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THE REVIEW
'Blonde on Blonde' is the first true work of art of rock.
The peak of creativity in young music, the moment when rock elevated itself to art, culture of the last century. Legend has it that Dylan birthed it entirely during a long, feverish night of brilliant inspiration. Listening to it, even today, this album truly feels like a continuous and unstoppable flow of words, poetry, and music encapsulated in a lysergic and mystical sigh.
Nervous, feverish, elusive, intangible yet material, Dylan is there singing to us with his harsh and edgy voice, a true flood that elevates us to Homeric latitudes. Dylan is in a superlative creative moment, exuding charisma without uttering a word, he is "a column of air" whose breeze is the breath and inspiration for his art: a symbiotic union with it. From the first song to the last, the album is pervaded by a dreamlike sound, never again heard in the history of rock: it is the "wild mercury sound" that will forever make this album unique. Among the many masterpieces contained in this album, Visions of Johanna stands out above all, "le visioni di Giovanna", true and real crimson flames emanating from the mind of our genius. Here, the symbolist poetry of our artist unleashes, literally soaring in an acid and nebulous flight punctuated by indelible and immeasurable value phrases: "... an electricity ghost moaned between the bones of her face.." or "...the harmonicas play a rainy skeleton key..".
The album also contains lighter passages, such as the splendid ballad Just Like A Woman or Absolutely Sweet Marie or even the tender I Want You. There is also room for melancholic songs laden with emotional tension like One of Us Must Know, divine in its melodic surge, or Stuck Inside of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again, equally grand in its fervent pace. And there's no shortage of Dylan's customary biting sarcasm in R&B tracks of the caliber of Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat or Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine. But the best is yet to come. At the end of the album, Dylan gives us first Fourth Time Around, a caressing, sweet, and moving ballad sung with a more seductive voice than usual, and then Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowland, a masterpiece within a masterpiece, a standalone work of art, the crystalline dedication to his wife Sara. Splendid in both text and music, it is one of the highest peaks of rock music.
Thank you, Bob.
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Summary by Bot
Blonde On Blonde is hailed as the first true rock masterpiece, showcasing Bob Dylan at his peak creativity. The album blends poetry with a unique and dreamlike musical style. Highlights include the symbolic 'Visions of Johanna' and emotionally charged ballads like 'Just Like A Woman' and 'Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowland.' Dylan's work here transcends music, becoming a cultural landmark of the 20th century.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 NicholasRodneyDrake
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.
Many at the time considered his 'electric turn' a 'betrayal,' a 'retreat' from the battlefield, but Dylan just wanted to do something new, something different.
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 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.
