Track Listing

1. Subterranean Homesick Blues
2. She Belongs to Me
3. Maggie's Farm
4. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
5. Outlaw Blues
6. On the Road Again
7. Bob Dylan's 115th Dream
8. Mr. Tambourine Man
9. Gates of Eden
10. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
11. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5962 in Music
• Released on: 2004-06-01
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered

Amazon.com
"You sound like you're having a good old time," a purist Dylan fan is spotted telling the artist in the documentary Don't Look Back just after the release of this, his first (half-)electric album. He certainly does. Updating Chicago blues forms with hilarious, tough lyrics--in fact, all but stealing the meter of Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business" for "Subterranean Homesick Blues"--on one side, dropping some of his most devastating solo acoustic science ("It's All Over Now, Baby Blue," "Mr. Tambourine Man") on the other, the first of Dylan's two 1965 long-players broke it right down with style, substance, and elegance. --Rickey Wright

Customer Reviews

Dylan's signature LP
By the time of this 1965 release, Dylan had already proven himself a lyrical master and a new legend in the folk universe. With his electrified performance at the Newport Folk Festival, and this half-electric/half-acoustic LP, he showed that he was not only far from done with pushing the envelope, but that he'd really only begun. In particular, his music and subject matter were now catching up to his revolutionary words and lyrical structures.

The album opens full-bore with the blistering word-puzzle "Subterranean Homesick Blues." Backed by a vamping electric blues band Dylan is at once a protesting outsider, a sardonic social critic, and a free-associating poet. It stands on it's own as an incredible piece of rock music, but as the introduction to Dylan's fifth LP it was something of a warning shot. The electric blues return for the near-rockabilly arrangement of "Maggie's Blues" and a Chuck Berry (ala "Memphis") styled "Outlaw Blues." In between, Dylan crafted extraordinary ballads, including the acidic "She Belongs to Me" and one of his best-ever love songs, "Love Minus Zero/No Limit."

Side two (tracks 7-11) retreats to mostly acoustic presentations, but even here Dylan expanded upon his earlier work with surreal stories like "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" and the poetic folk-rock standard "Mr. Tambourine Man." The latter stretches to over 5-1/2 minutes and includes a trio of verses dropped by The Byrds in their hit cover. One of the album's most effective cuts is the 7-1/2 minute "It's Alright Ma, I'm Only Bleeding," a song Dylan had been performing live for several months before recording it. Though recorded with only an acoustic guitar, the venomous lyrics spare no target in their criticism, providing as much fire as any of the electric tunes on side one.

All in all, this is as good a portrait of Dylan's inventions as can be found. It's a showcase for his brilliant writing, his evolving musical exposition and his ability to parlay his unconventional voice into some of the world's most expressive and effective vocals.

Bob Dylan: At His Best
Long having denied the implication that he created the folk-rock genre, rather giving the credit to Gene Clark of The Byrds, this release by the Bard from Hibbing would undoubtedly serve as the cornerstone of folk-rock through the ages! "Bringing It All Back Home" continues Dylan's introspection from "Another Side Of Bob Dylan" while adding electric instruments to the mix (a fact that, for some reason, would be acceptable to fans on record but not live at Newport). Here, Dylan can be at his most romantic one minute, with the Baez-inspired "Love Minus Zero / No Limit" or "She Belongs To Me," and simultaneously prophetic and surreal the next!

Introducing classics like "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and "Maggie's Farm" alongside concert stalwarts "Gates Of Eden" and "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," this release would be the first of a trilogy ended all too soon by Dylan's supposed "motorpsycho nitemare." The other two albums in this trilogy are, of course, "Highway 61 Revisited" and the double-disc "Blonde On Blonde."

Many will say that this is Dylan at his finest, placing the artist into an uncomfortable categorization or time capsule, but he would continue to produce highly creative and innovative work both with The Band and The Traveling Wilburys, as well as via his solo career throughout the 1970's and 80's. "Bringing It All Back Home" merely brings folk-rock to the forefront, introduces his audience to "Another Side Of Bob Dylan," and provides some excellent entertainment for the unsuspecting yet open-minded listener.

Historical and Brilliant
This is a brilliant album: wonderful songs, beautifully executed. This can't be said for all Dylan albums.

It's easy to overlook, 42 years later, how original this material was when it came out. It was in the months leading up to this album's creation that the Beatles motivated Dylan to move on from his acoustic-folk music, and he motivated the Beatles to move on from their "Twist and Shout" type crap. They moved on to "Revolver" and "Sgt Pepper" and became a brilliant studio-only band, and Dylan moved on to "Highway 61" and "Blond on Blonde" and became an icon. It can be said that this album marked the beginning of modern rock music.

"She Belongs to Me" and "Love Minus Zero" are wonderful love songs; "On the Road Again" and "Dylan's 115th Dream" are hilarious satires; and "Gates of Eden" and "It's alright Ma" are dark, deep cynical masterpieces. How could a 23 year-old put all this together on one album?

People who have been introduced to Dylan by "Time out of Mind" and later material have no idea what a voice he used to have. It has never sounded as good as it does here, especially "It's all Over Now, Baby Blue". I will never get tired of this song.

I have a big part of Dylans output and I think this CD showcases his voice and his songwriting best. "Highway 61" has a kind of garage-band sound that you have to be in the mood for, and "Blonde on Blonde" has a bit of filler, but "Bringing it all Back Home" has no weaknesses.

Critics have been trying to interpret the songs on this album for over 40 years now, especially "It's all Right Ma" and "Gates of Eden", attaching huge significance to words that Dylan himself chose simply because they rhymed. He wasn't trying to change the world; he was just trying to write songs people would enjoy.

So get this CD and enjoy it - there isn't a weak song on it. Make sure you get the digitally re-mastered version, released in '03 - the sound is much better than on the older analog CD (ADD vs AAD). Look for the date on the back.