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THE REVIEW
Forget about Bob Dylan, the erratic troubadour, the icon of a generation on the move with an acoustic guitar in his arms and a harmonica. Forget also 1963, the folk revival, the Newport festival with Joan Baez, the years of Greenwich, and the crowds singing "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They are a-Changin'" from memory, like ideal anthems of the thrill of change sweeping across America.
After 1965 (the album is from '66), the minstrel from Minnesota didn't go crazy, nor did he renounce the "movement" and its ideals, nor did he lose the strong popular conscience that had distinguished him from the very beginning. Much more simply, he decided it was time to give vent to his boundless creativity, time to plug the guitars into amplifiers, electrifying everything while still keeping his faithful harmonica firmly between his lips.
Many at the time considered his "electric turn" a "betrayal," a "retreat" from the battlefield, a step towards that establishment he had always sharply criticized and mocked. In reality, I think Dylan just wanted to do something new, something different, and if it meant making albums like "Blonde on Blonde," then it's fine if it resulted in a few (or quite a few, to be honest!) more records sold.
In "Blonde on Blonde," blues, country, rock, and folk are astonishingly blended: bizarre, absurd, visionary, passionate, poetic, and romantic lyrics blend with a new sound... richer and more complex than anything Dylan had done before. After this album, music would change decisively; many mark the beginning of "Rock" with this record... all bands and songwriters, to varying extents, would owe him a debt.
The album opens with a whimsical blues, almost a snapshot of his time, where Dylan expresses, with an ironic and resigned tone, how any choice you make, you are always and inevitably targeted and criticized ("they hit you and say it's the last time, then they hit you again, and you go back, and they hit you some more").
It continues with the introspective "Visions of Johanna" and then "Stuck Inside of Mobile," featured, among other things, in the soundtrack of "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas."
Then there are the very sweet "I Want You," "Just Like a Woman," and my favorite "4th Time Around."
What else to say... one of Dylan's best albums, surely a milestone of rock.
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Summary by Bot
This review explores Bob Dylan's 1966 album Blonde on Blonde as a pivotal moment in music history where Dylan fused folk, blues, rock, and country. Far from betraying his roots, Dylan expanded his artistic reach with electric instrumentation and poetic lyrics. The album’s rich, complex sound set a new standard, influencing countless artists and marking a turning point into rock music. Notable tracks like 'Visions of Johanna' and 'Just Like a Woman' highlight the album's emotional and creative depth.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Bob Dylan
American singer-songwriter Robert Allen Zimmerman, known as Bob Dylan, is a major figure in 20th-century popular music, noted for pioneering songwriting and continual reinvention across folk, rock, country and blues.127 Reviews
Other reviews
By Viva Lì
"Blonde on Blonde is a monumental work combining multiple genres into a single, innovative sound still relevant today."
"It is from this awareness, that redemption is born: the redemption of doing only and exactly what he wanted, regardless of everything and everyone."
By j&r
'Blonde on Blonde' is the first true work of art of rock.
'Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowland'... one of the highest peaks of rock music.
By insolito
If Christ were alive today, he would play the harmonica, the perfect image of a hobo; he would have a crumbled, rough, even messy voice if you like. But it would be as seductive as few.
'Blonde on Blonde,' the destination Highway 61 leads to.
By dashell
"With 'Blonde on Blonde' Dylan becomes a fire thief and ignites the arid prairies of poetry."
"An essential album to understand who we are and where we come from."
By luludia
The well of that grating and iron voice…a voice that’s beautiful because it’s ugly and ugly because it’s beautiful.
Blonde on Blonde isn’t necessarily the most beautiful, but it’s the one closing the circle, and it’s the most visionary.
