csberry

It's Bob Dylan's version of country! Um, well, other than some instrumentation, I didn't find it all that different from what I'm familiar with of Dylan's work. I certainly did not listen to his album in the way people did when it originally came out. There is no transition I'm having to make from the electric sound of Blonde on Blonde to John Wesley Harding. To me, a Dylan newb, it is just a slightly twangier version of him...and includes noticeable Biblical references.

I have to say that the album wasn't as painful as I feared. One thing about Dylan that I don't care for did jump out to me. Previously, I've listened to latter-day Dylan for this list. In the later recordings, Dylan wasn't partnered with a harmonica. The mouth harp is on full display here...and I hate it so much. I've cheered John Popper's complaints about the praise that Dylan has received for his harmonica playing. I don't doubt that Dylan followed some sort of folk tradition of sloppy harp playing, but it is not a method of playing the instrument that I care for. Replacing the sloppy harp with psychedelic guitars is definitely the way to go. The only thing worse than the original version of "All Along the Watchtower" is XTC's cover of it.

Songs I knew I liked: None

Songs I didn't know but now like: "As I Went Out One Morning" and "Dear Landlord"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: "The Ballad of Frankie Lee" - OH, all of the alliterative word play! *cringe*