The Journey Back Entry 6: LOTS more in 1964!

Its been exactly a month since I last documented my time machine activities. While some of it was due to my fiance visiting and some due to 2 weeks of bronchitis, I was definitely still listening to tons of music. I’m going to start off with a release I was very much looking forward to, Bob Dylan’s second release of 1964 Another Side of Bob Dylan! I spoke last time about the fact that I wasnt too crazy about Bob Dylan the political activist on The Times They Are a-Changin’  so you can imagine my excitement about an album that advertised another side of him. It turns out Bob Dylan wasnt too crazy about “Bob Dylan the political activist” either. This was probably mostly due to the fact that his political stuff was encouraged by his girlfriend Suze Rotolo, and since they had finally ended things by the release of this album, Bob was free to write whatever he wanted. And that is EXACTLY what he does here. Recorded in 1 night, in a hotel room, while drinking, Dylan tried to recapture the raw sound of his debut album. Unfortunately, drinking isnt exactly the best way to produce your best work (at least not for Dylan here). So how does it compare to Times?  Times has a few songs I like MUCH more than the stuff on this album, but overall, while underwhelming, the joy that Bob seems to be experiencing here in recording this makes it a much more fun listen. Most of the songs have little to no depth but its an album I can easily put on and enjoy. It’s fun rather than technical. A perfect example is “All I Really Wanna Do” which I absolutely adore. Its nowhere near Bob’s best but his little “ooo ooo” sounds cant help but make me smile. Try to frown while he sings that part. It isnt possible. I found myself singing it the other day in my head  but for some reason my lyrics were “All IIIIII…. REAlly…. Wanna Dooo oooo. is baby have sex with you. ”  That would be the version I’d record.

Another example of Dylan’s “Not giving a damn” attitude is “I Shall Be Free”. The song is horrible but in a completely lovable way for me. It sounds to me like those parody songs people do of Dylan where they just sing in “Dylan” voice while talking drunken gibberish and blowing into the harmonica occasionally. But its Dylan! Its basically him saying “I dare you to try to apply a political banner behind this one!”

I dont think the album is Bob’s best work but I do appreciate it and I especially like that he decided to recapture the Bob Dylan raw style even if it didnt work out exactly as he had hoped. If he had spent months recording this, I think I would be more disappointed in the album.  Because the album instead perfectly captures this one night of Bob, drinking in the hotel room, I really enjoy it. It makes me smile and laugh wish I could hang out with Bob unlike on Times where the heavy themes and the downer nature of the album made me not want to be around Dylan.

1964 – Another Side of Bob Dylan Highlights

All I Really Wanna Do – See my description above. I LOVE the chorus of this song and Bob being silly

I Don’t Believe You – My other favorite song on the album. I love the lyrics and that frustration when someone completely ignores you

It Ain’t Me Babe – Couldnt find a version by Bob Dylan to lunk from youtube. I was told that this song was written in part as a response to the Beatles “She Loves You” who”s “Yeah Yeah Yeah” chorus is reflected back negatively by Bob Dylan with his “No No No” response. A great song.

I did check out Joan Baez’s 1963 release and fourth album, the creatively titled Joan Baez In Concert Part 2. Unfortunately I was disappointed once again in her “Part 2” titled album with this one paling in comparison to Part 1. One interesting change however was a few Dylan covers that appear on the album. The one that surprised me was her cover of “With God On Our Side”. This was a song I could not stand when Dylan sang it. For some reason, (Probably Joan’s voice)  this version was a huge improvement. While I still dont like the lyrics much, it was nice to hear a more melodic and beautiful version of this song.

Moving away from the folk scene for a while, I next checked out the debut album of The Animals, The Animals. I must confess, I was pretty excited for this one. Their version of “House of the Rising Sun” was the first version I’d ever heard and it also happens to be an excellent version. I loved the production of their guitars and their organ definitely adds some cool layers to their music. At the end of the day, I wouldnt say I was too impressed with their album. That isnt to say its a bad album, just that I didnt find too much original sounding material here. Maybe it’s because I heard the Rolling Stones debut first but all I could think of was that the band fit into mostly the same R&B sound. Where the Animal’s shined most on this album was in their more unconventional covers. Changing folk music into rock music rather than covering older R&B sounds. “House of Rising Sun” is the best example of this but not the only one. The band also does their own version of “Baby Let Me Follow You Down” titled “Baby Let Me Take You Home”. These additions stop the Animals from simply sounding like Rolling Stones clones and I did enjoy the album, I just wish it had more music like “House of The Rising Sun” on it. The bands blues music is simplistic to the point of comical. At one point, the same blues melody is used for 2 songs in a row! Literally the same exact music with different lyrics. Why place those songs back to back?  I guess Ill have to wait for their next album to see which direction the band heads in.

1964 – The Animals Highlights

House of the Rising Sun – A classic, this version of the song is definitely one of the most recognizable and features one of the coolest organ parts of all time. Plus Eric Burdon’s howls are damn sexy

Baby Let Me Take You Home – One of the reasons I decided to go on this journey was to discover the rock and roll roots of the music I listen to today. The first time I heard this song, I was smiling ear to ear. My first experience where I heard the song and immediately thought “This melody comes directly from another song I know!” It was a great feeling. I also like that they changed the lyrics for a more optimistic perspective. The Animals seem more in their elements when converting folk music to rock.

Talkin’ Bout You – My other favorite on the album is this Ray Charles cover. Once again I reward bands for experimentation and the 7 minute version of this song that converts at the 4 minute mark in a “Shout!” cover is truly awesome. I also love the songs opening clapping part.

I then moved onto another english rock group, The Kinks. Here I found yet another band joining the rock sound of the Rolling Stones and the Animals. Its hard to tell which one of these groups originated the sounds and who copied from who. At the end of the day, I found most of the Kinks debut to be a bit boring. The obvious exception is “You Really Got Me” which happens to be an excellent and addictive pop song. Maybe I’m just getting a bit of R&B rock fatigue. I just think most of the covers didnt have the power of other similar artists. I will definitely continue to check out the Kinks in the hopes that their sound evolves in a separate direction.

1964 – Kinks Highlight

You Really Got Me

Apparently the year of british R&B rock music, next in 1964, I took on the Rolling Stones second album of the year and their career 12 X 5. I was a huge fan of their debut so I was definitely looking forward to this one. Mick Jagger’s voice was refreshing. I just think it fits the music so well. 12 X 5  is definitely more toned down and instrument focused than it’s vocalist centric debut. The band is definitely having fun. Still, there was definitely less take home music for me here in comparison to their debut. Listening to this album did however get me very excited for one reason. After hearing the Animals, the Kinks and the Rolling Stones albums, one after another, one thing became abundantly clear. While each of the albums is in the same vane, all three had slightly varied sounds. I’m very excited to see how the bands will separate, change and evolve. I feel like these albums are helping to establish the bands beginnings in my mind so that I can more greatly appreciate the evolutions of each band. I just hope they dont disappoint.

1964 – 12 X 5 – Highlights

Time Is On Our Side – Mick Jagger sings this song in a way that just begs to be sung along with. The band just seems to be having so much fun!

Good Times, Bad Times – I just love the guitar and the harmonica on this track

Under the Boardwalk – I love this cover. I could listen to Mick sing “Down by the See-hee” over and over

If You Need Me – I love love love the backing vocals on this track. It’s like Mick’s trying to tell this girl something and his creepy friend is standing right behind him repeating what he says trying to encourage his buddy. “I still love love love, always thinking of you”. I love singing along as the back up dude.

Finally, I also did check out the debut album of the Impressions. I did it mostly to check out Curtis Mayfield. While I did enjoy the album, I didnt feel very fit to analyze its music. The sound is definitely more under the vain of doo-wop and soul. I felt like I would need to go back and listen to a lot of music from the ’50s to truly understand it. That isnt a bad idea and I do intend to check these genres out eventually. I just think that for now, I want to stick more clearly to rock and folk music.

So, after a very long entry, what do I have to show for it? Bob Dylan seems to be on the right track, giving up on his boring political side. The Rolling Stones, the Animals and the Kinks all try to do the same thing with varied results. I think a large part of it is also due to the fact that most of their current songs are covers. I can only hope they will forge new genres and continue to diverge creating more unique music as they stop playing covers and start writing their own music. Joan Baez has disappointed me again but I always seem to like her odd numbered albums so maybe her fifth album will change my mind again about whether there’s more to be gotten from her. I’m nearing the end of 1964 at this point. I believe the only two albums I have left to check out are the debut of folk legends Simon & Garfunkle and another release from the Beatles! I have high hopes for both. Then it will be time to move on into 1965 and I’m sure a ton more wonderful music. Only time will tell. Thanks for continuing to follow along with me on this crazy journey through musical time. Once again, fill me in on albums you think I might of missed or ways in which you hope I can improve my tales of the past