The Rewind Button: Blonde On Blonde by Bob Dylan

(The Rewind Button is a group blogging project.  Every Thursday, we review an album from Rolling Stone’s Greatest Albums list.) 

Blonde on Blonde

Bob Dylan, man, Bob Dylan.

Leonard Cohen once said, “Only in Canada could somebody with a voice like mine win ‘Vocalist of the Year.'”

Despite what Cohen says, he’s not the only one to have made a career on an atypical singing voice. How Bob Dylan became an icon often confuses me because his voice DRIVES ME CRAZY. Seriously, it’s nasal, it’s grating and he sings-speaks his lyrics.

The only reason I continue to listen to him (apart from doing this blog project) is because the man has a knack for music and is a poet when it comes to lyrics.

So, Blonde on Blonde. It’s a little bit country, a little bit honky-tonk and a whole lotta harmonica. It’s like he took Highway 61 and ended up in Nashville where he decided to stay for a while.

Of course, just because you’re visiting doesn’t mean you have to adapt entirely to the culture. Dylan keeps his strong bluesy influence and just incorporates new sounds.

It keeps it fresh. If Highway 61 Revisited is the dry, lonely drive, then Blonde on Blonde is sitting in a dark bar, listening to the house band while the blonde groupie of an indeterminate age sits smoking by the bar.

Who Else Pressed the Rewind Button

http://bettylivin.com/2012/05/10/rewind-button-bob-dylan-blonde-on-blonde/

http://www.pimplomat.com/2012/05/10/the-rewind-button-blonde-on-blonde/

http://musicqwest.com/?p=1112

 

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