Customer Reviews

Another Side Of (Rm)

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

All right, the title of my review is a bit silly -- all of Dylan's albums are transitional in one way or another, or at least all those i've heard, which is a couple dozen or so. I've only given it four stars because i like the next two better (Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61). But it certainly was a pleasure to hear again (with impeccably remastered sound) all those songs that i hadn't heard since the 60s -- Black Crow Blues, Spanish Harlem Incident, I Shall Be Free No. 10, To Ramona, I Don't Believe You, Ballad in Plain D, even Motorpsycho Nightmare, which is a bit on the silly side -- the others have an intensity rarely heard these days. And of course the other four, which are classics. It's just Bob and his guitar (or piano on Black Crow Blues) and his sometimes self-consciously poetic lyrics, which spill over into several pages of liner notes (well worth reading they are too). A rediscovered and reflective pleasure for me, maybe a new one for those who haven't heard much of pre-electric Dylan.

this is, possibly, dylan's most underrated album.

"all i really want to do" is a beautiful song that tells the listener that this album will be different from the previous two, classics. dylan's play with rhyme is new to him and very fun (5/5).
"black crow blues" is a piano driven song. a piano driven song? yes, a piano driven song. it is well executed (5/5).
"spanish harlem incident" is one of my favorite dylan songs (5/5).
"chimes of freedom" is a timeless masterpiece (5/5).
"i shall be free--no. 10" is absolutely hilarious, funniest song ever made (5/5).
"to ramona" is another one of my favorites from dylan (5/5).
"motorpsycho nitemare" is a funny song, but it is my least favorite song on this album (4/5).
"my back pages" is one of dylan's, beyond music, masterpieces, and it's definitely the best song on the album (5/5).
"i don't believe you" is one part funny one part beautiful (5/5).
"ballad in plain d" is a brilliantly written story of a relationship infected by outsiders (5/5).
"it ain't me babe" is an undisputed classic (5/5).

again, this is probably dylan's most underrated album.
dylan obviously thought that this album didn't deserve the crit. it got, just look, closely, at the cover of BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME.

The sound was still pure folk, but the songs were becoming more personal and less political. A transitional album that set the tone for his electric phase. Nevertheless, it's an amazing record.

"A rock album without electricity" i heard someone said, and he couln't be more right about it. You can't tell just right away; the chords, their aren't folkish (take a look at "I don't beleive you") you could even say these songs have riffs!!!
The minute you put the record on you KNOW that Bob is mocking something (the wanted "anthems" for left politics like "Blowin' in the Wind"?), well, bobby nicely thought the could write their own "anthems".
This album is for him and speaks for him. It's personal, solid (even though it was recorded on one "glorious" night June 9, '64) and really funny (if you listen to "I Shall Be Free N10" or even more "Motorpsycho Nitemare" and you don't laugh you HAVE to go to a doctor).
This album is the result of Bob hangin' out with the beatles (let's face it; the beatles learned more than bob in this meeting, arranged by a "blacklisted journalyst"), and of course the frienship with Allen Ginsberg (a beatnik from the 50's, a sucessor to Kerouac) who help him to write more intropectively, and that's what this album is, bob looking at himself.

My dad was born in 49, so I grew up with endless instruction on the music of the 60's. Bob is one of the reigning artists on my oldies play list, and Another Side Of Bob Dylan is my favorite of his.

Every Dylan album seems to sound like it's created in a different room, but always remains in that room for the entire record. On O.S.O.B.D, there is a lot of relationship analysis and his angle constantly provides intelligent mockery of his own self and of society. There's no band or profound vocabulary - just himself and small, meaty words.

All is gone, all is gone; admit it, take flight
I gagged in contradiction, tears blinding my sight
My mind it was mangled; I ran into the night
Leave all of love's ashes behind me

My friends from the prison, they ask onto me
"how good, how good, does it feel to be free?"
and I answer them most mysteriously...
"are birds free from the chains of the skyway?"

This album is full of excellently human songs. I say human meaning he is a person, one who is not just a leader of the protest he was so popular for but one who breathes, lives, and cries just like any other would. Just look at "It Ain't Me, Babe" in which he doesn't profess the stereotypical undying love for a woman he will always stand by, but decides he can't continue with a woman who expects too much of him despite both of their desire for eachother.

Some tunes ("Chimes of Freedom" and "My Back Pages") may be called protest. I don't understand exactly what he is talking about in the songs, but he sings with such power that it makes you feel his sadness/nostalgia/triumph/etc with every word.

Two songs, "I Shall Be Free No.10" and "Motorpsycho Nitemare" are Bob's humorous side. A lot of people seem to like these, but I am sorry to say that I hate these songs. I don't think they are funny or clever at all, and that is the reason why I gave this album a 4 out of 5.

Overall, this album is an incredible set of songs which capture the man, not the leader in Bob Dylan.

After making his name as the author of "finger pointin' songs" critical of society and its injustices, Bob Dylan expanded his musical palate on his fourth album, and was roundly criticized for betraying the various political and social movements for which he was an unofficial spokesman.

Regarded by many as a sell-out, "Another Side of Bob Dylan" took thirty-five years to reach the half-million sales mark needed for gold certification. Listening to it now, one gets the impression that Dylan wasn't turning a blind eye to the troubles of the world, but fighting for his own artistic survival.

"Now, I'm liberal, but to a degree," he writes, "I want ev'rybody to be free."

With this album, Dylan claims his freedom by traveling wherever his inspiration takes him. If he doesn't tackle traditionally political matters as obviously as he did on "Freewheelin'" and "The Times They Are A Changing," he addresses them more obliquely in the epic "Chimes of Freedom." But the supposed "love song," the classic "It Ain't Me, Babe," could very well be the most political statement Dylan makes here. In lyrics as scathing as they are remorseful, he rejects the heroic, self-sacrificing role required of lovers in most popular songs, but also seems to be rejecting any role, including that of political activist, that he did not choose himself.

The album's masterpiece, "My Back Pages," hints at the more intensely personal and individualistic direction his music would soon take. Less admirable but certainly noteworthy is "Ballad in Plain D." More of a poison pen letter than a song, this is Dylan at his most vicious and personal. A vengeful song whose targets are only too obvious to anyone who's read a Dylan bio, it's not surprising that he later expressed regret at having written it.

"Another Side of Bob Dylan" is a transitional album of sorts that offers a preview of the three masterworks ("Bringing It All Back Home," "Highway 61 Revisited," and "Blonde on Blonde") that would soon follow. If it doesn't reach the same artistic heights, it's an important step on the climb to that creative peak.

Bob Dylan released his fourth album, Another Side of Bob Dylan, right between The Times They Are A'Changin' and Bringing It All Back Home. Though it is sometimes overlooked when browsing through Dylan's overflowing annals, the album fits perfectly between these two often lauded folk classics. More refined and developed than The Times They Are A'Changin', Another Side is not quite at the electric stage of Bringing It All Back Home, either. At the highest possible place in folk evolution, it defines Dylan's folk age. Musically, the songs are subdued and quieter on this album, and the lyrics are sometimes funny but always smart. The 1960's Bob Dylan [before he started giving up], unlike any other musician, always promised very good, very smart, and never intolerable lyrics. Because Dylan puts so much sincerity and personality into his singing, even when he's "cheesy" he's cool: "I said I like Fidel Castro and his beard." Like The Times They Are A'Changin', many of the songs on this album ["Chimes of Freedom Flashing," "I Shall Be Free No. 10," "Motorpsycho Nightmare," and "My Back Pages"] are socially annotative and political, but there are also the love songs, which make up the remainder of the album--and the rest of Dylan's career. For Dylan, I guess, it all comes down to love and politics. That's interesting, because on albums like Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde, these two subjects are merged into each of the songs--thus, most definitely identifying the height of his artistic achievement. Songs like "Black Crow Blues," "I Don't Believe You" and "My Back Pages" define the sound of the album, while others, like "Ballad in Plain D," fade into the background. In "I Shall Be Free No. 10," Dylan tests his comedic roots, singing, "I am liberal, but to a degree--I want everybody to be free. But if you think I'd let Barry Goldwater move in next door, marry my daughter--you must be CRAZY! I wouldn't do it for all the farms in Cuba." Overall, Another Side of Bob Dylan is definitely a side that you should explore.

People love to call albums "must-have's" and "classic" when they are not, but this album IS most certainly both of those. Dylan himself is one of popular music's most defining performers and writers, and this album epitomizes both those "sides". The naked and acoustic guitar/harmonica-only sound forces you to focus on each song's lyrics, where Dylan's true power is, while the new mastering makes the guitar and vocals crystal clear. Songs like "All I Really Wanna Do" and "Motorpsycho Nightmare" will always make you laugh, whereas "Chimes Of Freedom", "My Back Pages", and "To Ramona" will ground you in reality. This album should not only be owned by lovers of rock and roll or the 60's, but also by any who want to know what it takes to write GOOD songs.

Another Side of Bob Dylan is amazing. It's so amazing that i cannot even think of a word to describe how perfect this album is. Therefore I am forced to make one up. This album is simply, implictationable. It has that fine folk sound known by some, loved by less, and adored by me. It is evident that these songs are for a select few, many who would say that they liked Bringing It All Back Home alot more myself, I won't blame them, though I will disagree. I feel these songs connected more to his own life, though they were all written by himself on both albums. Only listen to Ballad In Plane D. Pick it up maybe. I love it. Get it if you love Bob. And don't think about it for sure if you're not a fan. Beta speaking, OVER AND OUT.