“After the motorcycle crash in the autumn of 1966, Dylan retreated to Woodstock. When he re-emerged with John Wesley Harding, he sounded very different. His output over the next eight years was decidedly patchy. Yet it contained some fine songs, even before the release of 1975’s Blood On The Tracks, one of his absolute masterpieces.”
– Nigel Williamson (The Rough Guide Book of Playlists)
Nigel Williamson is a British journalist and author. Educated at University College London, Williamson worked as a reporter on Tribune (1982–84) and was then briefly its literary editor (1984) before becoming editor (1984–87) as successor to Chris Mullin.
He writes on pop and world music for a variety of publications, including the magazines Uncut and Songlines. He has also written books, among them, The Rough Guide to Bob Dylan.
His first two playlists:
Nigel Williamson playlist 1 – Bob Dylan The Protest Years
Nigel Williamson playlist 2 – Bob Dylan Electric Messiah
He made 4 Bob Dylan playlists for The Rough Guide Book of playlists, this is the 3rd of them:
Nigel Williamson Playlist – Bob Dylan After The Crash:
This Wheel’s On Fire:
“A rare co-write with The Band’s Rick Danko. The Words may or may not refer to that famous motorcycle crash.”
I Shall Be Released:
“Revenge, faith and acceptance – and a chorus that delivers salvation more convincingly than anything from his #born again” phase.”
All Along The Watchtower:
“Hendrix made the song his own and in concert Dylan follows the guitarist’s super-charged arrangement. But the original has a stark and sombre beauty of its own.”
Lay Lady Lay:
“Believe it or not, the biggest hit single of his entire career…”
If Not For You:
“One of Dylan’s simplest and most honest love songs, written for his wife Sara before it all went wrong (see #9 below).”
Knocking on Heaven’s Door:
” It sounds like a hymn and it lifted the soundtrack of Sam Peckinpah’s film to another level.”
Forever Young:
” Written for his youngest son Jakob, the only one of Dylan’s children to follow him into the rock’n roll life.”
Tangled Up In Blue:
” The opening track of the greatest break-up album ever written.”
Idiot Wind:
” “Peace and quiet’s been avoiding me so long it seems like living hell”. After ten years of marriage it was a very long way from “without your love I’d be nothing at all” (see#5).”
Simple Twist Of Faith:
“The other side of breaking-up mournful, romantic and still hoping another twist might throw them back together again”.
– Hallgeir