Dylan Revisited: Blonde on Blonde (1966) - part 1

The final part of Dylan's classic mid-60's trilogy, rock's first double album is a monumental pop record.

This is a series by DylanRevisited based on former Twitter threads, now available here in an easier to read and longer lasting format.

Five of the songs on Blonde on Blonde feature a bridge. By my count, just one – Ballad of a Thin Man – does on Bob Dylan’s previous two albums combined. Which makes me think that Dylan wanted his seventh LP to be more of a pop record.

And it’s not just the bridges. Blonde on Blonde has more sing-along choruses than before and the lyrics are more direct expressions of love, longing and leaving. The core of Blonde on Blonde is pop music. But this is Dylan, so the result is naturally unconventional.

I Want You is about as conventional as Dylan gets. Sure, the verses are filled with oddball characters who could be castoffs from Highway 61 Revisited. But the chorus? “I want you so bad” – jeez, just go ahead and say what you feel Bob.

In his early black and white days, Dylan wrote topical songs that were sincere and forthright. But his love songs back then were …