Album: Oh Mercy
Recorded: February-April 1989
Released: September 1989
Recorded: February-April 1989
Released: September 1989
Songs / length: 10 / 38:46
Oh Mercy is an apt title for this record, not just for the way it succinctly captures the feeling many Dylan fans must have felt upon hearing this welcome return to form, but also for the way it points to the relief Dylan himself must have experienced upon rediscovering his muse. In chapter 4 (entitled Oh Mercy) of his autobiography Chronicles, Dylan is brutally honest about the creative rock bottom that he found himself in before recording this album:
As well as providing insights into Dylan's state of mind in the late 80s, and the physical pain of his hand injury, this section of the book is also revealing about the challenges that emerged during the recording sessions for Oh Mercy and expressive about how the location – in this case, New Orleans – seeped into the record. We're told that the genesis of the album was 20 verses Dylan wrote late at night for the song Political World, which he describes as a breakthrough after a long barren period of songwriting, followed by What Good Am I?, which came to him complete in one go. This led to an opening of the creative floodgates, but all the new songs were then put away in a drawer.
Enter Bono. At this time, U2 were at the peak of their powers having just recorded their masterpiece, The Joshua Tree, produced by Brian Eno and his protégé Daniel Lanois. When Bono came round to visit Dylan and drink Guinness, he recommended Lanois and a meeting was later set up between the two in New Orleans. At the time of their first encounter in late 1988, Lanois had already worked with Peter Gabriel and Dylan's good friend Robbie Robertson, and was currently recording an album by The Neville Brothers. Dylan liked the recording set-up and the cut of Lanois' jib, so six months later they reconvened along with a bunch of local musicians at an old colonial house in New Orleans.
Lanois himself was heavily involved in the album's recording, playing steel guitar, harpsichord and bass, among other instruments, and he pushed Dylan to be more hands-on musically himself. This explains some of the discomfort that Dylan voices about the recording process in Chronicles, and it seems that he and Lanois took some time to adjust to each other's working methods. Several songs were tried and rejected before Where Teardrops Fall was the first cut to finally meet with Dylan's approval. He also reluctantly approved of What Good Am I?, despite finding the tempo too slow, and had to convince Lanois of the merits of Everything Is Broken after the producer confessed his reservations that the song was a bit of a throwaway.
There were more positive, successful moments too – the recording of Ring Them Bells was smooth and, for me, the song is one of the highlights on the record. Dylan also talks about a road trip he took with his wife midway through the sessions, and how it inspired him to write one of the album's highlights, Man In The Long Black Coat, and album closer, Shooting Star. Dylan chose to open the album with one of the more upbeat, rock & roll songs, Political World, which he described as "almost an update on With God On Our Side". I'm not sure it's worthy of the comparison – very few of the verses are as lucid and lyrical as those on that early 60s masterpiece – but musically it has zip.
The tempo slows on Where Teardrops Fall, with its plaintive guitar sound complementing the wistful lyrics, but again it's not one of the stronger songs on the record – it's noticeable how croaky Dylan's voice is on the track, making him sound older than his years. The pace picks up again on Everything Is Broken, and like the opening song its focus is political, though again the vagueness of the lyrics means that that it doesn't really hit its intended target. Side 1 closes with two of the best tracks on the album – Ring Them Bells, a return to the more spiritual concerns of Dylan's early 80s records, and the atmospheric Man In The Long Black Coat. Lanois' production really enriches this classic song, which has an apocalyptic feel ("the water is high") and a strong Americana flavour, thanks to its mysterious cowboy figure who entices away a local girl.
According to Dylan, many of Oh Mercy's songs were conceived and written at night, and side 2 has a strong nighttime mood, as though you're listening after midnight to one of the New Orleans radio DJs that Dylan enjoyed so much during this period of his life. What Good Am I? has a feeling of nocturnal soul-searching, while What Was It You Wanted? continues that sense of Dylan reflecting upon a doomed relationship. In Chronicles, he mentions What Was It You Wanted? as one of the best collaborations between him and Lanois, saying that the "misty ... dreamy ... sonic atmosphere makes it sound like it's coming out of some mysterious, silent land". Disease of Conceit is one of the album's weaker moments, lyric uninspired and musically uninteresting – Dylan described the album as "strident" and I think this is exhibit A.
Shooting Star closes the record on a high and Dylan talks of how he "inherited" the song, which came to him complete and "illuminated". It's a gem. Even if Dylan described his music as "archaic" compared to the sound of rappers like Ice-T in the late 80s, it's also fair to say that Oh Mercy has stood the test of time, marking the start of a new phase of world weary but wise records over the past three decades. Given the quality of the outtakes – notably Dignity and Series of Dreams – it could have been an even better record, but it still ranks proudly in the mid-tier of Dylan's output and stands out even more strongly given what preceded it in the 80s.
Album rating: B
Oh Mercy is an apt title for this record, not just for the way it succinctly captures the feeling many Dylan fans must have felt upon hearing this welcome return to form, but also for the way it points to the relief Dylan himself must have experienced upon rediscovering his muse. In chapter 4 (entitled Oh Mercy) of his autobiography Chronicles, Dylan is brutally honest about the creative rock bottom that he found himself in before recording this album:
"... I had closed the door on my own self. The problem was that after relying so long on instinct and intuition, both these ladies had turned into vultures and were sucking me dry. Even spontaneity had become a blind goat. My haystacks weren't tied down and I was beginning to fear the wind."
As well as providing insights into Dylan's state of mind in the late 80s, and the physical pain of his hand injury, this section of the book is also revealing about the challenges that emerged during the recording sessions for Oh Mercy and expressive about how the location – in this case, New Orleans – seeped into the record. We're told that the genesis of the album was 20 verses Dylan wrote late at night for the song Political World, which he describes as a breakthrough after a long barren period of songwriting, followed by What Good Am I?, which came to him complete in one go. This led to an opening of the creative floodgates, but all the new songs were then put away in a drawer.
Enter Bono. At this time, U2 were at the peak of their powers having just recorded their masterpiece, The Joshua Tree, produced by Brian Eno and his protégé Daniel Lanois. When Bono came round to visit Dylan and drink Guinness, he recommended Lanois and a meeting was later set up between the two in New Orleans. At the time of their first encounter in late 1988, Lanois had already worked with Peter Gabriel and Dylan's good friend Robbie Robertson, and was currently recording an album by The Neville Brothers. Dylan liked the recording set-up and the cut of Lanois' jib, so six months later they reconvened along with a bunch of local musicians at an old colonial house in New Orleans.
Lanois himself was heavily involved in the album's recording, playing steel guitar, harpsichord and bass, among other instruments, and he pushed Dylan to be more hands-on musically himself. This explains some of the discomfort that Dylan voices about the recording process in Chronicles, and it seems that he and Lanois took some time to adjust to each other's working methods. Several songs were tried and rejected before Where Teardrops Fall was the first cut to finally meet with Dylan's approval. He also reluctantly approved of What Good Am I?, despite finding the tempo too slow, and had to convince Lanois of the merits of Everything Is Broken after the producer confessed his reservations that the song was a bit of a throwaway.
There were more positive, successful moments too – the recording of Ring Them Bells was smooth and, for me, the song is one of the highlights on the record. Dylan also talks about a road trip he took with his wife midway through the sessions, and how it inspired him to write one of the album's highlights, Man In The Long Black Coat, and album closer, Shooting Star. Dylan chose to open the album with one of the more upbeat, rock & roll songs, Political World, which he described as "almost an update on With God On Our Side". I'm not sure it's worthy of the comparison – very few of the verses are as lucid and lyrical as those on that early 60s masterpiece – but musically it has zip.
The tempo slows on Where Teardrops Fall, with its plaintive guitar sound complementing the wistful lyrics, but again it's not one of the stronger songs on the record – it's noticeable how croaky Dylan's voice is on the track, making him sound older than his years. The pace picks up again on Everything Is Broken, and like the opening song its focus is political, though again the vagueness of the lyrics means that that it doesn't really hit its intended target. Side 1 closes with two of the best tracks on the album – Ring Them Bells, a return to the more spiritual concerns of Dylan's early 80s records, and the atmospheric Man In The Long Black Coat. Lanois' production really enriches this classic song, which has an apocalyptic feel ("the water is high") and a strong Americana flavour, thanks to its mysterious cowboy figure who entices away a local girl.
A personal favourite of mine on the record is side 2 opener Most Of The Time, a raw and honest depiction of how it feels to recover from a break-up (Most of the time, my head is on straight / Most of the time, I’m strong enough not to hate) and the clever use of the title lyric serves to undermine each assertion of having moved on. Lanois' production is rich and warm, and it's a masterly example of Dylan's mature love songs, though the video performance of the song below is regrettable (try the album version instead) – it reminds me of the irritating singing style Dylan adopted when I saw him live at Wembley Arena 20 years ago.
According to Dylan, many of Oh Mercy's songs were conceived and written at night, and side 2 has a strong nighttime mood, as though you're listening after midnight to one of the New Orleans radio DJs that Dylan enjoyed so much during this period of his life. What Good Am I? has a feeling of nocturnal soul-searching, while What Was It You Wanted? continues that sense of Dylan reflecting upon a doomed relationship. In Chronicles, he mentions What Was It You Wanted? as one of the best collaborations between him and Lanois, saying that the "misty ... dreamy ... sonic atmosphere makes it sound like it's coming out of some mysterious, silent land". Disease of Conceit is one of the album's weaker moments, lyric uninspired and musically uninteresting – Dylan described the album as "strident" and I think this is exhibit A.
Shooting Star closes the record on a high and Dylan talks of how he "inherited" the song, which came to him complete and "illuminated". It's a gem. Even if Dylan described his music as "archaic" compared to the sound of rappers like Ice-T in the late 80s, it's also fair to say that Oh Mercy has stood the test of time, marking the start of a new phase of world weary but wise records over the past three decades. Given the quality of the outtakes – notably Dignity and Series of Dreams – it could have been an even better record, but it still ranks proudly in the mid-tier of Dylan's output and stands out even more strongly given what preceded it in the 80s.
Album rating: B
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