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Sottovaluto lavoro del Dylan post svolta elettrica: 1967, esce “John Wesley Harding”, contraltare acustico al capolavoro elettrico “Blonde on Blonde”. Poco apprezzato: una marcia indietro? Manco pe’ gnente! Marcia avanti, si cambia, ci si avvia verso il country, che il rock ha stancato.
Si parla di Bibbia, di fuorilegge onesti, di padroni e schiavi, di amici, di poveracci e straccioni, di sogni e visioni di Dylan come solo Dylan sa. Nasce un album in bilico tra l’inutile e il capolavoro, con una certa unità di fondo. La chitarra è suonata spesso con il capotasto al quarto-quinto tasto, accorgimento che dà un suono squillante (fastidioso?), basso, batteria e armonica, anche questa quasi sempre in Mi e Fa, che sono le due tonalità che raggiungono le note più alte nelle blues harp, quindi anche queste squillanti (non fastidiose, finalmente Dylan fa vedere di saper maneggiare l’armonica decentemente).
Grandi canzoni non mancano, ma stavolta nessuna traccia supera i cinque minuti, la media per Dylan, a parte “Frankie Lee and Judas Priest”. Capolavori: su tutti la metaforica e visionaria “All Along the Watchtower”, quattro accordi che non cambieranno mai, e sono ancora quelli al giorno d’oggi, caso unico nelle versioni stravolte che Dylan fornisce delle sue stesse canzoni. Jimi Hendrix ne fece una cover memorabile. Poi “I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine”, “I Pity The Poor Immigrant” e la meravigliosa “Dear Landlord”. Queste sarebbero bastate per rendere grande qualsiasi album. Ci sono anche tracce più deboli, come la title-track, “Down Along The Cove”, “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight”… ma sono perdonabili, l’album sta insieme e non delude quasi mai. Ottavo album per Dylan, quarta svolta… e siamo prossimi al contestatissimo “Nashville Skyline”.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
04 All Along the Watchtower (02:31)
"There must be some way out of here", said the joker to the thief,
"There's too much confusion, I can't get no relief.
Businessmen, they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth,
None of them along the line know what any of it is worth."
"No reason to get excited," the thief, he kindly spoke,
"There are many here among us who feel that life is but a joke.
But you and I, we've been through that, and this is not our fate,
So let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late."
All along the watchtower, princes kept the view
While all the women came and went, barefoot servants, too.
Outside in the distance a wildcat did growl,
Two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl.
06 Drifter's Escape (02:52)
"Oh, help me in my weakness,"
I heard the drifter say,
As they carried him from the courtroom
And were taking him away.
"My trip hasn't been a pleasant one
And my time it isn't long,
And I still do not know
What it was that I've done wrong."
Well, the judge, he cast his robe aside,
A tear came to his eye,
"You fail to understand," he said,
"Why must you even try?"
Outside, the crowd was stirring,
You could hear it from the door.
Inside, the judge was stepping down,
While the jury cried for more.
"Oh, stop that cursed jury,"
Cried the attendant and the nurse,
"The trial was bad enough,
But this is ten times worse."
Just then a bolt of lightning
Struck the courthouse out of shape,
And while ev'rybody knelt to pray
The drifter did escape.
10 The Wicked Messenger (02:03)
There was a wicked messenger
From Eli he did come,
With a mind that multiplied
The smallest matter.
When questioned who had sent for him,
He answered with his thumb,
For his tongue it could not speak, but only flatter.
He stayed behind the assembly hall,
It was there he made his bed,
Oftentimes he could be seen returning.
Until one day he just appeared
With a note in his hand which read,
"The soles of my feet, I swear they're burning."
Oh, the leaves began to fallin'
And the seas began to part,
And the people that confronted him were many.
And he was told but these few words,
Which opened up his heart,
"If you cannot bring good news, then don't bring any."
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Altre recensioni
Di lector
La mattina del 29 luglio 1966 Bob Dylan morì. Quello che non sapete è che non fu un incidente: quella mattina Bob Dylan venne ucciso.
Eppure, dopo tanti anni che ascolto questo disco, dopo aver consumato il vinile, per me “John Wesley Harding” è ancora ammantato di mistero.
