Bob Dylan - New Morning

New Morning is the eleventh studio album by American singer songwriter Bob Dylan, originally released in October 1970 via Columbia Records.

Coming only four months after the controversial Self Portrait, the more concise and immediate New Morning won a much warmer reception from fans and critics. Most welcome was the return of Dylan's familiar, nasal singing voice. 

In retrospect, how could anyone have been expected to keep up the pace most artists were on in the mid-to-late ’60s? It is, especially by today’s standards, totally unthinkable. Between 1962 and 1969, Bob Dylan released nine albums that were total game-changers. So, by the turn of the decade, the man was trying not only to redefine himself, but to find his own footing in a very musical landscape.

Previous album Self Portrait was a baffling release, which ultimately confused more fans than it won over at the time. But on New Morning, released only a few months later, Dylan more clearly sets sail into the new chapter.

New Morning ambles in unassumingly with the countryish moves of “If Not For You”, putting to bed any questions of Dylan’s ability to still create great music.

The wonderful “Day Of The Locusts” was written about an experience Dylan had after being honored by Princeton University with an honorary degree in music. During the ceremony, the university was overrun with cicadas, who made a tremendous amount of noise as he was attempting to accept the award.

Lyrically and musically, New Morning is an interesting trip. From the simple country glow of “Winterlude”, to the more ragged stomp of “Went To See The Gypsy” - about his meeting with Elvis Presley. The jazzy blues overtones of “If Dogs Run Free” sit side-by-side with the earthy swagger of the title track without blinking.

Throughout the album there is a sense of Dylan abandoning past, or future, preconceptions. Even the album cover is just him staring at you. No name, no title, nothing, just Dylan looking straight at you with no shadows being cast.

Critics and fans were pleased with the results as the album hit No. 7 in the U.S. chart and topped the U.K. charts shortly after its release. New Morning sounded like the great first step into a new phase for Dylan, but in some ways, it was more like the final chapter of his first decade of recording.

Check out the album tracks: “If Not For You”; “Day Of The Locusts” and “Winterlude”.

This LP is a Music On Vinyl, 2012 remaster, reissued on 180 Gram Audiophile Vinyl, pressed in Europe.