John Wesley Harding (album)

: For entries on other people named John Wesley, see John Wesley (disambiguation).

Recording sessions

Dylan went to work on John Wesley Harding in the fall of 1967. By then, 18 months had passed since the completion of Blonde on Blonde. Having spent a substantial amount time in seclusion with the informal basement sessions at Woodstock, little was heard from him throughout 1967. During that time, he had stockpiled a large number of recordings, including a large number of new compositions. Nearly all of them would eventually be submitted for copyright, but for his next studio release, none would of them would appear. Instead, Dylan would use a different set of songs for John Wesley Harding.

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It's not clear when these songs were actually written, but none of them has turned up in the dozens of basement recordings that have since surfaced. According to Robbie Robertson, "As I recall it was just on a kind of whim that Bob went down to Nashville. And there, with just a couple of guys, he put those songs down on tape."

Related Topics:
Robbie Robertson - Nashville

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Those sessions took place in the autumn of 1967, requiring less than twelve hours over three stints in the studio. "I ran into George Harrison some time after the record was out," recalls drummer Kenny Buttrey. "He told me the album was one of his all-time favorites, but he imagined it must have been to record. He wanted to know how long it took... said, 'About six hours.' Then he said, 'Well, how long did it take to mix?' and I said, 'That was mixed!' We just put it down and Columbia threw it out. Nobody ever went into the studio to mix a note."

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Dylan brought to Nashville a set of songs similar to the feverish yet pithy compositions that came out of the Basement Tape sessions. They would be given an austere sound sympathetic to their content.

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When Dylan arrived in Nashville, producer Bob Johnston recalls that "he was staying in the Ramada Inn down there, and he played me his songs and he suggested we just use bass and guitar and drums on the record. I said fine, but also suggested we add a steel guitar, which is how Pete Drake came to be on that record."

Related Topics:
Nashville - Ramada Inn - Pete Drake

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Dylan was once again recording with a band, but the instrumentation was very sparse. During most of the recording, Buttrey and bassist Charlie McCoy were the only ones supporting Dylan, who handled harmonica and guitar duties in addition to the vocals. "I didn't intentionally come out with some kind of mellow sound," Dylan said in 1971. "I would have liked...more steel guitar, more piano. More music...I didn't sit down and plan that sound."

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The first session, held on October 17th at Columbia's Studio A, lasted only three hours, with Dylan recording master takes of "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine", "Drifter's Escape", and "The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest". Dylan returned to the studio on November 6th, recording master takes for "All Along the Watchtower", "John Wesley Harding", "As I Went Out One Morning", "I Pity the Poor Immigrant", and "I Am a Lonesome Hobo". Dylan returned for one last session on the 29th, completing all of the remaining work.

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The final session did break from the status quo by employing Pete Drake on the final two recordings. Cut between 9pm and 12 midnight, "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" and "Down Along the Cove" would be the only two songs featuring Drake's light pedal steel guitar.

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Sometime between the second and third session, Dylan approached Robbie Robertson and Garth Hudson of The Band to complete some overdub work on the basic tracks: "Then we did talk about doing some overdubbing on it, but I really liked it when I heard it and I couldn't really think right about overdubbing on it. So it ended up coming out the way he brought it back."

Related Topics:
Robbie Robertson - Garth Hudson - The Band

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Less than four weeks after the final session, John Wesley Harding was released in stores, a phenomenally quick turnaround time, especially for a major label release.

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