That Thin, Wild Mercury Sound: Dylan, Nashville, and the Making of Blonde on Blonde

"I know my thing now. I know what it is. It's hard to describe. I don't know what to call it because I've never heard it." Bob Dylan trying to describe his new music in '65."I didn't know if it was ever gonna be special. Just making electric folk music wasn't enough, it needed to be much more violent than that, and I didn't know whether he would ever get it." Robbie Robertson talking about Dylan after he went electric."But the fact that Dylan came here, I think it sent a message around the folk-rock world that, 'Hey, it's OK to go there. These guys can do this" Charlie McCoy on Nashville musicians after "Blonde On Blonde".For Bob-o-philes and/or fans of the "Blonde On Blonde" album, this is a deep look into both the period just leading up to that album and the songs themselves, recorded mostly in Nashville. There's a prologue that lays out what the book covers, chapters in three parts ("New York City", "Nashville", "Los Angeles and Beyond") laid out in chronological order beginning in 1965, a list of sources, and a section of notes, and an index. There's also 16 pages of period b&w photos from Dylan in '65, early photos of The Hawks, individual photos of the Nashville session musicians, a couple of pages of Dylan's Nashville sessions manuscripts, and a few others interesting photos from that era.This is a book for those who want to delve pretty deeply into the sessions for "Blonde On Blonde". At times you almost get the feel that you're privy to a lot of inside information for the sessions because of the author's research and interviews with so many of the people involved with the album. From a number of the session musicians, to the producers, to studio personnel, and others close to what was happening, the author, Daryl Sanders, has really done his homework when it comes to unearthing and laying out in a coherent way the information surrounding this album. He has also included information from the "Biograph" album notes, Dylan's book "Chronicles", "Rolling Stone" magazine, Heylin's books "Judas", and "Bob Dylan: Behind The Shades Revisited", and other print sources. Together Sanders has compiled the most in depth look into the making of this album.This isn't a book for the more casual Dylan fan--there's a lot of minutia about the various songs and what went down in the studio during the recording sessions. But for those (like me) who feel that this album is one of the best albums of that entire era (and still stands up today) and want to get closer to what went on, this is a deep ride into the making of those songs.From the period of the "Highway 61 Revisited" album which he had finished, to Dylan trying to figure out how to take his new electric sound on the road, to recording most of the songs that would ultimately end up on the album, to the impact the album had on music after it's release, this book covers just about everything you'd want to know about how this album came to fruition.

Legendary rock scribe Dave Marsh asked author Daryl Sanders: “is this book about Dylan in Nashville? Or is about Nashville and Dylan?” Sanders replied “yes.” ;-)Sanders has written a meticulously researched and well-paced chronicle of the making of rock & roll’s most important album Blonde on Blonde. This album is the reason that Bob Dylan’s biggest competition is always earlier Bob Dylan.The book puts you in the studio with the poet and the pickers who created something entirely new to popular music - great take-by-take insight, balanced with insights into Dylan’s inspiration, from the Bible to Persian poet Omar Khayyam to T.S. Eliot.The author also puts the sessions and the album into their musical and historical context - it was a time when the biggest musicians of the time (Johnny Cash, The Beatles, Joan Baez) connected and shared and grew together.A great read for Dylan fans, rock lovers, liner-note geeks, and folks who want to understand what makes Nashville *Music* City.

My love for music tends to stem from the feelings invoked, memories recalled, or the heart-throb quotient of the performer. After reading this book, I’m now enthralled with the process that creates that feeling-inducing, memory-arousing music.Daryl Sanders’ exhaustive research, personal interviews, and practiced journalistic skill bring the 1966 Nashville recording studio alive. His exquisite attention to detail placed me in the middle of those sessions. I watched Dylan’s genius labor over each word and heard the young musicians intuitively transform the sounds inside Dylan’s head into musical perfection – crafting legendary art seemingly on the fly.I’m not even that much of a Bob Dylan fan, but, when I finished the book, I immediately downloaded a few Blonde on Blonde songs. Having witnessed their intimate creation, I listened with a new ear.

Daryl Sanders' That Thin Wild Mercury Sound: Dylan, Nashville, and the Making of Blonde on Blonde is a must read for anyone interested in the evolution of rock music, Bob Dylan, or Nashville's progression beyond standard country fare. Sanders draws on many participants in the Blonde on Blonde sessions for his meticulously reseached book. Dylan changed the world of rock with the release, which was the first double album in rock and the first to feature songs longer than those that would fit on a 45 rpm record. Sanders describes how the young, talented "Nashville Cats'" adapted to the unusual artistic methods of Dylan and how the sessions changed their lives forever. I felt like I had a seat in the corner of the studio when reading the book.Blonde on Blonde changed rock and Nashville forever, and Sanders' telling of the story adds so much to what has previously been legend.

Hundreds of books on Dylan . I’ve read over a hundred myself ! Figured this one be ok hoping not just a throwaway about the greatness of Blonde on Blonde (on the surface type writing ...) well and wow I was wrong . This book goes deepPuts you in the studio in the minds feeling every note . Reading thoughts ! Like Dave Marsh said you actual see into Dylan ... realizing his vision with extraordinary musicians . Of the hundreds this in my opinion is a top 10 book ever on Dylan .

SHORT REVIEWby Stephen Vallely.'I read through this book in two sittings.Usually a sign in my case that I'm really enjoying it.Sanders places Dylan within the context of not only his new electric vision, but also within the Nashville scene.Starting with background leading to the sessions via Newport folk festival and other 1965 shows, it shifts easily into the sessions for Highway 61 revisited.The prose is fast moving and it draws you into Dylan's world.Sanders does a fine job describing the problems that Dylan faced trying to articulate his vision during the Blonde on Blonde sessions.He also provides very interesting in-depth detail about the Nashville session players and the Nashville music scene.The real deal starts to unfold when Dylan hits Nashville, the stories taking on a hilarious bent when it describes Dylan working on lyrics at many sessions for over seven hours.All told, this is a fine book.'

A cracking good read that gives tells a good story about the making of 'Blonde On Blonde'. Sanders is a journalist by trade and it shows. The down side of this are that a) it lacks any real critical insight, and b) the writing tends toward the hyperbolic. Almost everything and everyone are "legendary", for example...Sanders focuses mainly on the supporting cast of Nashville musicians and on the lyrical content of the songs: as Dylan flits in and out of the picture he is mainly presented as a solitary figure writing lyrics. The development of the songs in the studio is seen primarily as a process of getting the words finished.But where the book is weakest is on the technical side. For a book about the recording of an album - a book that specifically mentions "sound" in its title, a book whose action takes place almost entirely in recording studios - there is virtually no insight into how it was recorded. We don't even learn the very basics, i.e. whether it was recorded onto four track or eight track or whatever.To be fair, the role of producer Bob Johnston is given some coverage (but once we're actually in the studio we get no sense of what he actually does other than call out take numbers).There are some useful photographs of the protagonists but nothing from the studio sessions.

There are so many books about Dylan's music, and most of them are boring as hell, getting imersed in music theory or quotes from people who professed to have been there at the time (and probably weren't!). This book is way different. It is very readable. It takes us behind the scenes of this historic time. It lives! At last a Dylan book I can really enjoy.

I thought this book would be more interesting than it was. There is a huge amount of detail about the various musicians involved in creating this album. Only readers very familiar with the Nashville scene at that time will be able to follow the many names that feature in this account.

explains the album in detail.