Bob Dylan - New Morning

Titles

Side 1

1. If Not for You

2. Day of the Locusts

3. Time Passes Slowly

4. Went to See the Gypsy

5. Winterlude

6. If Dogs Run Free

Side 2

7. New Morning

8. Sign on the Window

9. One More Weekend

10. The Man In Me

11. Three Angels

12. Father of Night

“New Morning” may have saved Bob Dylan's career. In any case, the 1970 album proved that the bard still had a role to play and that his wordplay was still intact. “New Morning” followed directly after Dylan's most controversial work to date: “Self Portrait” – a difficult release that left many fans wondering whether their idol had lost his mind. He himself described it as a response to the numerous bootlegs of his work that were in circulation at the time. This statement at least suggests that the failure of “Self Portrait” was calculated. “New Morning” appeased fans and critics alike: the genius's eleventh studio album no longer sang in the style of a country crooner, but with his familiar nasal voice. Although Dylan was accused of producing the album quickly in order to restore his reputation with critics – Dylan himself emphasised that “New Morning” was already largely completed when “Self Portrait” was released – the album reached number 1 in the UK charts and number 7 in the US. “Many of the songs seem to have been written spontaneously, with the confidence of first-rate musicians who can go in any direction at any time,” wrote Dylan expert and cultural critic Greil Marcus in his original review for the New York Times. “The riffs, inventions, and studio jams on “New Morning” have their own personality...the pure joy of sensing the right move and the excitement of making it, of jumping from a chord to a new lyric.”

These observations still hold true today, as “New Morning” displays a boldness that Dylan has rarely shown on albums before or since. His voice is full of enthusiasm and excitement, and his playing on the 88-key piano underscores the liberated arrangements. The eclectic record is playful and swinging, with him and his first-rate band venturing into more unconventional territory with jazzy experiments such as “Sign On The Winter” and “Winterlude,” the rambling spoken word track “If Dogs Run Free” and the Elvis parable “Went To See The Gypsy.” Emotional rock songs such as “The Man In Me,” which is wonderfully and impressively showcased in the Coen brothers' film “The Big Lebowski,” also find their place on Dylan's eleventh album. His phrasing consistently conveys a cheerfulness and simplicity that make “New Morning” the charming, endearing album that it is.

Lovingly mastered by Krieg Wunderlich and Rob LoVerde at MoFi Studio in California and pressed on 180-gram vinyl (33 RPM) by Fidelity Record Pressing, this LP presents this classic in audiophile sound quality: the open sound emphasizes the spontaneous live sensitivity of the performance, reminding the listener of an intense nightclub atmosphere. With the limited reissue of this popular MoFi LP, which comes in a gatefold sleeve with a sequential serial number, “New Morning” can finally be experienced from a new perspective again.