Domesticity (Summer of Dylan part five)

Truth be told I was just about to burn out on Dylan with fifty years of recordings still to go in this project. However, today's installment involved a lot of his music I had never listened to before. In this late 60s to early 70s time period Dylan had retreated from the spotlight, much to the chagrin of his fans. While this initially meant a burst of creativity in the form of the Basement Tapes, increasingly his heart didn't seem to be in it. As a father of young kids who's feeling burnt out from his job, I totally get it. We all need to shut things down sometime and focus on taking care of ourselves and our families. 

Nashville Skyline (1969)

This is one of the albums that invented country rock, and as a fan of the whole 90s-00s "alt-country" scene I have always loved it. There probably isn't an album in Dylan's catalog whose reputation has changed more. When it came out fans were upset over the lack of connection to the events of the time, the overt country sounds, and most of all, Dylan's country crooner voice. I actually like that voice in the context of this album, and I also like how it was an early way Dylan tried to show his fans that what he was giving them had always been a persona and never "the real thing." 

I will admit that this album is very slight in some respects. It's less than a half hour long and one of the songs is an instrumental. However, "Lady Lay Lady," "Tell Me It Isn't True," "I Threw It All Away," and "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You" are fine country rock songs. (The less said about "Country Pie" the better.) I wish Dylan had made some more albums with this sound, but in many respects Nashville Skyline is an interesting little one off.

Rating: Four and a Half Bobs

Self Portrait (1970)

This is one I had never listened to before, having been warned that it's his worst at least until the 80s. That assessment (so far) is absolutely correct. I always chuckle at the fact that Greil Marcus reviewed it simply by asking "What is this shit?" Unbelievably, it's a double album. Some of the songs are just flat out bad. If Dylan was deliberately trying to lower expectations and get people to stop worshipping him this would be an excellent way to do so.

HOWEVER, there are a couple of gems here and there. I also admire the audacity of doing a tossed-off twangy cover of "The Boxer," mostly since I've never cared for Paul Simon. If I'd had to pay for this album in 1970 I would have been pissed. Listening to it on streaming in 2021 I can just be amused.

Rating: Two and a Half Bobs

New Morning (1970)

Okay, this one actually surprised me. I bought the CD ages ago in one of those discount three packs (remember those?) as a bonus to go along with Nashville Skyline and John Wesley Harding, two albums I actually wanted. At the time I listened to it and then put it aside, since I liked those other albums far more. This time, however, I noticed how many good songs Dylan offers here, almost as a mea culpa for his last album. It also sets more a domestic tone, of a dad laying back on a lazy Sunday and cutting a record. Perhaps now that I am a dad myself who is tired and weary I can feel it on a different level. "Time Passes Slowly," "Went to See the Gypsy," "If Not For You," and "The Man In Me" are all great. "New Morning" sounds like a declaration of independence from his old life and an embrace of his new one. 

Rating: Four Bobs

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973)

This was almost the first Dylan album I bought because of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door." Then one day I was able to tape that song off the radio and didn't feel the need to purchase an album that appeared to mostly be a film score. I made the right choice. The music is alright for what it is, but this really isn't an album. (I should say I am a Peckinpaugh fan and the film it comes from is quite good.) This project was the first time I listened to it, thirty years after I made my decision not to buy it. I wasn't missing anything.

Rating: Two Bobs

Planet Waves (1974)

Here's another one I never listened to before this project, but instead I found it to be a pleasant surprise. I am a huge fan of The Band, so I'd always been curious about this one. It was also Dylan's one record made in his break with Columbia Records, which retaliated by putting out Dylan, an unauthorized collection of Self Portrait out-takes, to get revenge. (I am not reviewing it since Dylan himself never intended for it to be released.) At this point The Band had run out of creative gas, and teaming with Dylan seems to have been good for them both. The tour they went on in 1974 would mark the beginning of Dylan's comeback, which might be the most significant thing about this album. It's not a great one, but it's worth a listen.

Rating: Three and a Half Bobs

Bootleg Series Vol. 10: Another Self-Portrait (recorded 1969-1971)

Okay, now this was the real winner out of a bunch of Dylan I'd never listened to before. It's outtakes from Self Portrait and New Morning with a smattering of other stuff and perhaps proof that the Self Portrait album was an intentional troll. I have really been enjoying this, to the point I got it on CD when the local record store went out of business (sniff) and have been playing it non-stop in the car. The orchestral version of "Sign on the Window" is amazing, and the stripped-down versions of other songs have such heart and feeling behind them. I guess this marks the beginning of Dylan's maddening love of not releasing the best versions of his music. 

Rating: Four and a Half Bobs