Maggie's Farm

By late 1964, Dylan had already confounded his folk audience with his perceived abandonment of politically-charged protest songwriting on “Another Side of Bob Dylan.”  The folk music crowd had been puzzled by the increasingly whimsical and romantic songwriting on that album, but they were totally unprepared for the surprises Dylan had in store for them in 1965.

“Bringing It All Back Home” represents the first time Dylan broke with his acoustic past to embrace an electric sound – the entire first half of the album features electrified tracks, giving the folk audience a preview of the shock he would deliver live later that year at the Newport Folk Festival.  Even the “folkier-sounding” acoustic tracks on side two abandon traditional folk sensibilities in their lyrics, instead exploring a colorful, often bizarre world of fantastic imagery that nonetheless represented a personal vision far removed from the collective social commentary common to folk music of the time.

Some writers have noted a continuing tendency to social criticism on songs such as “Maggie’s Farm,” a track that can be interpreted as a bitter and sarcastic take on (metaphorically-represented) American institutions, yet the song works just as well, if not better, as a more generalized depiction of the travails of most any job that involves working under a superior.  “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” which some critics have anointed as the “first rap song,” features an infectious Chuck Berry rhythm (try listening to his “Too Much Monkey Business” for a glimpse at the song’s direct predecessor) overlaid with rapid-fire lyrics that expand far beyond the ones on Berry’s original.

 On the acoustic side, “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” features some of Dylan’s most mind-bending imagery and razor-sharp observations, while “Gates Of Eden” (a “Desolation Row” precursor) strikes a death-blow to the very notion of unquestioning certainty and self-righteousness on any issue, social, political or otherwise.  “Bob Dylan’s 115^th Dream” gives the listener a dose of comic relief amidst all the weighty poetry as well as an early look at the whimsical side to Dylan that would be fully explored a few years later in “The Basement Tapes.”  Mr. Tambourine Man, perhaps the best-known song on the album due to its chart-topping cover by The Byrds, stands as a landmark songwriting achievement whether or not you believe it was the product of drug-fueled escapades.

 With “Bringing It All Back Home,” Dylan had truly let the cat out of the bag, throwing to the wind whatever folk-related inhibitions he had retained and letting his unique poetic impulses run wild.  “Highway 61 Revisited,” released only a few months later, would extend this period of astonishing creativity by developing and refining the blues-based rock sound and exploring new lyrical ground, but “Bringing It All Back Home,” far from being merely a transitional album, stands on its own as a momentous achievement in the history of 20^th century "popular" music.