Bob Dylan All the Songs
Page 28
“Positively 4th Street” could be considered the little brother of “Like a Rolling Stone”: same atmosphere, same energy, and the same identifiable gimmick on the organ. Bob Johnston, who began producing on July 29, got the group to create a slightly tighter sound, a bit more specific, with less reverb than Tom Wilson had added. Once again, Al Kooper stood out with a Hammond organ part that was very catchy and really gave the song its color. Since “Like a Rolling Stone” he was clearly more at ease, especially because he had been at Newport on July 25. Mike Bloomfield remained very discrete, playing rhythm close to Dylan (who played lead on his Stratocaster). Only a very few solos were heard at the end of the song. Bloomfield gave the impression that he wasn’t too sure how to express himself in this harmony. On piano, Frank Owens brought the honky-tonk approach that was indispensable for the overall sound. As for the great Bobby Gregg, supported on bass by Russ Savakus, he seemed to beat the skins with brushes. Finger cymbals or a triangle could also be heard, no doubt played by Bruce Langhorne.
“Positively 4th Street” came out on September 7, 1965 (with “From a Buick 6” on side 2), and reached seventh place on the charts on October 9. In Canada, the song hit first place, and in the United Kingdom, eighth place. Since then, it has been classified as number 206 among the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” by Rolling Stone magazine.
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
John Midwinter, a music fan living in Bristol, noticed after purchasing the jukebox that had belonged to John Lennon that “Positively 4th Street” was among the forty-one favorite singles of the ex-Beatle, in seventeenth place.
COVERS
Bob Dylan always said that his favorite version of “Positively 4th Street” was by Johnny Rivers (Realization, 1968). “When I listened to Johnny’s version of ‘Positively 4th Street,’ I liked his version better than mine. I listened to it over and over again.”58 Other versions have been done by the Byrds (Untitled, 1970), Jerry Garcia and Merl Saunders (Live at Keystone, 1973), Lucinda Williams (In Their Own Words, 1993), Simply Red (Home, 2003), and Bryan Ferry (Dylanesque, 2007).
Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?
Bob Dylan / 3:32
SINGLE
RELEASE DATE
Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? / Highway 61 Revisited
December 21 or 27, 1965 (the single only started selling in stores in early January 1966)
(REFERENCE COLUMBIA 4-43477)
Musicians
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar
Robbie Robertson: guitar
Bruce Langhorne: guitar
Richard Manuel: piano
Rick Danko: bass
Garth Hudson: organ
Al Kooper: organ, celesta
Bobby Gregg: drums
Recording Studio
Columbia Recording Studios / Studio A, New York: November 30, 1965
Technical Team
Producer: Bob Johnston
Sound Engineers: Roy Halee and Larry Keyes
Genesis and Lyrics
Those among the folkies who still hoped Bob Dylan would come back to his first love must have been very disappointed, or even angry, when they first heard “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” a few days before the year-end holidays in 1965. Sure enough, this song followed suit with the album Highway 61 Revisited: it was a rock song, which was very close to the British sound of those days. This new musical orientation really suited Dylan, who advised a young woman to flee as soon as possible from a lover who was basely materialistic. There were several surrealistic lines that could have been written for “Like a Rolling Stone” or “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues”: for instance, “If he needs a third eye he just grows it,” as well as the very title of the song. As in “Positively 4th Street,” the narrator uses you, a direct form of address that went along with the efficiency of rock ’n’ roll. Some listeners translated the lyrics of the song as a message for Edie Sedgwick, as Dylan advised her to escape as soon as possible from the sick claws of Andy Warhol and his Factory. This interpretation is plausible.
“Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” was the cause of the fight between Bob Dylan and folksinger Phil Ochs. One evening, the composer had David Blue and Phil Ochs listen to his song. The first one liked it: “A good rock song,” he said. Ochs risked making a comment. “It’s OK, but it will never be a hit.” Dylan went into a rage. “What do ya mean, it’s not going to be a hit? You’re crazy, man. It’s a great song.”2 Anthony Scaduto told the tale of what followed. At this point, a limousine arrived to drive them to a downtown club. They climbed aboard, but at the time when the driver was about to turn a few blocks before (Sixth Avenue), Dylan yelled at the driver, “Stop!” The car stopped and Dylan turned to Ochs to tell him, “Ochs, get out!” Ochs was white as a sheet. He couldn’t tell if Dylan was serious or joking. “Get out, Ochs!” Dylan repeated. “You’re not a folksinger. You’re just a journalist.”2 The two songwriters did not see each other for nine years (until a concert in support of Chile in 1974). “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” was the first song that Bob Dylan recorded with the Hawks, the future Band.
Production
On July 30, 1965, twenty-one takes of “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” were recorded with Mike Bloomfield on guitar, Al Kooper on celesta, Paul Griffin on piano, Harvey Brooks on bass, and Bobby Gregg on drums. This version, which was entitled “Look at Barry Run,” was joyful and could have easily been included on Highway 61 Revisited. The group played in unison, and once again Al Kooper gave the song its color, not with an organ but with a celesta.
On October 5, two new takes were done, but the musicians were not mentioned on the studio sheet. Then on November 30, with members of the Hawks—Robbie Robertson (guitar), Richard Manuel (piano), Rick Danko (bass), and Garth Hudson (organ)—as well as Bruce Langhorne (guitar), Al Kooper (organ), and Bobby Gregg (drums), ten takes were recorded.
This song, which came out as a single in 1965, was never included on any other record in its studio version until 1985, when it appeared on Biograph for the first time. Coming out in mono at the time, it has been remastered in this form since then. This version was very different than the first one: the mix was pretty much a rough draft, and the whole song was dominated by the cymbal ride bell played by Bobby Gregg. The sound gave an impression of Phil Spector’s “Wall of Sound.” Despite obvious qualities, efficient rhythm, a catchy melody and chorus, and rather convincing guitar playing and harmonica (in C), “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” never really managed to take off. Maybe Dylan had not yet found a sense of balance with this new group. It was too bad, because the song was nevertheless a success, and Jimi Hendrix made no mistake when he did an excellent cover of it in 1967 (BBC Sessions, 1998).
The single record “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” (with “Highway 61 Revisited” on side 2) was available in record stores as of December 21 (or 27?), 1965. It reached number 58 on the Billboard chart, and number 17 on British charts. Afterward, the song was included in the Masterpieces (1978) and Biograph (1985) compilations, and in the Band compilation A Musical History (2005).
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
An Error by Columbia!
“Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” first came out as a single under the title “Positively 4th Street,” because the Columbia team had no reference point, the title of neither song being mentioned at any time in the lyrics. The record was quickly pulled from the stores. In the United Kingdom time, Columbia released one of the first versions of “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” rather than the official version with the Hawks.
Blonde
On Blonde
Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
Pledging My Time
Visions Of Johanna
One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later)
I Want You
Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
Just Like A Woman
Most Likely Y
ou Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)
Temporary Like Achilles
Absolutely Sweet Marie
4th Time Around
Obviously 5 Believers
Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands
OUTTAKES
Medicine Sunday
Jet Pilot
I Wanna Be Your Lover
Number One (Instrumental Track)
She’s Your Lover Now
I’ll Keep It With Mine
DATE OF RELEASE
United States: May 16, 1966
on Columbia Records
REFERENCE COLUMBIA C2L 41/C2S 841)
Blonde on Blonde:
An Album Fluid as Mercury
The Album
Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde, one of his best albums, was also the first double album in the history of rock ’n’ roll. The release followed a six-month period during which Dylan had toured the United States and even begun a world tour in February 1966. Recording sessions began in New York City in October 1965 and were completed in Nashville, in March 1966. Far from the noise and fury of touring and the New York media, Dylan and his brilliant and loyal musicians unleashed their creativity to attain the sound they had dreamed of but only partially obtained in their two previous albums. This was the famous “mercury sound,” to quote the songwriter, like “bright gold” as he defined it to Ron Rosenbaum in 1978: “It’s that thin, wild mercury sound. It’s metallic and bright gold, with whatever that conjures up. That’s my particular sound.”20
The album’s title remains an enigma. What is the connection between Dylan’s quest for a new sound and “blonde on blonde”? Dylan has never really explained how he came up with the name. In 1969, he gave an evasive answer during an interview with Jann Wenner: “Well, I don’t even recall how exactly it came up, but I do know it was all in good faith. It has to do with just the word. I don’t know who thought of that. I certainly didn’t.”20
They are several hypotheses. Perhaps it could refer to the connection between Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones, Dylan’s friend, and the actress and model Anita Pallenberg, both blond. Perhaps the name of the album is a riff on Brecht on Brecht, a play by the German playwright Bertolt Brecht performed in the United States at the time. Dylan’s girlfriend, Suze Rotolo, had acted in the play and it had had an influence on Dylan. The album’s title may also have been inspired by Edie Sedgwick, a blonde with whom Dylan had had a brief affair. Finally and more simply, Blonde on Blonde may just stand for Dylan’s first name, Bob. Speculation continues.
In Concert and in the Studio with the Hawks
In August 1965, Mary Martin, secretary to Albert Grossman in Toronto, convinced Dylan to see a quintet performing in one of the clubs in Toronto. The band had started out backing Ronnie Hawkins before moving on alone as Levon and the Hawks, then just as the Hawks. The Hawks included Robbie Robertson (guitar), Garth Hudson (organ), Richard Manuel (piano), Rick Danko (bass), and Levon Helm (drums). Impressed by their performance, Dylan asked Robertson and Helm to accompany him at a concert on September 3 at the Hollywood Bowl, with Al Kooper on organ and Harvey Brooks on bass. Then the entire band made their debut at Dylan’s side on September 24 in Austin, Texas, and played again on December 4 in Berkeley, California.
Strong bonds were formed during this series of concerts in the United States. Dylan asked the Hawks to participate in the recording of “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” on November 30, 1965, in New York City and to back him during his world tour in 1966. The US tour began in Louisville, Kentucky (February 4), continued via the Southern states and California to Honolulu, Hawaii (April 9), and later moved on to Canada. They continued the tour in Australia between April 13 and 23 (Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth), and then toured Europe from April 29 to May 27. They performed in Scandinavia, Ireland, Great Britain, and France before returning to London for two final concerts on May 26 and 27.
In Europe, the public reaction was similar to the American “traditionalists” during the Newport Folk Festival the previous year. Dylan was booed, insulted, and even called “Judas” when he gave up his acoustic guitar to play an electric Fender. The press was no exception. After the show on May 5, 1966, in Dublin, the Melody Maker newspaper regretted that Dylan “tries to imitate Mick Jagger,” while a publication in Bristol accused him of having sacrificed “lyric and melody to the God of big beat.” Dylan and some of his backup musicians were thrown by the audience’s aggressiveness.
After his last concert on May 27 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, Bob Dylan returned to the United States totally exhausted. The release of his double album Blonde on Blonde, available in stores since May 16, 1966, was his only comfort.
The Album Cover
If the album’s title gives rise to speculation, the cover, identifying neither the title nor the artists, is also unusual. A single photo, slightly blurred, is used for both the front and back cover of the album. It shows Bob Dylan in front of a brick building, wearing a suede jacket and a scarf. This photograph is the work of Jerry Schatzberg, who was introduced to Dylan through Sara Lownds and Nico. After a series of shots, most of which have remained unpublished, Bob asked him to work on Blonde on Blonde’s album cover. “I wanted to find an interesting location outside of the studio. We went to the west side, where the Chelsea art galleries are now. At the time it was the meat packing district of New York and I liked the look of it. It was freezing and we were very cold. The frame he chose for the cover is blurred and out of focus. Of course everyone was trying to interpret the meaning, saying it must represent getting high on an LSD trip. It was none of the above; we were just cold and the two of us were shivering.”59
The original inside gatefold featured photographs by Schatzberg, selected by Dylan himself. The nine shots selected include Dylan with Albert Grossman’s back, a self-portrait of Schatzberg, and an unidentified fan who was whispering in the ear of the songwriter.
A portrait of the actress Claudia Cardinale was also featured on the original gatefold, but was withdrawn from the American copies because it was used without Cardinale’s permission. In September 2014, she told Jean-Michel Guesdon, “I love Bob Dylan and I was very flattered to find myself on the cover of Blonde on Blonde. But my agent decided to withdraw my picture for rights issues.” Jerry Schatzberg also worked on the artwork for Bob Dylan Live in 1966.
The Recording
After the recording of the album Highway 61 Revisited, producer Bob Johnston suggested that Dylan, exhausted by many concerts and recordings, record at the Nashville studios to find new energy. Bill Gallagher, vice president of marketing at Columbia, and Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman did not like the suggestion. The production process in place at Columbia in New York worked perfectly well in their eyes, and they were comfortable with it and wanted to stick with it. Johnston claims they reacted quickly: “‘If you ever mention Nashville to Bob Dylan again, you’re fired.’ When I said, ‘Why?’ I was told, ‘Because we don’t want him working with a bunch of… stupid people down there. You’ve got him going good here, and it looks like we’re going to have a great record.’… I said, ‘Yes, sir, you’re the boss.’”48
On October 5, 1965, Dylan began the first recording session for the double album Blonde on Blonde at Columbia’s Studio A in New York, but by late January 1966 Dylan was unhappy with the recording. Apart from the single “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?” (November 30, 1965), Dylan was satisfied with only one title from the four long sessions beginning on October 5: “One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later).” Depressed, he had doubts about himself. He later confessed that the group did not function well together, something that he was not willing to admit at the time. He confided to Robert Shelton, “Oh, I was really down. I mean, in ten recording sessions, man, we didn’t get one song… It was the band. But you see, I didn’t know that. I didn’t want to think that.”5 Johnston took the opportunity to talk about Nashville again.
The Choice of Nashville
Despite beginning his new i
nternational tour on February 4, 1966, Dylan had a few days off between February 14 and 17. Johnston took the opportunity to again suggest moving the sessions to Nashville. Because Dylan was disillusioned with the sessions and New York and his band, he agreed to finish the album in Nashville. Based on the recording sheets, there were two blocks of sessions at Columbia’s Studio A in Nashville. Most Dylan scholars agree that the first bloc was between February 14 and February 16, and the second from March 8 to March 10. However, Kooper disagrees about the existence of two blocks of recording sessions. “It was Bob Johnston’s decision to record it in Nashville. I gotta give him credit for that. Bob was a little reticent, but he thought it might be an interesting idea, so he took Robbie and I along to increase his comfort level.”24 Johnston asked Charlie McCoy to contact musicians on the list he had compiled. He recruited the best sidemen in the region: Kenneth Buttrey on drums, Wayne Moss on electric guitar, Joe South on bass and second guitar, Hargus “Pig” Robbins on piano, and Henry Strzelecki on bass. McCoy himself played bass, guitar, trumpet, and harmonica. Other musicians participated in the recording of the album: Bill Atkins on keyboard, Wayne Butler on trombone (uncredited on the album cover), Jerry Kennedy (mentioned on the cover but in an unknown role), and Mac Gayden on guitar (uncredited on the album cover but probably present). All these musicians were used to moving from one session to another with impressive speed and efficiency, but at the first session on February 14 they quickly understood that the rules had changed. After the usual introductions, McCoy told them that Dylan needed some time to complete his lyrics and that they would have to wait in the studio. “Take a break,” said the songwriter on his way to the piano with a notebook and a Bible in hand. After several hours, Bob finally had finished his text and was ready to start the session. The musicians, who had worked with Elvis Presley and Chuck Berry, among others, were not initially inspired. Each session followed a similar pattern. Eventually, the musicians adopted a rhythm of work in response to Dylan’s lead. Robertson: “We hadn’t really rehearsed the songs before we got to Nashville. Sometimes Bob would be working out the ideas, and I’d play along and see if I could think of any ideas. The songs were just going by—once we had a setup organized in the studio, Bob had a lot of material he wanted to experiment with, so they were just going by every quickly. Making a record, a lot of times you go in and record a song a day, laying down the tracks and overdubbing on them, but on this one we were just slamming through the songs.”24