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I read somewhere that this record was recorded in one night while Dylan and crew were drinking cheap wine. I don't know if that's true, but I have to admit sometimes on this record Dylan does sound like he'd been drinking a bit, especially during "All I Really Want to Do" and Dylan's piano playing on the record does remind me a bit of Honky Tonk, the sort of thing you might find in an old western salon. Still, it's a great album that showcase's not only Dylan's piano playing, but his humor as well, which you can see in "Motorpsycho Nitemare." And if you've got a free seven minutes or so, you should give them up and give a good listen to "Chimes of Freedom" a song that's like so many of Dylan's songs, as relevant now as it was back then.
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There are so many sides to this record that I hardly know where to begin, other than to say that I absolutely loved it. There is a lot to learn here about the times then and how they haven't really changed all that much, but you get that a lot in early Dylan records. Also, traveling salesmen should never, ever take a shower with the farmer's daughter. How could you not like a song where a farmer accuses a salesman of being an "unpatriotic, rotten, doctor, commie rat." Then of course there is the haunting, "To Ramona," the prophetic "Chimes of Freedom" and I'd be remiss if I didn't mention "I Don't Believe You," a song about a lad who has been recently dumped, but can't get over the girl even though "She acts like we never have met." I'm not very fond of "All I Really Want to Do." For some reason I keep picturing Sonny and Cher when I hear this song. I loved all the other stuff on the record though. There are many sides of Dylan here, his protest songs, which we won't be seeing very many more of after this record. His humor, which we well see more of later on. His piano playing, which also we'll be seeing more of and his ability to turn out a love song, which we will certainly be seeing more of.
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I cannot describe the words and imagery conjured up by Bob Dylan in the song, "The Chimes of Freedom." This is certainly on of the best songs, he or anyone has ever penned. You can find as much or as little in this song about America then and now, yourself then and now, things too numerous to mention walk through the phrases, words fail me, but they didn't fail the young Bob Dylan. Get this record, play this song, you'll see what I'm talking about. "I Shall Be Free No. 10" is a humorous rendition of Dylan's view of America. Some of the images and people mention might not be known by the children or grandchildren of the Boomers, but you can Google Barry Goldwater and the like if you want to get this funny song. At times, because Dylan goes between humor, protest and love songs, this record might seem a little uneven, because, for example, you're still laughing at "Motorpsycho Nitemare when all of a sudden you're jerked right into the very serious, "My Back Pages." Didn't we all know more than our parents, weren't we all so much older then.
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Like my friend Tiffany Ann, I just love the Honky Tonk piano on "Black Crow Blues." There are a lot of songs that used to go around that I'm sure you can still get on these Dylan sites that are all over the internet, songs from this period that feature Dylan on piano. If you can find them I highly recommend them as this is a side of Dylan not well seen back than. "Chimes of Freedom" is another one of Dylan's wake up calls to America that went unheeded. It's a great song, I loved the way he did it when he was on tour with the Grateful Dead and those tapes are around too. If you try hard enough, you can probably find them as well. "It Ain't Me, Babe," is, of course, the Dylan song everybody knows from this record, but my favorite is the underrated, very good, "To Ramona." It's a very sweet song told oh so well. Like "To Ramona" I think this album has been underrated. I just love it and I'm sure, if you haven't heard it, you will to. And if you have heard it, then likewise I'm sure you know exactly what I'm talking about.
Rating: -
I read somewhere that this record was recorded in one night while Dylan and crew were drinking cheap wine. I don't know if that's true, but I have to admit sometimes on this record Dylan does sound like he'd been drinking a bit, especially during "All I Really Want to Do" and Dylan's piano playing on the record does remind me a bit of Honky Tonk, the sort of thing you might find in an old western salon. Still, it's a great album that showcase's not only Dylan's piano playing, but his humor as well, which you can see in "Motorpsyho Nitemare." And if you've got a free seven minutes or so, you should give them up and give a good listen to "Chimes of Freedom" a song that's like so many of Dylan's songs, as relevant now as it was back then.
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