In addition to penning the album’s liner notes, Johnny Cash also features as a guest on opening track “Girl From the North Country”, a song that originally appeared on Dylan’s second album The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. This album’s rendition certainly doesn’t eclipse the original but it does offer a slightly different take on the song that makes what some might consider a needless rehash, an interesting remake. The combination of Dylan’s new-found gentle croon and the unmistakable voice of Johnny Cash works surprisingly well, whilst musically the song has a warmer feel to it than the original which works in its favour, especially within the context of the rest of the album which has a similarly warm atmosphere throughout. Despite the unavoidable, niggling query as to why a songwriter of Dylan’s pedigree would open an album with a remake of a previously released album track, the song is one of the highlights on Nashville Skyline, which you could argue says more about the album as a whole than it does about “Girl From the North Country”.
There’s no denying that the song writing on Nashville Skyline isn’t as strong as it had been on previous albums but it’s obvious that the album was never meant to be a showcase of Dylan’s lyrical flare, rather the sound of a man dipping his toes into the comfortably warm waters of a sound that felt right at the time. Song’s such as “I Threw It All Way” and “Tell Me That it isn’t True” find Dylan creating simple country ballads that whilst on the face of it appear rather unremarkable, are actually surprisingly infectious and emotionally engaging. The most memorable song on the album comes in the form of the beautiful Lay Lady Lay, a song which displays the album’s more refined song writing approach at its best and finds Dylan’s new-found vocal style at its most emotive. It’s during these slower, more emotional songs that the album really shines, displaying Dylan’s take on country music at its most successful.
The album is let down slightly by the more upbeat, jovial songs which don’t particularly play to Dylan’s strengths. The likes of Peggy Day and Country Pie aren’t weak per se but they lack any real memorable melody and fall somewhat short in the song writing department. On the other hand no song on Nashville Skyline ever sounds forced and despite often straying far from Dylan’s usual formula everything feels very natural, even “Nashville Skyline Rag”, an all instrumental piece (a rarity for Dylan) feels genuine and spontaneous and only suffers due to its rather awkward placement on the album.
Throughout Nashville Skyline Dylan shows his competence as a musician, sounding more than comfortable playing a style that is somewhat removed from his usual stripped back folk sound or his blues based electric material. In many ways it’s the album’s focus on Dylan’s musical qualities that makes Nashville Skyline such an interesting listen. For once his lyrics aren’t consistently the centre of attention, often playing second fiddle to the musicianship and more basic, less poetic song-craft. Whilst nothing on Nashville Skyline can hold a candle to Dylan’s best works it is nonetheless a refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable album that shows a different side to Dylan that has rarely been heard, and while there is no doubting that Dylan is indeed a hell of a poet, this album puts emphasis on the fact that he is also lots of other things.
Tracklist for Nashville Skyline:
1. Girl From The North Country - (with Johnny Cash)
2. Nashville Skyline Rag
3. To Be Alone With You
4. I Threw It All Away
5. Peggy Day
6. Lay Lady Lay
7. One More Night
8. Tell Me That It Isn't True
9. Country Pie
10. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
There’s no denying that the song writing on Nashville Skyline isn’t as strong as it had been on previous albums but it’s obvious that the album was never meant to be a showcase of Dylan’s lyrical flare, rather the sound of a man dipping his toes into the comfortably warm waters of a sound that felt right at the time. Song’s such as “I Threw It All Way” and “Tell Me That it isn’t True” find Dylan creating simple country ballads that whilst on the face of it appear rather unremarkable, are actually surprisingly infectious and emotionally engaging. The most memorable song on the album comes in the form of the beautiful Lay Lady Lay, a song which displays the album’s more refined song writing approach at its best and finds Dylan’s new-found vocal style at its most emotive. It’s during these slower, more emotional songs that the album really shines, displaying Dylan’s take on country music at its most successful.
The album is let down slightly by the more upbeat, jovial songs which don’t particularly play to Dylan’s strengths. The likes of Peggy Day and Country Pie aren’t weak per se but they lack any real memorable melody and fall somewhat short in the song writing department. On the other hand no song on Nashville Skyline ever sounds forced and despite often straying far from Dylan’s usual formula everything feels very natural, even “Nashville Skyline Rag”, an all instrumental piece (a rarity for Dylan) feels genuine and spontaneous and only suffers due to its rather awkward placement on the album.
Throughout Nashville Skyline Dylan shows his competence as a musician, sounding more than comfortable playing a style that is somewhat removed from his usual stripped back folk sound or his blues based electric material. In many ways it’s the album’s focus on Dylan’s musical qualities that makes Nashville Skyline such an interesting listen. For once his lyrics aren’t consistently the centre of attention, often playing second fiddle to the musicianship and more basic, less poetic song-craft. Whilst nothing on Nashville Skyline can hold a candle to Dylan’s best works it is nonetheless a refreshing and thoroughly enjoyable album that shows a different side to Dylan that has rarely been heard, and while there is no doubting that Dylan is indeed a hell of a poet, this album puts emphasis on the fact that he is also lots of other things.
Tracklist for Nashville Skyline:
1. Girl From The North Country - (with Johnny Cash)
2. Nashville Skyline Rag
3. To Be Alone With You
4. I Threw It All Away
5. Peggy Day
6. Lay Lady Lay
7. One More Night
8. Tell Me That It Isn't True
9. Country Pie
10. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You