Subterranean Homesick Alien (Bringing It All Back Home - Bob Dylan)

Member Name: markhobbs

Product:	Bringing It All Back Home - Bob Dylan
Date:	02/08/01 (176 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: First great Dylan album

Disadvantages: Lost on some people

The impact Bob Dylan has had on the music scene hard to fully realise. He has influenced hundreds of artists, who in turn have influenced others and so it goes on. He brought poetry to the contemporary song, something that brought music to a higher plateau. In short, he is God.

Bringing it All Back Home is his first masterpiece. Those hoping for more Blowin’ in the Wind style songs would do well to skip the first seven songs, Bob decided that his electric guitar was his new best friend, and that the figure ten on the volume control of his amps was a reliable companion.

So offended were his diehard folk fans, that he received death threats. But thankfully for us, he carried on anyway. It wasn’t, of course, heavy metal or anything. She Belongs to Me and the last four songs are far from the initial shock of Subterranean Homesick Blues.

The above song is about how most live their life and how the government deem we should. Just because it’s louder doesn’t mean the lyrics have suffered in anyway, far from it, he only just begins to reach his potential on this album. It’s a great opening track and single, it’s immediate, with a great beat going through it and great lyrics. Nice.

She Belongs to Me is a different affair altogether. It’s a simple and laid back song, radio friendly and unoffensive. No surprises, but perhaps it’s there to calm everyone down after SHB.

Not that he continues in that vain for long. Maggies Farm is more than a little like SHB in it’s sound and set –up. It speaks of the injustice of working hard for nothing, at being belittled and mistreated, perhaps being aimed at the army or the government.

Love Minus Zero/ No Limit is again another more easy going song after the rawness of Maggie’s Farm. His love doesn’t care much for flowers and talk of how things will be later on, she just takes things as they come. It
is, perhaps, the less impressive song on the album. It isn’t bad, it just doesn’t quite have the spark that would give it the longevity it needs.

Outlaw Blues is, as the name suggests, a wee bit bluesy and quite a good baffling. He says he wants to on an Australian mountain range because it would a bit of a change, and he’s carrying around a black tooth for good luck. Anyway, it’s catchy and has great rythmn in it, so ignore the silliness and just listen, man.

On the Road Again is a funny song. Bob apparently visits his girlfriends house, where a series of bizarre and mad things happen, completely turning Bob off the thought of moving in. And he is equally flabbergasted when his girlfriend asks him to move in, and why she doesn’t move out. He does indeed have a lighter side.

Which is further proved when he bursts into a hysterical fit of laughter a few seconds into Bob Dylan’s 115th Dream, for no apparent reason. He then composes himself and goes right back into the tale of one of his dreams. It starts with him crossing over to America on the Mayflower and that’s about the sanest thing to happen. The last of the silliness, the last songs are four songs are about as beautifully poignant and exquisitely aware and relevant as any that you’ll find.

Mr. Tambourine is one of his most famous songs. It is poetry of the highest level, so flowing and vivid. Here is just one of magical verses :

Take me on a trip upon your magic swirlin’ ship
My senses have stripped, my hands can’t feel to grip
My toes too numb to step, wait only for my boot heels
To be Wanderin’
I’m ready to go anywhere, I’m ready for to fade
Into my own parade, cast your dancing spell my way,
I promise to go under it

This is but one verse of many that continue in this beautiful vain of lyrical mastery.


Gates of Eden is another momentous song. He sings that only inside the Gates of Eden do people really have freedom and happiness, not so outside it.

Never before has any song featured more wonderous lyrics than those in the two previous songs and what is about to come next.

It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) is his best moment in terms of analyising what’s going on around him.

Dissilussioned words like bullets bark
As human gods aim for their mark
Made everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh coloured Christs that glow in the dark
It’s easy to see without looking too far
That not much
Is really sacred

It’s seven minutes long and truly is an epic in every sense of the word.

It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue has a hard act to follow, but it’s a steady enough to leave us with. Some ( you know who are, scum ) could, perhaps be put off by his strained vocals ,which, at times aren’t too far from being off key. But some of that lovely harmonica keeps me listening.

Please don’t hesitate to comment on this, or to mention your favourite Dylan album/song, or anything Dylan related

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