Self Portrait
Encyclopedia
Self Portrait is singer-songwriter
Bob Dylan
's tenth studio album
, released by Columbia Records
in June 1970.
Self Portrait was Dylan's second double album
, and features mostly cover version
s of well-known pop
and folk
songs. Also included are a handful of instrumentals and original compositions. Most of the album is sung in the affected country
crooning
voice that Dylan had introduced a year earlier on Nashville Skyline
. Seen by some as intentionally surreal and even satirical at times, Self Portrait received extremely poor reviews upon release; Greil Marcus
' opening sentence in his Rolling Stone
review was: "What is this shit?"
Dylan later claimed in interviews that Self Portrait was something of a joke, far below the standards he set in the 1960s, and was made to get people off his back and end the "spokesman of a generation" tags. He has also given other, contradictory accounts of his motives.
Despite the negative reception, the album quickly went gold in the US, where it hit #4, and it gave Dylan yet another UK #1 hit before it fell down the charts.
Critic Robert Shelton was under the impression that Self Portrait was intended as a serious release. "I told Dylan that Self Portrait confused me," Shelton wrote in 1986. "Why had he recorded 'Blue Moon
'? He wouldn't be drawn out, although obviously he had been stung by the criticism. 'It was an expression,' he said. He indicated that if the album had come from Presley
or The Everly Brothers
, who veered toward the middle of the road, it wouldn't have shocked so many."
However, in a Rolling Stone
interview taken in 1984, Dylan gave a different reason for the album's release:
As to why he chose to release a double album, Dylan replied, "Well, it wouldn't have held up as a single album—then it really would've been bad, you know. I mean, if you're gonna put a lot of crap on it, you might as well load it up!"
Later, Cameron Crowe
interviewed Dylan for his liner notes to 1985's Biograph
, a boxed-set retrospective of Dylan's career. When asked about Self Portrait, Dylan added more details to the story:
Later interviews only echoed the sentiments expressed to Crowe.
However, one track has managed to draw consistent praise over the years. Written by Alfred Frank Beddoe (who was "discovered" by Pete Seeger
after applying for work at People’s Songs, Inc. in 1946), "Copper Kettle
" captures an idyllic backwoods existence, where moonshine
is equated not only with pleasure but with tax resistance. Appalachia
n farmers who struggled to make their living off the land would routinely siphon off a percentage of their corn in order to distill whiskey. Everything produced would then be hidden from the government in order to avoid the whiskey tax of 1791.
Clinton Heylin
writes, "'Copper Kettle'...strike[s] all the right chords...being one of the most affecting performances in Dylan's entire official canon." NPR
's Tim Riley called it "an ingenious Appalachian
zygote
for rock attitudes, the hidden source of John Wesley Harding
s shadows."
"Copper Kettle" was popularised by Joan Baez
and appeared on her best-selling 1962 LP Joan Baez in Concert
.
Among the original songs written for the album, the instrumental "Wigwam" later achieved notoriety for its use in the 2001 Wes Anderson
film The Royal Tenenbaums
. "Living the Blues" was later covered by Leon Redbone
. "Living The Blues" was also covered by Jamie Saft
Trio with Antony Hegarty
on the album Trouble: The Jamie Saft Trio Plays Bob Dylan, in 2006. "All the Tired Horses" only features two lines, and is sung only by a female backing group. The song featured in the 2001 film Blow.
The only song on the album that can be considered psychedelic
is the party-friendly romp "The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)
," a song from the Basement Tapes sessions, covered to great success by Manfred Mann
in 1968. For live venues, The Grateful Dead and Phish
made the song an iconic favorite.
.
With Self Portrait, there were few admirers and far more detractors. Critical disdain seemed universal. At best, a number of journalists, including Robert Christgau
, felt there was a concept behind Self Portrait that had some merit.
"Conceptually, this is a brilliant album," wrote Christgau, "which is organized, I think, by two central ideas. First, that 'self' is most accurately defined (and depicted) in terms of the artifacts—in this case, pop tunes and folk songs claimed as personal property and semispontaneous renderings of past creations frozen for posterity on a piece of tape and (perhaps) even a couple of songs one has written oneself—to which one responds. Second, that the people's music is the music people like, Mantovani
strings and all."
However, few critics expressed any interest in the music itself. "[I]n order for a concept to work it has to be supported musically—that is, you have to listen," Christgau admitted. "I don't know anyone, even vociferous supporters of this album, who plays more than one side at a time. I don't listen to it at all. The singing is not consistently good, though it has its moments, and the production—for which I blame Bob Johnston
, though Dylan has to be listed as a coconspirator—ranges from indifferent to awful. It is possible to use strings and soprano choruses well, but Johnston has never demonstrated the knack. Other points: it's overpriced, the cover art is lousy, and it sounds good on WMCA."
In his Rolling Stone
review, Greil Marcus
warned, "Unless [Dylan] returns to the marketplace, with a sense of vocation and the ambition to keep up with his own gifts, the music of [the mid-sixties] will continue to dominate his records, whether he releases them or not." He also commented, "I once said I'd buy an album of Dylan breathing heavily. I still would. But not an album of Dylan breathing softly."
Rock critics Jimmy Guterman and Owen O'Donnell, writing in their 1991 book The Worst Rock and Roll Records of All Time, listed Self-Portrait as the third worst rock album ever, with only Lou Reed
's experimental Metal Machine Music
and Elvis Presley
's concert byplay album Having Fun With Elvis On Stage
faring worse. "The breakup of the Beatles shortly before this album's release," they wrote, "signaled the end of the sixties; Self-Portrait suggested the end of Bob Dylan."
In 1973, Knopf published Dylan's song lyrics, sketches, and album notes as Writings and Drawings, with updated versions called Lyrics appearing in 1985 and 2000. In all three editions, the original lyrics from Self-Portrait are never acknowledged, suggesting Dylan's disavowal of the whole album.
The album was also featured in an episode of "Pawn Stars
," in which Chumlee is sent to get the album signed by Dylan himself in order to make it more valuable. However, Chumlee messes up by getting a personalized autograph instead of just a signature.
except as indicated; traditional songs arranged by Dylan.
Singles
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
's tenth studio album
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
, released by Columbia Records
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in June 1970.
Self Portrait was Dylan's second double album
Double album
A double album is an audio album which spans two units of the primary medium in which it is sold, typically records and compact discs....
, and features mostly cover version
Cover version
In popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
s of well-known pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
and folk
Folk music
Folk music is an English term encompassing both traditional folk music and contemporary folk music. The term originated in the 19th century. Traditional folk music has been defined in several ways: as music transmitted by mouth, as music of the lower classes, and as music with unknown composers....
songs. Also included are a handful of instrumentals and original compositions. Most of the album is sung in the affected country
Country music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
crooning
Crooner
Crooner is an American epithet given to male singers of pop standards, mostly from the Great American Songbook, either backed by a full orchestra, a big band or by a piano. Originally it was an ironic term denoting an emphatically sentimental, often emotional singing style made possible by the use...
voice that Dylan had introduced a year earlier on Nashville Skyline
Nashville Skyline
Nashville Skyline is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's ninth studio album, released by Columbia Records in April 1969.The album marked a dramatic departure for Dylan, previously known for his groundbreaking, poetic folk music and rock and roll...
. Seen by some as intentionally surreal and even satirical at times, Self Portrait received extremely poor reviews upon release; Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a much broader framework of culture and politics than is customary in pop music journalism.-Life and career:Marcus was born in San Francisco...
' opening sentence in his Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
review was: "What is this shit?"
Dylan later claimed in interviews that Self Portrait was something of a joke, far below the standards he set in the 1960s, and was made to get people off his back and end the "spokesman of a generation" tags. He has also given other, contradictory accounts of his motives.
Despite the negative reception, the album quickly went gold in the US, where it hit #4, and it gave Dylan yet another UK #1 hit before it fell down the charts.
Production
The motives behind Self Portrait have been subject to wild speculation and great debate. Over the years, a few credible theories have emerged from those familiar with the project.Critic Robert Shelton was under the impression that Self Portrait was intended as a serious release. "I told Dylan that Self Portrait confused me," Shelton wrote in 1986. "Why had he recorded 'Blue Moon
Blue Moon (song)
"Blue Moon"'s first crossover recording to rock and roll came from Elvis Presley in 1956. His cover version of the song was included on his self-titled debut album Elvis Presley....
'? He wouldn't be drawn out, although obviously he had been stung by the criticism. 'It was an expression,' he said. He indicated that if the album had come from Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
or The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers
The Everly Brothers are country-influenced rock and roll performers, known for steel-string guitar playing and close harmony singing...
, who veered toward the middle of the road, it wouldn't have shocked so many."
However, in a Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
interview taken in 1984, Dylan gave a different reason for the album's release:
As to why he chose to release a double album, Dylan replied, "Well, it wouldn't have held up as a single album—then it really would've been bad, you know. I mean, if you're gonna put a lot of crap on it, you might as well load it up!"
Later, Cameron Crowe
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
interviewed Dylan for his liner notes to 1985's Biograph
Biograph (album)
Biograph is a 53-track compilation spanning the career of Bob Dylan, from his 1962 debut album to the 1981 LP Shot of Love. Released in 1985 by Columbia Records, on both a 5-LP and a 3-CD Box set, it was one of the earliest and most successful examples of the CD Box set...
, a boxed-set retrospective of Dylan's career. When asked about Self Portrait, Dylan added more details to the story:
Later interviews only echoed the sentiments expressed to Crowe.
Songs
Self Portrait was heavily criticized for its performances and overall production, with many critics singling out various songs as poor cover choices.However, one track has managed to draw consistent praise over the years. Written by Alfred Frank Beddoe (who was "discovered" by Pete Seeger
Pete Seeger
Peter "Pete" Seeger is an American folk singer and was an iconic figure in the mid-twentieth century American folk music revival. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, he also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of The Weavers, most notably their recording of Lead...
after applying for work at People’s Songs, Inc. in 1946), "Copper Kettle
Copper Kettle
"Copper Kettle" is a song composed by Albert Frank Beddoe and made popular by Joan Baez. Pete Seeger's account dates the song to 1946, mentioning its probable folk origin,"Frank."...
" captures an idyllic backwoods existence, where moonshine
Moonshine
Moonshine is an illegally produced distilled beverage...
is equated not only with pleasure but with tax resistance. Appalachia
Appalachia
Appalachia is a term used to describe a cultural region in the eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York state to northern Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Canada to Cheaha Mountain in the U.S...
n farmers who struggled to make their living off the land would routinely siphon off a percentage of their corn in order to distill whiskey. Everything produced would then be hidden from the government in order to avoid the whiskey tax of 1791.
Clinton Heylin
Clinton Heylin
Clinton Heylin is an English author who has written extensively about popular music and the work of Bob Dylan.- Education :...
writes, "'Copper Kettle'...strike[s] all the right chords...being one of the most affecting performances in Dylan's entire official canon." NPR
NPR
NPR, formerly National Public Radio, is a privately and publicly funded non-profit membership media organization that serves as a national syndicator to a network of 900 public radio stations in the United States. NPR was created in 1970, following congressional passage of the Public Broadcasting...
's Tim Riley called it "an ingenious Appalachian
Appalachian Mountains
The Appalachian Mountains #Whether the stressed vowel is or ,#Whether the "ch" is pronounced as a fricative or an affricate , and#Whether the final vowel is the monophthong or the diphthong .), often called the Appalachians, are a system of mountains in eastern North America. The Appalachians...
zygote
Zygote
A zygote , or zygocyte, is the initial cell formed when two gamete cells are joined by means of sexual reproduction. In multicellular organisms, it is the earliest developmental stage of the embryo...
for rock attitudes, the hidden source of John Wesley Harding
John Wesley Harding (album)
John Wesley Harding is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's eighth studio album, released by Columbia Records in December 1967.Produced by Bob Johnston, the album marked Dylan's return to acoustic music and traditional roots, after three albums of electric rock music...
s shadows."
"Copper Kettle" was popularised by Joan Baez
Joan Baez
Joan Chandos Baez is an American folk singer, songwriter, musician and a prominent activist in the fields of human rights, peace and environmental justice....
and appeared on her best-selling 1962 LP Joan Baez in Concert
Joan Baez in Concert
Joan Baez in Concert, Part 1 is a live album taken from Joan Baez's 1962 concert tours. It peaked at #10 on the Billboard Pop Albums chart.-History:...
.
Among the original songs written for the album, the instrumental "Wigwam" later achieved notoriety for its use in the 2001 Wes Anderson
Wes Anderson
Wesley Wales Anderson is an American film director, screenwriter, actor, and producer of features, short films and commercials....
film The Royal Tenenbaums
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Royal Tenenbaums is a 2001 American comedy-drama film directed by Wes Anderson and co-written with Owen Wilson. The film stars Gene Hackman and Anjelica Huston, with Danny Glover, Bill Murray, Gwyneth Paltrow, Ben Stiller, Luke Wilson, and Owen Wilson....
. "Living the Blues" was later covered by Leon Redbone
Leon Redbone
Leon Redbone is a singer and guitarist specializing in interpretations of early 20th-century music, including jazz and blues standards and Tin Pan Alley classics....
. "Living The Blues" was also covered by Jamie Saft
Jamie Saft
Jamie Saft is a keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist, composer, sound engineer and producer living in upstate NY. Saft was born in Flushing Queens, New York in 1971 and is a graduate of both Tufts University and the New England Conservatory of Music. He has performed and recorded with John Zorn,...
Trio with Antony Hegarty
Antony Hegarty
Antony Hegarty is an English singer-songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the band Antony and the Johnsons.-Early life:...
on the album Trouble: The Jamie Saft Trio Plays Bob Dylan, in 2006. "All the Tired Horses" only features two lines, and is sung only by a female backing group. The song featured in the 2001 film Blow.
The only song on the album that can be considered psychedelic
Psychedelic
The term psychedelic is derived from the Greek words ψυχή and δηλοῦν , translating to "soul-manifesting". A psychedelic experience is characterized by the striking perception of aspects of one's mind previously unknown, or by the creative exuberance of the mind liberated from its ostensibly...
is the party-friendly romp "The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)
Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)
"Quinn the Eskimo " is a folk-rock song written by Bob Dylan and first recorded during The Basement Tapes sessions in 1967. The song was first released in January 1968 as "Mighty Quinn" by the British band Manfred Mann and became a great success...
," a song from the Basement Tapes sessions, covered to great success by Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann
Manfred Mann was a British beat, rhythm and blues and pop band of the 1960s, named after their South African keyboardist, Manfred Mann, who later led the successful 1970s group Manfred Mann's Earth Band...
in 1968. For live venues, The Grateful Dead and Phish
Phish
Phish is an American rock band noted for its musical improvisation, extended jams, and exploration of music across genres. Formed at the University of Vermont in 1983 , the band's four members – Trey Anastasio , Mike Gordon , Jon Fishman , and Page McConnell Phish is an American rock band...
made the song an iconic favorite.
Outtakes
Self-Portrait, like most Dylan albums, generated a large number of outtakes, songs recorded for the album that did not make the final cut. The majority of the songs have never been released or circulated. Two notable songs are "Went to See the Gypsy" and "Time Passes Slowly", both recorded for possible inclusion on Self-Portrait but issued on New MorningNew Morning
New Morning is singer-songwriter Bob Dylan's 11th studio album, released by Columbia Records in October 1970.Coming only four months after the controversial Self Portrait, the more concise and immediate New Morning won a much warmer reception from fans and critics. Most welcome was the return of...
.
- A Fool Such as I(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I" A Fool Such as I" is a popular song written by Bill Trader and was published in 1952. Performed by Hank Snow it peaked at number four on the country charts early in 1953....
(Bill Trader) - Annie's Going to Sing Her Song (Tom PaxtonTom PaxtonThomas Richard Paxton is an American folk singer and singer-songwriter who has been writing, performing and recording music for over forty years...
) - Come a Little Bit Closer
- Come All You Fair and Tender LadiesCome All You Fair and Tender Ladies"Come All You Fair and Tender Ladies" is an American folk music ballad, originating from the Appalachian region. It has been recorded under either of its two title variations by numerous artists, including The Carter Family, Joan Baez, Odetta, Peter, Paul and Mary, Emmylou Harris, and Dolly Parton...
(Traditional) - Folsom Prison BluesFolsom Prison Blues"Folsom Prison Blues" is the title of a song written and recorded by American country music artist Johnny Cash. The song combines elements from two popular folk genres, the train song and the prison song, both of which Cash would continue to use for the rest of his career...
(Johnny CashJohnny CashJohn R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...
) - House Carpenter (Traditional)
- Little Moses (Bert A. WilliamsBert WilliamsEgbert Austin "Bert" Williams was one of the preeminent entertainers of the Vaudeville era and one of the most popular comedians for all audiences of his time. He was by far the best-selling black recording artist before 1920...
, Earle C. Jones) - My Previous Life
- Pretty Saro
- Railroad Bill (Traditional)
- Ring of FireRing of Fire (song)"Ring of Fire" or "The Ring of Fire" is a country music song popularized by Johnny Cash and co-written by June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore. The single appears on Cash's 1963 compilation album, Ring of Fire: The Best of Johnny Cash...
(June Carter, Merle KilgoreMerle KilgoreWyatt Merle Kilgore was an American singer, songwriter, and manager.-Early life:Although born in Chickasha, Oklahoma, Merle Kilgore was raised in Shreveport, Louisiana. He was the son of Wyatt and Gladys B. Kilgore...
) - Running (?)
- Sitting on the Dock of the Bay(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay" The Dock of the Bay" is a song co-written by soul singer Otis Redding and guitarist Steve Cropper. It was first recorded by Otis Redding in 1967, just days before his death. It was released posthumously on Stax Records' Volt label in 1968, becoming the first posthumous number-one single in U.S...
(Steve CropperSteve CropperSteve Cropper , also known as Steve "The Colonel" Cropper, is an American guitarist, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the guitarist of the Stax Records house band, Booker T...
, Otis ReddingOtis ReddingOtis Ray Redding, Jr. was an American soul singer-songwriter, record producer, arranger and talent scout. He is considered one of the major figures in soul and R&B...
) - Spanish Is the Loving Tongue (Charles Badger Clark)
- Tattle O-Day (Eric AndersenEric AndersenEric Andersen is an American singer-songwriter.-Biography:In the early 1960s, Eric Andersen was part of the Greenwich Village folk scene in New York...
) - These Hands
- Time Passes Slowly
- Thirsty Boots (Eric Andersen)
- This Evening So Soon
- Went to See the Gypsy
- When a Fellow's Out of a Job
- Unidentified Song
- Universal SoldierUniversal Soldier (song)"Universal Soldier" is a song written and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie. The song was originally released on Sainte-Marie's debut album It's My Way! in 1964. "Universal Soldier" was not a popular hit at the time of its release, but it did garner attention within the...
(Buffy Sainte-MarieBuffy Sainte-MarieBuffy Sainte-Marie, OC is a Canadian Cree singer-songwriter, musician, composer, visual artist, educator, pacifist, and social activist. Throughout her career in all of these areas, her work has focused on issues of Indigenous peoples of the Americas. Her singing and writing repertoire includes...
)
Aftermath
Dylan had his share of negative criticism before Self Portrait. At worst, his 1962 debut was met with quiet indifference. In 1966, his tour with the Hawks was met with open anger from some fans, but the burgeoning rock press countered that reaction with their enthusiastic praise.With Self Portrait, there were few admirers and far more detractors. Critical disdain seemed universal. At best, a number of journalists, including Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
, felt there was a concept behind Self Portrait that had some merit.
"Conceptually, this is a brilliant album," wrote Christgau, "which is organized, I think, by two central ideas. First, that 'self' is most accurately defined (and depicted) in terms of the artifacts—in this case, pop tunes and folk songs claimed as personal property and semispontaneous renderings of past creations frozen for posterity on a piece of tape and (perhaps) even a couple of songs one has written oneself—to which one responds. Second, that the people's music is the music people like, Mantovani
Mantovani
Annunzio Paolo Mantovani known as Mantovani, was an Anglo-Italian conductor and light orchestra-styled entertainer with a cascading strings musical signature. The book British Hit Singles & Albums states that he was "Britain's most successful album act before The Beatles .....
strings and all."
However, few critics expressed any interest in the music itself. "[I]n order for a concept to work it has to be supported musically—that is, you have to listen," Christgau admitted. "I don't know anyone, even vociferous supporters of this album, who plays more than one side at a time. I don't listen to it at all. The singing is not consistently good, though it has its moments, and the production—for which I blame Bob Johnston
Bob Johnston
Donald William Robert 'Bob' Johnston is a noted American record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson and many Nashville recording artists, as well as Simon and Garfunkel.-Early days:Johnston was born into a professional musical family...
, though Dylan has to be listed as a coconspirator—ranges from indifferent to awful. It is possible to use strings and soprano choruses well, but Johnston has never demonstrated the knack. Other points: it's overpriced, the cover art is lousy, and it sounds good on WMCA."
In his Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
review, Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus
Greil Marcus is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a much broader framework of culture and politics than is customary in pop music journalism.-Life and career:Marcus was born in San Francisco...
warned, "Unless [Dylan] returns to the marketplace, with a sense of vocation and the ambition to keep up with his own gifts, the music of [the mid-sixties] will continue to dominate his records, whether he releases them or not." He also commented, "I once said I'd buy an album of Dylan breathing heavily. I still would. But not an album of Dylan breathing softly."
Rock critics Jimmy Guterman and Owen O'Donnell, writing in their 1991 book The Worst Rock and Roll Records of All Time, listed Self-Portrait as the third worst rock album ever, with only Lou Reed
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which has spanned several decades...
's experimental Metal Machine Music
Metal Machine Music
Metal Machine Music, subtitled *The Amine β Ring, is the fifth solo album by Lou Reed. It was originally released as a double album by RCA Records in 1975...
and Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
's concert byplay album Having Fun With Elvis On Stage
Having Fun With Elvis On Stage
Having Fun with Elvis on Stage is a 1974 live album by Elvis Presley.The album is unique among Elvis' recordings as it does not contain any actual songs: it consists entirely of byplay recorded between numbers, although Elvis is frequently heard humming or singing "Well...", which during the actual...
faring worse. "The breakup of the Beatles shortly before this album's release," they wrote, "signaled the end of the sixties; Self-Portrait suggested the end of Bob Dylan."
In 1973, Knopf published Dylan's song lyrics, sketches, and album notes as Writings and Drawings, with updated versions called Lyrics appearing in 1985 and 2000. In all three editions, the original lyrics from Self-Portrait are never acknowledged, suggesting Dylan's disavowal of the whole album.
The album was also featured in an episode of "Pawn Stars
Pawn Stars
Pawn Stars is an American reality television series on the History Channel, produced in Manhattan by Leftfield Pictures. The series is filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicles the daily activities at the Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, a 24-hour family business operated by patriarch Richard...
," in which Chumlee is sent to get the album signed by Dylan himself in order to make it more valuable. However, Chumlee messes up by getting a personalized autograph instead of just a signature.
Track listing
All songs written by Bob DylanBob Dylan
Bob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
except as indicated; traditional songs arranged by Dylan.
Side one
- "All the Tired Horses" – 3:12
- "Alberta #1Alberta (blues)-Lead Belly song:Lead Belly recorded a song "Alberta" in four versions. One of these was recorded in New York on January 23, 1935 , and a similar version was recorded in New York on June 15, 1940...
" – 2:57 (Traditional) - "I Forgot More Than You'll Ever KnowI Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know"I Forgot More Than You'll Ever Know" was a number one country music single for The Davis Sisters in 1953. The song, written by Cecil Null, was the first hit for the duo of Skeeter Davis and Betty Jack Davis and their only one as Betty Jack was killed in an automobile accident the week the record...
" – 2:23 (Cecil A. Null) - "Days of 49" – 5:27 (Alan LomaxAlan LomaxAlan Lomax was an American folklorist and ethnomusicologist. He was one of the great field collectors of folk music of the 20th century, recording thousands of songs in the United States, Great Britain, Ireland, the Caribbean, Italy, and Spain.In his later career, Lomax advanced his theories of...
, John LomaxJohn LomaxJohn Avery Lomax was an American teacher, a pioneering musicologist and folklorist who did much for the preservation of American folk songs...
, Frank Warner) - "Early Mornin' RainEarly Morning Rain"Early Morning Rain" is a song composed and recorded by Canadian singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot. The song appears on his debut album Lightfoot! and in a re-recorded version on the 1975 compilation Gord's Gold...
" – 3:34 (Gordon LightfootGordon LightfootGordon Meredith Lightfoot, Jr. is a Canadian singer-songwriter who achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music, and has been credited for helping define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s...
) - "In Search of Little Sadie" - 2:28 (Traditional)
Side two
- "Let It Be Me" – 3:00 (Gilbert BécaudGilbert BécaudGilbert Bécaud was a French singer, composer and actor, known as "Monsieur 100,000 Volts" for his energetic performances. His best-known hits are "Nathalie" and "Et Maintenant", a 1961 release that became an English language hit as "What Now My Love"...
, Mann Curtis, Pierre DelanoëPierre DelanoëPierre Delanoë , born Pierre Leroyer, was a French songwriter/lyricist who wrote for dozens of singers such as Edith Piaf, Charles Aznavour, Petula Clark, and Johnny Hallyday....
) - "Little SadieLittle Sadie"Little Sadie" is a 20th Century American folk ballad in D Dorian mode. It is also known variously as "Bad Lee Brown", "Cocaine Blues", "Transfusion Blues", "East St. Louis Blues", "Late One Night", "Penitentiary Blues" and other titles. It tells the story of a man who is apprehended after shooting...
" – 2:00 (Traditional) - "Woogie Boogie" – 2:06
- "Belle Isle" – 2:30 (Traditional)
- "Living the Blues" – 2:42
- "Like a Rolling StoneLike a Rolling Stone"Like a Rolling Stone" is a 1965 song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. Its confrontational lyrics originate in an extended piece of verse Dylan wrote in June 1965, when he returned exhausted from a grueling tour of England...
" - 5:18- Recorded live August 31, 1969 at the Isle of Wight FestivalIsle of Wight FestivalThe Isle of Wight Festival is a music festival which takes place every year on the Isle of Wight in England. It was originally held from 1968 to 1970. These original events were promoted and organised by the Foulk brothers under the banner of their company Fiery Creations Limited...
- Recorded live August 31, 1969 at the Isle of Wight Festival
Side three
- "Copper KettleCopper Kettle"Copper Kettle" is a song composed by Albert Frank Beddoe and made popular by Joan Baez. Pete Seeger's account dates the song to 1946, mentioning its probable folk origin,"Frank."...
" – 3:34 (Alfred Frank Beddoe) - "Gotta Travel On" – 3:08 (Paul Clayton, Larry Ehrlich, David Lazar, Tom Six)
- "Blue MoonBlue Moon (song)"Blue Moon"'s first crossover recording to rock and roll came from Elvis Presley in 1956. His cover version of the song was included on his self-titled debut album Elvis Presley....
" – 2:29 (Lorenz HartLorenz HartLorenz "Larry" Milton Hart was the lyricist half of the famed Broadway songwriting team Rodgers and Hart...
, Richard RodgersRichard RodgersRichard Charles Rodgers was an American composer of music for more than 900 songs and for 43 Broadway musicals. He also composed music for films and television. He is best known for his songwriting partnerships with the lyricists Lorenz Hart and Oscar Hammerstein II...
) - "The BoxerThe Boxer"The Boxer" is a folk rock ballad written by Paul Simon in 1968 and first recorded by Simon & Garfunkel. It was released as the follow-up single to their number one hit "Mrs. Robinson", and reached #7 in the US charts. It later appeared on their last studio album, Bridge Over Troubled Water, along...
" – 2:48 (Paul SimonPaul SimonPaul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
) - "The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo)" – 2:48
- Recorded live August 31, 1969 at the Isle of Wight Festival
- "Take Me as I Am (Or Let Me Go)" – 3:03 (Boudleaux Bryant)
Side four
- "Take a Message to Mary" – 2:46 (Felice Bryant, Boudleaux Bryant)
- "It Hurts Me TooIt Hurts Me Too"It Hurts Me Too" is a blues standard that is "one of the most interpreted blues [songs]". First recorded in 1940 by Tampa Red, the song is a mid-tempo eight-bar blues that features slide guitar...
" – 3:15 (Traditional) - "Minstrel Boy" – 3:33
- "She Belongs to MeShe Belongs to Me"She Belongs to Me" is a song by Bob Dylan, and was first released as the second track on his 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home. It was one of the first anti-love songs and one of Dylan's first of many songs that describe a "witchy woman"...
" - 2:44- Tracks 3-4 recorded live August 31, 1969 at the Isle of Wight Festival
- "Wigwam" – 3:09
- "Alberta #2Alberta (blues)-Lead Belly song:Lead Belly recorded a song "Alberta" in four versions. One of these was recorded in New York on January 23, 1935 , and a similar version was recorded in New York on June 15, 1940...
" – 3:12 (Traditional)
Charts
Album| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
4 |
| 1970 | UK Top 75 | 1 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | "Wigwam" | Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
41 |
Personnel
- Byron Bach - Cello
- Brenton Banks - Violin
- George Binkley III - Violin
- Norman BlakeNorman Blake (American musician)Norman Blake is an instrumentalist, vocalist, and songwriter. In a career spanning more than 50 years Blake has played in a number of folk and Country groups...
- Guitar - David BrombergDavid BrombergDavid Bromberg is an American multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter. Bromberg has an eclectic style, playing bluegrass, blues, folk, jazz, country and western, and rock and roll equally well. He is known for his quirky, humorous lyrics, and the ability to play rhythm and lead guitar at the...
- Guitar, Dobro, Bass - Albert Wynn Butler - Clarinet, Saxophone
- Kenneth A. Buttrey - Drums, Percussion
- Fred Carter Jr. - Guitar
- Marvin Chantry - Viola
- Ron Cornelius - Guitar
- Charlie DanielsCharlie DanielsCharles Edward "Charlie" Daniels is an American musician known for his contributions to country and southern rock music. He is known primarily for his number one country hit "The Devil Went Down to Georgia", and multiple other songs he has performed and written. Daniels has been active as a singer...
- Bass, Guitar - Rick DankoRick DankoRichard Clare "Rick" Danko was a Canadian musician and singer, best known as a member of The Band.-Early years :...
- Bass, Vocals - Pete DrakePete DrakePete Drake , born Roddis Franklin Drake, was a major Nashville, Tennessee-based record producer and pedal steel guitar player....
- Steel Guitar - Bob DylanBob DylanBob Dylan is an American singer-songwriter, musician, poet, film director and painter. He has been a major and profoundly influential figure in popular music and culture for five decades. Much of his most celebrated work dates from the 1960s when he was an informal chronicler and a seemingly...
- Guitar, Harmonica, Keyboards, Vocals - Delores Edgin - Vocals
- Fred FosterFred FosterFred Foster is an American songwriter, record producer, and founder of Monument Records.-Biography:...
- Guitar - Solie Fott - Violin, Viola
- Bubba Fowler - Guitar
- Dennis Good - Trombone
- Emanuel Green - Violin
- Hilda Harris - Vocals
- Levon HelmLevon HelmMark Lavon "Levon" Helm , is an American rock multi-instrumentalist and actor who achieved fame as the drummer and frequent lead and backing vocalist for The Band....
- Mandolin, Drums, Vocals - Freddie Hill - Trumpet
- Karl Himmel - Clarinet, Saxophone, Trombone
- Garth HudsonGarth HudsonEric Garth Hudson is a Canadian multi-instrumentalist. As the organist, keyboardist and saxophonist for Canadian-American rock group The Band, he was a principal architect of the group's unique sound...
- Keyboards - Lilian Hunt - Violin
- Bob JohnstonBob JohnstonDonald William Robert 'Bob' Johnston is a noted American record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, Willie Nelson and many Nashville recording artists, as well as Simon and Garfunkel.-Early days:Johnston was born into a professional musical family...
- Producer - Martin Katahn - Violin
- Doug KershawDoug KershawDoug Kershaw, born January 24, 1936, is an American fiddle player, singer and songwriter from Louisiana. Active since 1949, Kershaw has recorded fifteen albums and charted on the Hot Country Songs charts.- Early life :...
- Violin - Al KooperAl KooperAl Kooper is an American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears , providing studio support for Bob Dylan when he went electric in 1965, and also bringing together guitarists Mike Bloomfield and Stephen Stills to...
- Guitar, Horn, Keyboards - Sheldon Kurland - Violin
- Richard ManuelRichard ManuelRichard George Manuel was a Canadian composer, singer, and multi-instrumentalist, best known for his contributions to and membership in The Band....
- Piano, Vocals - Martha McCrory - Cello
- Charlie McCoyCharlie McCoyCharles "Charlie" Ray McCoy is an American musician noted for his harmonica playing. In his career, McCoy has backed several notable musicians including Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Tom Astor, Elvis Presley and Ween. He has also recorded thirty-seven studio albums, including fourteen for Monument Records...
- Guitar, Bass, Harmonica, Vibes - Barry McDonald - Violin
- Ollie Mitchell - Trumpet
- Carol Montgomery - Vocals
- Bob Moore - Bass
- Gene A. Mullins - Baritone Horn
- Joe OsbornJoe OsbornJoe Osborn is an American bass guitar virtuoso, notable for his work as a session musician in Los Angeles and Nashville during the period from the 1960s through the 1980s. Osborn's work is widely admired by fellow musicians.Osborn began his career working in local clubs, then played on a hit...
- Guitar, Bass - June Page - Vocals
- Rex Peer - Trombone
- Bill Pursell - Piano
- Robbie RobertsonRobbie RobertsonRobbie Robertson, OC; is a Canadian singer-songwriter, and guitarist. He is best known for his membership as the guitarist and primary songwriter within The Band. He was ranked 59th in Rolling Stone magazine’s list of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time...
- Guitar, Vocals - Albertine Robinson - Vocals
- Al Rogers - Drums
- Frank Smith - Trombone
- Maretha Stewart - Vocals
- Gary Van Osdale - Viola
- Bill Walker - Arrangements
- Bob Wilson - Organ, Piano
- Stu Woods - Bass