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Blonde on Blonde

BLONDE ON BLONDE

 

 

Blonde on Blonde  is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on May 16, 1966, on Columbia Records.  Blonde on Blonde completed the trilogy of rock albums that Dylan recorded in 1965 and 1966, starting with Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited.  Critics often rank Blonde on Blonde as one of the greatest albums of all time.  Combining the expertise of Nashville session musicians with a modernist literary sensibility, the album’s songs have been described as operating on a grand scale musically, while featuring lyrics one critic called “a unique blend of the visionary and the colloquial”.  It was one of the first double albums in rock music.  (More from Wikipedia)

 

 

As it turned out, the early recording sessions that produced the classic “Like a Rolling Stone” recording were the only ones for Highway 61 Revisited that producer Tom Wilson worked on; Bob Johnston handled most of those duties, and he also went on to produce what many believe to be Bob Dylan’s magnum opus:  Blonde on Blonde.  

 

(June 2013/2)

 

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Bob Dylan was still a polarizing figure in the late 1970’s, and Slow Train Coming alienated at least as many fans as it attracted.  Still, in its first year, the album outsold two of Dylan’s best albums, Blonde on Blonde and Blood on the Tracks in their first years; and “Gotta Serve Somebody” was a #24 hit single – his highest placement in the Billboard Hot 100 since “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” in 1973. 

 

(August 2014)