Planet Waves

by

Bob Dylan

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Don't mess with record companies. When Dylan left Columbia for Asylum in the early 1970s, Columbia apparently retaliated by releasing "Dylan" (as of this writing still not available on CD; not that anyone is really complaining). This album contained rather unnerving outtakes from "Self Portrait" (considered by many as his worst, or at least most confusing, album), including covers of "Mr. Bojangles", the Elvis Presley classic "Can't Help Falling in Love", and Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi". Dylan returned to Columbia two albums, and a little more than one year, later.

While on sabbatical from Columbia, Dylan played with The Band and "Planet Waves" appeared in very early 1974. Some rather exciting things followed. Dylan, in seclusion for years, toured for the first time since 1966 (and with the very same band). So, once again, fans had yet another "comeback" on their hands (1970's "New Morning" was also called a "comeback" as well as 1975's "Blood On The Tracks"; this speaks volumes about Dylan's repertoire). But this time the tour wouldn't stop. "The neverending tour" continues unabated to the present day.

On its appearance, "Planet Waves" divided fans and critics, and continues to do so. Some listeners outright hate it, calling it "rushed", "sloppy", and "obsessive". Others hail it as a hugely underrated masterpiece, calling it "edgy", "rough", "personal", or "from the heart". Most would probably agree that it isn't one of his worst, while conceding that it stands a little distant from his absolute best work.

A number of moods pervade "Planet Waves". The bouncy opener "On a Night Like This" will cause all still feet to twirl with glee. But the suicidal follow-up, "Going Going Gone" will plant those feet in concrete while perking up ears and brains. And then the very heavy and sandpaper rough "Tough Mama" (with the classic line "Today on the countryside it was hotter than a crotch") kicks the tempo up again, but in a very different way than "On a Night Like This." The album appears uneven but it actually conjures up a collective mood after repeated listenings. A straight reading of the lyrics reveals obsessions with love, death, the past, and youth. Dylan pleads with countless lovers on this album: "Tough Mama", "Hazel", "You Angel You", "Never Say Goodbye", "Wedding Song". Arguably, the songs on "Planet Waves" may explore the complicated dimensions of his deep love for Sara, his ex-wife. Perhaps all of the referents point to one person? After all, who hasn't felt both a deep passionate love and a self-deprecating hatred for the same person? "Dirge" demonstrates the latter, spewing invective such as "I hate myself for loving you." This intense love finally gets fed steroids on "Wedding Song". Here Dylan turns the phrase "I love you" into a dizzying mantra. And it's obvious by this point that he's hurting. Thematically, "Planet Waves" sits comfortably in front of, and in the shadow of, "Blood on the Tracks". That album also explored the many aspects of emotional and existential love (though "Planet Waves" arguably showcases more of the physical side).

Of course one exception shouts out: "Forever Young". And why do two versions sit side by side on this album? Apparently some friends of Dylan made fun of the slow version, and he decided to keep it off the album. But the engineer loved it and insisted that it remain. So maybe the two versions remained a compromise? Also, side one of the original vinyl lp ended with the first "Forever Young", so the CD somewhat ruins the affect of flipping sides. In any case, "Forever Young" has joined the ranks of classic Dylan.

"Planet Waves" stands as yet another complicated, sophisticated, and stratified Dylan project. His work always invites heaps of discussion that, for some people, never ceases. Not only that, "Planet Waves" was Dylan's first number one record (which seems impossible), though sales weren't as impressive as expectations. Though Dylan never regained the heights he attained in the 1960s, it doesn't seem like he really wanted to. In "Wedding Song" he sings "It's never been my duty to remake the world at large, Nor is it my intention to sound a battle charge." Dylan had openly abdicated the throne imposed on him by some of his fans. He instead retreated into the personal and complex world that "Planet Waves" continued to explore. And he kept going going.