BennyOnTheLoose (talk | contribs) categories |
m →Background and recording: fix typos |
||
Line 19: | Line 19: | ||
==Background and recording== |
==Background and recording== |
||
According to [[Bob Dylan]]'s biographer [[Clinton Heylin]]'s analysis of Dylan's drafts of lyrics from the period, "I Shall Be Free No. 10" was "composed in stages".{{sfn|Heylin|2010|p=199}} The lyrics were likely started at the [[May Fair Hotel|Mayfair Hotel]] in London in May 1964.{{sfn|Heylin|2021|p=358-360}} They were finished during a week-long stay in the Greek village of Vernilya later that month, after Dylan had |
According to [[Bob Dylan]]'s biographer [[Clinton Heylin]]'s analysis of Dylan's drafts of lyrics from the period, "I Shall Be Free No. 10" was "composed in stages".{{sfn|Heylin|2010|p=199}} The lyrics were likely started at the [[May Fair Hotel|Mayfair Hotel]] in London in May 1964.{{sfn|Heylin|2021|p=358-360}} They were finished during a week-long stay in the Greek village of Vernilya later that month, after Dylan had travelled across Europe with friends and [[Nico]].{{sfn|Heylin|2021|p=358-360}} Several other songs, including "[[To Ramona]]", "[[It Ain't Me Babe]]" and "[[All I Really Want to Do]]" were completed in Vernilya.{{sfn|Heylin|2011|pp=155–157}} Some of the lyrics for the "To Ramona" were originally in "I Shall Be Free No. 10".{{sfn|Heylin|2011|p=158}} |
||
Dylan recorded 14 songs between 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm on June 9, at Studio A, Columbia Recording Studios, New York,{{sfn|Heylin|1995|pp=29–32}} with [[Tom Wilson (producer)|Tom Wilson]] as [[record producer|producer]].{{sfn|Margotin|Guedson|2022|p=123}} Of these, 11 tracks were selected for his fourth studio album, ''[[Another Side of Bob Dylan]]''.{{sfn|Heylin|1995|pp=29–32}}{{efn|The three that were not included on the album were "[[Mr. Tambourine Man]]" "[[Mama, You Been on My Mind]]", and "Denise Denise".{{sfn|Heylin|1995|pp=29–32}}}} |
Dylan recorded 14 songs between 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm on June 9, at Studio A, Columbia Recording Studios, New York,{{sfn|Heylin|1995|pp=29–32}} with [[Tom Wilson (producer)|Tom Wilson]] as [[record producer|producer]].{{sfn|Margotin|Guedson|2022|p=123}} Of these, 11 tracks were selected for his fourth studio album, ''[[Another Side of Bob Dylan]]''.{{sfn|Heylin|1995|pp=29–32}}{{efn|The three that were not included on the album were "[[Mr. Tambourine Man]]" "[[Mama, You Been on My Mind]]", and "Denise Denise".{{sfn|Heylin|1995|pp=29–32}}}} |
||
Two of the five takes of "I Shall Be Free No. 10" were edited together for the album verion.<ref name="OLOF64">{{cite web |url=https://www.bjorner.com/DSN00630%20(64).htm |title=1964 concerts, interviews and recording sessions |last=Björner |first=Olof |website=Still on the Road |access-date=September 17, 2022 }}</ref> It was released as the fifth track on side one of ''Another Side of Bob Dylan'' on August 8, 1964.{{sfn|Nogowski|2022|p=46}}{{sfn|Trager|2004|p=14}} An alternate version, with an with an extra verse, was issued on the ''[[Highway 61 Interactive]]'' interactive [[CD-ROM]] in 1995.<ref>{{cite news |last=Whitall |first=Susan |title=Multimedia music creates options, hassles |newspaper=The Desert Sun |date=10 May 1995 |page=B2}}</ref> In 2010, a [[monophonic|mono]] version was released on ''[[The Original Mono Recordings]]''.<ref name="BD"/> According to his official website, Dylan has never |
Two of the five takes of "I Shall Be Free No. 10" were edited together for the album verion.<ref name="OLOF64">{{cite web |url=https://www.bjorner.com/DSN00630%20(64).htm |title=1964 concerts, interviews and recording sessions |last=Björner |first=Olof |website=Still on the Road |access-date=September 17, 2022 }}</ref> It was released as the fifth track on side one of ''Another Side of Bob Dylan'' on August 8, 1964.{{sfn|Nogowski|2022|p=46}}{{sfn|Trager|2004|p=14}} An alternate version, with an with an extra verse, was issued on the ''[[Highway 61 Interactive]]'' interactive [[CD-ROM]] in 1995.<ref>{{cite news |last=Whitall |first=Susan |title=Multimedia music creates options, hassles |newspaper=The Desert Sun |date=10 May 1995 |page=B2}}</ref> In 2010, a [[monophonic|mono]] version was released on ''[[The Original Mono Recordings]]''.<ref name="BD"/> According to his official website, Dylan has never performed the song in concert.<ref name="BD">{{cite web |title=I Shall Be Free No. 10 |website=Bob Dylan's official website |url=https://www.bobdylan.com/songs/i-shall-be-free-no-10/ |access-date=September 17, 2022}}</ref> The song is a [[talking blues]],<ref name="BROWNE">{{cite magazine |last=Browne |first=David |title=How Bob Dylan shed his spokesman role on 'Another Side' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/how-bob-dylan-shed-spokesman-role-on-another-side-248281/ |date=August 8, 2016 |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=July 28, 2022}}</ref> a form popularized by [[Chris Bouchillon]] and used by [[Woody Guthrie]].{{sfn|Trager|2004|pages=598–599}} |
||
==Composition and lyrical interpretation== |
==Composition and lyrical interpretation== |
Revision as of 21:19, 30 September 2022
"I Shall Be Free No. 10" | |
---|---|
Song by Bob Dylan | |
from the album Another Side of Bob Dylan | |
Released | August 8, 1964 |
Recorded | June 9, 1964 |
Studio | Studio A, Columbia Recording Studios, New York |
Length | 4:46[1] |
Label | Columbia |
Songwriter(s) | Bob Dylan |
Producer(s) | Tom Wilson |
"I Shall Be Free No. 10" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, which was released as the fifth track on his fourth studio album Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964). The song was written by Dylan and produced by Tom Wilson. It was recorded on June 9, 1964, and released on Another Side of Bob Dylan on August 8, 1964.
Background and recording
According to Bob Dylan's biographer Clinton Heylin's analysis of Dylan's drafts of lyrics from the period, "I Shall Be Free No. 10" was "composed in stages".[2] The lyrics were likely started at the Mayfair Hotel in London in May 1964.[3] They were finished during a week-long stay in the Greek village of Vernilya later that month, after Dylan had travelled across Europe with friends and Nico.[3] Several other songs, including "To Ramona", "It Ain't Me Babe" and "All I Really Want to Do" were completed in Vernilya.[4] Some of the lyrics for the "To Ramona" were originally in "I Shall Be Free No. 10".[5]
Dylan recorded 14 songs between 7:00 pm and 10:00 pm on June 9, at Studio A, Columbia Recording Studios, New York,[6] with Tom Wilson as producer.[7] Of these, 11 tracks were selected for his fourth studio album, Another Side of Bob Dylan.[6][a]
Two of the five takes of "I Shall Be Free No. 10" were edited together for the album verion.[8] It was released as the fifth track on side one of Another Side of Bob Dylan on August 8, 1964.[9][10] An alternate version, with an with an extra verse, was issued on the Highway 61 Interactive interactive CD-ROM in 1995.[11] In 2010, a mono version was released on The Original Mono Recordings.[12] According to his official website, Dylan has never performed the song in concert.[12] The song is a talking blues,[13] a form popularized by Chris Bouchillon and used by Woody Guthrie.[14]
Composition and lyrical interpretation
"I Shall Be Free No. 10", like "I Shall Be Free" from Dylan's eponymous debut studio album Bob Dylan (1962), derives from earlier songs such as Lead Belly's "We Shall Be Free", recorded with Guthrie and Sonny Terry in 1944.[15] John H. Cowley traced stanzas from "We Shall Be Free" and similar songs back to the mid-ninetenth century.[15] Early recorded variations include "You Shall" (1927) by Frank Stokes and Dan Sane (performing as the Beale Street Sheikhs), and "What a Time" (1928) by Jim Jackson.[15] Critic Michael Gray noted similarities in the lyrics of Jackson's song to both the content of the Lead Belly track, and the lyrical and instrumental delivery by Dylan of his own "I Shall be Free" songs.[15] However, Jackson's version had not been released by 1964.[15] Gray says that the title "I Shall Be Free No. 10" is an explicit acknowledgement by Dylan of "the many antecedents and variants and versions" of the older songs.[15]
The song opens with "an affirmation of [Dylan's] ordinariness".[16] Critic Jim Curtis wrote that "you can practically see [Dylan] grinning" on the track.[16]
I'm just average, common too
I'm just like him, the same as you
I'm everybody's brother and son
I ain't different from anyone
It ain't no use a-talking to me
Its just the same as talking to you
Later in the song, Dylan, who had been receiving critical acclaim for his songwriting, sings "Yippee! I'm a poet, and I know it/ Hope I don't blow it".[18] Literature scholar Timothy Hampton wrote that by referring to the critical recognition with "doggerel verse", Dylan "both acknowledges his genius and undercuts his claim to serious purpose at the same time."[18] Hampton argued that "Nowhere is Dylan's status as artist, media figure, pop hero, and political spokesperson evoked with more self-awareness or complexity than in these lines."[19]
Author John Nogowski remarked that the song provides a "welcome bit of Guthriesque comic relief" after the "verbal maelstom" of Chimes of Freedom" which precedes it on the album.[9] Similarly, critic Andy Gill wrote that "Dylan presumably felt it might be prudent to lighten things up" after "Chimes of Freedom".[20]
Craig McGregor of The Sydney Morning Herald interpreted Another Side of Bob Dylan as a set of parodies of targets including the Beatles and Alfred Hitchcock movies. He considered "I Shall Be Free No. 10" to be a parody of the "throw-away lines and slightly folksy flavour of Woody Guthrie, Jack Elliott and half a dozen other talking blues experts."[21] However, author Donald Brown noted that although Dylan's previous two albums had songs that referenced social and political issues, the only contemporary mentions on Another Side of Bob Dylan were in "I Shall Be Free No. 10": to world heavyweight boxing champion Cassius Clay, conservative Senator Barry Goldwater, and the space race between the United States and the Soviet Union.[22]
Critical reception
In a generally negative review of the album, Grover Lewis of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram was positive about only two tracks; "I Shall Be Free No. 10" was described as "a zany surrealist-flavored improvisation", and highlighted, along with "Motorpsycho Nitemare", as tracks that "shows flashes of the same rocking drive and ambition that sparked [Dylan's] initial recordings".[23] In 1976, William Florence of The Times Herald wrote that on Another Side of Bob Dylan, "a wild sense of humor breaks into the open really for the first time", with those two tracks representing "classic examples of this more-relaxed and at-ease songwriter".[24]
The reviewer for the Herald Express considered that Another Side of Bob Dylan established Dylan as the most important folk singer" since Woody Guthrie, and included "I Shall Be Free No. 10" amongst their favuorite traks on the album.[25] Author John Nogowski remarked that the song as "welcome bit of Guthriesque comic relief" after the "verbal maelstom" of Chimes of Freedom" which precedes it on the album.[9] Praising Dylan's "effortless delivery", Nogowski give the song an "A-" rating.[9] It was ranked 16th on a list of the top 20 Dylan songs in Dave Marsh and Kevin Stein's The Book of Rock Lists (1982).[26]
Credits and personnel
Credits adapted from the Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track book.[1]
Musician
Technical personnel
Notes
- ^ The three that were not included on the album were "Mr. Tambourine Man" "Mama, You Been on My Mind", and "Denise Denise".[6]
References
Bibliography
- Brown, Donald (2014). Bob Dylan: American Troubadour. Lanham: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-0810884205.
- Curtis, Jim (1987). Rock Eras: Interpretations of Music and Society, 1954-1984. Bowling Green: Bowling Green State University. ISBN 0879723696.
- Gill, Andy (2011). Bob Dylan: the Stories Behind the Songs 1962-1969. London: Carlton. ISBN 978-1-84732-759-8.
- Gray, Michael (2008). The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia. London: Continuum International Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-8264-2974-2.
- Hampton, Timothy (2020). Bob Dylan: How the Songs Work (Kindle ed.). Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-1-942130-36-9.
- Heylin, Clinton (1995). Dylan: Behind Closed Doors – the Recording Sessions (1960–1994). Penguin Books. ISBN 978-0-14-025749-6.
- Heylin, Clinton (2010). Revolution in the Air - the Songs of Bob Dylan Vol.1 1957-73. Constable & Robinson. ISBN 978-1-84901-296-6.
- Heylin, Clinton (2011). Behind the Shades: The 20th Anniversary Edition. London: Faber And Faber. ISBN 978-0-571-27240-2.
- Heylin, Clinton (2021). The Double Life of Bob Dylan. Vol. 1 1941-1966, A restless, hungry feeling. London: Bodley Head. ISBN 978-1-84792-588-6.
- Margotin, Philippe; Guedson, Jean-Michel (2022). Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track (Expanded ed.). New York: Black Dog & Leventhal Publishers. ISBN 9780762475735.
- Nogowski, John (2022). Bob Dylan: A Descriptive, Critical Discography and Filmography, 1961-2022 (3rd ed.). Jefferson: McFarland. ISBN 978-1-4766-4362-5.
- Trager, Oliver (2004). Keys to the Rain: the Definitive Bob Dylan Encyclopedia. New York: Billboard Books. ISBN 0823079740.
Citations
- ^ a b Margotin & Guedson 2022, p. 122.
- ^ Heylin 2010, p. 199.
- ^ a b Heylin 2021, p. 358-360.
- ^ Heylin 2011, pp. 155–157.
- ^ Heylin 2011, p. 158.
- ^ a b c Heylin 1995, pp. 29–32.
- ^ Margotin & Guedson 2022, p. 123.
- ^ Björner, Olof. "1964 concerts, interviews and recording sessions". Still on the Road. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ^ a b c d Nogowski 2022, p. 46.
- ^ Trager 2004, p. 14.
- ^ Whitall, Susan (10 May 1995). "Multimedia music creates options, hassles". The Desert Sun. p. B2.
- ^ a b c "I Shall Be Free No. 10". Bob Dylan's official website. Retrieved September 17, 2022.
- ^ Browne, David (August 8, 2016). "How Bob Dylan shed his spokesman role on 'Another Side'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved July 28, 2022.
- ^ Trager 2004, pp. 598–599.
- ^ a b c d e f Gray 2008, p. 340.
- ^ a b Curtis 1987, p. 158.
- ^ Hampton 2020, p. 78.
- ^ a b Hampton 2020, p. 80.
- ^ Hampton 2020, pp. 80–81.
- ^ Gill 2011, p. 77.
- ^ McGregor, Craig (6 February 1965). "Bob Dylan parodies Bob Dylan". The Sydney Morning Herald. p. 11.
- ^ Brown 2014, pp. 24–25.
- ^ Lewis, Grover (27 December 1964). "Bob Dylan latest spinner stirs fewer sparks to flight". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. p. 41.
- ^ Florence, William (11 July 1976). "Early Dylan is something special". The Times Herald. p. A2.
- ^ 'Downbeat' (27 November 1964). "Record round-up". Herald Express. p. 14.
- ^ March, Dave; Stein, Kevin (24 September 1982). "Rock'n'roll: a look back". Pensacola News Journal. p. 16E.
External links
{Bob Dylan}}