteI thoroughly enjoyed it John. Of course I know the song, but not that well. Thanks for reminding me of it.
ReplyDeleteHi Alan: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it.
ReplyDeleteI like your voice much better than Dylan's. Very nice.
ReplyDeleteHi Christine: Thanks! That put a smile on my face.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff, John - low key and intimate. Isn't open D a great tuning (even in Eb!)
ReplyDeleteHi Dick: Glad you liked it! Yes, open D is certainly my favorite tuning--as opposed to open G, I like the fact that the bass string is the tonic, not the V. I play less & less in standard tuning--fortunately, I teach so I don't forget how!
ReplyDeleteGood work, John! I really like the open D tuning.
ReplyDeleteHi Roy: Thanks! I had fun with this one.
ReplyDeleteYes, this song and Hard Rain are my two favourite Dylan tracks. You do it justice, my friend (and I like both your voices)
ReplyDeleteHi Peter: Glad you liked it! & I actually like B Dylan's voice.
ReplyDeleteReligious carnival music, that it! I feel like I've been searching for the perfect words to describe that sound for quite some time, but he says it better than anyone else could.
ReplyDeleteHi Caroline: Yes, isn't that a perfect characterization? He also called it a "wild mercury sound"--He said of Blonde on Blonde: "It's that thin, that wild mercury sound. It's metallic and bright gold, with whatever that conjures up. That's my particular sound. I haven't been able to succeed in getting it all the time. Mostly I've been driving at a combination of guitar, harmonica, and organ."
ReplyDeleteThanks as always for stopping by!