1966 ORIG BOB DYLAN BLONDE ON BLONDE Folk psych TOP

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  ORIGINAL STEREO 360 Sound Columbia !!

           BLONDE ON BLONDE

\                     USA - 360 Sound Columbia - C2S 841  STEREO

>>>The uncensored females photos are on the gatefold's inside.

Original 1966 first pressing 2LP vinyl in thick gatefold cover... the STEREO collectible, the vinyl records are clean (see details below)...the sought after stereo release offers great speaker sound separation - different from the mono issue.

Something about this album is difficult to define. It is the finale of Dylan’s unofficial trilogy of  studio albums (Alongside Bringing It All Back Home and Highway 61 Revisited) recorded in barely over a year, from March ’65-May ’66 that established him as an electric rock and roll artist branching away from the folk community.

One thing that instantly sets this album apart from the others in the “trilogy” is its length. The only double album of the bunch, clocking in at a whopping seventy-one minutes, it easily towers over single albums Bringing It All Back Home (Forty-seven minutes) and Highway 61 Revisited (Fifty-one minutes). Because of this it may be easy to that it is brim with filler, but this is not the case. There is no real filler, just songs that are lesser than others.

Blonde on Blonde opens with “Rainy Day Women #12 and #35”,  which is far from his best lyrically,  but is lots of fun with its dual meaning chorus “Everybody must get stoned”, wedged between studio members laughing. This leads into “Pledging My Time”, a bluesy number which is not hugely interesting musically, but certainly appealing with almost universally relatable lines such as “Well, early in the mornin', Til late at night, I got a poison head ache, But I feel all right.” All of this builds up to the seven minute “Visions of Johanna”, a long winding lyrical masterpiece that is perhaps the best thing Dylan ever did. Side 1 then closes with “One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)”, which is a bit of a grower. Upon first listen it may seem long-winded and somewhat boring, but at a certain point its raw honesty and emotion seem to fit in perfectly with its slow pace, revealing a fantastic song.

Side two is the highlight of the album. Although the best song (“Visions of Johanna”) lies on side one, side two has the best flow of songs. It opens with “I Want You”, a short and sweet ode of an unconventional love (Or lust?). This is immediately followed by “Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again”, another lyrically brilliant seven minute song most likely written as an expression of Dylan’s disillusionment with being in between the folk and electric communities. Side two’s penultimate track, “Leopard-Skin-Pillbox-Hat”, another grower, which is speculated to be about everything from the titular hat to Edie Sedgwick, an actress and model associated with the Warhol factory. Interestingly enough, the following song “Just Like A Woman” was supposedly inspired by Edie Sedgwick. “Just Like A Woman” is a fantastic song and side closer both musically and lyrically.

Side 3 is possibly the weakest side, but this is not to say that it is in anyway of poor quality. The highlight is “4th Time Around”, a fairly nostalgic reflection on a young romance occasionally seen as a reference to The Beatles’ “Norwegian Wood”. The issue with this side seems to be that it’s simply just a bit lacking compared to the others. There’s no seven minute, long winding metaphorical journeys like “Johanna” or “Stuck Inside of Mobile”. Most of the appeal here is more musical than lyrical, which is fine, but when listening to Dylan you can expect to find some lyrical brilliance.

Side four consists of the lone eleven-minute ode to Dylan’s then wife Sara Lownds “Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands”, which was publicly acknowledged to be about Sara in Dylan’s ’76 song “Sara”. Like most of the album, it has a somewhat slow melody and beautiful, brilliant, and surreal lyrics.

While its length may be a deter to it at times, Blonde on Blonde is, on the whole, a brilliant effort from Mr. Dylan and among his very best. Blonde on Blonde-Approved!

CONDITION: The cover: the thick gatefold cover is solid and strong, VG+ with some light shelf wear but not much, light on back cover, less on front, so pretty decent ...the seams are strong, no bends, no writing ...very collectible original 60's Columbia 360 Sound label...

The vinyl: the 2 Lp's (all 4 sides) are surprisingly clean near "EX" (excellent) to M- the first thing you notice is how clean the vinyl sides look. The 360 Sound labels are also clean. TOP COLLECTIBLE LANDMARK ALBUM ...

      A cool addition to anyone's music library!

SEE: SELLERS OTher items for similar cool sounds for "head" people...

EFFICIENT/CAREFUL GRADING

All imperfections are noted both cover & record