My Bowels They Are A-Movin'

Overall Album Score: 7.4 out of 10

You know... when I first bought these early Bob Dylan albums, I didn't think much of this album. I guess I still don't.

I purchased this one along with The Freewheelin' and Another Side of Bob Dylan ... and, even before I read any reviews on it, I thought it paled significantly to those two. (And... to tell you the truth, I didn't listen to them much at all, because I wasn't ready for it.)

Well... since then, I've come to appreciate The Freewheelin' and Another Side of Bob Dylan, but I was always bored through this one. So, I never gave it much of a chance! Now that it was time to prepare to write this review (that I'm not too enthusiastic about doing), I'm sure I'm going to twork off a lot of people!

See... my main dilemma is: "Should I be bored through this?" The part of me that wants to be intellectual says: "NO!" But, the part of me that rocks with the likes of David Bowie and The Human League says: "YES!" Okay, at any rate, after reviewing The Freewheelin' that only confirms the fact that I am definitely DOWN with Bob Dylan's folk stuff. The mere fact that I am not entirely down with this suggests that this was a tiny step back for Robert Zimmerman. (...even though, when I bought the album, I thought this was one of his most important, because he's kinda famous as the guy who sang about the changing times.) So! As it turns out, this is one of his LEAST essential folk albums! (Mmm... Bob Dylan, his debut mostly of covers, is probably less essential, but it's a lot more fun.)

Another unfortunate thing about this album is that Bob Dylan's lyrics aren't so cool here. His last album had such moving and inspired lyrics! While lyrics from The Times are powerful nevertheless, they aren't so cool. Here, Bob Dylan (from pressure from friends and the record company) came out with a bunch of straightforward protest songs. Well... isn't that what folkies are supposed to do? He ditched a good deal of his sense of humor for this as well. :-(

I listened to this album probably six times over and over again (while not always paying close attention) and it HAS managed to grow on me a bit ... not a whole lot. I think a lot of this stuff is uninspiring and boring ... and overbearing, but I didn't score anything below a 6. If I were to review this yesterday, I might have.

Overall Album Score: 7.4 out of 10 (Mmmm... If you don't like folk already, then there's a problem. Too many of these songs are preachy, and too many of the melodies leave me unenthusiastic. Then again ... this is Dylan! He's SuuuuupeR! But this is definitely not his best effort.)

Average Song Score: 7.6 (Apart from "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and "When the Ship Comes In," there's nothing too utterly impressive in here.)

Album Tilt: 7.0 (Borrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr-ING! I've made attempts at forcing myself to like it more, but didn't work all too successfully. I don't even think I'm supposed to like it.)

Artist Tilt: 7.5 (I'm keeping this neutral. Even though I do criticize Bob Dylan's lyrics, I shouldn't! Quite honestly... Dylan even at his worst is bound to be 4938493845 times better than Styx.)

Track Reviews

The Times They Are A-Changin' 10/10

This is the timeless protest song (... it's kind of a general protest, instead of anything specific. What I mean... it is a plea to old people to not stand in the way of progress because "The Times They Are A-Changin.'" And ... to no surprise ... it still holds true today, 'xcept the culprits are Dylan's generation! Heeeeheeee! (Okay... it's not as bad as it was back in 1964, and by the time my lazy-ass generation came around, there was nothing left to protest. Or... maybe we are too occupied with our Playstation 2's.) Classic! The best of the album! No contest!

The Ballad of Hollis Brown 8/10

Well, I'm not about to go look up historical events, but this song probably hits on some tasty news item about a poor farmer spending the last of his money on bullets. Now... I'm not sure what's going on here. (Remember... I'm AWFUL at poem/lyrics interpretations. But, I think the farmer kills himself and his family.)

With God On Our Side 7/10

Okay... I cheated. I read George Starostin's comments of this song before making my own. But I have to agree with him that these lyrics are dumb. I must also add that, even after reading the printed lyrics, while thought-provoking nonetheless, it's not as soul-crushing as so many of Dylan's songs have been and will be. I do give the song a thumbs-up, however, because I actually find it easier to listen to when I put it in the background. Indeed, putting the lyrics aside, the song is actually better than 'Holis Brown' musically. So... Methinks 'tis a fine compromise.

One Too Many Mornings 7.5/10

Hmmm... I don't get these lyrics at all. They're interesting, though. "I'm one too many mornings An' a thousand miles behind." It's slower and more sincere than the previous couple tracks, but I'm not too confident that it is a great song for Dylan.

North Country Blues 6/10

This is a song that protests, coal companies who are bringing their businesses down to South America where the workers will work for nothing. 'Cause, you know, that really screws the American family! Bob Dylan really makes me care about the situation but ... I remember his stuff a little more soul-searching than this. So... relatively it's a 6. Geez... these songs are too long! (And, the only instruments they utilize are the acoustic guitar Dylan's voice and, occasionally, the harmonica. After listening to it a lot, you can get to appreciate the melodies a little better. I'm unenthused, though.)

Only a Pawn in Their Game 7/10

I guess the main problem with this song is that the lyrics probably wouldn't have gotten the attention of the people he was protesting. Even if they did listen to it, they probably wouldn't be changed by it. This is also responding to some specific event but, again, the song isn't moving whatsoever. Even though the subject matter is sad, I get not a lump in my throat! (Today, the subject is essentially preaching to the choir, making this song even more dated... but I didn't penalize the score for that.)

Boots of Spanish Leather 7/10

Okay... these lyrics are a bit more 'normal' here, because they don't really talk about anything specific. It's a bit boring, but I like his luverly acoustic guitar playing on this one. The All-Music guide really likes this song, but I don't find it particularly any more spectacular than the rest of the stuff on here.

When the Ship Comes In 9/10

Now... the All-Music guide DIDN'T like this track, but I think this 'Ship' rocks 'Leather's' boat with flying colors ... and that's just melodically. The lyrics are also very descriptive and doesn't bluntly talk about stuff. I'm sure it's a protest song, but it's metaphorically stated, which I prefer, because it doesn't feel like I'm being preached at.

The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll 8/10

(My gosh! Does anyone think for just one second at the beginning of this song that it's about to be The Beatles' "Across the Universe?" Well, I do! Every time!) This song is significantly more boring ... but it's not QUITE as boring as some of these other songs. The story is about a rich man who killed a woman with a cane and only got a six-month sentence.

Restless Farewell 6/10

Mmmm... Zzzzzzzzzzzz... I don't care about these lyrics and the melody here is particularly unexciting. Now that this album is over, I feel that I've just gotten out of church after a particularly uninspiring sermon. C'mon Dylan! You're better than that!

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