Customer Reviews

Blues on Blonde on Blonde

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This album concept is kind of interesting, as I am a huge fan of the original Blonde on Blonde. However, most of the tracks on this record bore me, with the exception of maybe 3 or 4 tracks. The majority of the tracks are blues shuffles and such, but a few of the songs that stray away from the norm were actually the best. My three favorites by far were Clarence Bucaro's Sooner or Later One of Us Must Know, Eric Bibb's and Anders Osborne's tracks. One of us must know by Clarence Bucaro is the most interesting and has a warm, sexy, lounge style. It sounds like something right out of the 20's! Eric Bibb's track is great too, I would buy the record for those 3 tracks alone!

but not a great album. I feel as the other reviewers did, that a few good songs can't save this bland collection. I mean, this is a classic album, so it would take some pretty terrific music to do it justice. It isn't here. The track I really liked, though, was Walter Trout's "Leopard-skin Pill-box Hat." I think he captured the rollicking leer of the original very well. Overall: stick with Bob's version.

This is a CD with noble intentions, but that for the most part fails to capture the magic of Blonde on Blonde. Most of the tracks are by-the-book covers of the Dylan songs, not much to grab one's attention. The second half is somewhat better, but still not terribly inspired. The only real high praise I can give out is for Clarence Bucaro (a woman), whose version of One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later) is the only real standout on the disc. She is the only one who actually *did* something with the song, rather than just regurgitating it. Overall, an enjoyable collection for a real Dylan fan, but not much new.

Bob Dylan started off the sixties with a lot of pretty sanctimonious, self-righteous, change the world stuff like, "Blowin in the Wind" and "Masters of War". Plain folk music in the Woody Guthrie style, "a red guitar, three chords and the Truth".

Then in the mid sixites there were two important changes: he changed to electric guitar with a backup Band, and two, he mellowed somewhat developed an ironic sense of humour. Or he decided if he couldn't change the world, he'd poke fun at it. He penned some wonderfully clever songs, including all time best put-down songs for the rich, snotty debutantes he was dating (and who probably dumped him). These started with "Bringing it all Back Home", some of "Highway 61 Revisted", and last with one of if not his best album "Blonde on Blonde". He literally changed ALL pop, rock and folk music forever, it is difficult to understate the impact of these changes. I'd love to hear Zimmy himself play these tunes again, but as we all know, Dylan comes from the "Don't Look Back" school.

"I see you got a new boyfriend
No I aint never seen him before
I saw him makin love to you
You forgot to close the garage door!
You think he wants you for your money
But I know what he really wants you for
It's your brand new leopard-skin pillbox hat."

Now is that a put-down song or what?

Herein we have some fine covers by Blues artists of many of those great tunes. Most cover albums are drek, but some of these arrangements seem to fit the lyrics better than Dylan's. And they can sing better. Standouts are the boozy, bluesy, funny Brian Stolz "Rainy Day Women"' Walter Trout's "Leopard skin Pillbox Hat" Sue Foley's "You go your way and I'll go Mine", Duke Robillard's "Pledging My Time". The first half of the album is great, the second half including "One of us must Know", by Bucaro, is considerbly LESS inspired, with the only standout cut being Sean Costello's "Obviously 5 Believers". It's the rollicking, leering songs that rock, the ballads are quite tepid and don't capture the feeling of the originals.

So half a great album, quite entertaining, all inspired lyrics, and TELarc has helped us by lumping together the best stuff at the beginning.