Bob Dylan: Nashville Skyline - 1969
"Our generation owes him our artistic lives" - Kris Kristofferson
I've always found it a strange little album, Nashville Skyline. Consistent to his seemingly perverse nature around this time, in early 1969, Bob Dylan gave his impatiently waiting fans, who were expecting the next work of genius, less than half an hour’s worth of light country music.
The album has to be viewed individually and objectively, in order to get the positives out of it and comparisons with Blonde On Blonde, Highway 61 Revisited, or even with the more country-influenced John Wesley Harding are futile. The latter still had songs like All Along The Watchtower and The Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest on it, there was certainly nothing like that on here. Neither was there any of the psychedelic or blues rock that was de rigeur in 1968-69 around. “Country Rock” was starting to become the thing to delve into in the late sixties/early seventies. The Byrds were heading that way, as were The Band. Crosby Stills & Nash would put out their eponymous album a month later. As if to emphasise the light-hearted, easy-going country nature of the recording Dylan appeared grinning on the cover, in a cowboy-style hat and holding an acoustic guitar.
So, let that hair fall all over your breast and lay back on that big brass bed....
Girl From The North Country is a wonderful country duet with Johnny Cash, whose resonant voice adds a real timbre to the song. Dylan’s voice is obviously much weaker, but not to the detriment of the song. Nashville Skyline Rag is an energetic, finger-picking instrumental that is pleasant enough.
"Is it Rolling, Bob?” is the voice from the studio that introduces the tuneful and bassy, almost rocky To Be Alone With You. It was a fun workout, but hardly Like A Rolling Stone. People had to get used to the fact that Dylan wanted to do this sort of material now and that was that.
The best cut on the album, in my opinion, is the sad and yearning I Threw It All Away. A gentle, laid-back piece of country rock. Peggy Day is another jaunty, pleasant song. There is nothing dark or sombre about this album, despite some of the sad-sounding vocal deliveries. The album simply does not bear too much over-analysis. To me it is simply a pleasurable half hour.
The rhythmic Lay Lady Lay is the best known track. It has an addictive percussion sound and a witheringly endearing vocal from Dylan. He got blatantly sexual for one of the first times too No poetic imagery - just lay back on that big brass bed.
One More Night is spirited and uplifting. Some great instrumentation on it. Who would have thought Dylan would release gentle toe-tappers like this? The album had a charming, laid-back, homely feel, as indeed had Dylan’s crooning-style country voice, affected for this album. This would continue into parts of Self Portrait and New Morning too. Indeed, the sneering, urban drawl of those classic sixties recordings had gone forever, which was a shame but it was what it was.
Tell Me That It Isn't True is underpinned by some lovely acoustic guitar, piano and organ, it was another gentle, harmless melody. Quite how Dylan fans got their heads round this at the time is unclear. Country Pie is a lively country romp, enlivened by some excellent guitar licks and an entrancing bass sound. It finishes, unfortunately, all too soon. This brief half hour was over with the steel guitar backed and wistfully romantic Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You.
Kris Kristofferson is quoted as saying that himself and many other artists “owed their careers” to this album, as it opened many more eyes to country music, which previously had been a conservative, closed shop. With the release of this album, it became “cool” to dig country, man.
