Concluding my look at Dylan's Holy Trinity
Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home
(1965)
Tracks
1 Subterranean Homesick Blues 2:21
2 She Belongs to Me 2:47
3 Maggie's Farm 3:54
4 Love Minus Zero/No Limit 2:51
5 Outlaw Blues 3:05
6 On the Road Again 2:35
7 Bob Dylan's 115th Dream 6:30
8 Mr. Tambourine Man 5:30
9 Gates of Eden 5:40
10 It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding) 7:29
11 It's All over Now, Baby Blue 4:12
By 1964, Robert Allen Zimmerman had already established himself as the figurehead for an entire generation, and in particular for those souls living in a little corner of New York called Greenwich Village. On albums like
The Freewheelin’ and
The Times They Are A-Changin,
Bob Dylan seemed to be able to hit the right nerve every time with his lyrics and presence. His demeanour was unrepentant; in a style like no other, he could captivate a whole audience with his biting words, harmonica and guitar.
But what of the year Dylan became the legend? 1965, yes, it is all very well documented about Dylan’s Judas moment back at Manchester’s Free Trade Hall and of course the first time Bob plugged in at Newport, but such renowned tales can often overshadow the actual qualities of what has physically been created along with the fable.
In March 1965, Dylan released his fifth album. Entitled
Bringing It All Back Home, many probably would describe it as the moment Dylan went electric, but for me it is much more than that. What can be overlooked in all the emphasis on Dylan’s backing band and his quality of amp, is that this album is well and truly one of the great transitional albums. On timings alone, this fifth release by Dylan is almost as acoustic as it is plugged in, yet it is still renowned for being the latter.
Bringing It All Back Home was produced by Tom Wilson, the same producer for Dylan’s
Another Side Of and
The Times They Are A-Changin'. His role here I think cannot be underestimated, what is actually really impressive about the production on this album, is the way it seamlessly wonders between Folk and Rock with ease. So good are these transitions, you can be forgiven for wondering what all the fuss was actually about, as this record sounds the perfectly logical step forward for Dylan’s song writing that it indeed was, somewhat softening the explosive leap forward it must have in fact been.
On the matter of the songs themselves, well any album containing songs as raw as
Maggie’s Farm, merged with the jumping
Subterranean Homesick Blues, mixed with the wondrousness of
Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream, combined with the political
Mr Tambourine Man and topped off nicely with the poignant
Its All Over Now, Baby Blue, yes an album this ranging must be worth a note of attention me thinks.
Along with
Highway 61 Revisited from the same year, and 1966’s
Blonde on Blonde, Bringing It All Back Home was one of Dylan’s Holy Trinity; it does not get much better musically than these three albums. However, what does make this particular album different from the other two is its nod to Dylan’s initial persona from 1962. Despite its initial detractors, I think
Bringing It All Back Home has become the unlikely gateway into Dylan’s time as a folk icon, as well as becoming the gateway into Dylan’s time as the greatest songwriter from the mid sixties period. So on that bombshell; do you honestly need anymore reasons to own this album?
The Rest of The Holy Trinity
Highway 61 Revisited - 1965
Blonde on Blonde - 1966