Reviews by nofaithmed11

Solid and dependable. They’ll never be an all time favorite, but I can’t deny how good it is.

4/5

One one hand, I don't think it's his best as so many often claim it is - give me Harvest or Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere any day. On the other hand, it IS a 5-star album, so...

5/5

Not huge into free jazz, and I don’t *love* this, but it’s pretty damn interesting. Could grow on me one day.

2.5/5

I have no use for this early glam metal bullshit. I respect the influence, truly - I only say "bullshit" to describe how I feel listening to it.

2/5

Oh good, another sophistipop album.

2.5/5

What the actual hell am I supposed to say about Blonde on Blonde, my fourth favorite Bob Dylan album?

I guess, to some degree, I can acknowledge that this record is understandably a lot of people’s favorite or second favorite Dylan record. Objectively, there’s nothing wrong with it. It’s a sonic and lyrical masterpiece, a sprawling-yet-perfectly-sequenced journey through the mind of the most brilliant songwriter of all-time, the climax of a three-album run that helped to redefine what popular music could be. Its historical significance, both in the context of Dylan’s catalog and otherwise, is well-documented and well-deserved, and not only do all 14 tracks hold up individually, the album as a whole still stands as a magnificent artistic statement. It’s just that subjectively…

…well, shit, there’s nothing wrong with it subjectively for me, either. I love every single one of these songs; there’s a solid chance that each track would rank among my top 150 Dylan songs, and my “least favorite” track on this album would probably be ranked higher than my least favorite of any other album. I love the sound, the flow, the vibe of this record…it’s all amazing. Really, the only reason Blonde on Blonde sits behind three other records in my rankings is because, regardless how much I admire it as a whole and cherish every song, it has to compete with three other titanic releases that feature so many of my favorite tracks.

Not that I don’t have a bevy of favorites on this record; it may include my favorite song, by anyone, of all-time. Many other tracks land amongst my top 50 Dylan songs, including the extremely catchy and highly musical “Absolutely Sweet Marie”. I’ve also always been in love with “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again”, featuring remarkable performances from the ever-reliable Charlie McCoy (bass) and Kenny Buttrey (drums) as well as so many classic lyrics (the Texas medicine/railroad gin verse in particular has always been a favorite). “4th Time Around”, the potential Lennon sendup, is a great, lilting waltz and intriguing story, and “Just Like a Woman” still stands as one of the finest melodies in Dylan’s discography. As for the lyrics, I can understand the allegations of misogyny, but I’ve always heard them coming from a defensive, disheartened character using insults to mask his pain. With its top-notch vocal delivery and flawless soundscape, it’s easily a top 20 Dylan tune for me.

The juxtaposition between the wonderfully uncomplicated chorus of “I Want You” and the lonesome organ grinders, drunken politicians, and dancing children in Chinese suits that appear in the verses has always fascinated me; when I think of all the times I’ve rambled on and on trying to get my point across to the people I love, only to arrive at the simple point I’ve wanted to say the whole time, this song especially feels resonant. Equally fantastic are “One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)” and “Most Likely You Go Your Way and I’ll Go Mine”, two musically rich tracks that take very different approaches to the ending of a relationship. The most compelling love song of all, though, is the lyrical tour-de-force of “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands”. Bob’s ode to Sara is simply stunning, complete with a passionate vocal, mystical organ, and one of the finest harmonica performances on the record. It’s never felt a second too long to me.

Musically, Bob gets as close to the classic Chess sound as he ever did in the 60’s on “Pledging My Time”, a slow, lumbering blues that features some of Robbie Robertson’s best recorded guitar work. The trio of additional blues songs that follow - the swanky “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat”, beautifully subdued “Temporary Like Achilles”, and raving “Obviously 5 Believers” - are all excellent as well. Truly, every single one of these songs is excellent. I’ve name-checked most of them and have said little to do any of them justice; I’m not nearly a good enough writer to illustrate the lyrical and musical brilliance of these songs.

In some ways, I hold this album in similar regards to Sgt. Pepper and Exile on Main St.: three incredible, important records that can all be argued as their respective acts’ crowning achievements, yet never my personal favorite. That’s of course not to say that any of these albums are overrated. Especially not this completely stacked, genius album. It’s not overrated at all. It’s five out of five stars. It’s a top 25 album of all-time for me, my fourth favorite record by my favorite singular artist. It’s Blonde on fucking Blonde.

Least favorite track: “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35”. I’ll never skip it or not sing along. I know some object to it being the opening track, but it’s always set the pace perfectly for me. I love it. And it’s my “least” favorite on the album.

Favorite track: “Visions of Johanna”. I’ve already struggled to write a capable album summary, and now I’ve set myself up to say something about a song that always leaves me speechless. The blend of Bob’s acoustic guitar and harmonica, Joe South’s dancing bass line, Kenny Buttrey’s steady groove, and Al Kooper’s otherworldly organ is the thin, wild Mercury sound. “Ain’t it just like the night to play tricks when you’re trying to be so quiet?” is one of the most effective opening lyrics of all-time, and it only gets better from there. “The ghost of ‘lectricity howls in the bones of her face” and “The harmonicas play the skeleton keys and the rain” never fail to blow my mind. My inability to accurately describe my love for this song mirrors Bob’s inability to reach Johanna. It’s my favorite Dylan song, and quite possibly my favorite song of all-time.

5/5

I’m still not sick of the big 4 singles from this record, and in fact, the first 7 songs are pretty fantastic in my book. It unfortunately loses a bit of steam after that, though none of it is bad. Rounding up for the website, but could be a true 4 one day.

3.5/5

Wish I'd gotten hip to them a while ago. I think this may continue to grow on me.

4/5

I once again repeat my friend Joe's mantra: "Good, but I don't care."

3.5/5

Liked this a lot more than I anticipated. A few really prescient lyrics and moments, and a lot of solid music. Not my favorite style of music, especially when it dives further into R&B, but I could stand to go back to this.

3.5/5

Probably a top 25 all-time album for me, and likely only my third favorite Wilco record. Just outstanding in every sense of the word.

5+/5

I refuse to believe that Sparks existed until that documentary came out, and then everyone *pretended* like they’ve just known about them for 40 years. I worked in a record store back home for 7 years with multiple other music snobs. Been surrounded by white hipster douchebag bandmates for 15 years. Nary a *word* of this band’s existence. Then, this documentary comes out, and all of sudden, every fucking jackass I know with a mustache is all, “Oh yeah, Sparks! OBVIOUSLY!” And before I know it, these paid fucking actors have created this elaborate hoax of a *50-year career* that everyone can point to and I DON’T BUY IT.

2.5/5

Huge, huge surprise here. I am not generally a synthpop fan whatsoever, and I've historically not thought much of this "Tainted Love" cover, but something kind of comes together for me on this one. Really interesting arrangements and songs, and it's not *too* over the top or synthy. Much more intriguing than a lot of other stuff from this time period. Interested to see if this grows on me with repeated listenings!

3.5/5

About as good as you can expect from an early rock and roll album. The singles are the obvious highlights, but none of the album cuts are bad by any means.

4/5

Undoubtedly their best. Fuck the haters.

5/5

I can tell this one will grow on me with repeated listenings. Already great.

4/5

Very frustrating. Some really good/cool stuff, but way too overlong and anonymous at parts.

2.5/5

Not sure what I’m missing with this one. It feels and sounds extremely insignificant. I don’t dislike much, if anything, about it, but there’s not a single element of this band or record that I haven’t heard done better (and more memorably) a thousand times before.

3/5

Extremely cool. This one may have room to grow.

4/5

The first two songs have held up surprisingly well. After that....eh.

2/5