fuche_bu's Full Review: Highway 61 Revisited by Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan has always been an important artist. He helped spearhead the folk revival in the early 60s only to turn his back and go electric in the middle of the decade. As angry as folkies may have been, some of Dylan's finest music was made in this early electric period. One need only revisit a classic disc like Highway 61 Revisited to discover that.
It is funny in retrospect because Dylan's move to electric music was rooted in jealousy. He saw the level of fame and popularity achieved by the Beatles and wanted the same for himself. Well, jealousy might be a vice and one of the deadly sins but in this case it did inspire some brilliant music.
Highway 61 Revisited is a collection of nine songs to come together to form an outstanding album. The album kicks off with one of Dylan's most famed songs Like a Rolling Stone. This song features some wonderful guitar playing by Michael Bloomfield. This is one of those classic songs that I have heard thousands of times and still feel it when I listen. It opens up with a nice organ line from Al Kooper and kicks into that famed Dylan sarcasm and cynicism:
Once upon a time, you dressed so fine
You threw the bums a dime, in your prime,
Didn't You?
His voice drips with sarcasm as he growls the question "Didn't you?" He is also so cynical with the chorus and the recurring question of "How does it feel?" The lyrics, in spite the angry cynicism are quite poetic. Dylan had already established himself as a quality songwriter. On this album and the earlier Bringing It All Back Home, he would begin to make the case for being rock and roll's true poet laureate.
This album only has a couple songs that are a little weak. I can listen to Tombstone Blues or From a Buick 6 but neither of these two songs strike me as being essential to the Dylan canon. I guess even legendary songwriters can have a few that aren't brilliant. I've always dug the bluesy intensity of It Takes a Train. The songs ends with Dylan wailing:
I wanna be your lover, baby, I don't wanna be your boss.
Don't say I never warned you when your train gets lost.
The lyrics in Dylan's songs are beginning to take on a more surrealistic tone. Many of the songs remain open to interpretation. Ballad of a Thin Man is another song that seems to feature a confused troubador mocking Mr. Jones who "knows something is happening here but you don't know what it is. . ." Dylan is asking a lot of questions throughout this album. He is probably reacting to the negative reaction of the fans who railed against his move to electric music. I have heard many interpretations of this song. Some have viewed Mr Jones as Dow Jones and claiming that Dylan is ranting against the status quo of our economic system. I've even heard claims that Dylan is expressing his own personal confusion after having a homosexual experience. I have never found out what his intent was but I do like the song.
Songs like Ballad of Thin Man and Like a Rolling Stone feature what would become the trademark Dylan sarcasm. His voice drips with cynicism when he asks rhetorical questions. There is also some outstanding musicianship behind him. Bloomfield and Kooper were both top notch players (Kooper still is) that were able to wonderfully back up the extraordinary poetry of Herr Zimmerman.
Queen Jane Approximately is a nice little song. I think Highway 61 Revisited is one of Dylan's best rock out songs. Fans of blistering blues guitar should also seek out Johnny Winter's cover of the song. This is a smoking bluesy rock and roll number. Dylan could occasionally rock out when he wanted.
Dylan gets back into the poetry with the final two songs of the album. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues is a sarcastic song. Here he expresses dismay at his "best friend, my doctor who won't tell me what it is I got." He also wants to tell Queen Annie thanks a lot. Dylan seemed like he might have been mad at some people when he wrote the songs on this album.
Desolation Row is a long epic poem. This is a style that would also be explored on Blonde on Blonde with the epic Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowland. On Desolation Row we get a wordy Dylan still adding in some harmonica lines throughout. No wonder his voice is so shot now. Singing, playing harmonica and smoking probably don't add up to a healthy esophogus. But at least nobody has to think too much about Desolation Row. There is some good imagery in this song. It also has a musing and bemused Dylan on this song.
Highway 61 Revisited is a grand album. It features a recently turned electric Dylan ranting, raving and waxing poetic. A few of these songs are enduring classics that have already survived four decades of wear and tear. There is also some stellar musicianship throughout the album. Both Bloomfield and Kooper helped elevate this recording to another level. They provided perfect complement to Dylan's own guitar and harmonica.
This is an essential disc for any Dylan fan. It's also a great example of 60s rock melding blues, folk and surrealism. It's an important album on a historical level and the playing and lyrics are excellent. This is one that 60s rock fans and Dylan fanatics will need to own. It's some of the best songs he ever wrote with some of the best performances of his career. I highly recommend this one.
track listing:
1. Like a Rolling Stone
2. Tombstone Blues
3. It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry
4. From a Buick 6
5. Ballad of a Thin Man
6. Queen Jane Approximately
7. Highway 61 Revisited
8. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues
9. Desolation Row
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