That Thin, Wild Mercury Sound

Dylan, Nashville, and the Making of Blonde on Blonde

By: Daryl Sanders

Narrated by: Graham Halstead

That Thin, Wild Mercury Sound is the definitive treatment of Bob Dylan's magnum opus, Blonde on Blonde, not only providing the most extensive account of the sessions that produced the trailblazing album but also setting the record straight on much of the misinformation that has surrounded the story of how the masterpiece came to be made. Including many new details and eyewitness accounts, as well as keen insight into the Nashville cats who helped Dylan reach rare artistic heights, it explores the lasting impact of rock's first double album.

Based on exhaustive research and in-depth interviews with the producer, the session musicians, studio personnel, management personnel, and others, Daryl Sanders chronicles the road that took Dylan from New York to Nashville in search of "that thin, wild mercury sound." As Dylan told Playboy in 1978, the closest he ever came to capturing that sound was during the Blonde on Blonde sessions, where the voice of a generation was backed by musicians of the highest order.

©2019 Daryl Sanders (P)2018 Tantor

So many mispronounced words

I enjoyed this but, as with some other audio books, the amount of mispronounced words is baffling. Really annoying.

Bad pronunciation a distraction

The book was very enjoyable and insightful, but I had a hard time ignoring the reader's bad pronunciation. It is Roy HALL-ee, not Roy Hay-lee, Richard Man-you-ell, not Richard Man-well, Visions of Johanna, not Joanna, and I believe Ouija board is pronounced wee-jee, not wee-gee (with a hard G). Also, the overall feel of the read was smooth and comfortable, the exact opposite of the feel of the album.

Please forgive the otherwise excellent narrator!

No matter how many books on and by Dylan you’ve read, you’ll learn important new things here. It’s exhaustively researched and brings to life the 70 hours Bob, the producer, and the musicians spent in the Nashville studio recording his game-changing double-LP.

The text is very well read by the narrator, and can be comfortably taken in at x1.5 speed. This is a book for Dylan fans only. And we all have to find a way of getting over the narrator’s one unfortunate bug. The name of the iconic song and it’s central character is pronounced “Joanna” throughout rather than the way it is spelled and sung, “JoHanna”. You can expect to be jarred by this 100 times or more — breaking the spell whereby we imagine the author speaking his own words (even when we know they are different people). Yes, you have to not obsess over the fact that the narrator seems not to have actually listened to the LP he describes over 9 hrs (and clearly not to be a Dylan fan himself).

But get over this you must, because you are a Dylan fan and you will want to know all the details presented within this book. And apart from this one thing, it really is smartly and pleasingly read. If this little flaw ruins it for you — that’s on you, not him. No doubt he has been told and embarrassed by now, and he will never make such a mistake in the future, I’m equally sure. But you, dear Dylan fan, are cool enough to deal with “Visions of Joanna”. Because you know Bob’s reaction (we’re he to learn of it) would be to laugh not fume.

NARRATORS READ THIS!!

Do some research before you read your books. Halstead reads in the story how important the song "Visions of Johanna" is and how much meaning it holds to so many musicians and songwriters. What a great song it is and the effect it had on a generation of people. So, why can't he pronounce it correctly? It's infuriating and hard to get past. It isn't "Visions of Joanna". Have you ever listened to the song? If not then why the f**k are you reading the book about Blonde on Blonde? It should at least be a prerequisite that you listen to the album. You don't have to be a Dylan fan but at least listen to the album and do minimal research. It's an absolutely pathetic reading. The book itself is awesome, if you can find it in text, do so.

Sometimes I forget how great Blonde on Blonde is

I'll admit like most Dylan fans, that my opinion of a favorite Dylan album changes constantly. Street Legal, sentimentally, as the first album that I ever purchased, Blood on the Tracks for its heartbreaking brilliance, Time Out of Mind, for the amazing resurrection of the master storyteller. Not to mention, periods when I feel nothing other than listening to John Wesley Harding on a loop, or Desire, or Infidels. So, it's easy to forget how genius an album Blonde on Blonde is. It's almost too perfect musically, and historically, so I guess I kind of put it aside thoughtlessly.

This book chronicles the Nashville sessions creating Blonde on Blonde, and it's thoroughly enjoyable. I feared an overly technical account of the times (to be fair, it does go a bit Wikipedia in moments). But digressions into speculation on the origins of the songs are kept reasonably limited. A few references are made to Sara, Edie Sedgwick or Nico, and to whom a particular song is directed. But thankfully, not a lot of time is spent on that, more on the music and the musicians.