Blonde on Blonde

Blonde on Blonde is a folk rock album by Bob Dylan, generally believed to be the rock and roll genre's first double album. Recorded in Nashville, it was produced by Bob Johnston and was released in 1966. The album was a critical and commercial success, though folk music purists continued to protest Dylan's fusion of folk with rock that began with Highway 61 Revisited and Bringing It All Back Home.

Aftermath

Blonde on Blonde was a commercial success; it even spawned several hit singles that restored Dylan to the upper echelons of the singles chart. However, it was an even greater critical success. As critic Dave Marsh wrote in The Rolling Stone Record Guide, Blonde on Blonde is widely regarded as one of Dylan's "best albums, and of the greatest in the history of rock & roll."

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"A sprawling abstraction of eccentric blues revisionism, Blonde on Blonde confirms Dylan's stature as the greatest American rock presence since Elvis Presley," writes Tim Riley. Critic Greil Marcus wrote that Blonde on Blonde is "the sound of a man trying to stand up in a drunken boat, and, for the moment, succeeding. His tone was sardonic, scared, threatening, as if he'd awakened after paying all his debts to find that nothing was settled."

Related Topics:
Elvis Presley - Greil Marcus

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In August of 1995 Blonde on Blonde was named the 8th greatest album of all time in a poll conducted by Mojo Magazine. In 1997 it placed at number 16 in a 'Music of the Millennium' poll conducted by HMV, Channel 4, The Guardian and Classic FM. In 1998 Q magazine readers placed it at number 47. Then in 2003, a poll conducted by Rolling Stone Magazine placed it at number 9.

Related Topics:
1995 - Mojo - 1997 - HMV - Channel 4 - The Guardian - Classic FM - 1998 - ''Q'' magazine - 2003 - Rolling Stone Magazine

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Soon after handing the final mixes of Blonde on Blonde over to Columbia Records, Dylan flew to Hawaii for the first of many concerts scheduled in a two-month tour. The album would not be released until mid-May of 1966, and until then Dylan had a series of concert engagements to attend to.

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Despite their disappointing performances in the studio, the Hawks were far more successful on-stage. Though some 'fans' remained prejudiced against Dylan's new musical direction, the Hawks would eventually become Dylan's most celebrated touring band. That reputation would be secured with the upcoming tour, arguably the most celebrated tour in rock history, and eventually documented in '.

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