In 1974, Bob Dylan’s status as a legend took a hit. Every album released by this star of the 60s had been listened to, studied and dissected by his peers—whether that be John Lennon, Mick Jagger, Jimi Hendrix, Donovan, Roger McGuinn, Johnny Cash or Neil Young. However, during that year, he was on the brink of becoming a has-been. After releasing three albums that would go on to become synonymous with the 60s (Bringing It All Back Home in 1965, Highway 61 Revisited that same year, and then the epic double-album Blonde on Blonde in 1966), he stunned fans with the excellent John Wesley Harding, a resolutely anti-psychedelic record released in 1967 – a time when the genre was enjoying huge popularity. In 1969, he released the beautiful country-esque Nashville Skyline – an album which set him apart from the mainstream music of the time. It was as if he was consciously distancing himself, both physically and artistically, from the trends of the decade (even moving to Woodstock in the New York countryside). This isn’t to say he became boring by any means; the release of the The Basement Tapes with the Band a few years later proves as much. However, after that, everything seemed to go downhill.
Create a free account to keep reading
