Expecting Rain

which side of Another Side of Bob Dylan would you, ahem, side with?

I've recently grown to appreciate the difference in attending to one side of a record, versus popping in a long CD that i pass in and out of attention with. and many dylan albums seem to be structured around these segments. so, i'm starting a poll series about preferred sides on vinyl. i'm not really centering on the value of any one song over the other, but rather how each side flows and stands coherently.

Side A, by a country mile, since it is way less painful to listen to.

every one of these polls are really hard to do, but this is my 4th favourite dylan album, so it's even more hard, but i had to for side 2, mainly for My back pages, which is my favourite song on the album.

It is funny ... when I discovered Dylan's music, this was one of my favorite albums. However, lately I haven't felt the urge to listen to "Another Side of Bob Dylan" at all.

I like "All I Really Want To Do", "Chimes of Freedom" and "Ramona" on side 1. Those are some great songs.

Yet, I think I will vote for side 2. "Motorpsycho Nightmare" makes me smile (which is a good thing right now); "My Back Pages" is another great tune with fantastic lyrics; I can relate to the brokenheartedness of "I Don't Believe You"; "It Ain't Me, Babe" is the reason why I found Dylan in the first place (via a cover by Johnny Cash), and hell, I even enjoy "Ballad in Plain D" from time to time. I know people think it sucks, even Bob said he regrets having written it, but I don't think it is that bad.

All I Really Want To Do received a nice treatment during the Budokan days. Through the years Chimes of Freedom and To Ramona have received good treatment... if I had to choose, I'd go with side one. For me, side two introduced My Back Pages and It Ain't Me, Babe to the world but that's really about all one can say.

Side 1 - for Chimes and To Ramona. There's a bit more filler than we expect from Bob in this period but it's still an essential album.