Blonde On Blonde
The Greatest Blonde
The year was 1966. The year after Bob Dylan decided to make everybody
try harder with "Like a Rolling Stone" and his accompanying album
Highway 61 Revisited. The year that The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The
Beach Boys, and The Byrds decided to create some of the most mind-
warping and innovative albums of all time. Highway 61 Revisited is more
important than Blonde on Blonde, only because it was released first and
had such an immediate impact on the face of pop culture at the time, but
Blonde on Blonde is a better album both lyrically and musically. On Blonde
on Blonde, all the songs are about women, be it directly or indirectly.
Considering his marriage to Sara and his long-term relationship to Joan
Baez, it should come as no surprise that Dylan would be inspired to write
less politically-charged songs and more introspective and romantic songs
around this time. This album is basically about women seen through the
eyes of a genius who also happens to have a romantic soul. This isn't soul
music however. This is Dylan doing what he does best: mind-warp poetry
set to rock and roll. This is perhaps the most lyrically complex album ever
recorded. If you enjoy analyzing lyrics, don't take a sip, take a gigantic
GULP because this is as good as it gets. All the songs except for "Just
Like a Woman" have either a rocking or bluesy feel to them. Some songs
such as "Obviously Five Believers" and "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" have
more style than substance, but that is not a problem because it's good for
the listener to take a break from the complexity of the other songs. Blonde
on Blonde displays a vast array of emotions that permeate the human
condition; humor, longing, frustration, anger, bitterness, and pathos are all
found on this masterpiece. To my ears, all the songs are great except for
"Just Like a Woman", which so happens to be the second-most popular
song on the album (after "Rainy Day Women"). It's a ballad and not very
profound when compared to the other riveting ballad on the album "Sad-
Eyed Lady of the Lowlands". "Sad-Eyed Lady" is slower but at least it
packs an emotional wallop that "Just Like a Woman" can't even come
close to muster. Something about the vocals and lyrics on "Just Like a
Woman" rubs me the wrong way and I don't care for Al Kooper's organ on
the song either. There are nine songs on Highway 61 Revisited and every
single song on it is a classic, but on Blonde on Blonde, Dylan goes thirteen
for fourteen, which to me is even more impressive. A+
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