Bob Dylan is one of the most influential musical artists of the past century. His career has been quite prolific, releasing 33 studio albums, a handful of live discs and several greatest hits collections. His releases have been known to cause much controversy, and several of his albums are hated by most - Self Portrait, Saved, pretty much all the '80s albums besides Infidels and Oh Mercy. I may get to some of these other ones later, but I thought it would be interesting to first look at Under the Red Sky. More than being hated or the subject of controversy, this album tends to kind of just get forgotten about. This is surprising, as the previous album, Oh Mercy, is loved by most and was shocking upon release - many had given up on Dylan producing great and important music. So why did the follow up to a master work get swept under the rug in such a fashion?
I think that one reason this album tends to get lost in the shuffle is the production - Don Was produced, and put a glossy sheen over everything, including Dylan's raspy voice - who even knew such a thing could be possible? The album is all about the cameos, with Elton John, George Harrison, and Slash among the guests in the studio. None of the instrumentation particularly stands out, so I can only imagine that the reason these superstars were included was to generate publicity for the album. If only they had put the effort on showcasing Dylan's songs, the album would've fared much better. Dylan complained after making this album that here were way too many people in the studio, too much going on.
Dylan’s discomfort during these sessions was palpable – Slash complained that Dylan was “really impolite” and that he “didn’t really have a good time” during the recording. Al Kooper, responsible for the legendary organ part on “Like a Rolling Stone,” as well as lots and lots and lots of other stuff during his career, called Under the Red Sky “the hood album” because Dylan wore a sweatshirt with the hood up for the entirety of the sessions and pretty much completely closed himself off. Maybe that is why the arrangements are off; it is hard to say whether the blame should be placed on Was for interpreting the material thusly or Dylan himself, who may have felt pressure to put out another album to quickly follow up the success of Oh Mercy.
Several of the songs are nursery rhyme-ish, explained by critics as being inspired by or written for his then young daughter. “Wiggle Wiggle” is quite reminiscent of the “Wilbury Twist,” if you ask me. The title track could’ve been more interesting if he had used the nursery rhyme motif as a starting point and not sticking to it so much, or maybe if it had been played in the blues style it is written in. “2 x 2” is seemingly about something profound, but the “1, 2 buckle my shoe” lyric structure takes away from the poignancy, and lazy rhymes like “Three by three, they're turning the key, Four by four, they turn it some more” are kind of inexcusable. There are some highlights, though. “Unbelievable” has some fun word play and a nice feel to it. Interestingly, it is the only track on the album with no guest cameos. “God Knows” is a great song. Was, Dylan and the other musicians have got the sound just right, a cruisin’ Rock n’ Roll tune with a strong chord progression. So why do they fade out seemingly in the middle of the track? Look up the alternate version of this song found on Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs to hear how the song should’ve been. Other standouts include “Handy Dandy” which is a story song similar to the more recent “Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee” and “Cat’s in the Well,” a straight-up blues song that Dylan still pulls out in live performances.
Overall, the reason Under the Red Sky is often forgotten about today is that it’s not bad enough to be hated and not good enough to be interesting. If you ever see a copy in a bargain bin, I would advise you to pick it up and enjoy the stronger tracks on the album. Otherwise, head over to Itunes and purchase “Handy Dandy,” “Unbelievable,” and “Cat’s in the Well.”
Next up: Paul McCartney’s 1986 Press To Play.
I think that one reason this album tends to get lost in the shuffle is the production - Don Was produced, and put a glossy sheen over everything, including Dylan's raspy voice - who even knew such a thing could be possible? The album is all about the cameos, with Elton John, George Harrison, and Slash among the guests in the studio. None of the instrumentation particularly stands out, so I can only imagine that the reason these superstars were included was to generate publicity for the album. If only they had put the effort on showcasing Dylan's songs, the album would've fared much better. Dylan complained after making this album that here were way too many people in the studio, too much going on.
Dylan’s discomfort during these sessions was palpable – Slash complained that Dylan was “really impolite” and that he “didn’t really have a good time” during the recording. Al Kooper, responsible for the legendary organ part on “Like a Rolling Stone,” as well as lots and lots and lots of other stuff during his career, called Under the Red Sky “the hood album” because Dylan wore a sweatshirt with the hood up for the entirety of the sessions and pretty much completely closed himself off. Maybe that is why the arrangements are off; it is hard to say whether the blame should be placed on Was for interpreting the material thusly or Dylan himself, who may have felt pressure to put out another album to quickly follow up the success of Oh Mercy.
Several of the songs are nursery rhyme-ish, explained by critics as being inspired by or written for his then young daughter. “Wiggle Wiggle” is quite reminiscent of the “Wilbury Twist,” if you ask me. The title track could’ve been more interesting if he had used the nursery rhyme motif as a starting point and not sticking to it so much, or maybe if it had been played in the blues style it is written in. “2 x 2” is seemingly about something profound, but the “1, 2 buckle my shoe” lyric structure takes away from the poignancy, and lazy rhymes like “Three by three, they're turning the key, Four by four, they turn it some more” are kind of inexcusable. There are some highlights, though. “Unbelievable” has some fun word play and a nice feel to it. Interestingly, it is the only track on the album with no guest cameos. “God Knows” is a great song. Was, Dylan and the other musicians have got the sound just right, a cruisin’ Rock n’ Roll tune with a strong chord progression. So why do they fade out seemingly in the middle of the track? Look up the alternate version of this song found on Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs to hear how the song should’ve been. Other standouts include “Handy Dandy” which is a story song similar to the more recent “Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee” and “Cat’s in the Well,” a straight-up blues song that Dylan still pulls out in live performances.
Overall, the reason Under the Red Sky is often forgotten about today is that it’s not bad enough to be hated and not good enough to be interesting. If you ever see a copy in a bargain bin, I would advise you to pick it up and enjoy the stronger tracks on the album. Otherwise, head over to Itunes and purchase “Handy Dandy,” “Unbelievable,” and “Cat’s in the Well.”
Next up: Paul McCartney’s 1986 Press To Play.
Thanks Dave! I had never even heard of this album. Looking forward to reading future reviews!
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