Dylan Goes Country with Nashville Skyline - Discovering Bob Dylan, Ep. 11

We've reached the end of Dylan's decade of dominance. The 60s are coming to a close and ...
Bob Dylan's gone country?!
And he's got a weird new voice.
After finishing up John Wesley Harding, Bob took it easy for a while. When the writing bug hit him again, he went back to Nashville, surrounded himself with a crack band and churned out a brisk, under-30 minute country album.
It was a hit, and it helped knock down doors for other country artists in the notoriously conservative Nashville scene.
Is there anything this guy couldn't do?
But will Joe be charmed by this happy, content, countryfied Bob Dylan? Or will the losing streak continue?
Find out by watching this video.
Do you like Nashville Skyline? Do you think it's a fitting cap on a decade of brilliance from Mr. Dylan?
Then leave your comments.
Thanks for watching!

[@chrisdelisle3954]

I don't view "Nashville Skyline" as a "genre exercise." I think Dylan genuinely loved country music and genuinely wanted to put a country album out. It's definitely a Top 10 Dylan album for me.

[@thetrevorosborne]

just wish the album was a couple of songs longer but its a album have a real soft spot for

[@matthewzuckerman6267]

It's interesting that the standard view of Dylan is that he went from folk and blues to rock, then country, then gospel and then ended up doing Sinatra-style ballads. Actually, he started out as a kid listening to those ballads (first public performance singing Bing Crosby's Accentuate the Positive), then got into country, then rock & roll, blues and gospel, and finally when he went to college, folk music.

[@seanjockel43]

Although he didn't perform Kris Kristofferson was at some of the sessions. Before he was "discovered" Kris was the janitor at the studio. When they were recording Lay Lady Lay drummer Ken Butry was at a loss for how he wanted to arrange the drums. He asked Bob for his opinion and bob replied. "I hear Bongos" Ken thought it was ridiculous but agreed to do it so Bob could hear how bad it was. Since Bob didn't want to overdub Kenny would have to switch between his kit and the bongos so he asked Kris to hold the bongos. Ken then admitted Bob was right. The Bongos fit perfectly

[@slumdogjay]

It’s a great album to chill out to with a beer or 3.🙂

[@stefano.b65stef77]

Hi guys, Nashville skyline is in my top Bob Dylan albums, i like his voice on this album, very unique. I also love bootleg series with Johnny Cash contribution

[@MartinLindnerDigital]

Easy to agree this time: NS is charming and lightweight. No wonder that Joe is loving it - it is not driven by strange lyrics and phrasing. It is stuff for the radio. Inspired by your series, I really listened very closely to it, the first time ever I think. Now that I'm getting old, I can appreciate the subtle quality better. The songs are clever, but still have soul, also the "country voice" works surprisingly well, i like it, although I still I wish he had chosen the less unpersonal new morning voice. I agree that (again) the music playing is great. I don't even think the music itself feels like "real country", it sounds better in my ears, more loose, fresh and playful. I think you never said something about the surprising quality of the semi-improvised music Dylan's idiosyncratic session leadership had consistently brought out of all his band collaborators, until 1980 at least. It never sounds like other people's records. Still it is lightweight, compared with the minimalistic and enigmatic JWH, and also with the peculiar country rock-ish style of New Morning. I'm now looking forward to Self Portrait, which I always had found boring and without any artistic direction. I will try to bring myself to listening really closely to it this time.

[@winteriscoming6384]

Always loved those out of key harmonies on Girl From the North Country! Skyline Rag is probably a better opener tho

[@Classy-Rick]

Ah man Joe, I can’t believe what you said about Girl From the North Country. That track is fantastic and the best on the record 😭. It’s messy but that’s where the soul comes in

[@jaredmorrison8629]

Totally agree, best song on the album

[@3bwana]

Perhaps going against the grain of consensus but Nashville Skyline has always been my favorite Dylan Lp with Blood on The Tracks coming in a close second. As much as I love the classic trio of sixties Lp there’s something extremely charming, romantic and comforting about this final Lp of the sixties, a lot of my love for this Lp is based on ‘Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You’ is my favorite Dylan tune of all time. Just a beautiful record in it’s simplicity

[@canadianstudmuffin]

Excellent discussion as always!

[@jupitermadcat]

I just got tickets to see him next month. I’m not a hard core fan but I realize his influence and importance in music. I’m actually excited!

[@matthewzuckerman6267]

He'll probably be singing mainly new songs, with a few drastically rearranged older ones and none of the classics. Wonderful concerts but not nostalgia fests. Hope you enjoy it!

[@50l12]

Thinking about Dylan's own mythology in Americana, country suits and compliments his songwriting . Tonight I'll be staying here with you is a classic

[@Alan-gx8gf]

I Love that Country Pie , I have seen Dylan over 20 times Live ! ☺

[@MikeVernonProd]

Self Portrait is going to be rough on Joe…but I hope you consider listening to Bootleg 10: Another Self Portrait, one of the best of the bootleg series; it not only improves on the album tracks by removing the string/horn overdubs, it includes a number of outtakes (Pretty Saro, This Evening So Soon, Tattle O Day, Railroad Bill) that should’ve made the album over stuff like ‘The Boxer’ and ‘Woogie Boogie’

[@PhilSmithRHR]

I also saw Bob play Country Pie in 2000. I don’t think anybody was expecting that!

[@jamesegan2742]

Always great to have this series back! No big surprise…I love Nashville Skyline…only complaint/regret is, as Joe noted, that it’s too short. The length might bring it to a 4.5, but for pure listening experience and personal joy/repeated playing, it’s a 5 star album for me. I love each of the songs, as Dylan deliberately challenged himself to do shorter, simple, focused songs in the classic moon/June/spoon rhyming scheme…and came up trumps! Love the voice, the sound, the comfort of the whole album…even the sloppy drunken “duet” with Cash is cool. I Threw it All Away is fantastic (first heard that from Elvis Costello’s cover version, and thought it was a great song). So many riches here, just a pleasure beginning to end. Some fun facts here. Lay Lady Lay was originally supposed to be for the film Midnight Cowboy, but Dylan handed it in too late, so they went with Nilsson’s cover of Everybody’s Talking. And Nashville Skyline was Dylan’s best selling album of the Sixties by the end of the decade…a huge artistic gamble that paid off. What an artist, no wonder we love him! Thx and cheers, JPE

[@curly_wyn]

Maybe my favorite country album ever, either that or Gilded Palace of Sin. Great end of the 60s for Dylan!

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Dylan loved Gilded Palace of Sin. - Joe

[@amitytracks]

Been enjoying this series. Love this record, and I generally agree with your assessments. While I love the idea of Bob and Johnny together on a tune, this one sounds a bit awkward. But much of the rest of the record is simple and beautiful and I like Bob's croon.

[@srmcclellen]

I absolutely love the North Country track. However, I agree it doesn’t belong on the album. Essentially it’s a bonus track but put up front as through Johnny Cash was introducing Dylan the country man to a new audience.

[@ShaneJamesBordas]

Although I'm still wounded by the tepid response to John Wesley Harding (one of my faves - you guys should both revisit it!), I'm happy to see the appreciation return with this lovely, if lesser, work.

[@1feloniouspunk]

Love this vid, and so excited for the next vid!!! Self portrait is one of my faves!

[@chrisdelisle3954]

Joe, glad you enjoyed it! I knew you would. Now...the early 70's. New Morning is pretty damn good. Self Portrait...well...

[@MikeVernonProd]

Nashville Skyline is one of Bob’s albums that whenever I listen to it, I always get a smile on my face. I think it’s among his most accessible. And it’s probably one of my most played Dylan albums. It is certainly not among his most interesting albums lyrically, but melodically it is dynamite. I also think it is one of his best produced albums, along with New Morning, and Slow Train Coming. It also gets a 5 out of 5 from me.

[@PabloReyesVelasco]

I hope we don't lose Joe with 'Self Portrait' 😅

[@ClubCatJohnKite]

I've always felt that Girl From the North Country doesn't feel right on the album. I LOVE the original. And in the context of the rest of the Johnny Cash / Bob Dylan songs, it would fit in. But, the rest of the album is just delightful. I don't always agree with you, Joe, but this time you are right on!

[@oppothumbs1]

I only really know 3 songs from this fine album. Bob has stopped smoking and his voice was better even with it's cocaine drip. Girl From the North Country could be the best track on the album, pairing Cash and Dylan. This song is much better than Bob on Freewheelin. The "True Love of Mine" at the end is beautiful and moving. I saw a video of Dylan and Johnny on Johnny's tv show and it was one great duet that made me pretty emotional. They took that amazing video down. John and Bob were so relaxed and cool. I always liked Johnny's vocal but he never wrote a great song. I've searched enough; the search is over. Lay Lady Lay is great. I Threw it All Away is great. I really don't know the rest well enough 4.5. Even though at least 2 of the 3 great songs were plagiarized to some degree.

[@asmundgjystdal4204]

At one time I had Nashville Skyline in my top 5 Dylan albums. It is not there anymore, but still a great album. "I Threw it All Away" and "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You" are the highlights on here, even though I prefer the Hard Rain live version of the former, and the Bootleg Series vol. 5: The Rolling Thunder Revue live version of the second

[@HeyFella]

Might be his most consistently warm, tender, and melodic record of the 60’s. The voice change really suites the style. It’s not lyrically or instrumentally that complex relatively, but it doesn’t need to be. It’s so pure.

[@tonyajm8289]

The original ' GFNC' is one of my favourites, so I agree with that. New Morning is one of my favourite albums, so I am fascinated to see that episode.

[@kevtruth]

I own 2 different versions Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You - Nashville Skyline and The Jeff Beck Group (Orange album). Great Dylan album and good show fellas

[@gregdale1066]

if theres one thing the cd age taught me with the " we have the room, throw it on there " mantra... leave them wanting more : )

[@gregdale1066]

P.S. That bootleg series featuring this era has a disc of Johnny and Dylan playing together. It's mostly meh.. it doesn't really ever click. Bob is being reverent to Cash imo and they are just barreling through tunes that they both sorta know . Anyway, it's a cool meeting but does not bare much fruit.

[@JackCerro]

I don't know why I didn't know Norman Blake was playing on this album.

[@srenkaarepetersen9034]

I love Bob's different voice on this album, an excellent album, easy to get into. ​

[@jupitermadcat]

My favorite Bob Dylan album

[@adamrichman6105]

Bob’s voice on this actually sounds good!

[@bobvanvoorhis1542]

I'm picky about Dylan albums, but Nashville Skyline is a favorite.

[@waynekvetkosky2572]

I'm looking forward to "Self Portrait" review as I even like the outtakes from this period from "Another Self Portrait". I like Johnny Cash and I like "the girl from the north country fair" so i liked the duet although it may have been misplaced on the album but it does bring some authenicity to the Nashville gig.

[@collinmurr3207]

I really enjoy Nashville Skyline. I'm surprised how many people don't like the Girl from the North Country duet, which is I think is a really warm track that sets the tone for the album nicely. There's nothing on here that I dislike, and it's a nice easy listen all the way through. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You, One More Night, and I Threw It All Away are all particularly lovely. I love the trilogy of John Wesley Harding-Nashville Skyline-New Morning, and while is my #3 of the trilogy, it's only because I love the others so much.

[@nicolepisa26]

This is my favorite Dylan record and I was so scared for Joe’s opinion lol…but what broke me was track 1 being your least favorite 😭 It’s my favorite on the album😅. I think I just like the rawness of it. But glad he enjoyed it overall.

[@drewhughes9127]

Definitely top 10 favorite Dylan records. It’s one of the few that took a bit to come around on because how used to the classic Dylan voice I love. But I adore it now. The only complaint is that it’s too short. My absolute favorite track is “Tell Me It Isn’t True” with “Lay, Lady, Lay”, “To Be Alone With You”, and “Country Pie” in competition for 2nd, depending on the day. And while I understand the weakness of “The Girl From The North Country (With Johnny Cash)”, I do think it’s at least nice and grew on me. The only weaker track for me is “Peggy Day” and that’s only because it’s the one I forgot the most on the record. I just love it when Bob Dylan just vibes and makes beautiful music (which I know at least 25 I can’t live without lol).

[@xvx5872]

See, all I was trying to do with my other comments here... Was to try to get you to realize, that both albums are about on the same level. Level of quality, you see. I realize, that it isn't of any importance however. Basically, it'd be like saying sgt. pepper is great, and magical mystery tour is aweful.

[@edhart8583]

Once you two are done with this series you will have to do a worst to best album revisit with Jason. And include the basement tapes.

[@tylerhackner9731]

I like this album a lot

[@Yakaru1]

Very surprised (positively) by Joe's ranking of this album. Eyebrows indeed! Listening to it again (after 20 years, when I listened to it a lot), I'm not as surprised by it as I was at first. (I was still expecting a direct line of continuity from the Everest-like great three albums of the mid-60s.) Insted, I was struck by how timeless it felt. Just like with JWH, this is timeless. I imagine if one heard it without knowing when it was recorded or by whom, the person would never guess late 1960s, or Dylan.

[@jedikiah1541]

I think it is a rather bare album - perhaps his least substantial up to that point. It is not in the same league as John Wesley Harding. The highlights are fabulous - "Lay, Lady Lay", "I Threw It All Away", "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You" - the others are pleasant, but not a lot more. 3 stars.

[@michelewiese48]

Joe, maybe you’d enjoy Muzz’s cover of “Girl From the North Country” more.. haha.. you’ll either like it or have even more disdain for Paul Banks’ vocals 🤣 My goodness I just can’t believe that is your least favorite song on Nashville Skyline! It’s so sweet & romantic. I’m truly flabbergasted.

[@oppothumbs1]

Neither liked the duo singing Girl from the North Country. It seems the camaraderie and singing of Bob and Johnny is "forced." They think the near-tearful nostalgia of lost love should be Muzz-led.

[@michelewiese48]

@@oppothumbs1 👏😊

[@edwardmeradith2419]

The last verse of “Girl from the north country” sinks it. It was taking on water earlier, but when Johnny and Bob go for a unison note together but end up almost a quarter step apart, I’m out. “I threw it all away” is sublime however, “tonight I’ll be staying here with you” almost as good.

[@PartTimeBuddhist]

To me, the album's "thesis statement" is "I Threw It All Away." Yes, people tend to read too much into every single freaking Dylan lyric, but honestly, on "I Threw It All Away," I feel like he was kind of having a philosophical moment and not merely singing about some girl he lost. As brilliant as earlier Dylan was, he was also kind of an ... arrogant asshole? But to hear the same guy who sang "You just kind of wasted my precious time" to suddenly sing something as potentially corny as "Love is all there is, it makes the world go round/Love and only love, it can't be denied/No matter what you think about it, you just can't do without it/Take a tip from one who's tried" isn't just shocking but sort of moving. In my mind, I pair Nashville Skyline with McCartney's solo debut: albums that seem slight to a lot of fans but strike me as quite personal and intimate in between the cracks. The '60s? Good riddance!

[@dylanseveymusic]

Love love love the parallel to McCartney’s album. And agree with all of your points.

[@monster900900]

good review guys ,, ahh seventies dylan ,, my favorite bob decade ,, not the best of starts with self portrait ,, but some excellent tracks on the horizon :))

[@calummcgregor3662]

Cool video again ... all comments "on point: ... re Self Portrait don't just constrain yourself to the original release ... do condider the "full fat" version from the Bootleg Series ... lots to consider there! ... oh, and it's "doff your cap" ... CMcG, Aberdeen, Scotland ...

[@SamNitzberg]

At the time, having Johnny Cash on a Dylan album was a MAJOR statement. Counter-culture icon invites a country music (viewed at that time by the counter-culture as inhabited by nothing but right-wing racists) star onto his album. It was a BIG deal.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Yeah we got into how big that was for country rock and how rock and roll was viewed amongst the Nashvillians. - Joe

[@SamNitzberg]

@TastesLikeMusic Yup, heard that. It was clearly a case where people reacted with a "well, if it's okay for Bob Dylan to like country, then I guess I can too." He open their minds. Again.

[@ronreynolds1610]

I feel JWH is amazing , considering Dylan's life seemed to be on a collision course prior to its creation. Whatever saved him I believe, is somehow in the songs of JWH..... he wanted a ''New'' Bob Dylan as he is seen saying during the tour in 1966 .

[@djtforever1414]

Yeah, i haven't listened to Self Portrait in years. It may have aged well.

[@TastesLikeMusic]

It didn't. - Jason

[@johnlefsky8731]

I always liked a couple of Self Portrait tunes but the Bootleg Series version is far superior.. I hope the guys refer to it on the next video. At the very least they should do an extended episode, or two, going over the Bootleg Series.

[@spencerdobkin9479]

It's a good album but probably not top 10 for me. A few tracks I like a lot : North Country (agree def not as good as the Freewheelin' one), Threw it all Away, Tell me it isn't true and Tonight i'll be Staying Here With You.

[@dtchinacat3973]

Nashville Skyline is ok, I actually prefer John Wesley Hardin!

[@maggiebryan2355]

❤❤❤

[@painless465]

The Bootleg Series Another Self Portrait is actually quite is actually quite good

[@painless465]

After the brilliant , interesting and cryptic songwriting on JWH, NS is disappointingly lightweight for my taste. It has it's charms but it is the weakest of his releases to this point. Unfortunately, the next one is even worse. But don't worry, he would rebound in a big way...

[@3bwana]

The Girl From the North Country duet remake is also my least favorite moment on the record being that I’m not much of a Johnny Cash fan however I like that it’s got out of the way early on and it’s actually grown on me a bit more over the years. The record also became a favorite early on for me based on the great Lay Lady Lay single that I grew up hearing on the radio, probably heard it on the radio more than any other Dylan single

[@greigmartin4339]

Agreed on the Girl from the North Country 100%. The harmonising at the end is so horrendous I almost had to open a window. There’s too much filler and too short a record for the handful of great songs to lift it above 3.5 stars.

[@xvx5872]

Either you like him or you don't. I say.

[@aronpolasek4506]

“Self Portrait” will be an interesting episode for sure. In the end, I think the hodgepodgeness of the official release will not sit well with Joe. That said, the “Another Self Portrait” Bootleg Series casts that period and many of the songs in an entirely different light. To me that is one of the more essential Bootleg Series entries.

[@DeanJonasson]

I second the emotion!

[@neiltheblaze]

Back in the day, I thought Dylan had gone senile when I heard "Skyline". I dismissed it as a genre-hopping lost weekend. (I was 17 and was a big "Highway 61" fan, so to my mind, he'd lost his way, if not his addled marbles altogether). Then awhile later I heard it again post -"Self Portrait" and liked it a whole lot better. Behold the power of comparison. I still thought it was square shit-kicker music, but at least it was together.

[@179rich]

Nashville Skyline is an excellent album in my book. The vocals keep it from 5 stars though. 4.5.

[@SpaceCattttt]

The album cover gets a 5 from me, though. I'm not gay, but Bob never looked more handsome than he does in that picture. And that guitar!!

[@xvx5872]

Ight, here's the deal , here's the deal: Are you sure that you like this one, and dislike self portrait? If, you combined the tracks from each album into a playlist. And randomized the tracks... And listened to it. I think you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. (no one could) Would you be able to tell the difference in quality between both albums?

[@TastesLikeMusic]

… that’s just madness. - Joe

[@xvx5872]

@@TastesLikeMusic And, I aint saying that nashvile skyline is bad. It's just, if you like one of those albums or you dislike one of the albums. You should then like or dislike the other album equally. Why? Because the main reason why folks hate SP is because it's cover songs and therefore lack Dylan lyrics. Thing is though, where was the lyrical genius on that album? Nowhere.

[@DeanJonasson]

I'm afraid this is the beginning of Dylan's problematic period. Though this album has a handful of classics, it's got as many mediocre songs and even a couple of dogs. The sloppy "Girl From The North Country" is a harbinger: the kind of willful error in judgement that Dylan will be guilty of next album. NASHVILLE SKYLINE barely breaks the 27-minute mark, perhaps indicating a drought of sustained inspiration. That said, the all performances (except the lead-off cut) are terrific and Dylan's smokeless voice carries a lot of charm. The production sounds both professional and warm. There's lots of variety in the arrangements so even when choruses get recycled ("One More Night" and "Tonight I'll Be Staying..."), my ears are happy. The percussion on "Lay Lady Lay" is Ken Buttrey's fluke: he'd asked Dylan and producer what kind of percussion they wanted. Dylan said "bongos" and Johnston thought "cowbells". To prove them wrong, Buttrey went with both (getting Kris Kristofferson to hold one in each hand) and improvised the beat on the first take. Happy accident. "Country Pie" is fun and, like Joe, I wish it hadn't faded out so quickly. Fairport Convention do a great version, if you can find it. NASHVILLE SKYLINE has an inviting cover: no words, just a happy guy with a guitar doffing his hat! Wait 'til you see his face next album! Great job, guys!

[@3bwana]

Also just an aside about ‘Lay Lady Lay’ being that he actually composed it for Barbara Streisand

[@TastesLikeMusic]

Babs!

[@DeanJonasson]

Never heard that one before. I'd read that Dylan was writing it for the movie MIDNIGHT COWBOY but ran out of time.

[@3bwana]

Both are true

[@edward8597]

I used to hate how slight "Nashville Skyline" is. It's all about simple pleasures, and I didn't want that. But I get that Bob was sick of the burden of Being Bob, and just bashing out music he likes was probably really therapeutic for him. "Self Portrait" takes that to wilful extremes, but in many ways it *is* a continuation of what he started with "Nashville Skyline". And "All the Tired Horses" is an almost-genius subversion of what people expected from Bob Dylan ("Wigwam" as well).

[@LarsPop-Tartus]

Girl from the North Country if anything should have closed the album imho

[@kenkaplan3654]

To be honest, I never listened to it much at all. The last thing I wanted from Bob Dylan was a crooner. I appreciate your perspectives, can understand why Dylan went this way. perhaps needed to go this way, and I can appreciate Kristofferson's comments, but it doesn't mean I'm going to get into this one. He really, really did not find his voice again until Blood on the Tracks. (Sorry New Morning- a desperate attempt to be relevant after trying to tank your career with Self Portrait, although I agree the bootleg stuff makes it better.)

[@dylanseveymusic]

Oh boy, are we going to have some disagreements.

[@1rwjwith]

I mostly agree with Joe on his opinions on this LP…he may like it more than I do! When I first heard LAY LADY LAY when it came out, I thought it was totally bizarre, the voice even the lyrics seems odd but it is definitely the class song of the album. The songs are way more conventional than most of his previous work, so folks can be forgiven for it throwing us off! The classics besides LADY are I Threw It All Away and Tonight I will be staying Here….Anyway you are getting evangelized by a Dylan zealot named Dylan! Joe don’t be afraid to NOT LIKE ANY OF THE FORTHCOMING ALBUMS! Dylan here is such a zealot …well I am a lifelong BOB fan but he is close to worship…NASHVILLE SKYLINE GETS A 4 from me. Its not my favorite period…but there is a great record , after self portrait coming up😁

[@independenceltd.]

you know, if it takes 11 episodes to decide whether u like dylan or not..

[@Vanessa.P]

I figured Joe had to like this one upon a revisit! I love the "Girl From North Country" duet but it was strangely a bit of a Bob Dylan gateway song for me. Growing up I wasn't so sure about him but I had that song on a Johnny Cash compilation and really got into it which was the beginning of me warming up to him so it always has that memory attached to it. I think it's charming. Really enjoy this album overall, always a good listen.

[@user-sy3wj3dx8p]

I agree with Joe, the original Girl From the North Country is 500% better than this version

[@echosmyron1278]

I’ve never really had a problem with Dylan’s voice (my main problem has always been the repetitive songwriting), but it is a bit annoying on this album. At just 26 minutes, it also feels incomplete.

[@SpaceCattttt]

Some good songs on this one.......but they're ruined by Dylan's bizarre vocals. "Lay Lady Lay", for example, is MUCH better live, as can be heard on the unfairly underrated Hard Rain, where Dylan is screaming against the elements (both literally and to his wife).

[@ykmgeedee]

Not bad but this ep my least fave up to now (bar set ridiculously high) as I miss the fascinating lyrics. I know he held Johnny Cash in high regard but Girl From the North Country- yeesh.

[@kensilverstone1656]

Dylan and Cash were not in harmony on a Dylan song that otherwise would be beautiful.