When Bob Dylan released the sprawling dense tapestry of this revisionist blues rock masterpiece, it cemented his place in music history. Bob Johnston who had produced 'Highway 61 Revisited' was brought back when it came time to record again. Dylan first attempted to record with his new touring band the Hawks in New York; but when the sessions floundered Johnston suggested moving to Nashville, where top notch session musicians filled out the sound. 'Blonde On Blonde' reveals more depth with each listen, the intricate musicianship complements his poetic revelations.
"The closest I ever got to the sound I hear in my mind was on individual bands in the 'Blonde On Blonde' album. It's that thin, that wild mercury sound. It's metallic and bright gold, with whatever that conjures up. That's my particular sound. I haven't been able to succeed in getting it all the time. Mostly, I've been driving at a combination of guitar, harmonica and organ."
The laughing carnival raveup of 'Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35' tied Dylan's greatest success with 'Like A Rolling Stone' by reaching number two on the pop chart. Despite it's confusing title and the fact that the song was banned by many radio stations for its druggy refrain: "everybody must get stoned!" During the session, everybody did. Dylan would not play the song "straight". The brass band only adds to the effect. Also, the band members swapped instruments during the session.
"Well, they'll stone you and say that it's the end
Then they'll stone you and then they'll come back again
They'll stone you when you're riding in your carand they'll stone when you're playing your guitar
Yes, but I would not feel so all alone
The conquering, poetic 'Visions of Johanna' was originally called "Seems Like a Freeze-Out". Some think it's about Joan Baez. The protagonist is focused on an absent Johanna while with a willing Louise and her "handful of rain." It's not clear if Johanna is a person or a work of art.
"Inside the museums, Infinity goes up on trial
Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while
But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues
You can tell by the way she smiles
See the primitive wallflower freeze
When the jelly-faced women all sneeze
Hear the one with the mustache say, "Jeeze
I can't find my knees"
Oh, jewels and binoculars hang from the head of the mule
But these visions of Johanna, they make it all seem so cruel"
'I Want You' was allegedly written about model Anita Pallenberg who was dating Brian Jones (who wore a Chinese shirt) when Dylan hung out with him in London. The rivalry culminated in a late night car chase and crash that left only bruised egos.
"Now your dancing child with his Chinese suit
He spoke to me, I took his flute
No, I wasn't very cute to him, was I?
But I did it, though, because he lied
Because he took you for a ride
And because time was on his side
And because I
'Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again' might be inspired by the turmoil over Dylan's going electric.
"Now the rainman gave me two cures,
Then he said, "Jump right in."
The one was Texas medicine,
The other was just railroad gin.
An' like a fool I mixed them
An' it strangled up my mind,
An' now people just get uglier
An' I have no sense of time.
Oh, Mama, can this really be the end,
To be stuck inside of Mobile
With the Memphis blues again."
The materialistic satire 'Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat' was released as a single and peaked at number eighty one.
"Well, you look so pretty in it
Honey, can I jump on it sometime?
Yes, I just wanna see
If it's really that expensive kind
You know it balances on your head
Just like a mattress balances
On a bottle of wine"
'Just Like A Woman' has been said to be inspired by Edie Sedgwick who became involved with Dylan when they both lived at the Chelsea Hotel.
"It was raining from the first
And I was dying there of thirst
So I came in here
And your long-time curse hurts
But what's worse
Is this pain in here
I can't stay in here
Ain't it clear that
I just can't fit
Yes, I believe it's time for us to quit
When we meet again
Introduced as friends
Please don't let on that you knew me when
I was hungry and it was your world.
Ah, you fake just like a woman, yes, you do
You make love just like a woman, yes, you do
Then you ache just like a woman
But you break just like a little girl. "
The surreal epic 'Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands' filled side four of the double album. Dylan later said (in the song 'Sara') that he wrote the song for Sara Lownds.
"With your mercury mouth in the missionary times
And your eyes like smoke and your prayers like rhymes
And your silver cross, and your voice like chimes
Oh, who do they think could bury you ?
With your pockets well protected at last
And your streetcar visions which you place on the grass
And your flesh like silk, And you face like glass
Who among them do they think could carry you ?
Sad-eyed lady of the lowlands
Where the sad-eyed prophet says that no man comes
My warehouse eyes, my Arabian drums
Should I put them by your gate
Oh, sad-eyed lady, should I wait ?"
'Blonde On Blonde'
full album:
All songs written by Bob Dylan.
Side one
1. "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" 4:36
2. "Pledging My Time" 3:50
3. "Visions of Johanna" 7:33
4. "One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)" 4:54
Side three
1. "Most Likely You Go Your Way And I'll Go Mine" 3:30
2. "Temporary Like Achilles" 5:02
3. "Absolutely Sweet Marie" 4:57
4. "4th Time Around" 4:35
5. "Obviously 5 Believers" 3:35
Side two
1. "I Want You" 3:07
2. "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again" 7:05
3. "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" 3:58
4. "Just Like a Woman" 4:52
Side four
1. "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" 11:23
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