Customer Reviews

Under the Red Sky

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

Why does the world insist that Bob Dylan's every album be a narrative epic suitable for inclusion in the next Norton Anthology of Literature? Why isn't Bob Dylan allowed to have some fun when he wants? He is, in my book, and he does, on Under The red Sky.

We don't persecute our famous blues artists for using simple rhymes and one or two chord melodies, the same should apply to Dylan, who, all his life, has had to contend with people who only know him as a "poet" or as author of Blowin in The Wind. Fact is, he really loves rock n roll, he really would love to be known for his blues vocals and sound, not just a folk record from 1963.

Under The Red Sky demonstrates his love and mastery of simple, bluesy rock n roll. The album is loads of fun from start to finish. With a line up of legendary producer Don Was, along with the likes of George Harrison, Slash, David Crosby and the Vaughn brothers, this album offers the most consistent collection of good music since Blonde on Blonde. No, it is not the literary masterpiece of his 60's efforts, but it certainly matches the musical intensity of those long-gone days.

Besides, some of the lyrics are very fun, such as the line from "Unbelievable," "It's inconceivable that someone could get this rich this quick." Well, Bob, you oughtta know!

When I first listened to this album, I thought it had the craziest, most nonsensical lyrics I had ever heard. Admittedly, some of the tracks still don't make much sense to me, but a few surprisingly good songs give this album a solid depth that is too little appreciated. Certainly, this is not the moralizing philosopher Dylan of old, but that's OK. It's pretty cool to hear Dylan playing a few songs seemingly just for fun. "Wiggle Wiggle" is total nonsense, but it's a pretty cool, catchy song nonetheless. "Under the Red Sky" does seem to be some kind of musical tribute to nursery rhymes, but its meaning quite escapes me. "10 000 Men" and "Cat's in the Well" are also weird songs with seemingly no meaning. The other tracks have varying degrees of substance to them. "Handy Dandy" confuses me somewhat, but if I had to interpret it, I would lean toward the autobiographical line of thought and steer clear of the Ronald Reagan "theory," in large part due to the fleeting echo of "Like a Rolling Stone" it exhibits. "Unbelievable," "TV Talkin' Song," and "God Knows" are pretty good tracks, with "God Knows" possessing a somewhat comforting quality to it. My two personal favorites here are "2 x 2" and "Born in Time," both of which happen to feature David Crosby's distinctive background vocals. "2 x 2" doesn't make a lot of sense, but the bridges with their unique blend of Dylan and Crosby vocals fill me with delight for some reason. "Born in Time" must be singled out for particular attention. I consider it one of Dylan's best songs of the 1990s, featuring particularly strong and powerful bridges.

I really like this album, but it is definitely one of Dylan's weirdest releases. Dylan wrote every single song, so he must have had some purpose in mind, even if that purpose was to surprise his fans yet again or to just confound his critics. Overall, this music is not bad at all, and Dylan's vocals are strong if gravelly. A strong list of contributing musicians sometimes makes this feel like a fun jam session, with Dylan sometimes just having a good time making lines rhyme without reason. Among the notables who contributed to this album were George Harrison, Slash from Guns 'n' Roses, David Crosby, Bruce Hornsby, Stevie Ray Vaughan, and Elton John. Clearly, this is an album only Dylan could have made, and its unique qualities make it one of the more interesting chapters in this incredible musician's long career. Despite the quality of these musicians, however, the whole sound of the album seems rather generic and uninspired, and I consider this the album's most telling weakness.

I would not suggest you rush out to buy Under the Red Sky immediately, but on the other hand I would urge Dylan fans not to cross it off their purchase lists arbitrarily. After all, any album widely disparaged by the critics must have some merit to it.

This is yet another Dylan album that has been ripped by critics. But, on deeper inspection, one will find that there are many memorable performances on this album, and it offers an interesting picture of who Bob Dylan is in 1991. Most of the Red Sky songs are constructed like children's rhymes, as an earlier reviewer noted. "Wiggle Wiggle" is lots of fun, the backing band is great, and Dylan's voice sounds pretty awesome (especially that last phrase "...like a big fat snake!..."). "Under The Red Sky" has beautiful words and a great G. Harrison slide guitar. "Unbelievable" drops the ball to a degree, in my opinion, with Dylan turning in a fairly lifeless vocal. The album's first hands-down masterwork is "Born In Time." This song absolutely shines, all the way through, it will move you to tears. Dylan's tender ennuciations really make this a keeper. "TV Talkin' Song" is interesting, but to my ears the accompaniment is kinda cheesy. Following this are what I consider to be the album's weakest songs, "10,000 Men" and "2x2." These performances just don't grab me, they're pleasant enough, but they don't unfold and draw you further in like Dylan's best stuff does. Then, true to form, Dylan turns around and goes for the hat trick with three killer tunes. "God Knows" rocks all over the place, and he's played it frequently since. "Handy Dandy" is classic, a great song and a great vocal by Dylan (I love when he yells "Pour him another brandy!" at the end). And "Cat's In The Well" is a fine closer with some great slide guitar. It's hard to know what Dylan was going with Red Sky. But there are enough great songs to make it worthwhile to any Dylan fan.

Bob Dylan has long made a career out of confounding people's expectations. Aside from any desire of critics or even fans, this is one artist who very clearly does what he wants, when he wants. At times (Self-Portrait ring a bell?) his career moves have seemed somewhat perverse - one might even say self-destructive. Under The Red Sky, on the surface, seems to be another one of these albums. Coming hot on the heels of his critical and commercial comeback, Oh Mercy, Dylan released this album of sheer lightweight tunes. To be sure, if you are expecting an album with material along the lines of the sheer density of Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde On Blonde, or Street Legal, you will invariably be disappointed in this album. However, if you approach this recording with an open mind and simply take it for what it is, then you will find some things to enjoy on it. As many people have pointed out, the album's lyrics, at least in part, are highly influenced by children's nursery rhymes. Dylan, for all we know about him, keeps pulling out surprises, and his apparent love for and fascination with this form of rhyme probably shocked many people. And, indeed, some of the songs (10,000 Men, 2X2) are quite banal, and perhaps one might say even flat-out embarrassing. Others, however, are quite good and enjoyable. There are some really good songs here, even some with substance (Born In Time is a masterpiece of a ballad; TV Talkin' Song a semi-brilliant satire on the [television].) Others are just pure, good fun to listen to (Wiggle Wiggle and Handy Dandy, a song which I think is autobiographical - as is the title track, as Dylan himself has said.) This seems to be an album where Bob just wanted to cut loose from the pretensions and have fun. Every artist should be allowed to do this once in a while. The songs are hardly less substantial than many of those on The Basement Tapes (although, indeed, they do not often share that album's redeeming virtue of humor), and many of those are worshipped by fans. Furthermore, although it is not often ackwnoledged, the rhyme schemes on Oh Mercy were very simplistic as well - certainly the songs were not that complex, although, indeed, more meaningful than most of those on here. One might even say, with the 20/20 view of hindsight, that this was a logical move for Dylan at the time. Under The Red Sky features a plenthora of guest stars (Slash, Elton John, Stevie Ray and Jimmy Vaughan, David Crosby, among others) - something that Dylan had hardly ever done before - which adds to the festive, fun spirit of the album. This certainly should not be one of the first - or even the first 20 - Dylan albums that you should buy; but, if you are a fan, you will want to pick this up, eventually, as it is quite an enjoyable little album, and quite a lot better than it is often given credit for.

UNDER THE RED SKY sounds more like Dylan calling up some old friends and well-known rockers and jamming to nursery rhymes and someone happened to record them than it does a serious and substantial release. Dylan, just like the rest of us, need a chance to blow steam and just have a good time, and that's what this record is: pure, simple minded fun.

Although I generally agree with Gianmarc Manzione in his Dylan reviews, his five star rating of this particular album, to me, seems a little over generous, to say the least. As for his comparison of it to BLONDE ON BLONDE, I can only shake my head at that comment. However, much of what he says holds true for this album. Not everything Dylan does should have to find a nice, little cozy literary allotment that anthologies generally tend to give artists. ("Now we come to Lord Byron, one of the leading romantic poets because . . ..")

Dylan's always been one for confounding expectations, and this is no exception. Coming off the heels of OH MERCY, Dylan's biggest critical success in years, this was immediately perceived as a disaster and essentially panned by critics and fans alike. It may have not received such harsh treatment as it did had it not come immediately after OH MERCY.

UNDER THE RED SKY, while far from a masterpiece, is a jaunty little record with loads of guest stars and sounds like Dylan's just having a high old time. The lyrics, considered by many to be banal coming from the man who wrote "Tangled Up in Blue," "Visions of Johanna," "Desolation Row," and literally dozens of others, do come across as childish and rather stupid - with the prerequisite in mind that everything Dylan does must be like the aforementioned songs. Taken as a simple little record recorded in the spirit of fun and songs largely pertaining to children, this record is quite an enjoyable record and a very breezy one at that. "Wiggle Wiggle," "Under the Red Sky," "Born in Time," and "Handy Dandy" are my top tracks. The interpretation that "Handy Dandy" is about Ronald Reagan has quite a bit (i.e. textual evidence) going for it. Who says Dylan doesn't write political songs any more? And here of all places! It's a very good song. "Born in Time" was covered by Clapton on his (panned) PILGRIM CD. It's another good song. "Talkin' TV Song" is the most awkward song here, with a serious message to it that goes against the record's spirit. But it's an alright track in and of itself.

Coming from the man who gave us BLONDE ON BLONDE, he's almost inviting us to see if we can find any substance here. If you haven't heard, I'll tell you: there's about as much substance here as there is to cotton candy - and that's not necessarily a bad thing, as Gianmarc points out. When it comes to longevity, this will be one of the first (along with KNOCKED OUT LOADED and DOWN IN THE GROOVE) to perish if any of Dylan's releases slip into obscurity. But while it's around and you just want some lighthearted music for your kids or your grandkids, give this a spin. Trust me, this won't be one of those that you spend all night trying to decipher meaning from Dylan's lyrics.

If you get out of the mindset that Gianmarc describes, it can be an enjoyable little record. If not, then prepare yourself to be disappointed.

I have been a Dylan fan from the time I was 5 years old (my parents were fanatics) and I can tell you that this is NOT Dylan's worst album (that honor goes to "Live at Budokan," or "Dylan" if you count that, although he has nothing to do with releasing it). That said, this ain't no "Highway 61 Revisted" either!

But the children's album theory aside, there is some fun to be had here through the painfully clear pop production and sometimes silly lyrics. "Born in Time" is beautiful (a wonderful version of this is done by Eric Clapton on his "Pilgrim" CD), "Under the Red Sky" is quirky enough to be fun and "T.V. Talkin' Song" is a very underrated tune.

And OK, "Wiggle Wiggle" contains some ridiculous lines, but don't Dylan fans hold some of the silliest numbers on "The Basement Tapes" in high regard as well. "Under The Red Sky" is Dylan having a little fun with his fans and with himself. Enjoy the ride!

In an interview around the time of "Biograph" in 1985, Bob Dylan said he would like to do a children's album but complained, "How would they (Columbia) market it?" Apparently, the answer was to market it just like every other Dylan album. "Under the Red Sky" seems to be that children's album, and though it is not for all tastes, it is tasty, indeed. Dylan's singing on the title track is classic, and the album, though far from his best, is well worth a listen.

The bluesy jazz sound of music introduced by Bob Dylan and the supporting band in this "Under The Red Sky" recording, was also featured in the later "Love And Theft" and "Modern Times" albums. It is really a pleasure to listen to the deep tunes by bass players Randy Jackson and Don Was, the well settled rhythm by drummer Kenny Aronoff, and the subtle texturized keyboards of Al Kooper and Jaimie Muhoberac. The lyrics show a diverse spectrum of creativity, like in the album title track, in which the polluted red sky is baking us all slowly in a pie, with the global warming effect, when Dylan sings "One day the little boy and little girl were both baked in a pie". Now then, what a nice surprise was the slide guitar brilliantly played by George Harrison in this title track. The track "Wiggle Wiggle" shows how one can wiggle ones faith ... until "Wiggle - you can raise the dead". Well, only by faith. The precise message from "T.V. Talkin' Song" was presented in a creative way, as well as in the "Unbelievable", "Born In Time", "Cat's In The Well" tracks, and also in the relaxing pop song "Handy Dandy". And it is like a gift to one's soul the track "God Knows". Highly recommended indeed.

At the end of the 1980s, Dylan's most critically reviled decade, he went out on a high note, the critical darling OH MERCY. Expectations were running high that Dylan would continual the new found streak that he had started with OH MERCY. This proved to be not the case, however. Dylan dispensed with Lanois, hired Don Was for the producer, and recorded a brief, thirty five minute album comprised of some rather silly songs.

While OH MERCY sounded like the arty, coffee-house poet sound that the critics so desperately craved, with rich, atmospheric sound so rarely heard before from Dylan, UNDER THE RED SKY sounds more like Dylan calling up some old friends and well-known rockers and jamming to nursery rhymes. It sounds like someone just happened to record them than it does a serious and substantial release. Dylan, just like the rest of us, need a chance to blow steam and just have a good time, and that's what this record is: pure, simple minded fun. But this is a Dylan record, and he manages a couple of just fantastic songs (tellingly, one of the top songs here, "Born in Time", is an outtake to OH MERCY, and is as good as anything on that record).

Gianmarc Manzian, in an Amazon review from January 2000, said essentially that not everything Dylan records should be up for consideration in the next "Norton Anthoylogy of Literature," and bluesman recorded simple one or two chord rockers with simple rhymes and still made great music. Although I generally agree with Gianmarc Manzione in his Dylan reviews, his five star rating of this particular album, to me, seems a little over generous, to say the least. As for his comparison of it to BLONDE ON BLONDE, I can only shake my head at that comment. However, much of what he says holds true for this album. Not everything Dylan does should have to find a nice, little cozy literary allotment that anthologies generally tend to give artists. ("Now we come to Lord Byron, one of the leading romantic poets because . . ..")

Dylan's always been one for confounding expectations, and this is no exception. Coming off the heels of OH MERCY, Dylan's biggest critical success in years, this was immediately perceived as a disaster and essentially panned by critics and fans alike. It may have not received such harsh treatment as it did had it not come immediately after OH MERCY.

Dylan himself commented on the record being difficult to make and unfocused sessions. He was working on WILBURYS III (perversely the second and last album from that super group) during the day and recording this at night. Extremely unusal for Dylan as well was that the album featured a large number of celebrity cameos.

UNDER THE RED SKY, while far from a masterpiece, is a jaunty little record with loads of guest stars and sounds like Dylan's just having a high old time. The lyrics, considered by many to be banal coming from the man who wrote "Tangled Up in Blue," "Visions of Johanna," "Desolation Row," and literally dozens of others, do come across as childish and rather stupid - with the prerequisite in mind that everything Dylan does must be like the aforementioned songs.

Taken as a simple little record recorded in the spirit of fun and songs largely pertaining to children, this record is quite an enjoyable record and a very breezy one at that. "Wiggle Wiggle," "Under the Red Sky," "Born in Time," and "Handy Dandy" are my top tracks. The interpretation that "Handy Dandy" is about Ronald Reagan has quite a bit (i.e. textual evidence) going for it. Who says Dylan doesn't write political songs any more? And here of all places! It's a very good song. "Born in Time" was covered by Clapton on his (panned) PILGRIM CD. It's another good song. "Talkin' TV Song" is the most awkward song here, with a serious message to it that goes against the record's spirit. But it's an alright track in and of itself. "God Knows" is the great OH MERCY outtake, "Unbelievable" is as good as the OH MERCY material, and "Under the Red Sky" Dylan would return to in concert numerous times. Dylan seems to like the record, as he has sung "Cat's in the Well" as the opening song at his concerts for the past several years.

Coming from the man who gave us BLONDE ON BLONDE, he's almost inviting us to see if we can find any substance here. If you haven't heard, I'll tell you: there's about as much substance here as there is to cotton candy - and that's not necessarily a bad thing, as Gianmarc points out.

When it comes to longevity, this will be one of the first (along with KNOCKED OUT LOADED and DOWN IN THE GROOVE) to perish if any of Dylan's releases slip into obscurity. But while it's around and you just want some lighthearted music for your kids or your grandkids, give this a spin. Trust me, this won't be one of those that you spend all night trying to decipher meaning from Dylan's lyrics. But it will be one you can enjoy listening too for its uncharacteristic breeziness. While Dylan would nowhere near be the legendary icon that he is if all his music was this light, but hearing such featherweight music from his makes for a very interesting, if not necessarily great, or even good, record.

If you get out of the mindset that Gianmarc describes, it can be an enjoyable little record. If not, then prepare yourself to be disappointed. Just think, Dylan recorded a single album of lightweight, cotton candy music that doesn't have a lot of substance too it. Most, though to be fair not all, of Paul McCartney's solo career is made of cotton candy music. [Paul McCartney in his solo career recorded too many records to count that are insubstantial.]



(Dylan recorded the nursery rhyme "This Old Man", very much in the same vein as UNDER THE RED SKY, for the 1992 Aids benefit album FOR OUR CHILDREN, which also featured songs from Springsteen and McCartney.)

Again Dylan fools and confounds. He has given us an underapreciated masterpiece that shines throughout. Great rock record, great musicians, great singing, great songs. Dylan takes a great approach by writing children songs.