The album that turned Jerry Garcia on to Bob Dylan
When Bob Dylan first broke onto the scene, he established himself as a skilled folksy wordsmith who could narrate just about anything and make it sound poetic. When he began to branch out of his much-loved sound, however, his audience didn’t know what to make of it. For Grateful Dead’s Jerry Garcia, Dylan becoming more experimental was Dylan at his best.
Dylan’s unique selling point in the beginning was his ability to put life’s most difficult musings into words. Not only did he hold up a mirror to some of society’s most troubling facets, but he challenged the world around him in a way that let many of his listeners know they weren’t alone. Musicians had been channelling their criticisms into song for years, but Dylan’s approach was sobering and relatable.
While his foray into the more experimental realm angered many who labelled him as a sell-out, it attracted new audiences who likely didn’t feel all that connected to his earlier stuff. For instance, much of his later material resonated because it incorporated additional musical instruments, making for a more dense listening experience as Dylan’s ever-intriguing vocals beckon you into his intricate world.
For Garcia, this was the moment Dylan truly came into his own. Discussing his fifth studio album, Bringing It All Back Home, Garcia pinpointed the moment he first understood Dylan’s music. “Dylan was able to talk about the changes that you’d go through, the bummers and stuff like that – and say it in a good way, the right way,” he told Rolling Stone.
“I dug his stuff really from Bringing It All Back Home,” he continued, admitting that he “couldn’t really dig” his more folk material, which made Bringing It All Back Home so impactful. In Garcia’s view, this particular album “was [more] relevant to what was going on in my life at the time. Whether he intended it that way or not is completely unimportant.”
Interestingly, the structure of Bringing It All Back Home was a major turn-off for a large portion of Dylan’s established audience, who felt that his decision to depart from his earlier protest-style music was a pivot in the wrong direction. The album was also divided into two parts, one incorporating electronic elements and the other adopting a more acoustic approach, which endeared some while unnerving others.
The lyrics, which took on a more abstract and complex appeal, also didn’t sit right with many, who longed for Dylan to continue to explore the cynicism of his earlier songs. However, all of these elements are what made Garcia suddenly begin to pay attention after being faced with a personal connection to his words. Fortunately, the admiration went both ways. After Garcia passed away, Dylan delivered a heartfelt eulogy, describing the musician as someone who had “an uncanny ear and dexterity.”
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