The Country I Come From
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After a motorcycle accident which would give Dylan a much needed break from the world he returned to music world and to his roots. Blonde on Blonde showed much more folkyness than the more upbeat and rockin' Highway 61 Revisited but it couldn't be called a full return. With John Wesley Harding and albums following Dylan showed a return to his roots and showed a more country side to his music, even re-recording Girl From the North County with Johnny Cash and spending time in Nashville.

"John Wesley Harding (1967)"
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This album marked a return to his older albums except it showed a much more experienced songwriter. Using a variety of instruments to give it a much more full sound and doing more than just folk Dylan crafted a much more interesting and versatile album than he did in his earlier days. Yet none of the tracks seem as heavy hitting as songs like Masters of War and it wouldn't be right to call this album a folk album either. Songs like I'll Be Your Baby Tonight are without a doubt country songs. John Wesley Harding shows Dylan returning to his roots, only to stray from them again. Which isn't a bad thing, who would want to hear Freewheelin five more times?

Favorite Lyric: "I dreamed I saw St. Augustine, alive with fiery breath / And I dreamed I was amongst the ones that put him out to death / Oh, I awoke in anger, so alone and terrified / I put my fingers against the glass and bowed my head and cried."
Favorite Songs: I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine, All Along The Watchtower, The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest, I Am a Lonesome Hobo, John Wesley Harding



"Nashville Skyline (1969)"
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This is where Dylan goes full on country. Trading in his usually nasally vocals for a country croon, he took what he did on John Wesley Harding and expanded and built upon it. Now Dylan does some great stuff here, the re-recording of Girl From the North Country with Johnny Cash is beautiful but at times this album is pretty mediocre country stuff.

The good obviously outweighs the bad on this release, but the bad drags it down. Songs like Country Pie are boring not only lyrically but musically it's pretty typical country stuff. However Dylan does do country beautifully here on tracks like Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You, which thank god make up the majority of the album.

Favorite Lyric: "Whatever colors you have in your mind / I'll show them to you and you'll see them shine."
Favorite Songs: Girl From the North Country (with Johnny Cash), Lay Lady Lay, Tell Me That It Isn't True, I Threw It All Away, Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You

Girl From the North Country with Johnny Cash

Dylan is good. I mean he's a brilliant lyricist. But honestly I was never that into his actual music. Good reviews though.

has anyone heard the basement tapes?, the album he did with 'the band'? is it any good?, i imagine it being great, but i cant find it anywhere

Excellent.

The Basement Tapes

And depending on how interested you are...

A Tree With Roots

I am taking a well deserved break after the 60s. I think I'll take one when I finish each decade. I'll start on the 70s next week.

i dont mean to sound mean, but whats the point of this?

By the way, this is a music forum. Just throwin' it out there.

no i mean spending so much time reviewing albums, does this person get a lot of fun out of it or something? it just seems really tedious

If someone has to explain this to you is does tend to ask the question what on earth are you doing on a music forum.

It's about sharing your enthusiasm about something with others. I happen to enjoy reading these sorts of lists a lot as it gives me a new perspective on something i've listen to or suggest to me to try something I wouldn't normally try , and generally to learn something.And I enjoy writing my own too & seeing other people do just that to my own stuff.

And that to me is much more of a rewarding way to spend my time online than , for example spend time blowing up people in some war game.