Classic Album Review: Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding

Posted by Anthony - 22nd July 2011

Bob Dylan is once again visiting us and has announced a tour for later this year. Intriguingly he is sharing the dates with Mark Knopfler who is assembling a top class group of musicians for the purpose. This promises to be a must see concert if ever there was one!

Bob Dylan is now 70 years old and has been performing his music for the last 50 years. He started out as a folk singer/guitarist and following his initial success he soon became the figurehead of the folk protest movement that sprang up in the 1960s. His first 4 studio albums were essentially folk, Dylan singing and accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica. He gradually increased the number of self penned songs and some of these brilliantly caught the political and social mood of the times.

In 1965 Dylan released his 5th album Bringing It All Back Home. This had one side of acoustic numbers and the other side featured Dylan backed by an electric rock band. This proved to be hugely controversial and some fans felt Dylan had sold them out. He was not to be put off and went on to release two more fully electric albums, Highway 61 Revisited in 1965 and the double LP set Blonde On Blonde in 1966. Both of these albums are now regarded as all time classics.

At this point Bob Dylan was at a career high, there was an incredible buzz around him and he was a global star wielding much influence among the young. This was to have an abrupt end when in July 1966 he was involved in a motorcycle accident and apparently suffered serious injuries. This enforced lay-off gave Dylan a chance to reassess his life. He withdrew from public gaze and did not tour again for 8 years.

However he did return to recording and the result was his next album, John Wesley Harding, which was released in December 1967. This was very different to the 3 previous albums in that Dylan returned to his acoustic roots. The album has 12 short songs in contrast to the longer material on Highway and Blonde. Instrumentation consisted of Dylan on acoustic guitar, harmonica and, on one track, piano, Charles McCoy on bass, Kenny Buttrey on drums and Pete Drake on steel guitar on the final 2 tracks.

The sound is musically sparse with Dylan's vocals allowing the songs to take centre stage. The album seems to have been conceived as a whole rather than being a collection of separate songs in different styles. It has a satisfyingly uniform quality. Lyrically Dylan deals with religion, social issues, equality and love and there are many Biblical references. Gone are the surreal images that ran through the previous 2 albums. We now have short mainly 3 verse format songs where clearly much thought has been given to the story telling lyrics.

Not one song is below par and there are several stand-out tracks here. The best known song is All Along The Watchtower because it was later recorded by Jimi Hendrix to such devastating effect. Another song covered by many other people is the closing track I'll Be Your Baby Tonight which is beautifully handled by Dylan backed up by the steel guitar work.

My favourite tracks are: I Dreamed I Saw St Augustine, a slow song with religious themes echoing Dylan's growing fascination with the Bible; Dear Landlord, another slow song where Dylan plays a lovely piano backing; and the aforementioned I'll Be Your Baby Tonight.

This album does not have the excitement of the electric band and the mind blowing surreal lyrics of the previous 2 albums but it does have excellent, fully conceived songs that give long term listener satisfaction. Over the years the quality of this album has been appreciated and it is now regarded as one of Dylan's best. The album topped the charts in the UK and reached number 2 in the USA.

Dylan has released 34 original studio albums, 11 live albums, 9 so far in the official bootleg album series, and not forgetting the numerous compilations. He is probably the most bootlegged artist in the world. His amazing and enduring popularity is reflected in this tally and the continuing tours that he undertakes. He is one of the giants of 20th century popular music and you should catch him while he is still on the road.