For my next series of “hour-long intros”, I’m going to tackle an artist who has been around a lot longer, and has had more than three or four major periods during his extended career… Mr. Robert Zimmerman.
While there are plenty of lesser known twists and turns in Dylan’s career, most folks know that he started out as a folk artist, playing acoustic guitar and accompanied only by the harmonica he hung around his neck. It was in this Woody Guthrie-aping guise that that Bob first appeared on the scene.
His self-titled debut didn’t make much of an impact when it was first released in 1962. Probably because most of the songs on there were covers. I only chose one of the two originals, Song To Woody, for this playlist. Most of Bob Dylan actually has more in common with a pair of albums that he recorded in the nineties, and that album will be covered in more depth on that palylist/blog post.
His first big splash came from his second album, where Dylan pretty much wrote all of the songs himself. Still he was known more as songwriter than a performer himself, as his unique vocal stylings were an acquired taste in the days of the Chad Mitchell Trio and the Kingston Trio. It was Peter, Paul, & Mary who first showcased Dylan’s songwriting prowess with their version of Blowing In The Wind causing people to seek out the original version. It was however the Joan Baez championing the young, struggling songwriter that really thrust him into the spotlight.
Initially Bob was known for his political and social activism, and his third record, They Times They Are A-Changin’ is filled with polemics and protest material. However, by his fourth album, the ever mercurial and contrarian Dylan had switched to a more personal, beat poet-inspired style of of lyric writing. Sure, the instrumental format was still the same, but the change on Another Side Of Bob Dylan would be a harbinger of things to come when Dylan abandoned his folk roots entirely for a more commercial, mainstream rock’n’roll success. Still even when he makes that first “rock” record, side two is all-acoustic, and I have included It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) and Mr. Tambourine Man from side 2 of Bringing It All Back Home to wrap up this first portion of Dylan’s career.
Of course, Mr. Tambourine Man, may indicative of Bob’s frustration with being the guy who writes the hits, but can’t sing them himself. Most of Bob’s biggest songs from this period are best known as hits for others. The Byrds did Mr. Tambourine Man and My Back Pages, The Turtles scored with It Aint’ Me Babe, even Cher had a hit with All I Want To Do. While many accused him of selling out at the time, it’s no surprise that Bob moved on from here.