Dylan (1973 album)

Dylan is the self-titled thirteenth studio album compiled by Columbia Records consisting of outtakes by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on November 19, 1973. The tracks were assembled and issued by the label with no input from Dylan himself. The album followed the artist's departure from Columbia for Asylum Records, and the announcement of his first major tour since 1966. In Europe the album was released under the title A Fool Such as I.[7]

For Bob Dylan's 2007 "best of" compilation, see Dylan (2007 album).

Dylan
Studio album by Bob Dylan
Released	November 19, 1973 (1973-11-19)
Recorded	April 24 and 26, 1969  and June 1–4, 1970
Genre	Rock, folk rock
Length	33:22
Label	Columbia
Producer	Bob Johnston
Bob Dylan chronology
Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973) Dylan (1973) Planet Waves (1974)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
Christgau's Record Guide	E[2]
Entertainment Weekly	F[3]
MusicHound	woof![4]
Rolling Stone	(unfavorable)[5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[6]

Content

The album is made up from studio outtakes from the previous Dylan releases Self Portrait and New Morning. The nine songs featured on the album consists of six cover songs and three traditional songs, adapted and arranged by Dylan. The first seven tracks were recorded in June 1970 during the New Morning sessions, the last two were recorded in April 1969 during the Self Portrait sessions.[8] The album features a different recording of "Spanish Is the Loving Tongue" than the version previously issued as the B-side of Dylan's 1971 single "Watching the River Flow".

Although Dylan received very poor reviews upon its release,[9] it managed to reach No.  17 in the U.S. and was certified gold by the RIAA. It became the first Bob Dylan album not to chart in the UK, where his albums generally charted higher than in the U.S.[10][11] Dylan was the only Columbia Dylan album not to be reissued on compact disc in the North American market, until 2013 when it was included in the Complete Album Collection box set.[12][13] Until December 2009, the album was available on iTunes as part of Bob Dylan: The Collection.

The album cover was designed by art director John Berg. The original photograph featured on the album's front was shot by photographer Al Clayton. The serigraph was carried out by artist Richard Kenerson.[14]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recorded	Length
1.	"Lily of the West"	traditional	June 3, 1970	3:44
2.	"Can't Help Falling in Love"	George Weiss / Hugo Peretti / Luigi Creatore	June 3, 1970	4:17
3.	"Sarah Jane"	traditional	June 1, 1970	2:43
4.	"The Ballad of Ira Hayes"	Peter LaFarge	June 1, 1970	5:08

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Recorded	Length
1.	"Mr. Bojangles"	Jerry Jeff Walker	June 2, 1970	5:31
2.	"Mary Ann"	traditional	June 2, 1970	2:40
3.	"Big Yellow Taxi"	Joni Mitchell	June 4, 1970	2:12
4.	"A Fool Such as I"	Bill Trader	April 26, 1969	2:41
5.	"Spanish Is the Loving Tongue"	Billy Simon / Charles Badger Clark	April 24, 1969	4:13

The 8-track running order differs from the LP, as follows:

1: Lily of the West - Mary Ann - Big Yellow Taxi

2: Can't Help Falling In Love - Spanish is the Loving Tongue

3: Sarah Jane - Mr. Bojangles

4: The Ballad of Ira Hayes - A Fool Such as I

References

1. Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. Dylan at AllMusic
2. Christgau, Robert (1981). "Consumer Guide '70s: D". Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies. Ticknor & Fields. ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved February 24, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
3. Flanagan, Bill (1991-03-29). "Entertainment Weekly review". Ew.com. Retrieved 2012-02-07.
4. Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide (2nd ed.). Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 371. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
5. Landau, Jon (November 19, 1973). "Bob Dylan Dylan album review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2013-11-03.
6. Brackett, Nathan; with Hoard, Christian (eds) (2004). The New Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York, NY: Fireside. p. 262. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8. Retrieved August 22, 2015.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
7. Olof Bjorner About Bob website 1969 session pages retrieved 26 September 2013.
8. "DYLAN". Retrieved 2012-02-07.
9. Robert Shelton, 1986. No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan. New York: William Morrow and Co., p. 428. ISBN 068805045X
10. UK chart history website retrieved 26 September 2013.
11. Expecting Rain website Dylan US chart history retrieved 26 September 2013.
12. Amazon editorial comment retrieved 26 September 2013.
13. Michael Gray, 2006. The Bob Dylan Encyclopedia. London: Continuum International, p. 194. ISBN 0826469337
14. Dylan|The Official Bob Dylan Site