I'm not meaning to disparage Under The Red Sky, or any of those other albums. It just that they have a carefree, easy-going vibe about them, as if - even if it was just for the time he was physically in the studio - Dylan was able to cast any worries out of his mind and just have some fun. There's no agenda here, no grand statement or specific goal in mind, just a feeling of 'go in, hit record and see what happens.'
Under The Red Sky is occasionally described as a children's album, but I don't quite subscribe to this viewpoint - at least in the sense that you won't find this album in the children's section of your local record store (do record stores have children's sections? Well, you know what I mean). I do think, as Paul Williams writes in the third volume of his Performing Artist series, that these songs were written by an active father, with the result that some of the language of children's stories, children's films and nursery rhymes couldn't help but find their way into the lyrics.
On the other hand, this album has a pretty strong line in apocalyptic imagery, starting with the title (not to mention lines like "God knows there's gonna be no more water but fire next time"). But then again, aren't fairy tales often kind of scary? (Although even Bob had his limits: there's a great, truly sinister outtake of 'TV Talkin' Song' floating around - featuring an evil, muttering vocal from Bob - that might have been a little too frightening to be included on this album.)
Having just come off the success of Oh Mercy in 1989, I get the sense that Dylan was keen to distance himself somewhat from that heavily Daniel Lanois-influenced effort. Sure, he might have thought to himself, the reviews are good, but are they reviewing me or the production? The only way to find out was to change course, and to see if the good reviews and strong sales followed. Don and David Was of the band Was (Not Was) got the gig as producers, going for a polished, radio-ready rock sound.
Although Bob was not yet comfortable bringing his live band into the studio, the general style of Under The Red Sky is not far removed from what Dylan was doing onstage circa 1990. Seat-of-your-pants rock 'n' roll featuring searing lead guitar breaks, insistent drums, and road-worn vocals from the lead singer. Bob's voice is rough and ragged after two years of heavy touring, but the cracks and imperfections add an extra vulnerability to the likes of the title track and '2x2', and extra grit to rockers like 'Wiggle Wiggle' and 'Unbelievable'. The vocals sound like the aural equivalent of Die Hard's John McClane at the end of the movie: bloody, battered bruised, but still hanging in there.
There's also a few examples of the type of reaching into the past that would become commonplace on Bob's 21st Century albums. If you squint, the opening to 'Wiggle Wiggle' sort of resembles Howlin' Wolf's 'Evil'; the intro to 'Unbelievable' calls to mind Carl Perkins' 'Honey Don't'; and the hip-shaking rhythm of 'Cat's In The Well' conjures Little Richard's 'Lucille'. In an interview years later, Don Was speculated that Dylan might have been attempting to road-test the approach he would later use on albums like "Love & Theft", which may very well have been the case.
Did the album, with its about-face from Oh Mercy and slightly incongruous plethora of A-list guest stars (including Elton John, George Harrison and Slash), bring in the plaudits that Dylan had hoped for? Unfortunately, no. But who cares: a Bob Dylan album is something that needs to be lived with for years, even decades, before all of its hidden charms are revealed. For example, it's fun trying to pick out Dylan's accordion (that's right: accordion) throughout the album; he's only credited on 'Born in Time', but it turns up on other songs too. And what about that horn section on 'Cat's In The Well', or David Crosby's backing vocals on '2x2'? Like most Dylan albums, new things jump out at you with each listen.
Under The Red Sky is often compared unfavourably to Time Out of Mind, Dylan's celebrated 1997 return to original material. However, I would argue that the key to enjoying this album (or any Dylan album, for that matter) is not to compare it to anything. Approach it on its own terms, then sit back and let Uncle Bob guide you into a world where nursery rhymes and the apocalypse go hand in hand.
Related reading:
* A great analysis of 'Wiggle Wiggle' by Sigismund Sludig on his Grain Sparrow blog
* Ray Padgett's essay on Bob's famous Toad's Place concert in January 1990, from his newsletter Flaggin' Down The Double E's . Amongst many other perculiarities, this show featured the live debut of 'Wiggle Wiggle', a full nine months before it's release.
Finally, here's Bob playing 'Wiggle Wiggle' in October 1990:
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