Self Portrait

Bob Dylan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (August 24, 1989)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000024W3
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (108 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #108,947 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Self Portrait stands as a truly perverse collection. Released in 1970 at a time when those on the radical left were hungering for their then-unimpeachable hero to reclaim his role as the conscience of his generation, Bob Dylan instead delivered a pop-inflected collection largely made up of rather indifferently performed covers. Youth culture was at a boiling point and the one figure the vanguard of The Movement hoped would galvanize all those street-fighting men and women was . . . crooning "Blue Moon"? In hindsight, Self Portrait is, at best, pleasant. The uncharacteristically lush likes of "All The Tired Horses," "Wigwam," and "Copper Kettle" are mighty nice, in fact. But then the tepid covers of "The Boxer," "Early Mornin' Rain," and "Gotta Travel On," as well as perplexingly lifeless live versions of "Like a Rolling Stone" and "She Belongs to Me" drag the whole set down and leave one wondering what Dylan was thinking when he selected such a provocative title for such an unrevealing album. --Steven Stolder

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

111 of 119 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Dylan's most challenging album... July 25, 2003

By ewomack TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

The first time I heard this album I nearly laughed myself unconscious. I had recently seen "Don't Look Back" in which Dylan gives surrealistic and absurd press conferences, makes fun of Donovan, and pretty much shows he's not your conventional performer. Then I heard the opening notes of "All the Tired Horses" and I was pretty sure that this album was in the same league as the "Oh! I though you'd ask me about the lightbulb" or "I consider myself a song and dance man" press conference clips from "Don't Look Back." I laughed and laughed, played it for friends, who usually didn't understand what I found funny, and more or less made up my mind that this album represented Dylan giving the middle finger to his fans. For some strange reason that belief endeared the album to me.

Years later, when I finally opened enough musically to appreciate Dylan's "country phase" (beginning with, roughly, "John Wesley Harding" and roughly ending with this album) I now think about this album very differently, and I actually enjoy listening to it, with the exception of a few tracks.

Dylan's first decade was spent continually changing styles. The "protest singers" hugged him to their bosoms until "Another Side of Bob Dylan" and then became violently offended when he completely ditched the protest scene, went electric and didn't seem to care what they thought. Simultaneously, an entire new scene opened up to him with "Like A Rolling Stone." Now Dylan was cool, and cooler than could ever be imagined. He was on the pop charts and in the spotlight. The fans at the time probably thought that Dylan had found himself and looked forward to years and years of the same kind of thing. But he unexpectedly turned coat on the "cool rock" scene as well and dove head first into its seeming "uncool" antithesis: country music.... The rock fans must have felt a similar betrayal that the "folkies" did when Dylan went electric. On top of it, Dylan didn't seem to care what they thought, and he again put his career on the line.

Looking back at over 30 albums it's a little clearer what Dylan was up to. He refused to be typecast or set into one musical genre to die a slow musical death of sameness. Most of his fans probably didn't appreciate this, but it makes Dylan one of the most challenging musical figures of the 20th century. This spirit is alive and well in "Self-Portrait."

"Self-Portrait" has some very good songs on it: "Alberta", "Little Sadie", "I Forgot More than You'll Ever Know", "Early Mornin' Rain", etc. If you appreciate Dylan's "country phase" you will like this album. It is uneven and confusing at times, but it was supposedly meant to be an "official bootleg" - Dylan was tired of hearing his unreleased songs on unofficial bootlegs, so he thought he'd do one of his own. The feel of the album in general is completely consistent with this concept.

There are a few confusing numbers: the live version of "Like A Rolling Stone" is sloppy and taken from an obvious "off" night(Dylan even forgets the lyrics). "The Boxer" (a song apparently about Dylan) is hilarious, as well as "Blue Moon" and "Wigwam." These could be the result of either Dylan's sense of humor (he may have wanted to slap Paul Simon back for "The Boxer") or of experimentation (he had to have experimented a lot when changing musical styles).

By far the most confusing (and hilarious) part of the album is the cover and sleeve art (which is lost somewhat in the CD booklet - the original LP had a full color gatefold sleeve): Dylan looking up in the sky like a bird just defecated on him, Dylan kneeling down beside a chicken, Dylan posing by a road sign with strong emphasis on the road sign. Are these pictures even worth analyzing?

The answer to the question: "Is this album a joke?" is probably both yes and no. In some ways it is, and in others it is not. It is definitely challenging (because there are so many ways to interpret what Dylan may have been up to). It contains very good and underrated music. It also contains the spirit of the Albert Hall concert of 1966, though fans who liked that concert probably hated "Self Portrait." Dylan was again changing, and he didn't care what we all thought about it. "Self Portrait" is further evidence of Dylan's unrelenting mission to remain undefined or pigeon-holed into being a one-trick pony. Read more ›

46 of 49 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars "What is this s*@t?" February 18, 2008

By E. Cannistraci

Format:Audio CD

I'll tell you, Rolling Stone Magazine. This s*@t is the epoch of Dylan's great run of 1960s albums. The thing is, hippies and the critics at the time hated this album. And why? Because Dylan wasn't being overtly existential or singing songs that were socially relevant. Heck, many of them were covers! How dare he!? How dare he not be fashionable!? Paul McCartney's wonderful RAM album suffered a similar condemnation. Apparently, the squarest thing you could do at the break of the 1970s was just make well constructed, exceedingly pleasant music to listen to. I mean, why LISTEN to music when you can sit around, passing a joint, and decipher it with your college boy friends? The fact that an album as good-natured, human and sublime as SELF PORTRAIT couldn't bring a smile to these hippies and critics proves there was something missing in them...and NOT in Dylan. This IS a self portrait of the artist at the time: Showing all his different sides and moods. There are lush orchestrated experiments in minimalism ("All The Tired Horses", "Wigwam"), NASHVILLE SKYLINE style country tunes ("I Forget More Than You'll Ever Know", "Take Me As I Am"), campfire folk songs ("Alberta"), hillbilly knee-slappers ("Little Sadie"), boogie-woogie jams ("Woogie Boogie"), sweet soulful ballads ("Let It Be Me", "Belle Isle"), gospel strutting R&B ("Gotta Travel On"), and live cuts that aren't "lifeless" by any means ("The Mighty Quinn (Quinn The Eskimo)"). In short, it's a musical landscape in the shape of America. This was Dylan just being a musician in the purest sense. But I guess all his so-called fans and the music press didn't really like the SOUND of Dylan or his music. They simply liked the IDEA of his music. When they were left to hear Dylan croon "Blue Moon" they couldn't process that. It didn't compute.... Why would Dylan just sing a nice little song he liked? Because he was a SINGER and he liked the song. And by this point, Dylan was a very expressive vocalist. They didn't call them covers when Sinatra or Elvis did them. Bob Dylan was an entertainer. This was what he was saying with SELF PORTRAIT. He was a song & dance man. A traveling hobo with a guitar and a tall tale. A man that looked up at the big blue sky and took a breath of air. A balladeer, a vanguard, a clown...a brilliant genius child. It's as Dylan as Dylan gets. I'll take "Wigwam" over any dated protest song any day of the week. Because what you get with "Wigwam" and the other songs on SELF PORTRAIT is the pure joy of music. Read more ›

51 of 58 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Fantastic "Worst Album Ever Made" December 20, 2003

By Bud Sturguess

Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase

It's ironic that most of the albums the public chooses to label as the "worst ever recorded" are often made by those who are acclaimed giants in the music world; like John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Unfinished Music" sound collages, or Creedence Clearwater Revival's underrated, hated "Mardi Gras." And like a majority of albums critics hate, Bob Dylan's "Self Portrait" actually turns out to be a very worthy listen, even if it takes a few listens to get used to for the average Dylan fan.
Released as a double album in 1970, "Self Portrait" was condemned by both reviewers and fans, who were shocked that the spokesman of their generation had not lived up to their standards. But if a performer can release a record that is regarded as a pitiful disappointment after a decade of publicly-embraced masterpieces, but with a grin on his face while doing it, it's not such a bad thing--the album saw critics claiming Dylan had somehow turned his back on his principles and was indulging in a "commercialization" of his music; critic Ralph Gleason even called for a boycott of Dylan's albums. But the bottom line was that Dylan was fed up with being hailed as a leader; in a biography by Anthony Scaduto, Dylan was quoted about this era: "I wasn't going to fall for that, for being any kind of leader...and because I wanted out, they all started to rap me." And that's the goal that makes this album so enjoyable. Didn't he tell us not to follow leaders in the first place?...
The title suggests that "Self Portrait" will resemble some kind of personal diary, but rather it's more of a curio, featuring some lesser known original material, a few ragged live cuts with The Band from the Isle of Wight festival, and covers of songs by the likes of the Everly Brothers, Simon & Garfunkel, and the equally brilliant singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. The album often finds Dylan in a musical limbo--there's pieces of his folk period, his rock period and even his country period; it's almost like he can't decide which style would be best to use, so he employs them all. Strings and overdubbed vocals tread through the album. There's even that honky-tonk voice that first appeared on "Nashville Skyline" that comes straight from Dylan's nasal tones--it sounds like a mix of the voices of Warren Zevon, Hank Williams Jr., and Supertramp's Rick Davies. But it's an enjoyable voice nonetheless, and Dylan offers some very good music; songs that resemble the "Basement Tapes" like 'Woogie Boogie' or 'Little Sadie' add a loose feeling that suggests Dylan wanted to have as much fun as he could, knowing "Self-Portrait" would be despised. Despite any bizarreness, the album is packed full of fine moments like 'Days of 49,' the absolutely delightful 'Bell Isle,' and infamously dogged covers of 'Early Morning Rain,' 'The Boxer,' 'Blue Moon,' 'Let it Be Me,' and an exquisite if eyebrow-raising version of 'I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know.'
Consider it as Bob Dylan's own experience of "Stage Fright;" his former backing group The Band released the album of that name the same year, their reaction to the dregs of being made a public figure. But it only took them two years to reach that disdain, while if Dylan had taken ten to reach his, it certainly didn't show until in shocking confrontational form when "Self Portrait" was released.
"Self Portrait" may always be recognized only as an infamously disappointing release, but it's actually one more reason to ignore the widely accepted opinion. "Self Portrait" is more of a statement than most people choose to recognize; Bob Dylan wanted desperately to discourage those who saw him as a prophet. And that's not a bad reason to make an album if you think about it. Read more ›