« Back to Top Level | Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan - John Wesley Harding (Reissue) (1967)

Track listing:
  1. John Wesley Harding 3:00
  2. As I Went Out One Morning 2:52
  3. I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine 3:55
  4. All Along The Watchtower 2:35
  5. The Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest 5:35
  6. Drifter's Escape 2:48
  7. Dear Landlord 3:18
  8. I Am A Lonesome Hobo 3:24
  9. I Pity The Poor Immigrant 4:16
  10. The Wicked Messenger 2:05
  11. Down Along The Cove 2:26
  12. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight 2:39

Notes

Bob Dylan Vocal, Guitar, Harmonica and Piano
Charles McCoy Bass
Kenny Buttrey Drums
Pete Drake Steel Guitar on tracks 11 and 12

Bob Dylan returned from exile with John Wesley Harding, a quiet, country-tinged album that split dramatically from his previous three. A calm, reflective album, John Wesley Harding strips away all of the wilder tendencies of Dylan's rock albums — even the then-unreleased Basement Tapes he made the previous year — but it isn't a return to his folk roots. If anything, the album is his first serious foray into country, but only a handful of songs, such as "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight," are straight country songs. Instead, John Wesley Harding is informed by the rustic sound of country, as well as many rural myths, with seemingly simple songs like "All Along the Watchtower," "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine," and "The Wicked Messenger" revealing several layers of meaning with repeated plays. Although the lyrics are somewhat enigmatic, the music is simple, direct, and melodic, providing a touchstone for the country-rock revolution that swept through rock in the late '60s.