New Morning

Description

Sublime 1970 Album Among Loosest, Jovial of Dylans Career
The album might have saved Bob Dylans career. At the least, it proved the icon still relevant, and his wits still in tact. And it immediately followed what remains the artists biggest disaster, the yet-unexplained and forever puzzling Self Portrait, a nearly unlistenable attempt that caused many to wonder whether Dylan had lost his mind. If intended as a joke, it bombed, making the sublime New Morning all the more important to restore faith in the singers creativity and song writing prowess. It did all this and more, and stands as his finest studio effort during a five-year span.

Mastered on Mobile Fidelitys world-renowned mastering system and pressed at RTI, this restored analogue version spotlights the open, woozy sound that welcomes wholeheartedly Dylans piano, several eager guitars, female background singers, Al Koopers organ, and snappy drumming into a world of their own. New Morning remains one of Dylans loosest and jovial affairs, the instruments retaining an off-the-cuff sensibility relating to a nightclub atmosphere or live stage feel. On this reissue, notes naturally dangle and fade, allowing the playful vibes and humour to come through like never before. Consequently, the album can be experienced with a new perspective. Wider grooves mean more information reaches your ears.

Many of the songs seem to have been made up on the spot, with confidence in the ability of first-rate musicians to move in any direction at any time, wrote Dylan expert and cultural critic Greil Marcus in his original review for the New York Times. The riffs, inventions, and studio jams of New Morning have their own personalitythe full joy of anticipating the right move and the exhilaration of hitting it square and bouncing off a chord into a new lyric.

These observations hold true today, for the 1970 effort claims a daring flair Dylan rarely exhibited on albums before or since. Enthusiasm and excitement surround his singing, and his work on the 88s underlines the liberating arrangements. Offbeat and eclectic, the record frolics and swings, with the Bard and his crack band pursuing jazzy steps (Sign on the Window), shuffling spoken-word experiments (If Dogs Run Free), and soulful rock (The Man In Me, used to wonderful and prominent effect in the Coen Brothers film The Big Lebowski).

Throughout, Dylans phrasing communicates joyousness and simplicity seemingly carried over from the stripped-down John Wesley Harding and Nashville Skyline. The records dominant sentiments trace to the lead track, If Not For You, one of the singers all-time greatest singles, stitched with country threads and warmth that pervades everything that follows. Yes, New Morning may lack the iconic status of some of Dylans better-known records. Yet the underdog stature makes repeat listens all the more rewarding.