The Optical Files #33: Bob Dylan - Nashville Skyline (1969)

Apparently people were surprised by Nashville Skyline when it came out, but I'm not sure why. The album's sonic & topical direction were telegraphed by his previous record, John Wesley Harding, & in a pop landscape dominated by psychedelia & political messaging, of course the contrarian Dylan would want to make a hard left from the styles he contributed to creating. The cover art tells the tale as well: when was the last time we saw Dylan smiling? On John Wesley Harding it's a half-smile, more of a squinting grimace into the sun, but here he gives a warm, welcoming grin directly into the camera--a clear change from the studied stoicism of the previous 5 records. (Not to mention the rootsy dabbling displayed here is territory Dylan already explored in The Basement Tapes, though the public wouldn't hear that for another 6 years.)

What puzzles me even more is that people seem to regard this album as commercialized. Sure, the songwriting is streamlined, & Dylan sings in a country tenor croon, but that's where the nod to the mainstream ends. Despite the city namechecked in the album title, it sounds nothing like what was coming out of Nashville at the time--no swooning string arrangements, no rhinestone suit shimmering. The production by longtime collaborator Bob Johnston is earthy & honest, with a warts-&-all aesthetic that predicts Blood on the Tracks 6 years later. The album's overall sound mirrors the simple warmth of the cover photo. Nashville Skyline's songs are deliberate throwbacks, & Dylan's new vocal approach is more in service of those antique styles than a stab at the pop charts.

The benefit of hindsight surely helps in this assessment. Though I don't think Dylan needed to explain himself, apparently he thought he did, since he devotes the opening 2 tracks to announcing his artistic intention. The self-cover of "Girl from the North Country" turns his keening, Celtic-inflected folk lament into a mournful country duet with Johnny Cash. Following this gesture toward revising his legacy is "Nashville Skyline Rag," an instrumental response to critics who complained that Dylan was all about lyrics. The harmonica, steel guitar & barrelhouse piano speak eloquently of Dylan's tribute to the pre-rock era of hillbilly music. Other obvious throwbacks are "Peggy Day," "One More Night" (my favorite song on the record & a clear attempt to write like Hank Williams Sr.), & the rockabilly ruckus of "Country Pie" with its fiery electric guitar leads. Speaking of musicianship, the instrumental star of this album is the electric bass playing of Charlie Daniels (yes, that one), whom Johnston must have liked enough to crank way up in the mix, & makes a meal out of songs like "To Be Alone With You" & "One More Night."

It sounds weird to say about one of the most influential songwriters of the 20th century, but Dylan has always been an artist in search of an identity. The weight of his talent left a mark wherever he landed, but the restless self-searching ensured continual realignment & he tried on personas like Stetson hats. Urban folkie, old bluesman, hip art rocker, born-again Christian, dour poet, & for a brief while, rustic crooner. That was a lovely little period, & this is a lovely little record.