Cover of Bob Dylan’s “Blonde On Blonde”
Released on May 16, 1966, Blonde On Blonde was the first double album by an already established artist. “It was as close as it got to the sound I was hearing in my head, that flowing, quicksilver sound,” Dylan said in 1978.
There’s no better way to describe the manic brilliance of “Blonde On Blonde”. Dylan recorded most of the 14 songs in a rush—during four and three-day sessions at Columbia’s Nashville studios in February and March 1966. The tempo of the recordings reflected the amphetamine frenzy with which Dylan created new songs, even between constant tours spat out.
“Blonde On Blonde” was Bob Dylan’s big hit
Together with trusted companions such as organist Al Kooper and Hawks guitarist Robbie Robertson as well as local session cracks, he succeeded in merging what were actually opposites into a new unit: the tightly woven, tight corset of the backing band proved to be the perfect counterbalance to Dylan’s associative language and razor-sharp vocals – for example in the surrealistic barrel-house atmosphere of “Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35” and “Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again”, in the madcap Chicago blues “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat” or the derogatory “Just Like A Woman”.
More about Bob Dylan
Amidst the madness, Dylan also delivered some of his most soulful, raw songs about happiness and desire: the sheer beauty of “Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands,” recorded in one take at 4:00 a.m. after an eight-hour session, or “I Want You.” , which almost gave the album its name.