John Wesley Harding (Reis) [Original recording remastered]

Bob Dylan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 1, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00026WU5U
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,205 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #60 in Music > Folk > Contemporary Folk > Singer-Songwriters
  • #70 in Music > Folk > Contemporary Folk > General
  • #86 in Music > Rock > Country Rock

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

51 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gritty, Course, Driving and Stark, with a Bit of Country, April 21, 2005

By 

Zachary Hackett (Reno, Nevada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: John Wesley Harding (Reis) (Audio CD)

When this record came out a lot of Dylan's fans were upset, because that singer of songs so complex with images that stayed with you long after the song had end, seemed to have gone country. But it didn't long before they realized that the complexity was still here, even thought the backing musicians had changed. The stories, those incredible stories were still here. Just give a listen to "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" and you'll see what I mean. And the word weaver is still doing his magic here as well, again listen to "Frankie & Judas."

Yes, gone are the rock musicians, replaced by country guys, Charlie McCoy on bass, Kenny Buttrey on drums and they help Dylan deliver a kind of haunting sound that has lasted through the years, making this record sort timeless, holding up as well now as it did way back then.

My personal favorite on this masterpiece of music is "As I Went Out One Morning." To me it seems like Dylan is singing about America and how Tom Paine would be so disappointed if he were alive today. And what would Rock have been like had Jimi not been able to cover the excellent "All Along the Watchtower." Then there is that landlord, that wicked messenger, that lonesome hobo and that escaping drifter. Mr. Dylan conjures images with words the way Van Gogh did with a brush. This album, though a change, is one of the best.

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Moving towards country, April 7, 2006

By 

Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: John Wesley Harding (Reis) (Audio CD)

Dylan's move into country was wise and apt, just right for the times. The title track is a legend allegedly about a famous ancestor of the obscure singer-songwriter Tim Hardin. The awesome I Dreamt I Saw St. Augustine is spiritual and moving, All Along The Watchtower has a surreal edge to it and The Drifter's Escape is an interesting story song.

Dear Landlord fits the country style well, I Pity The Poor Immigrant is a touching protest song and I'll Be Your Baby Tonight is catchy country-pop, as proved by the many cover versions. Speaking of which, I first heard many of these classics via other artists' interpretations, e.g. Jimi Hendrix who made a psychedelic anthem of All Along The Watchtower and Joan Baez' splendid versions of St Augustine and I Pity The Poor Immigrant.

It's risky to try rating Dylan's individual albums, but John Wesley Harding is certainly amongst his five best as it is so consistently great as regards the quality of the compositions, the performance and the mastery of the country style. This memorable work with its haunting songs has stood the test of time very well.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars in a complicated time, Bob went back to the basics, October 9, 2005

By 

Cult/Film/Freak "cultfilmfreak" (baal, california) - See all my reviews

This review is from: John Wesley Harding (Reis) (Audio CD)

I like to listen to the bass on this album. Charlie McCoy. You turn up the bass and it's very relaxing. This is one of my favorite Dylan albums, and didn't used to be. It is important because when it came out, the music that he had started was peaking, and while bands he influenced like THE BEATLES, THE EXPIRIENCE, THE DOORS, you name it, were peaking out, literally, with acid-inspired deeply personal music that had flaming guitar riffs and ten things going on at once, Bob sat down in his rocking chair, and wrote twelve laidback songs, most in a distant third person perspective, all with only a guitar, a harmonica, a piano, a bass, a drummer, and a steel guitar (on two tracks). Dylan wasn't burning up the sky on purpose, instead, he was painting the earth. And NASHVILLE SKYLINE, the next album, goes against the grain he started altogether, as it is a full on country album. But this one if folky, and underrated, and one can listen to it again and again. Great, pure, fantastic Dylan album.