Today 55 years ago, on 22nd March 1965, living legend BOB DYLAN released his fifth LP BRING IT ALL BACK HOME. A game-changing album as it was his first longplayer with electric music on, recorded with a rock ‘n’ roll band. Narrow-minded fans experienced
this move as a betrayal of his folk and protest roots.
It was Dylan at its sixties best just doing what he wanted to do and do it brilliantly.
This record is just one of his all-time best in my book, musically and lyrically. All killers,
no fillers. Despite the controversy, it was the living legend’s first top ten album in the US, peaking at #9 and his first No 1 in the UK with monumental lead-single Subterranean Homesick Blues as one of his greatest hits.
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Rolling Stone wrote: “When Bob Dylan entered Columbia Records’ Studio A in mid-January 1965 and blew out an 11-song LP in three days, he didn’t merely go electric, invent folk rock and transition from an acoustic troubadour to a boundary-pushing rock & roller. He conjured performances that would completely reimagine how pop music communicated – not just what it could say, but how it could say it.” Full feature here.
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David Crosby said: “The thing about Bringing It All Back Home was his words. That’s
what Bob stunned the world with. Up until then we had ‘oooh, baby’ and ‘I love you, baby’
Bob changed the map. He gave us really, really good words.”
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Top Tracks (actually all of them): Subterranean Homesick Blues / On The Road Again / Maggie’s Farm
Bringing It All Back Home signaled the the start of a new era, released 49 years ago in March 1965 moved Dylan from a folk singer to a rock artist. A truly remarkable album it was Dylans 5th studio release, divided by a electric side which Alienated Dylan from his folk community audience and a acoustic side with songs more of a personal nature that the previous Protest style songs. Described as the most Influential album of its era the cover art was shot by Eddie kramer and featured Albert Grossman’s then Dylan’s manager wife Sally Grossman on armchair in the background also sitting forward Dylan is holding his cat called “Rolling Stone” also of interest the sleeve “King of The Delta Blues Singers” by Robert Johnson is featured.
June 9,1964: During an evening session Bob Dylan recorded “Mr. Tambourine Man” at Columbia Recording Studios in New York City. This was the first session for “Bringing It All Back Home”, which saw Dylan recording fourteen original compositions that night. The Byrds later recorded a version of Mr. Tambourine Man that was released as their first single and reached No.1 on both the US & UK Chart. The Byrds’ recording of the song was influential in initiating the musical subgenre of folk-rock, leading many contemporary bands to mimic its fusion of jangly guitars and intellectual lyrics in the wake of the single’s success.
The Fat Angel Sings 