Not to get all old-guy rock critic on you, but even within Bob Dylan’s massive and lauded discography, Blonde on Blonde stands apart.
The last release in his monumental three-album mid-1960s run, Blonde marries a modernist literary sensibility with “that thin, wild mercury” sound Dylan achieved by retreating from New York City to record in a confined space in Nashville with a fresh crew of musicians recruited by the album’s producer, Bob Johnston. Dylan’s then-manager was hostile to the choice, which didn’t exactly follow the conventional wisdom of the time.
But that is part of the mystique of Dylan. He’s always been unafraid to zig where others zag. Whether or not you buy into the Dylan mythology—which The Daily Show host Jordan Klepper was keen to remind us of Friday night in his role as emcee at “Sooner Or Later: Celebrating the 60th Anniversary of Blonde on Blonde”—the zigging is what his fans love about him.