The Bob Dylan 'attitude'

Bob Dylan and John Lennon Interview

This interview serves to show just how Bob Dylan was so nonchalant about so many things in his life. He is a little intoxicated and acts in an annoying manner. Even though Bob Dylan insists he did not make protest music for the young generation, his attitude alone shows how he felt a stronger connection to the unpredictable and rebellious younger crowd.

Interview: Giulia Campana

Album Interpretation: Summer of Love

         Although it occurs after Dylan writes the album, we believe many of the songs and lyrics in Bringing It All Back Home coincide with the mentality of the youth at ‘Summer of Love’ in 1967. The Summer of Love was a social phenomenon that conformed San Fransisco into the center of the hippie revolution, a “melting pot of music psychoactive drugs, sexual freedom, creative expression, and politics”, all of which are subtext in Dylan’s songs.

        In 1965, kids in particular were very hung up about running away from home and finding themselves. Bob Dylan’s Album Bringing It All Back Home speaks directly to the younger generation about their new excitement in escaping their homes. In songs such as “It’s alright , Ma (I’m Only Bleeding), he expresses how he understands what the younger generation is feeling. The pent up anger about so many social issues that caused the generations to clash caused many of teenagers to run away as they saw it as their only solution. In songs such as “Maggie’s Farm” he channels the mentality of the teenagers into the lyrics of the song. The rebelling against the government and organized corporations was a popular trend and the lines “I aint gonna work for…. No more” are repeated through out the song . While Dylan appears to be mainly reaching out to the younger generation with the album, some of his songs were also directed towards the older generation. Not in the sense that he was sympathizing with their reasoning, but more in trying to get them to understand what the younger generation was feeling. Bringing It All Back Home was one of Dylan's only albums that was considered two genres, folk and rock. His easy and  familiar folk theme was directed towards the older generation. It was a sound that they were used to and could understand. THe rock style speaks to the younger generation with its revolutionary sound and unique rythm. In “Mr. Tambourine Man” the song is sung in the voice of a teenager who has run away from home and although they are tiring of their ‘adventure’ they are still hard headed and will refuse to go home. The sad continuous melody “Mr. Tambourine Man” describes certain aspects of the “psychedelic” 60's. Speaking of “weariness”, the “ancient streets… dead for dreaming”, have been stripped. Dylan assures parents that as much as their children may insist they are having the time of their lives, at the end of the day they are only human and the drugs and sleeping on the streets will tire them out. In the song “On the Road Again” Dylan sings to the parents and the kids about how the kids think their family life is crazy. Describing the family members in the song, Dylan exaggerates how insane the ideals of the parents seem to the kids by personifying ideals into crazy mannerisms (Mother hiding in the ice box and the father wearing a napoleon mask).
   Ultimately, this album works to bridge the widening generational gap between the older and younger generations. Rather than side with a particular age group, Dylan sympathizes with adults and young adults because his lyrics express his own personal thoughts rather than conforming to the ideas of others. This peaceful attitude was desparately needed by a country that was struggling to work through a time of significant change.

Song Analysis: It's All Over Now Baby Blue

The song “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue” starts off very similar to “Love Minus Zero / No Limit” yet instead of being an upbeat love song like the latter is a lamenting ballad. With the first few lines talking about an imminent departure, “You must leave now, take what you need, you think will last”, it almost directly opposes the title of the album. While the Album talks of coming back home this song talks of leaving comfort and home. It talks about leaving a relationship that the couple had known to call comfort and a home and now what used to be comfort for them is foreign and they, realizing its all over, must part ways and “leave home”. While the sixties were known to bring hype about leaving home and starting camp for a new life elsewhere, this song illuminates the downsides that came with leaving home. Emphasis on the fact that there was a not so positive aspect to leaving home at a young age, “Its All Over Now, Baby Blue” shows how not all leaving the home was in excitement. Some of it was sad and hard but thought of as inevitable. The live version performed in 1966 is in the video below!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rEm5EWL7seY

Analysis of Album

         By listening to and examining Bob Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home, a significant feature of the album was revealed to us. Unlike Dylan’s previous albums which were rooted solely in the folk style, Bringing It All Back Home contains both folk and rock music. In fact, the 7 songs on Side A of the record are of the electric style while the 4 others on Side B are more folk. Leading up to the release of Bringing It All Back Home, Dylan’s fan base was largely comprised of folk listeners. That is why it was so risky of Dylan to publish an album that’s style was so different from that of his previous works. How would his audience react to the electric instruments and rock lyrics? Even more shocking was the fact that these electric songs could also be interpreted as protest music. The lyrics of the 7 Side A songs address issues in American society that were very controversial in the 1960’s, issues such as the Vietnam war and Civil Rights. Though Dylan declares to this day that he is “Not a protest musician,” his songs do cast a critical light on significant features of American history.

                The first song of the album, Subterranean Homesick Blues, is written in the “stream of consciousness” style. The lyrics flow from Dylan without so much as a breath between lines. The rhyme scheme and rhythm of the song are very catchy and repetitive, making this song easy to listen and sing along to. This feature of the song probably helped spread its message of political corruption. The inability for the common man to rise above the wealthy, as well as America’s dependence on conformity, are expressed through its lyrics. Subterranean Homesick Blues is often considered a precursor to rap music due to its style, sound, and content, and was a great stylistic leap for Bob Dylan.

                She Belongs To Me is the second song on Bringing It All Back Home, and it has a more relaxed and bohemian tempo or style than Subterranean Homesick Blues. There is even a harmonica solo, bringing back traces of Dylan’s folk past. Rather than critique establishments, this song comments on the constant needs of an artistic woman who looks to her lover for creative inspiration. Many young people were turning to this type of a creative or artistic lifestyle, and Dylan is expressing how superficial he believed it to be. The girl in the song uses her lover to feed her creative energy, causing him to wait on her hand and foot. She Belongs To Me is Dylan’s way of critiquing the needy flower child individuals within American society, again distancing himself from previous works. Love Minus Zero/No Limit is the fourth song on the album, and it too is a type of love ballad that addresses the inability of a man to please his lover. Both She Belongs To Me and this song are meant to connect with listeners on an emotional level by assessing the painful nature of love. Love Minus Zero/No Limit can be considered a protest song against the harsh realities of love that is similar in style to She Belongs To Me.

                In his third song, Maggie’s Farm, Dylan jumps back to an upbeat electric music style. Maggie’s Farm has a catchy rhythm, rock guitar, and fast drumming, a style that is in strict contrast with She Belongs to Me. This song not only deals with Civil Rights, but is also a declaration or Dylan’s freedom from the confines of folk music. Maggie’s Farm can be interpreted as the need for African Americans to reject the limits imposed upon them by society. Many African American’s have ancestors who worked as slaves on various plantations, and Dylan uses Maggie’s Farm to promote the idea of rejecting any racist treatment. The first line of the song, “I ain’t gonna work on Maggie’s farm no more,” is a clear statement to African Americans that they must no longer settle for segregation, and instead work for equality. Maggie’s Farm can also be interpreted as Dylan telling his fans that his musical styling will not be limited to folk music. He will instead be free to explore rock music despite what critics have to say. We consider this song to be the most outspoken and electric one in the album, officially recognizing Dylan as a rock artist in addition to folk.

Outlaw Blues, the fifth song in Bringing It All Back Home, is another declaration of Dylan about being free from the classification of a folk artist. The track combines both rock and folk elements like the electric guitar and tambourine, is loud and upbeat, and also has many instrumental solos. This rock song expresses Dylan’s desire to explore a more bohemian or “outlaw” lifestyle than folk music allowed him to. Again, Dylan is making a very distinct leap from his old self to a new image. But in his next song, On The Road Again, more folk instruments are integrated into the song. This track is also a critique on the poor living conditions that a bohemian lifestyle imposes on an individual. While Outlaw Blues expressed Dylan’s desire to live a more free spirited life, On The Road Again makes this dream seem unpleasant; it is almost like a step backward toward his folk past. Perhaps this is why Dylan does not classify himself as a protest musician, since he cannot identify with one particular attitude.

Being the longest song in the album, Bob Dylan’s 115^th Dream, is an elaborate and fantastical recollection of one of Dylan’s dreams. This song catalogues the discovery of North America involving characters from Moby Dick. Interestingly, the song starts out with an acoustic and folk style, is interrupted by laughter, and then restarts in a rock style with electric instruments. As the last song on Side A of Bringing It All Back Home, this track serves as a transition from the rock to the folk side of the album. This is why it started out as folk because Dylan was preparing his audience for his old musical styling. The content of the song is a mixture of crazy fantasy, which can be seen to represent rock, and history, which can be represented by the more docile folk style. Dylan combines these two attributes to create a balanced rock and folk song, readying his listeners Side B of the album.

Side B of Bringing It All Back Home begins with Mr. Tambourine Man, one of Bob Dylan’s most celebrated songs. It is undoubtedly of the folk style for it uses instruments like the tambourine, harmonica, and acoustic guitar, and has a slower yet catchy tempo. Dylan encourages artistic growth and development through this track, for he calls upon the tambourine to lighten his mood throughout the song. Only the cheerful, upbeat influence of the tambourine is able to give Dylan back his senses. The next song, Gates of Eden, builds on the message of Mr. Tambourine Man. It too is of the low key folk style, and comments on the tribulations of society. But unlike Mr. Tambourine Man, there is no tambourine to lighten the mood. The loss of innocence and sense of foreboding for the future that the younger generation was experiencing is expressed through this song.

Though the folk style of It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding), may make the song appear harmless, Dylan uses it to again attack the state of politics in America. Through lines such as: "It's easy to see without looking too far / That not much is really sacred"; "Even the president of the United States / Sometimes must have to stand naked"; "Money doesn't talk, it swears"; "If my thought-dreams could be seen / They'd probably put my head in a guillotine.," it is clear that Dylan is not pleased with the state of U.S society. This second to last song of Bringing It All Back Home reasserts Dylan’s initial distrust of American government that he first mentioned in Subterranean Homesick Blues. Followed by It’s All Over Now Baby Blue, these last two tracks of Dylan’s album end Bringing It All Back Home on a dismal note. Baby Blue is short, slow, and typically folk with a harmonica solo in the middle of its performance. This track is a call to society to start anew, rather than continue to live in current society. That type of lifestyle is “all over,” and people need to “strike another match, go start anew,” because the current state of America was not working.

Bob Dylan himself chose to “start anew” through this album, and redefined himself as a musician through it. Though daring, his leap from folk to electric music helped spark much discussion over his music. Additionally, the protest nature of the songs in Bringing It All Back Home reflect a deep and intellectual musician behind the microphone.

Bibliography

Roberts,Jeremy; Bob Dylan: Voice of a Generation; Lerner Publications Company / Minneapolis(2005)

http://www.ronaldreaganweb.com/thesixties/timeline6466.htm

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,839175,00.html#ixzz1oYfHltbP

www.allmusic.com

www.rollingstonemagazine.com

www.sputnikmusic.com

www.punkhart.com

www.wikipedia.org

www.bobdylan.com

www.last.fm/music/Bob+Dylan/Bringing+It+All+Back+Home

Album Information / Reviews

“With Bringing It All Back Home, he exploded the boundaries, producing an album of boundless imagination and skill. And it's not just that he went electric, either, rocking hard on "Subterranean Homesick Blues," "Maggie's Farm," and "Outlaw Blues"; it's that he's exploding with imagination throughout the record. After all, the music on its second side -- the nominal folk songs -- derive from the same vantage point as the rockers, leaving traditional folk concerns behind and delving deep into the personal. And this isn't just introspection, either, since the surreal paranoia on "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" and the whimsical poetry of "Mr. Tambourine Man" are individual, yet not personal. And that's just the tip of the iceberg, really, as he writes uncommonly beautiful love songs ("She Belongs to Me," "Love Minus Zero/No Limit") that sit alongside uncommonly funny fantasias ("On the Road Again," "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream"). This is the point where Dylan eclipses any conventional sense of folk and rewrites the rules of rock, making it safe for personal expression and poetry, not only making words mean as much as the music, but making the music an extension of the words. A truly remarkable album. “

-          Stephen Thomas Erlewine, allmusic.com

“It's very complicated to play with electricity," Dylan said in the summer of 1965. "You're dealing with other people. . . . Most people who don't like rock & roll can't relate to other people." But on Side One of this pioneering album, Dylan amplifies his cryptic, confrontational songwriting with guitar lightning and galloping drums. "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and "Maggie's Farm" are loud, caustic and funny as hell. Dylan returns to solo acoustic guitar on the four superb songs on Side Two, including the scabrous "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" and the closing ballad, "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," arguably his finest, most affectionate song of dismissal.

-          Rolling Stone Magazine

“Musically, Bringing it All Back Home is dissimilar to most of Bob Dylan’s other albums. There is electric guitar, there is harmonica, and there is pessimistic vulgarity. While he was liked for the soothing acoustic guitar and thoughtful lyrics that provoke images of beauty and euphoria, Dylan gets down and dirty for a battle royal with America on this album. Nice shocker for all those quiet Dylan listeners out there. He strums his acoustic throughout the whole album, though. It wouldn’t be his music without the acoustic. But the big new addition to his music is the bluesy electric guitar with the deep delta blues harmonica technique. So how different is this album from other Dylan stuff? Pretty different, but it’s crazy enough to work and doesn’t sound like anyone else but Bob Dylan. The song structures are simplistic, and his lyrics are sardonic, but his voice and emotions further the satirical state of the album. His lyrical structures rhyme quite often and he has this nasal honk in his voice that is just a sonic hyperbole for freedom of speech.”

-          Sputnickmusic.com

“Bringing It All Back Home was a milestone for Dylan, but I still have some serious problems with this album. It seems too schizophrenic and lacking coherency. One side seems to be the "frivilous side" and the other the "serious side". Side two, the "serious side", almost seems as if it were made up from outtakes from the previous album, although this is obviously not so. Side one, the "frivilous side", is Dylan rocking out for the first time (ok, not really the first time if you consider that he used a backing group for the Freewheelin' sessions back in '62) and singing a lot of songs that don't appear to carry any deep hidden meanings (deceptively so, as it turns out). I would rather have the songs mixed up a little better so that the electric songs were interspersed with the acoustic, but I guess that's a small complaint compared to the greatness of the album.”

-          Punkhart.com

Released	March 27, 1965
Recorded	Columbia Recording Studios, New York City January 13–15, 1965
Genre	Rock, folk, folk rock
Length	47:23
Label	Columbia
Producer	Tom Wilson

Bringing It All Back Home: Vh1 Coverage

Here famous musicians express how significant Bob Dylan's influence on the music industry was through this album. Stylistically it opened up a whole new door that led to a blending of rock and folk music, a genre that has become increasingly popular over the years. Additionally Bob Dylan acted as a voice for the people through his lyrics. They publicized social issues that many were too afraid to mention, and helped motivate every day American citizens to get involved in national issues. At the same time, Dylan did not promote a sense of violence or hatred that could have divided an already fracturing country. Bringing It All Back Home worked to improve and unite the United States, just as it bettered the music world.

Album Cover Analysis

·         'Fish Eye' Effect

o   Exaggerates Dylan’s almost critical look

o    As if observer is viewing scene through eye glass of door or key hole

§  Scene is like glimpse into private life/thoughts of Bob Dylan

·         Album is like glimpse into Dylan’s beliefs and thoughts

·         Fallout shelter sign next to Lindon B. Johnson

o   Society heading for destruction

o   People need to take shelter, or make peace/changes, in order to continue existing

§  Lindon B. Johnson escalated war with Vietnam à sparked a lot of anti war movements

·         Atmosphere of wealth

o   Room is made a mess by hodgepodge of papers, records, and seemingly random items

o   Woman in background has look of prominence – adds to regal surroundings

§  Juxtaposition of mess and wealth is a critique on society

·         There is a lot going on in the world and many people are content to sit with their wealth rather than get involved

o   The issues of society cannot be ignored

·         Scattered albums: LPs by The Impressions (Keep on Pushing), Robert Johnson (King of the Delta Blues Singers), Ravi Shankar (India's Master Musician), Lotte Lenya (Sings Berlin Theatre Songs by Kurt Weill) and Eric von Shmidt (The Folk Blues of Eric Von Schmidt)

o   All influenced Bob Dylan’s musical upbringing

§  Is tying his current success “back home”

·         Mixture of folk, soul, and even hindustani styles

·         Harmonica and Dylan’s other album Another Side of Bob Dylan

o   Harmonica is signature instrument of Bob Dylan

§  Keeps folk theme in songs

o   Dylan tying himself back to his previous work to show growth

·         On mantle is Lord Buckley album The Best of Lord Buckley who influenced Dylan greatly

o   “jingle jangle” line in Dylan’s Mr. Tambourine Man take from Lord Buckley

§  Buckley’s style was carefully enunciated rhythmic hipster slang. Occasionally performing to music, he punctuated his monologues with scat singing and sound effects

·         Opened up Dylan’s eyes to new way of approaching music

·         GNAOUA magazine on mantle

o   Lord Buckley’s style also influenced Beat Generation

§  Next to Lord Buckley is a copy of GNAOUA, a magazine devoted to Beat Generation poetry

·         Bob Dylan reading article: Jean Harlow’s Life Story

o   She was an American film actress and sex symbol of the 1930s

o   Known as the "Blonde Bombshell" and the "Platinum Blonde", Harlow was ranked as one of the greatest movie stars of all time by the American Film Institute.

o   Harlow starred in several films, mainly designed to showcase her magnetic sex appeal and strong screen presence, before making the transition to more developed roles and achieving massive fame under contract

o   Harlow's enormous popularity and "laughing vamp" image were in distinct contrast to her personal life, which was marred by disappointment, tragedy

§  Shows distractions of Hollywood and pop culture when there are much more important issues to be concerned about in world

§  Criticism of superficiality of pop culture

Song Analysis: Subterranean Home Sick Blues

                The first song of Dylan’s album, Subterranean Homesick Blues, is sure to shock his devout folk music fans. The upbeat tempo, electric instruments, and ‘stream of consciousness’ lyrical styling used throughout this song is a far cry from Dylan’s previous works. He had largely been regarded as a folk musician armed with a harmonica and acoustic guitar, not some rock performer. Additionally, Subterranean Homesick Blues expresses Dylan’s negative views on American society. Drugs, political corruption, civil rights, and unequal wealth are topics that Dylan critiques throughout this song. His unique lyrical approach is itself a break from the norm and gives the effect that all these emotions were bottled up inside of Dylan, but are now being released.

Johnny's in the basement
Mixing up the medicine
I'm on the pavement
Thinking about the government
The man in the trench coat
Badge out, laid off
Says he's got a bad cough
Wants to get it paid off
Look out kid
It's somethin' you did
God knows when
But you're doin' it again
You better duck down the alley way
Lookin' for a new friend
The man in the coon-skip cap
In the big pen
Wants eleven dollar bills
You only got ten.

In 1965 it was well known that many individuals experimented with drugs, and Dylan refers to this popular pastime through the line “mixing up the medicine.” It is as though drugs are acting as a medicine to ease the pain that society is inflicting on Johnny. The idea of a shady government system is synthesized upon in the next few lines. “The man in the trench coat/Badge out” can be seen as a corrupt government agent who is trying to get money by being “paid off.” The harsh scrutiny Dylan feels under American society is seen through the lines, “Look out kid/It’s somethin’ you did/God knows when/But your doin’ it again.” Dylan does not know what he did wrong, but the unfair nature of the government is making him a guilty man. The final lines of the song illustrate how Dylan feels there is an unfair wealth distribution amongst American citizens. Though much is asked of hardworking people, they do not make the money that they should. As a result, everyday citizens must live without.

Maggie comes fleet foot
Face full of black soot
Talkin' that the heat put
Plants in the bed but
The phone's tapped anyway
Maggie says that many say
They must bust in early May
Orders from the DA
Look out kid
Don't matter what you did
Walk on your tip toes
Don't try, 'No Doz'
Better stay away from those
That carry around a fire hose
Keep a clean nose
Watch the plain clothes
You don't need a weather man
To know which way the wind blows.

Dylan’s distrust of America’s government is more deeply explored through the first few lines of the songs next stanza. “Maggie” can be interpreted as a common hardworking American because her face is said to be covered with “black soot.” She indicates that “the heat” (U.S government officials) put some sort of a bugging device in her bed, but the government already tapped her phone anyway. Dylan is protesting against the invasive nature of the government in citizens’ lives. It doesn’t matter who you are “what you did” because the government watches everyone, which is why you cannot afford to be unaware by taking “No Doz.” Dylan even touches lightly on civil rights when he mentions the “fire hose” that is inflicted upon innocent individuals who the government does not approve of. There is a clear idea of what every American should look and act like, and for this reason you don’t need to “know which way the wind blows” since the government controls it.   

Get sick, get well
Hang around an ink well
Ring bell, hard to tell
If anything is goin' to sell
Try hard, get barred
Get back, write Braille
Get jailed, jump bail Join the army, if you failed
Look out kid
You're gonna get hit
But users, cheaters
Six-time losers
Hang around the theaters
Girl by the whirlpool
Lookin' for a new fool
Don't follow leaders
Watch the parkin' meters.

The inability for many Americans to make a decent living is argued by Dylan through this stanza. First you “hang around an ink well,” or try to become an author. But then when the book doesn’t sell, and even writing Braille does not help, a life in jail or the army appears to be the only future available. It is as though Dylan is saying that American citizens cannot help but become trapped within a web of government agencies and officials. Many people therefore become “users, cheaters/Six-time losers” who wander aimlessly. Dylan thought it was important to tell his listeners to reject this lifestyle but instead do something distinctive with their lives.

Ah get born, keep warm
Short pants, romance, learn to dance
Get dressed, get blessed
Try to be a success
Please her, please him, buy gifts
Don't steal, don't lift
Twenty years of schoolin'
And they put you on the day shift
Look out kid
They keep it all hid
Better jump down a manhole
Light yourself a candle
Don't wear sandals
Try to avoid the scandals
Don't wanna be a bum
You better chew gum
The pump don't work
'Cause the vandals took the handles.

Many young people become trapped living a life similar to their parents: attend school, get married, and work at a middle class job. This lifestyle is echoed by Dylan in the first 8 lines of this last stanza. He focuses on the idea of individuality for the conclusion of Subterranean Homesick Blues, continuing his closing thought from the last stanza. Dylan tells his listeners to “jump down a manhole” to escape a tedious life. To live a fulfilling life one must look presentable and be prepared at all times, even if less civilized vandals “took the handles.”

                Subterranean Homesick Blues starts Bringing It All Back Home with a bang. There is so much packed into this song that you have to listen to it multiple times to absorb it all. The dynamic lyrics, fast tempo, and rock instruments almost leave you winded. This is the first time Dylan engages in electric style music while also hinting toward being a protest musician. Even the music video for this song has received great acclaim. It is as simple yet memorable as the song; Dylan is merely holding up signs with key words from the lyrics scrawled across them. It is the basic style and significant words that make you stop, think, and listen.

Historical Context of Bringing It All Back Home

Bringing It All Back Home (March 1965): Historical Context

Major Events:

-          War in Vietnam escalates

o   U.S bombing North Vietnam

o   U.S combat troops begin fighting in South Vietnam

-          Feb. 21^st: Malcolm X assassinated in NYC

-          Civil Rights marches/demonstrations

o   Voting Rights Act (1965): makes it easier for southern blacks to register to vote (no more literacy tests)

-          Anti-war demonstrations/marches

o   Burning draft cards becomes illegal

-          President L. B. Johnson “Great Society”

o   Eliminate poverty and racial injustice

Society/Teenagers:

-          Parents training independence in children

o   “Adults who lived through a great depression, a shattering war, an anxious peace, and the whole onslaught of existentialism are less inclined than ever to proclaim what Margaret Mead calls "parental imperatives."

-          Parents maintain same social conduct

o   "I don't get authority at home," sighs Dana Nye, 17, a student at Pacific Palisades High School in Los Angeles. "We're just a bunch of people who go about our business and live under one roof. One of these days I'd like to sit down and find out from my parents what they really believe in."

-          School retention/graduation rates are up

o   Students showing self reliance

-          Teenagers forced to mature early on in life by making own decisions

o   "Their difficulty," says Harvard Historian Laurence Wylie, "lies not in living up to expectations, but in discovering what they really are." The result, according to University of California Sociologist Edgar Z. Friedenberg, is "the vanishing adolescent"—made to mature earlier, yet in many ways still engagingly immature. And since "part of the American dream is to live long and die young," many adults ambivalently relish and resent the teen-ager's freedom and spontaneity. "Our whole culture believes less in authority," snaps a Detroit priest. "Yet the teen-ager is the only one criticized for not recognizing it."

-          Adolescents cut off from adult world

Dumped into a society of their peers where they all develop certain tastes and values that contrast from their parents’

Bob Dylan history leading up to Bringing It all Back Home

Bob Dylan: History Leading up to Bringing It All Back Home

• Dropped out of college during freshman year 

•  Traveled to New York City in 1961 to perform and visit idol Woody Guthrie

o   Guthrie was major influence on Bob’s early music

§  "The songs themselves had the infinite sweep of humanity in them ... [He] was the true voice of the American spirit. I said to myself I was going to be Guthrie's greatest disciple." - Bob Dylan

• From February 1961, Dylan played at various venues around Greenwich Village

o   Picked up and learned a lot about folk music

• Earned positive reviews in New York Times of show at Gerde’s Folk Theater

o   Played harmonica on folk singer Carolyn Hester’s third album

§  Brought his talent to attention of producer John Hammond

• Hammond signed Dylan to Columbia Records in October and released album titled Bob Dylan in 1962

o   Album only sold 5,000 copies in a year

§  Columbia considered dropping him, but Hammond defended Dylan

• March 1962, Dylan played harmonica and sang back-up vocals to album Three Kings and a Queen

o   Dylan used the pseudonym Bob Landy to record as a piano player on the 1964 anthology album, The Blues Project, issued by Elektra Records

o   Under the pseudonym Tedham Porterhouse, Dylan contributed harmonica to Ramblin' Jack Elliott's 1964 album Jack Elliott

• Legally changed name to Bob Dylan in 1962 and signed management contract with Albert Grossman

• From December 1962 to January 1963, Dylan made his first trip to the United Kingdom

o    He had been invited by TV director Philip Saville to appear in a drama, The Madhouse on Castle Street, which Saville was directing for BBC Television

§  Dylan performed Blowin’ in the Wind at end of play

·         Song partially derived its melody from the traditional slave song "No More Auction Block

o   Dylan performed in several clubs whilst in London

• Dylan began making a name for himself in 1963 with the release of his 2^nd album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan which was filled with protest songs inspired by Guthrie

• Blowin’ in the Wind blended blending a stream-of-consciousness, imagist lyrical attack with a traditional folk form

• Freewheelin' also included a mixture of love songs and jokey, surreal talking blues

o    Humor was a large part of Dylan's persona and the range of material on the album impressed many listeners, including The Beatles

§  George Harrison said, "We just played it, just wore it out. The content of the song lyrics and just the attitude—it was incredibly original and wonderful.”

• The rough edge of Dylan's singing was unsettling to some early listeners but an attraction to others. Describing the impact that Dylan had on her and her husband, Joyce Carol Oates wrote: "When we first heard this raw, very young, and seemingly untrained voice, frankly nasal, as if sandpaper could sing, the effect was dramatic and electrifying."

• In May 1963, Dylan's political profile was raised when he walked out of The Ed Sullivan Show

o    During rehearsals, Dylan had been informed by CBS Television's "head of program practices" that the song he was planning to perform, "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues", was potentially libelous to the John Birch Society. Rather than comply with the censorship, Dylan refused to appear on the program

• Dylan was prominent figure in Civil Rights Movement

o   Sang at March On Washington on August 28^th, 1963

• Dylan's third album, The Times They Are a-Changin' reflected a more politicized and cynical Dylan

o   By the end of 1963, Dylan felt both manipulated and constrained by the folk and protest movements

§  Another Side of Bob Dylan, recorded on a single June evening in 1964,had a lighter mood than its predecessor

• In the latter half of 1964 and 1965, Dylan's appearance and musical style changed rapidly, as he made his move from leading contemporary songwriter of the folk scene to folk-rock pop-music star

o   His scruffy jeans and work shirts were replaced by a Carnaby Street wardrobe, sunglasses day or night, and pointy "Beatle boots"

§  A London reporter wrote: "Hair that would set the teeth of a comb on edge. A loud shirt that would dim the neon lights of Leicester Square. He looks like an undernourished cockatoo."

• Dylan's April 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home was yet another stylistic leap

o   Featured his first recording with electric instruments

§  The A side of Bringing it All Back Home is considered to be the rock/protest side of the album

§  The B side of Bringing It All Back Home consisted of four long songs on which Dylan accompanied himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica