John Wesley Harding (Reis)

 (31 customer reviews)

When this record came out a lot of Dylan's fans were upset, because that singer of songs so complex with images that stayed with you long after the song had end, seemed to have gone country. But it didn't long before they realized that the complexity was still here, even thought the backing musicians had changed. The stories, those incredible stories were still here. Just give a listen to "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" and you'll see what I mean. And the word weaver is still doing his magic here as well, again listen to "Frankie & Judas."

Yes, gone are the rock musicians, replaced by country guys, Charlie McCoy on bass, Kenny Buttrey on drums and they help Dylan deliver a kind of haunting sound that has lasted through the years, making this record sort timeless, holding up as well now as it did way back then.

My personal favorite on this masterpiece of music is "As I Went Out One Morning." To me it seems like Dylan is singing about America and how...Read more

Dylan's move into country was wise and apt, just right for the times. The title track is a legend allegedly about a famous ancestor of the obscure singer-songwriter Tim Hardin. The awesome I Dreamt I Saw St. Augustine is spiritual and moving, All Along The Watchtower has a surreal edge to it and The Drifter's Escape is an interesting story song.

Dear Landlord fits the country style well, I Pity The Poor Immigrant is a touching protest song and I'll Be Your Baby Tonight is catchy country-pop, as proved by the many cover versions. Speaking of which, I first heard many of these classics via other artists' interpretations, e.g. Jimi Hendrix who made a psychedelic anthem of All Along The Watchtower and Joan Baez' splendid versions of St Augustine and I Pity The Poor Immigrant.

It's risky to try rating Dylan's individual albums, but John Wesley Harding is certainly amongst his five best as it is so consistently great as regards the quality of the compositions, the...Read more

I like to listen to the bass on this album. Charlie McCoy. You turn up the bass and it's very relaxing. This is one of my favorite Dylan albums, and didn't used to be. It is important because when it came out, the music that he had started was peaking, and while bands he influenced like THE BEATLES, THE EXPIRIENCE, THE DOORS, you name it, were peaking out, literally, with acid-inspired deeply personal music that had flaming guitar riffs and ten things going on at once, Bob sat down in his rocking chair, and wrote twelve laidback songs, most in a distant third person perspective, all with only a guitar, a harmonica, a piano, a bass, a drummer, and a steel guitar (on two tracks). Dylan wasn't burning up the sky on purpose, instead, he was painting the earth. And NASHVILLE SKYLINE, the next album, goes against the grain he started altogether, as it is a full on country album. But this one if folky, and underrated, and one can listen to it again and again. Great, pure, fantastic Dylan...Read more