No. 354: Bob Dylan - "Nashville Skyline" (1969)

Was this a legitimate excursion into the field of modern country music or just a 27 minute piss-take?? It's been over 40 years since it was released and I still don't think anyone really knows for sure...
Dylan was at the cutting edge of the music scene in the mid-1960's, before retreating with his family to Woodstock in New York in the latter part of the decade. Next thing we know he's recording country songs in Nashville and singing in a totally different voice (his "moon-in-June" croon). Not only did he sound different, but the music was a big departure too. Jaunty tracks like "Peggy Day" and "Country Pie" were much more poppy than previous Dylan recordings, and the use of pedal-steel guitar infused the album with that cliched country sound that many Dylan fans were a bit dubious of. But the album sold extremely well and gave Dylan one of his most enduring hits in "Lay Lady Lay".
Evidently there was no time for second takes on this album - check out Dylan's duet with Johnny Cash on "Girl From The North Country" - at one point they are not even singing the same words as each other! Quite funny listening to it actually - how about a rehearsal first guys??
There was obviously a hurry in the studio to get this album done - all 27 minutes of it - and even though I love it, I can't shake the feeling that the joke was (and still is) on us.