John Wesley Harding＜White Vinyl/完全生産限定盤＞

ボブ・ディラン 1967年発売 『John Wesley Harding』のアナログ盤(カラー・ヴァイナル)

1967年度作品。バイク事故の後、ウッドストックに引き篭もり、約二年ぶりの発表となった作品。今作で描かれた詩の世界は、より短く簡潔になり深みを増したが、大きく異なったのはフォーク・ロック・スタイルからシンプルなアコースティック・サウンドとなった事だった。前作同様ナッシュビルでのレコーディング。ディランのアコースティック・ギターにベース、ドラムという3人編成が基本でセッションミュージシャンが加わりレコーディング。ジミ・ヘンの名演で知られる「見張塔からずっと」を収録。

Bob Dylan returned from exile with John Wesley Harding, a quiet, country-tinged album that split dramatically from his previous three. A calm, reflective album, John Wesley Harding strips away all of the wilder tendencies of Dylan's rock albums -- even the then-unreleased Basement Tapes he made the previous year -- but it isn't a return to his folk roots. If anything, the album is his first serious foray into country, but only a handful of songs, such as "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight," are straight country songs. Instead, John Wesley Harding is informed by the rustic sound of country, as well as many rural myths, with seemingly simple songs like "All Along the Watchtower," "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine," and "The Wicked Messenger" revealing several layers of meaning with repeated plays. Although the lyrics are somewhat enigmatic, the music is simple, direct, and melodic, providing a touchstone for the country-rock revolution that swept through rock in the late '60s. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine