Dear Landlord
| "Dear Landlord" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Bob Dylan | |
| from the album John Wesley Harding | |
| Released | December 27, 1967 |
| Recorded | November 29, 1967 |
| Studio | Columbia Studio A (Nashville, Tennessee)[1] |
| Venue | Nashville |
| Genre | Blues |
| Length | 3:19[2] |
| Label | Columbia Records |
| Songwriter(s) | Bob Dylan |
| Producer(s) | Bob Johnston |
"Dear Landlord" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It was recorded on November 29, 1967, at Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville, produced by Bob Johnston. The song was released on Dylan's album John Wesley Harding on December 27, 1967. It is a piano blues that has been interpreted as an address to his then-manager Albert Grossman.
Background and recording
The song is a piano blues[2] and was Dylan's first piano song since "Ballad of a Thin Man" (1965).[3] It was recorded on November 29, 1967, at Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville, produced by Bob Johnston, and was the last song recorded for John Wesley Harding.[2] It was released as the seventh track on the album, on December 27, 1967.[2][4]
Composition and lyrical interpretation
The song's lyric "Please don't put a price on my soul" has been interpreted as a plea to his manager Albert Grossman, who was also his landlord at the time, or perhaps to his audience.[3][5] In 1971, Dylan said that he did not have Grossman in mind when composing the song, but "only later when people pointed out that the song may have been written for Grossman I thought it could have been ... it's an abstract song."[2] Music academic Mike Jones regards the song as a "warning to Grossman from Dylan that he should not be underestimated".[6]: 201 Dylan biographer Anthony Scaduto had suggested that the track was Dylan's mind addressing his body.[7]
Critical reception
In Crawdaddy (May 1968), Jon Landau praised the song, although its target was unclear, for having "No reliance on exaggerated mannerisms but a simple and direct statement", and noted that the "melodic structure of the song is one of the most sophisticated Dylan has ever devised".[3]: 130 Paul Williams described the song as Dylan's "most heartfelt performance" on the album,[8]: 243 and wrote positively of the contributions of all three musicians, calling Dylan's piano-playing "fiery" and opining that bass player Charlie McCoy and drummer Kenneth Buttrey "pick up on the energy of the song and run with it", without being concerned that the music does not fit any particular musical idiom.[8]: 244 Allan Jones of Uncut rated "Dear Landlord" with 4 out of 5 stars in 2015.[9]
A 2009 list by American Songwriter rated the song as Dylan's 30th best,[4] but it was ranked only 186th by Jim Beviglia.[10]
Live performances
As of April 2022, Dylan had performed "Dear Landlord" live six times. He first played the song live on October 25, 1992, and most recently included it for a short time in his live sets in 2003.[3][2][11]
Personnel
The personnel for the November 29, 1967, recordings at Columbia Recording Studios, Nashville, are listed below.[2]
Musicians
- Bob Dylan – vocals, piano
- Charlie McCoy – bass
- Kenneth Buttrey – drums
Technical
- Bob Johnston – production
- Charlie Bragg – engineering
Official releases
- John Wesley Harding (released 1967)[2]
- Biograph (released 1985)
- The Original Mono Recordings (released 2010)
Cover versions
The song was covered by Joan Baez on her album Any Day Now in 1968, and appeared on 1969 albums by Janis Joplin (I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama!), Fairport Convention (a bonus track on later releases of Unhalfbricking, with Dave Mattacks on drums rather than Martin Lamble who had played on the album) and Joe Cocker (Joe Cocker!).[2]
References
- ^ Kosser, Michael (2006). How Nashville Became Music City, U.S.A.: A History Of Music Row. Lanham, Maryland, US: Backbeat Books. pp. 149–150. ISBN 978-1-49306-512-7.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Margotin, Philippe; Guesdon, Jean-Michel (2015). Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Black Dog and Leventhal Publishers. p. 294. ISBN 978-1579129859.
- ^ a b c d Trager, Oliver (2004). Keys to the rain: the definitive Bob Dylan encyclopedia. New York: Billboard Books. pp. 129–130. ISBN 0823079740.
- ^ a b Schlansky, Evan (March 31, 2009). "The Top 30 Bob Dylan Songs of All Time: Dear Landlord". americansongwriter.com. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved April 13, 2022.
- ^ Heylin, Clinton (1995). Revolution in the Air – the songs of Bob Dylan Vol.1 1957–73. Constable & Robinson. pp. 454–456. ISBN 9781849012966.
- ^ Jones, Mike (2013). "Underestimating Albert: revisiting Albert Grossman's management of Bob Dylan". Popular Music History. 8 (2): 189–204. doi:10.1558/pomh.v8i2.189.
- ^ Gill, Andy (2011). Bob Dylan: the stories behind the songs 1962-1969. London: Carlton. pp. 188–189. ISBN 9781847327598.
- ^ a b Williams, Paul (2004). Bob Dylan, performing artist: the early years, 1960–1973. London: Omnibus Press. ISBN 1844490955.
- ^ Jones, Allan (2015). "John Wesley Harding". Uncut: Bob Dylan. pp. 26–27.
- ^ Beviglia, Jim (July 11, 2013). Counting Down Bob Dylan: His 100 Finest Songs. Scarecrow Press. p. 190. ISBN 978-0-8108-8824-1.
- ^ "Setlists that contain Dear Landlord". bobdylan.com. Archived from the original on January 24, 2022. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
External links
- Lyrics to "Dear Landlord" at Bob Dylan's official website.
