Maps of Music
John Wesley Harding (1967)
Where the lyrics of John Wesley Harding take you, and where it was really made.
The title misspells the name of Texas outlaw John Wesley Hardin, and the album was cut in a few sparse sessions in Nashville.
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Columbia's Studio A in Nashville (1967)
Recording site Nashville — The first session for this album was held at Columbia's Studio A in Nashville on October 17, 1967, and lasted only three hours. Dylan's sessions for the album took place in Nashville during the fall of 1967. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there: See the map for directions.
Album story
Overview
- John Wesley Harding: eighth studio album by Bob Dylan
- Released December 27, 1967 by Columbia Records
- Produced by Bob Johnston
- Marked Dylan's return to semi-acoustic instrumentation and folk-influenced songwriting
- Followed three albums of lyrically abstract, blues-indebted rock
Background
- Recorded around the same time as the home sessions with the Band known as The Basement Tapes
- Dylan had stockpiled many new compositions but used a different set of songs for this album
- About eighteen months had passed since the completion of Blonde on Blonde
Recording
- Sessions took place in the fall of 1967 and required less than twelve hours over three stints in the studio
- Charlie McCoy on bass and Kenneth A. Buttrey on drums formed the rhythm section
- Dylan handled all harmonica, guitar, piano, and vocal parts
- Pete Drake added pedal steel guitar on two tracks, the only ones featuring it
- Dylan said in 1971 that he did not sit down and plan the sound
Cover
- Cover photo by John Berg shows a squinting Dylan flanked by two Bengali Bauls
- Rumors held that Beatles faces were hidden in the tree knots, which Berg later said was unintentional
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Tracklist
| 1 | John Wesley Harding | 2:58 |
| 2 | As I Went Out One Morning | 2:49 |
| 3 | I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine | 3:53 |
| 4 | All Along the Watchtower | 2:32 |
| 5 | The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest | 5:36 |
| 6 | Drifter’s Escape | 2:52 |
| 7 | Dear Landlord | 3:16 |
| 8 | I Am a Lonesome Hobo | 3:20 |
| 9 | I Pity the Poor Immigrant | 4:13 |
| 10 | The Wicked Messenger | 2:03 |
| 11 | Down Along the Cove | 2:24 |
| 12 | I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight | 2:36 |
Sources: musicbrainz.org
Artist
Formation
- Born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941, in Duluth, Minnesota; raised in Hibbing, Minnesota.
- Moved to New York City in January 1961 to pursue a music career.
- Signed to Columbia Records after playing harmonica on Carolyn Hester's album; debut album Bob Dylan released in 1962.
Members
- Solo artist; backed over the years by bands including the Hawks/the Band, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, and his touring band led by bassist Tony Garnier.
Career
- Breakthrough with The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963); protest songs such as "Blowin' in the Wind" became anthems for the civil rights and antiwar movements.
- Went electric with Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited (1965) and Blonde on Blonde (1966), provoking controversy among folk fans.
- Motorcycle accident in 1966 led to nearly eight years without touring; Basement Tapes recorded with the Band.
- Converted to Christianity in the late 1970s and released gospel albums; won Album of the Year Grammy for Time Out of Mind (1997).
- Has toured since 1988 on the Never Ending Tour; won an Academy Award and ten Grammy Awards; awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize in Literature.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Reception
At release
- Critics received the album well and it sold well
- Reached No. 2 on the U.S. charts and topped the UK charts
- Stayed 13 weeks at number 1 in Britain
- Billboard reported it sold more than 250,000 copies in less than a week in stores
Reappraisal
- Included in Robert Christgau's Basic Record Library of 1950s and 1960s recordings
- Ranked 301 on Rolling Stone's 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time
- Clinton Heylin wrote in 2000 that it remains one of Dylan's most enduring albums
- Critic Jon Landau noted in Crawdaddy! that Dylan showed no need to respond to pop trends
Records
- Certified gold by the RIAA less than three months after release
- Remastered for Hybrid SACD in 2003
- Reissued as part of The Original Mono Recordings in 2010
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
Trivia
- The title misspells the name of Texas outlaw John Wesley Hardin, whom Dylan misspelled deliberately or not, and no one has explained why.
- The cover photo shows two Bengali Bauls that Albert Grossman brought to Woodstock.
- The album was released with no publicity at Dylan's request, during a season of heavy hype.
- Dylan refused to pull a single even when Clive Davis urged him to.
- Monophonic and stereophonic versions were issued at the same time, the last Dylan LP to do so.
Sources: en.wikipedia.org
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