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

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.

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.

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.

It was great!

I bought the book before I started using audible. I hadn’t read the book yet, but I found it on here and loved it! Some reviewers didn’t like the narrator, but he was good I thought. I don’t regret this purchase and would listen again!

For Any Hardcore Dylan Fan or Blonde on Blonde fan

This book is an intimate study of the recording of one of the greatest rock'n'roll albums of all time. The author does a great job of detailing the recording sessions and the players at each session. It shows how Dylan changed personnel to best facilitate the song. A great book about a great album by a great musician; what could be better!

To show how much I like it, I've listened to it many times. If you're a Dylan fan or Blinde on Blonde fan, this is a fascinating exploration of this amazing album's creation.

Great Book...But the Narrator?

Daryl Sanders' book is amazing. He puts you in the moment, a ringside seat at Dylan's mercurial decisions about personnel, lyrics, rhythm, and venues. But why wasn't he hired to narrate his own book? I've heard him talk--he is informed, engaged, with a voice that's authentic. Who is Graham Halstead? Every time he pronounces Johanna as Jo-Anna it's like fingernails across a blackboard. Dude, have you not listened to this song ONCE??? This is an entire book about Blonde on Blonde and I get the distinct impression that you've never listened to the album, that the cuts have no history for you at all. Please, Audible. Let more authors read their own work.

Loved it with reservations

I loved thinking again about one of my top five all-time favorite albums and learning about the process Dylan used to bring it off. I do have a few criticisms however. First for Mr. Halstead, Darryl Zan-NOOK? Really? You never heard of Darryl Zanuck? You're about to read a 300 page book on the making of a record album and with few exceptions EVERYONE who is going to buy this is nearly obsessed with this record. Would it be too much to expect you to LISTEN to the record? The name of the song, as Dylan makes VERY clear throughout the performance, is Visions of JoHanna, not Visions of Joanna. Every time you called this song Visions of Joanna, and you did it many many times, it was like fingernails on a chalk board. I don't blame you. I blame Audible for not making your criteria for reading this book more explicit.

For Mr. Sanders, you really think that by using the words 'whispering' and 'muttering' Dylan made Visions of Johanna a 'tribute' to T.S. Eliot? Come on! Also on Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, In the chorus: "My warehouse eyes my Arabian Drums. Should I leave them by your gate, or Sad Eyed Lady, should I wait." The singer's eyes are not like warehouses. In this case the word 'eyes' is a verb. He's considering putting his Arabian drums in his storage unit but he'd rather leave them with his girlfriend and while he's over there he's hoping she'll fix him a meal and let him spend the night. Not so obscure after all.

The history of the musicians tapped to be Dylan's band on these sessions, how the songs were composed and why they were recorded in Nashville and the involvement of Al Cooper and Robbie Robertson on these sessions is fascinating info not available anywhere else as far as I know. The impact of the album on Nashville as well as the rest of the world was something I hadn't previously considered. The transition from producer Tom Wilson to Bob Johnston and Johnston's influence on Dylan and his management to record in Nashville was information about this classic album I never heard before.

If, like me, you've been listening to Dylan's outtake album, Cutting Edge, for months, this book offers a lot of insight on the various takes and who plays what. The two products, That Thin Wild Mercury Sound and Cutting Edge, really should be marketed together. That would be a high-priced CD and book package well worth purchasing in hard copy.

Some good moments overall

Right now, I'm probably 75% finished with this. Overall, if you're a Dylanphile you'll find some interesting stuff I'm sure. However, the choice of reader is questionable. It is clear that he has probably never heard any of the songs he's discussing. Also, the editing in terms of mispronouncing of names and song titles is very substandard. Two quick examples: the author spends a great deal of time discussing the importance of "Visions Of Johanna" to the album. I agree, but the reader says "Joanna" approximately 1000 times I think. Somebody should have caught that. Also, the author says that "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window" was mistakenly released as the B-side to "Positively 4th Street." That's incorrect - it was released AS "Positively 4th Street." I know because I actually have that record. The B-side was "From A Buick 6." That makes me wonder about other "facts" reported in the book. I've certainly read worse books, but in general, I'm kind of disappointed.