Another Side of Bob Dylan
| Another Side of Bob Dylan | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by Bob Dylan | ||||
| Released | August 8, 1964 | |||
| Recorded | June 9, 1964 at Columbia Studios, New York City | |||
| Genre | Folk | |||
| Length | 50:37 | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Tom Wilson | |||
| Bob Dylan chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  |
| AnalogPlanet |
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| Entertainment Weekly | B+ |
| MusicHound |  |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  |
| Sputnikmusic | |
Another Side of Bob Dylan is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 8, 1964 by Columbia Records.
The album deviates from the more socially conscious style which Dylan had developed with his previous LP, The Times They Are A-Changin'. The change prompted criticism from some influential figures in the folk community – Sing Out! editor Irwin Silber complained that Dylan had "somehow lost touch with people" and was caught up in "the paraphernalia of fame".
Despite the album's thematic shift, Dylan performed the entirety of Another Side of Bob Dylan as he had previous records – solo. In addition to his usual acoustic guitar and harmonica, Dylan provides piano on one selection, "Black Crow Blues". Another Side of Bob Dylan reached No. 43 in the US (although it eventually went gold), and peaked at No. 8 on the UK charts in 1965.
Throughout 1963, Dylan worked on a novel and a play. A number of publishers were interested in signing Dylan to a contract, and at one point, City Lights (a small but prestigious company specializing in poetry) was strongly considered. However, as Dylan worked on his book at a casual pace, his manager, Albert Grossman, decided to make a deal with a major publisher.
Macmillan's senior editor, Bob Markel, said, "We gave [Dylan] an advance for an untitled book of writings … The publisher was taking a risk on a young, untested potential phenomenon." When Markel met with Dylan for the first time, "there was no book at the time … The material at that point was hazy, sketchy. The poetry editor called it 'inaccessible.' The symbolism was not easily understood, but on the other hand it was earthy, filled with obscure but marvelous imagery … I felt it had a lot of value and was very different from Dylan's output till then. [But] it was not a book."
It would be years before Dylan finished his book, but the free form poetry experiments that came from it eventually influenced his songwriting. The most notable example came in a six-line coda to a poem responding to President John F. Kennedy's assassination (which took place on November 22, 1963):
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