View source for Bringing It All Back Home

{{hatnote group|{{About|the Bob Dylan studio album}}
{{Redirect|Bringin' It All Back Home|Johnny Copeland's album of the same name|Bringin' It All Back Home (Johnny Copeland album){{!}}''Bringin' It All Back Home'' (Johnny Copeland album)}}}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2021}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Bringing It All Back Home
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Bob Dylan]]
| cover      = Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home.jpg
| border     = yes
| alt        = A photograph of Dylan staring at the camera with a woman reclining behind him on a chair. A lens effect blurs the edges of the photo.
| released   = {{Startdate|1965|04<!--Do not change to March 22 without first consulting the talk page-->}}
| recorded   = January 13–15, 1965
| venue      =
| studio     = [[Columbia Records#Studio A|Columbia 7th Ave]], New York City
| genre      = {{hlist|[[Folk rock]]<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/how-bob-dylans-bringing-it-all-back-home-stunned-the-world-20160322|title=How Bob Dylan's 'Bringing It All Back Home' 'Stunned the World'|last=Hermes|first=Will|date=March 22, 2016|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date=June 4, 2016|quote=We look back at Bob Dylan's 'Bringing It All Back Home,' which saw him go electric, invent folk rock and redefine what can be said in a song.|archive-date=May 29, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529171528/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/how-bob-dylans-bringing-it-all-back-home-stunned-the-world-20160322|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/40126-morning-benders-mirah-pay-bob-dylan-tribute/|title=Morning Benders, Mirah Pay Bob Dylan Tribute|publisher=Pitchfork |last=Breihan|first=Tom|date=September 21, 2010}}</ref>|[[contemporary folk music|folk]]<ref name=AM />|[[blues]]<ref name="Sawyers2011">{{cite book|author=June Skinner Sawyers|title=Bob Dylan: New York|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-KQIwgaI3-8C&pg=PA77|date=May 1, 2011|publisher=Roaring Forties Press|isbn=978-0-9846254-4-4|page=77}}</ref>}}
| length     = 47:21
| label      = [[Columbia Records|Columbia]]
| producer   = [[Tom Wilson (producer)|Tom Wilson]]
| prev_title = [[Another Side of Bob Dylan]]
| prev_year  = 1964
| next_title = [[Highway 61 Revisited]]
| next_year  = 1965
| misc       = {{Singles
 | name        = Bringing It All Back Home
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Subterranean Homesick Blues]]" / "[[She Belongs to Me]]
 | single1date = March 8, 1965
 | single2     = [[Maggie's Farm]]" / "[[On the Road Again (Bob Dylan song)|On the Road Again]]
 | single2date = June 1965
 | single3     = [[Gates of Eden (song)|Gates of Eden]]
 | single3date = July 20, 1965
}}
}}

'''''Bringing It All Back Home''''' is the fifth studio album by the American singer-songwriter [[Bob Dylan]], released in <!--Do not change to March 22 without first consulting the talk page-->April{{nbsp}}1965 by [[Columbia Records]].<ref name=CashBox>{{cite magazine|author=Anon.|title=Columbia Bows 19 New Albums|magazine=[[Cashbox (magazine)|Cash Box]]|date=April 10, 1965|page=6|quote=Columbia Records has announced an April Release to contain 19 albums{{nbsp}}... [including] 'Bringing It All Back Home' by Bob Dylan{{nbsp}}...}}</ref>{{refn|name=release|group="nb"|March 22, 1965 is the date usually stated as the release date for the album in later secondary sources.<ref name = "
March 22, 1965 Release">{{Cite news|last1=Snow|first1=Mat|title=Bob Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home Revisited|work=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]]|publisher = [[Bauer Media Group]]|location=[[London]]|date=March 22, 2024| url=https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/stories/bob-dylans-bringing-it-all-back-home-revisited/|access-date=March 21, 2025|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240322183522/https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/stories/bob-dylans-bringing-it-all-back-home-revisited/| archive-date=March 22, 2024|url-status=live}}</ref>}} In a major transition from his earlier sound, it was Dylan's first album to incorporate electric instrumentation, which [[Electric Dylan controversy|caused controversy]] and divided many in the contemporary [[Folk music|folk]] scene.<ref>[[Irwin Silber]], editor of folk magazine ''[[Sing Out!]]'' described Dylan's new music as "a freak and a parody". ''Bob Dylan'' by Anthony Scaduto, Abacus Books, 1972, p. 188</ref>

The album is split into two distinct halves; the first half of the album features electric instrumentation, in which on side one of the original LP, Dylan is backed by an electric [[rock and roll]] band. The second half features mainly acoustic songs. The album abandons the [[protest music]] of Dylan's previous records in favor of more surreal, complex lyrics.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/dylans-double-personality-celebrating-the-50th-anniversary-of-bringing-it-all-back-home-1426713732|title=Dylan's Double Personality: Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of 'Bringing It All Back Home'|website=[[Wsj.com]]|date=March 18, 2015|access-date=July 21, 2019|last1=Woodward|first1=Richard B.}}</ref>

The album reached No. 6 on ''[[Billboard charts|Billboard]]''{{'}}s Pop Albums chart, the first of Dylan's LPs to break into the US Top 10. It also topped the UK charts later that spring. The first track, "[[Subterranean Homesick Blues]]", became Dylan's first single to chart in the US, peaking at No. 39. ''Bringing It All Back Home'' has been described as one of the greatest albums of all time by multiple publications.<ref name="faroutmagazine.co.uk">{{Cite web |date=2021-03-22 |title=Bob Dylan's triumphant album 'Bringing It All Back Home' |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/bob-dylan-album-bringing-it-all-back-home-review/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last1=Hermes |first1=Will |date=2016-03-22 |title=How Dylan's 'Bringing It All Back Home' 'Stunned the World' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/how-bob-dylans-bringing-it-all-back-home-stunned-the-world-158316/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |date=2009-05-31 |title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Revisiting Bob Dylan's 'Bringing It All Back Home' (1965) {{!}} Retrospective Tribute |url=https://albumism.com/features/bob-dylan-bringing-it-all-back-home-turns-55-anniversary-retrospective |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=Albumism |language=en-US}}</ref> In 2003, it was ranked number 31 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'''s list of the "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]", later repositioned to number 181 in the 2020 edition.

{{TOC limit|3}}

== Recording ==
{{more citations needed section|date=July 2017}}

Dylan spent much of the summer of 1964 in [[Woodstock, New York|Woodstock]], a small town in upstate [[New York (state)|New York]] where his manager, [[Albert Grossman]], had a place.<ref name="faroutmagazine.co.uk"/> When [[Joan Baez]] went to see Dylan that August, they stayed at Grossman's house. Baez recalls that "most of the month or so we were there, Bob stood at the typewriter in the corner of his room, drinking red wine and smoking and tapping away relentlessly for hours. And in the dead of night, he would wake up, grunt, grab a cigarette, and stumble over to the typewriter again." Dylan already had one song ready for his next album: "[[Mr. Tambourine Man]]" was written in February 1964 but omitted from ''[[Another Side of Bob Dylan]]''. Another song, "[[Gates of Eden (song)|Gates of Eden]]", was also written earlier that year, appearing in the original manuscripts to ''Another Side of Bob Dylan''; a few lyrical changes were eventually made, but it's unclear if these were made that August in Woodstock. At least two songs were written that month: "[[If You Gotta Go, Go Now]]" and "[[It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)]]". During this time, Dylan's lyrics became increasingly [[Surrealism|surreal]], and his prose grew more stylistic, often resembling [[Stream of consciousness (narrative mode)|stream-of-consciousness]] writing with published letters dating from 1964 becoming increasingly intense and dreamlike as the year wore on.

Dylan returned to the city, and on August 28, he met [[the Beatles]] for the first time in their New York hotel.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bob Dylan's Influence on The Beatles|url=http://www.aaronkrerowicz.com/beatles-blog/bob-dylans-influence-on-the-beatles|website=AARON KREROWICZ, Professional Beatles Scholar|access-date=November 10, 2016}}</ref> In retrospect, this meeting with the Beatles would prove to be influential to the direction of Dylan's music, as he would soon record music invoking a rock sound for at least the next three albums. Dylan would remain on good terms with the Beatles, and as biographer [[Clinton Heylin]] writes, "the evening established a personal dimension to the very real rivalry that would endure for the remainder of a momentous decade."

Dylan and producer [[Tom Wilson (producer)|Tom Wilson]] were soon experimenting with their own fusion of rock and folk music. The first unsuccessful test involved overdubbing a "[[Fats Domino]] early rock & roll thing" over Dylan's earlier, acoustic recording of "[[House of the Rising Sun]]", according to Wilson. This took place in the [[CBS 30th Street Studio|Columbia 30th Street Studio]] in December 1964.<ref>[[Clinton Heylin|Heylin, Clinton]], [https://books.google.com/books?id=c9d62SgEJpkC ''Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions, 1960–1994''], Macmillan, 1997. Cf. p.33-34 for record producer [[Tom Wilson (producer)|Tom Wilson]]'s use of the 30th Street Studios for some of Dylan's work, and other references in the book.</ref> It was quickly discarded, though Wilson would more famously use the same technique of overdubbing an electric backing track to an existing acoustic recording with [[Simon & Garfunkel]]'s "[[The Sound of Silence]]". In the meantime, Dylan turned his attention to another folk-rock experiment conducted by [[John P. Hammond]], an old friend and musician whose father, [[John H. Hammond]], originally signed Dylan to Columbia. Hammond was planning an electric album around the blues songs that framed his acoustic live performances of the time. To do this, he recruited three members of an American/Canadian bar band he met sometime in 1963: guitarist [[Robbie Robertson]], drummer [[Levon Helm]], and organist [[Garth Hudson]] (members of the Hawks, who would go on to become [[the Band]]). Dylan was very aware of the resulting album, ''[[So Many Roads (John P. Hammond album)|So Many Roads]]''; according to his friend, Danny Kalb, "Bob was really excited about what John Hammond was doing with electric blues. I talked to him in the Figaro in 1964 and he was telling me about John and his going to Chicago and playing with a band and so on …"<ref>{{Cite book |last=Heylin |first=Clinton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dd5EmZDdScoC&pg=PA174 |title=Behind the Shades: The 20th Anniversary Edition |date=2011-04-01 |publisher=Faber & Faber |isbn=978-0-571-27241-9 |language=en}}</ref>

However, when Dylan and Wilson began work on the next album, they temporarily refrained from their own electric experimentation. The first session, held on January 13, 1965, in [[Columbia Records#Studio A|Columbia's Studio A]] in New York, was recorded solo, with Dylan playing piano or acoustic guitar. Ten complete songs and several song sketches were produced, nearly all of which were discarded.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{Cite web |date=2022-03-22 |title=How Bob Dylan made 'Bringing It All Back Home' in three days |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/how-bob-dylan-recorded-bringing-it-all-back-home-in-three-days/ |access-date=2022-11-06 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US}}</ref> Take one of "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" would be used for the album, but three would eventually be released: "I'll Keep It With Mine" on 1985's ''[[Biograph (album)|Biograph]]'', and "[[Farewell, Angelina (song)|Farewell Angelina]]" and an acoustic version of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" on 1991's ''[[The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991]]''.

Other songs and sketches recorded at this session: "Love Minus Zero/No Limit", "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", "She Belongs to Me", "On the Road Again", "If You Gotta Go, Go Now", "You Don't Have to Do That", "California," and "Outlaw Blues", all of which were original compositions.

Dylan and Wilson held another session at Studio A the following day, this time with a full, electric band. Guitarists [[Al Gorgoni]], [[Kenny Rankin]], and [[Bruce Langhorne]] were recruited, as were pianist [[Paul Griffin (musician)|Paul Griffin]], bassists Joseph Macho Jr. and [[Bill Lee (musician)|William E. Lee]], and drummer [[Bobby Gregg]]. The day's work focused on eight songs, all of which had been attempted the previous day. According to Langhorne, there was no rehearsal, "we just did first takes and I remember that, for what it was, it was amazingly intuitive and successful." Few takes were required of each song, and after three and a half hours of recording (lasting from 2:30&nbsp;pm to 6:00&nbsp;pm), master takes of "Love Minus Zero/No Limit", "Subterranean Homesick Blues", "Outlaw Blues", "She Belongs to Me", and "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" were all recorded and selected for the final album.<ref name="ReferenceB"/>

Sometime after dinner, Dylan reportedly continued recording with a different set of musicians, including [[John P. Hammond]] and [[John Sebastian]] (only Langhorne returned from earlier that day). They recorded six songs, but the results were deemed unsatisfactory and ultimately rejected.

Another session was held at Studio A the next day, and it would be the last one needed. Once again, Dylan kept at his disposal the musicians from the previous day (that is, those that participated in the 2:30&nbsp;pm to 6:00&nbsp;pm session); the one exception was pianist Paul Griffin, who was unable to attend and replaced by Frank Owens. Daniel Kramer recalls:<ref name="ReferenceB"/> {{cquote|The musicians were enthusiastic. They conferred with one another to work out the problems as they arose. Dylan bounced around from one man to another, explaining what he wanted, often showing them on the piano what was needed until, like a giant puzzle, the pieces would fit and the picture emerged whole … Most of the songs went down easily and needed only three or four takes … In some cases, the first take sounded completely different from the final one because the material was played at a different tempo, perhaps, or a different chord was chosen, or solos may have been rearranged...His method of working, the certainty of what he wanted, kept things moving.}}

The session began with "Maggie's Farm": only one take was recorded, and it was the only one they'd ever need. From there, Dylan successfully recorded master takes of "On the Road Again", "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)", "Gates of Eden", "Mr. Tambourine Man", and "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", all of which were set aside for the album. A master take of "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" was also selected, but it would not be included on the album; instead, it was issued as a single-only release in Europe, but not in the US or the UK.

Though Dylan was able to record electric versions of virtually every song included on the final album, he apparently never intended ''Bringing It All Back Home'' to be completely electric. As a result, roughly half of the finished album would feature full electric band arrangements while the other half consisted of solo acoustic performances, sometimes accompanied by Langhorne, who would embellish Dylan's acoustic performance with a [[countermelody]] on his electric guitar.

== Songs ==

=== Overview ===
''Bringing It All Back Home'' consists mainly of blues and folk and, as a result of Dylan's adoption of a more electric sound, is considered to have been instrumental in the birth of folk rock.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Revisiting Bob Dylan's 'Bringing It All Back Home' (1965) {{!}} Retrospective Tribute |url=https://albumism.com/features/bob-dylan-bringing-it-all-back-home-turns-55-anniversary-retrospective |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=Albumism |language=en-US}}</ref> On his following albums, ''[[Highway 61 Revisited]]'' and ''[[Blonde on Blonde]]'', he would further develop the genre, influencing American folk acts such as [[Buffalo Springfield]] and [[Simon & Garfunkel|Simon and Garfunkel]] as well as [[British Invasion]] bands like the Beatles and [[the Rolling Stones]] to innovate, producing more introspective lyrics and allowing the latter two groups to expand out of the confines of their [[pop rock]] roots. According to [[Pete Townshend]] of [[the Who]], Dylan's folk attitude also influenced the writing of one of their most successful songs, the 1965 single "[[My Generation]]". In the Beatles' case, the results of this innovation, namely the albums ''[[Help!]]'' and ''[[Rubber Soul]],'' would help push folk rock into the mainstream''.''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-07-01 |title=How Bob Dylan influenced The Beatles and The Rolling Stones |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/how-bob-dylan-influenced-the-beatles-the-rolling-stones-the-who/ |access-date=2022-11-07 |website=faroutmagazine.co.uk |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== Side one ===
{{unsourced section|date=January 2025}}
==== "Subterranean Homesick Blues" ====
The album opens with "[[Subterranean Homesick Blues]]", heavily inspired by [[Chuck Berry]]'s "[[Too Much Monkey Business]]". "Subterranean Homesick Blues" became a Top 40 hit for Dylan. "Snagged by a sour, pinched guitar riff, the song has an acerbic tinge … and Dylan sings the title rejoinders in mock self-pity," writes music critic [[Tim Riley (music critic)|Tim Riley]]. "It's less an indictment of the system than a coil of imagery that spells out how the system hangs itself with the rope it's so proud of."

==== "She Belongs to Me" ====
"[[She Belongs to Me]]" extols the bohemian virtues of an artistic lover whose creativity must be constantly fed ("Bow down to her on Sunday / Salute her when her birthday comes. / For Halloween buy her a trumpet / And for Christmas, give her a drum.")

==== "Maggie's Farm" ====
"[[Maggie's Farm]]" contains themes of social, economic and political criticism, with lines such as "Well I try my best to be just like I am/But everybody wants you to be just like them" and "Well, I wake up in the morning, fold my hands and pray for rain/I got a head full of ideas that are drivin' me insane". It follows a straightforward blues structure, with the opening line of each verse ("I ain't gonna work...") sung twice, then repeated at the end of the verse. The third to fifth lines of each verse elaborate on and explain the sentiment expressed in the verse's opening/closing lines. It references working for Maggie, her father, her mother, and her brother on a farm.

==== "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" ====
"[[Love Minus Zero/No Limit]]" is a love song. Its main musical hook is a series of three descending [[Chord (music)|chords]], while its lyrics articulate Dylan's feelings for his lover, and have been interpreted as describing how she brings a needed [[zen]]-like calm to his chaotic world. The song uses surreal imagery, which some authors and critics have suggested recalls [[Edgar Allan Poe]]'s "[[The Raven]]" and the biblical [[Book of Daniel]]. Critics have also remarked that the style of the lyrics is reminiscent of [[William Blake]]'s poem "[[The Sick Rose]]".

==== "Outlaw Blues" ====
"[[Outlaw Blues (Bob Dylan song)|Outlaw Blues]]" is an [[electric blues]] song that lyrically follows a fugitive traveling through harsh conditions ("Ain't it hard to stumble and land in some muddy lagoon?/Especially when it's nine below zero and three o'clock in the afternoon") as he resents the life of being on the run.

==== "On the Road Again" ====
"[[On the Road Again (Bob Dylan song)|On the Road Again]]" catalogs the absurd affectations and degenerate living conditions of bohemia. The song concludes: "Then you ask why I don't live here / Honey, how come you don't move?"

==== "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" ====
"[[Bob Dylan's 115th Dream]]" narrates a surreal experience involving the discovery of America, "Captain Arab" (a clear reference to [[Ahab (Moby-Dick)|Captain Ahab]] of ''[[Moby Dick]]''), and numerous bizarre encounters. It is the longest song in the electric section of the album, starting out as an acoustic ballad before being interrupted by laughter, and then starting back up again with an electric blues rhythm. The music is so similar in places to ''Another Side of Bob Dylan''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s "[[Motorpsycho Nitemare]]" as to be indistinguishable from it but for the electric instrumentation. The song can be best read as a highly sardonic, non-linear (historically) dreamscape parallel cataloguing of the discovery, creation and merits (or lack thereof) of the United States.

=== Side two ===

==== "Mr. Tambourine Man" ====
"[[Mr. Tambourine Man]]" is the first track on side 2 of the album. It was written and composed in early 1964, at the same approximate time as "[[Chimes of Freedom (song)|Chimes of Freedom]]", which Dylan recorded later that spring for his album ''[[Another Side of Bob Dylan]]''. The lyrics are surrealist and may be influenced by the work of [[Arthur Rimbaud]] (most notably for the "magic swirlin' ship" evoked in the lyrics).

==== "Gates of Eden" ====
"[[Gates of Eden (song)|Gates of Eden]]" is the only song on the album that is mono on the stereo release and all subsequent reissues. Dylan plays the song solo, accompanying himself on acoustic guitar and harmonica. It is considered one of Dylan's most surreal songs.

==== "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" ====
"[[It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)|It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)]]" was written in the summer of 1964, first performed live on October 10, 1964, and recorded on January 15, 1965. It is described by Dylan biographer [[Howard Sounes]] as a "grim masterpiece". The song features some of Dylan's most memorable lyrical images. Among the well-known lines sung in the song are "He not busy being born is busy dying," "Money doesn't talk, it swears," "Although the masters make the rules, for the wisemen and the fools" and "But even the president of the United States sometimes must have to stand naked." Musically, it is similar to Dylan's cover of "[[Highway 51 Blues]]", which he recorded four years earlier and released on his debut album, ''[[Bob Dylan (album)|Bob Dylan]]''.

==== "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" ====
"[[It's All Over Now, Baby Blue]]" is the album's closing song. The song was recorded on January 15, 1965, with Dylan's acoustic guitar and harmonica and [[Bill Lee (musician)|William E. Lee's]] bass guitar the only instrumentation.<ref>{{cite book|title=Bob Dylan: Performing Artist, 1960–1973|url=https://archive.org/details/bobdylanperformi00will|url-access=registration|edition=2nd|author=Williams, P.|page=[https://archive.org/details/bobdylanperformi00will/page/138 138]|year=2004|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-1-84449-095-0}}</ref>

== Artwork ==
The album's cover,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://bob-dylan.org.uk/archives/14026 | title=The story of the art work on Bringing it All Back Home &#124; Untold Dylan }}</ref>  photographed by [[Daniel Kramer (photographer)|Daniel Kramer]] with an edge-softened lens, features [[Sally Grossman]] (wife of Dylan's manager [[Albert Grossman]]) lounging in the background.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Williams |first=Alex |date=2024-05-14 |title=Daniel Kramer, Who Photographed Bob Dylan’s Rise, Dies at 91 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/14/arts/music/daniel-kramer-dead.html |access-date=2024-05-15 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> There are also artifacts scattered around the room, including LPs by [[the Impressions]] (''[[Keep On Pushing]]''), [[Robert Johnson]] (''[[King of the Delta Blues Singers]]''), [[Ravi Shankar]] (''[[India's Master Musician]]''), [[Lotte Lenya]] (''Sings Berlin Theatre Songs by Kurt Weill'') and [[Eric Von Schmidt]] (''The Folk Blues of Eric Von Schmidt''). Dylan had "met" Schmidt "one day in the green pastures of Harvard University"<ref>Baby, Let Me Follow You Down</ref> and would later mimic his album cover pose (tipping his hat) for his own ''[[Nashville Skyline]]'' four years later.<ref name="complete">{{cite book | last = Humphries | first = Patrick | title = The Complete Guide to the Music of Bob Dylan| publisher =Omnibus Press | year = 1995 | location = [[London]], England | isbn = 0-7119-4868-2}}</ref> A further record, [[Françoise Hardy]]'s EP ''J'suis D'accord,'' was on the floor near Dylan's feet but can only be seen in other shots from the same photo session, as well as a copy of the Wilhelm/Baynes version of ''[[I Ching]]''.

Visible behind Grossman is the top of Dylan's head from the cover of ''[[Another Side of Bob Dylan]]''; under her right arm is the magazine ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' with President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] as "[[Time Person of the Year|Man of the Year]]" on the cover of the January 1, 1965 issue. There is a [[harmonica]] resting on a table with a [[fallout shelter]] (capacity 80) sign leaning against it. Above the fireplace on the mantle directly to the left of the painting is the [[Lord Buckley]] album ''The Best of Lord Buckley''. Next to Lord Buckley is a copy of ''GNAOUA'', a magazine devoted to exorcism and [[Beat Generation|Beat]] poetry edited by poet [[Ira Cohen]], and a glass collage by Dylan called "The Clown" made for Bernard Paturel from colored glass Bernard was about to discard.<ref name="ReferenceA">Robert Shelton: No Direction Home: {{ISBN|0-14-010296-5}}</ref>

Dylan sits forward holding his cat (named Rolling Stone)<ref name="ReferenceA" /> and has an opened magazine featuring an advertisement on ''[[Jean Harlow]]'s Life Story'' by the columnist [[Louella Parsons]] resting on his crossed leg. The cufflinks Dylan wore in the picture were a gift from [[Joan Baez]], as she later referenced in her 1975 song "[[Diamonds & Rust (song)|Diamonds & Rust]]". Daniel Kramer received a Grammy nomination for best album cover for the photograph.

On the back cover (also by Kramer), the woman massaging Dylan's scalp is the filmmaker and performance artist [[Barbara Rubin]].<ref name="ginsbergproject">{{cite web|last1=Hale|first1=Peter|title=Barbara Rubin (1945–1980)|url=http://ginsbergblog.blogspot.com/2014/03/barbara-rubin-1945-1980.html|website=The Allen Ginsberg Project}}</ref>

== Release ==

''Bringing It All Back Home'' was released in <!--Do not change to March 22 without first consulting the talk page-->April{{nbsp}}1965 by [[Columbia Records]].<ref name=CashBox />{{refn|group=nb|name=release}} The mono version of ''Bringing It All Back Home'' was re-released in 2010 on ''[[The Original Mono Recordings]]'', accompanied by a booklet containing a critical essay by [[Greil Marcus]]. A high-definition 5.1 [[surround sound]] edition of the album was released on SACD by Columbia in 2003.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.highfidelityreview.com/columbia-releases-15-bob-dylan-albums-on-hybrid-sacd.html|title = Columbia Releases 15 Bob Dylan Albums on Hybrid SACD|date = September 16, 2003}}</ref>

== Reception ==

The release of ''Bringing It All Back Home'' coincided with the final show of a joint tour with [[Joan Baez]]. By this time, Dylan had grown far more popular and acclaimed than Baez, and his music had radically evolved from their former shared folk style in a totally unique direction. It would be the last time they would perform extensively together until 1975. (She would accompany him on another tour in May 1965, but Dylan would not ask her to perform with him.) The timing was appropriate as ''Bringing It All Back Home'' signaled a new era. Dylan was backed by an electric [[rock and roll]] band—a move that further alienated him from some of his former peers in the folk music community.{{citation needed|date=July 2017}} The album reached No. 6 on ''[[Billboard charts|Billboard]]''{{'}}s Pop Albums chart, the first of Dylan's LPs to break into the US top 10. It also topped the UK charts later that spring. The first track, "[[Subterranean Homesick Blues]]", became Dylan's first single to chart in the US, peaking at #39.

=== Legacy ===
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name=AM>{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000193642|tab=Overview|label=AllMusic Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine|last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas|access-date=June 4, 2016}}</ref>
|rev2 = ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''
|rev2Score = {{Rating|4|4}}<ref>{{cite web|last=Kot|first=Greg|author-link=Greg Kot|date=October 25, 1992|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1992/10/25/dylan-through-the-years-hits-and-misses/|title=Dylan Through The Years: Hits And Misses|work=[[Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=January 10, 2017}}</ref>
|rev3 = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
|rev3Score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|year=2011|title=Encyclopedia of Popular Music|publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8|edition=5th|chapter=Bob Dylan|title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music}}</ref>
|rev4 = ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]''
|rev4score = A<ref>{{cite web|last=Flanagan |first=Bill |url=https://ew.com/article/1991/03/29/bob-dylans-discography/ |title=Dylan Catalog Revisited |publisher=EW.com |date=March 29, 1991 |access-date=August 29, 2012}}</ref>
| rev5      = ''[[MusicHound]] Rock''
| rev5Score = 4.5/5<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Graff|editor1-first=Gary|editor2-last=Durchholz|editor2-first=Daniel|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|edition=2nd|publisher=Visible Ink Press|location=Farmington Hills, MI|year=1999|isbn=1-57859-061-2|page=[https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/371 371]|url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9781578590612/page/371}}</ref>
|rev6 = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
|rev6score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA262 |editor1-last=Brackett|editor1-first=Nathan|editor2-last=Hoard|editor2-first=Christian |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |publisher=Fireside|location=New York, NY |year=2004 |access-date=August 22, 2015|page=262|isbn=0-7432-0169-8}}</ref>
| rev7 = [[Tom Hull (critic)|Tom Hull]]
| rev7Score = A<ref>{{cite web|last=Hull|first=Tom|author-link=Tom Hull (critic)|date=June 21, 2014|url=http://www.tomhull.com/ocston/arch/rhap/rh1406-1.php|title=Rhapsody Streamnotes: June 21, 2014|website=tomhull.com|access-date=March 1, 2020}}</ref>
}}

''Bringing It All Back Home'' is regarded as one of the greatest albums in rock history. In 1979 ''[[Rolling Stone Record Guide]]'' critic [[Dave Marsh]] wrote: "By fusing the [[Chuck Berry]] beat of [[the Rolling Stones]] and [[the Beatles]] with the leftist, folk tradition of the folk revival, Dylan really had brought it back home, creating a new kind of rock & roll [...] that made every type of artistic tradition available to rock."<ref name="Smith">{{cite book |last=Smith |first=Chris |title=101 Albums that Changed Popular Music |location=Oxford, England |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |isbn=978-0-19-537371-4 |pages=31|year=2009 }}</ref> [[Clinton Heylin]] later wrote that ''Bringing It All Back Home'' was possibly "the most influential album of its era. Almost everything to come in contemporary popular song can be found therein."<ref>{{Cite book|first=Clinton|last=Heylin|title=Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades: The 20th Anniversary Edition|publisher=faber and faber|year=2011|isbn=978-0-571-27240-2|page=181}}</ref> In 2003, the album was ranked number 31 on ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine's list of the "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]", maintaining the rating in a 2012 revised list.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/500-greatest-albums-of-all-time-156826/bob-dylan-bringing-it-all-back-home-168661/|year=2012| title=500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time| magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]| access-date= September 23, 2019}}</ref> It moved down to number 181 on the 2020 list.<ref>{{Cite magazine|url= https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/bob-dylan-bringing-it-all-back-home-2-1063052/
|title=Bringing It All Back Home ranked 181st greatest album by Rolling Stone magazine|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|date=September 22, 2020|access-date=December 8, 2020}}</ref> The album was inducted into the [[Grammy Hall of Fame]] in 2006.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.grammy.com/grammys/awards/hall-of-fame#b |title=Grammy Hall of Fame Letter B|work=Grammy|date=October 18, 2010|access-date=20 August 2021}}</ref> In a 1986 interview, film director [[John Hughes (filmmaker)|John Hughes]] cited it as so influential on him as an artist that upon its release (while Hughes was still in his teens), "Thursday I was one person, and Friday I was another."<ref>{{cite web|last=Ringwald|first=Molly|title=Molly Ringwald Interviews John Hughes|url=http://www.riverblue.com/hughes/articles/molly17.html|work=Seventeen Magazine. Spring 1986|publisher=The John Hughes Files|access-date=February 25, 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090809144057/http://www.riverblue.com/hughes/articles/molly17.html|archive-date=August 9, 2009}}</ref> The album was included in [[Robert Christgau]]'s "Basic Record Library" of 1950s and 1960s recordings—published in ''[[Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies]]'' (1981)<ref>{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=[[Ticknor & Fields]]|isbn=0-89919-025-1|chapter=A Basic Record Library: The Fifties and Sixties|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/bk-cg70/basics.php|access-date=March 16, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com|title-link=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies}}</ref>—and in Robert Dimery's music reference book ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]'' (2010).<ref>Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (March 23, 2010). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition. Universe. {{ISBN|978-0-7893-2074-2}}.</ref>
It was voted number 189 in the third edition of [[Colin Larkin (writer)|Colin Larkin]]'s book ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]'' (2000).<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book|title=All Time Top 1000 Albums|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=3rd|isbn=0-7535-0493-6|page=98|title-link=All Time Top 1000 Albums}}</ref>
Hip-hop group [[Public Enemy]] reference it in their 2007 Dylan tribute song "[[Long and Whining Road]]": "It's been a long and whining road, even though time keeps a-changin' / I'm a bring it all back home".<ref>{{Citation|title=Public Enemy – The Long and Whining Road|url=https://genius.com/Public-enemy-the-long-and-whining-road-lyrics|access-date=April 12, 2021}}</ref>

== Outtakes ==
{{unreferenced section|date=July 2017}}

The following outtakes were recorded for possible inclusion to ''Bringing It All Back Home''.

*"California" (early version of "Outlaw Blues")
*"Farewell Angelina"
*"[[If You Gotta Go, Go Now]] (Or Else You Got to Stay All Night)"
*"[[I'll Keep It with Mine]]"
*"You Don't Have to Do That" (titled "Bending Down on My Stomick Lookin' West" on recording sheet)(fragment)

The raunchy "If You Gotta Go, Go Now (Or Else You Got To Stay All Night)" was issued as a single in Benelux. A different version of the song appears on ''[[The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991]]''. An upbeat, electric performance, the song is relatively straightforward, with the title providing much of the subtext.  [[Manfred Mann]] took the song to #2 in the UK in September 1965. [[Fairport Convention]] recorded a tongue-in-cheek, acoustic French-language version, "Si Tu Dois Partir", for their celebrated third album, ''[[Unhalfbricking]]''.

"[[I'll Keep It with Mine]]" was written before ''[[Another Side of Bob Dylan]]'' and was given to [[Nico]] in 1964. Nico was not yet a recording artist at the time, and she would eventually record the song for ''[[Chelsea Girl (album)|Chelsea Girl]]'' (released in 1967), but not before [[Judy Collins]] recorded her own version in 1965. [[Fairport Convention]] would also record their own version on their critically acclaimed second album, ''[[What We Did on Our Holidays]]''. Widely considered a strong composition from this period (Clinton Heylin called it "one of his finest songs"), a complete acoustic version, with Dylan playing piano and harmonica, was released on 1985's ''[[Biograph (album)|Biograph]]''. An electric recording exists as well—not of an actual take but of a rehearsal from January 1966 (the sound of an engineer saying "what you were doing" through a control room mike briefly interrupts the recording)—was released on ''[[The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991]]''.

"Farewell Angelina" was ultimately given to [[Joan Baez]], who released it in 1965 as the title track of her album, ''Farewell, Angelina''. The Greek singer [[Nana Mouskouri]] recorded her own versions of this song in French ("Adieu Angelina") in 1967 and German ("Schlaf-ein Angelina") in 1975.

In the film [[Dont Look Back]], a documentary of Dylan's 1965 tour of the UK, Baez is shown in one scene singing a fragment of the then apparently still unfinished song "Love Is Just A Four Letter Word" in a hotel room late at night. She then tells Dylan, "If you finish it, I'll sing it on a record". Dylan never released a version of the song, and, according to his website, he has never performed the song live.

"You Don't Have to Do That" is one of the great "what if" songs of Dylan's mid-1960s output. A very brief recording, under a minute long, it has Dylan playing a snippet of the song, which he abandoned midway through to begin playing the piano.

== Track listing ==
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one (Electric Side)
| all_writing = Bob Dylan
| extra_column = Recorded
| title1 = [[Subterranean Homesick Blues]]
| length1 = 2:21
| extra1 = January 14, 1965
| title2 = [[She Belongs to Me]]
| length2 = 2:47
| extra2 = January 14, 1965
| title3 = [[Maggie's Farm]]
| length3 = 3:54
| extra3 = January 15, 1965
| title4 = [[Love Minus Zero/No Limit]]
| length4 = 2:51
| extra4 = January 14, 1965
| title5 = [[Outlaw Blues (Bob Dylan song)|Outlaw Blues]]
| length5 = 3:05
| extra5 = January 14, 1965
| title6 = [[On the Road Again (Bob Dylan song)|On the Road Again]]
| length6 = 2:35
| extra6 = January 15, 1965
| title7 = [[Bob Dylan's 115th Dream]]
| length7 = 6:30
| extra7 = January 13 (intro) and January 14, 1965
| total_length = 24:03
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two (Acoustic Side)
| extra_column = Recorded
| title1 = [[Mr. Tambourine Man]]
| length1 = 5:30
| extra1 = January 15, 1965
| title2 = [[Gates of Eden (song)|Gates of Eden]]
| length2 = 5:40
| extra2 = January 15, 1965
| title3 = [[It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)]]
| length3 = 7:29
| extra3 = January 15, 1965
| title4 = [[It's All Over Now, Baby Blue]]
| length4 = 4:12
| extra4 = January 15, 1965
| total_length = 22:51
}}

== Personnel ==
*[[Bob Dylan]]&nbsp;– guitar, harmonica, keyboards, vocals

=== Additional musicians ===
*[[Steve Boone|Steve Boone&nbsp;]]– bass guitar
*[[Al Gorgoni|Al Gorgoni&nbsp;]]– guitar
*[[Bobby Gregg]]&nbsp;– drums
*[[Paul Griffin (musician)|Paul Griffin]]&nbsp;– piano, keyboards
*[[John P. Hammond]]&nbsp;– guitar
*[[Bruce Langhorne]]&nbsp;– guitar
*[[Bill Lee (musician)|Bill Lee]]&nbsp;– bass guitar on "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"
*Joseph Macho Jr.&nbsp;– bass guitar
*Frank Owens&nbsp;– piano
*[[Kenny Rankin]]&nbsp;– guitar
*[[John Sebastian]]&nbsp;– bass guitar

=== Technical ===
*[[Daniel Kramer (photographer)| Daniel Kramer]]&nbsp;– photography
*[[Tom Wilson (record producer)|Tom Wilson]]&nbsp;– [[Record producer|production]]

== Charts ==
===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:left;"
! scope="col"| Chart (1965)
! scope="col"| Peak<br />position
|-
! scope="row"| [[UK Albums Chart]]<ref name="uk">{{cite web|url=http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/bob%20dylan/|title=Bob Dylan &#124; Artist|publisher=[[The Official Charts Company]]|access-date=August 20, 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
|-
! scope="row"| [[Billboard 200|US ''Billboard'' 200]]<ref name="us">{{AllMusic|class=album|id=mw0000193642|tab=awards|label=Bringing It All Back Home – Bob Dylan: Awards|access-date=August 20, 2012}}</ref>
| style="text-align:center;"| 6
|}

=== Singles ===
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Year
! scope="col" rowspan="2"| Title
! scope="col" colspan="3" style="width:12em;"| Peak chart positions
|-
! style="width:2em; font-size:85%;"| [[Billboard Hot 100|US Main]]<br /><ref name="us" />

! style="width:2em; font-size:85%;"| [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|US AC]]<br /><ref name="us" />

! style="width:2em; font-size:85%;"| [[UK Singles Chart|UK]]<br /><ref name="uk" />
|-
! scope="row" rowspan="2"| 1965
| style="text-align:left"| "[[Subterranean Homesick Blues]]"
| 39
| 6
| 9
|-
| style="text-align:left"| "[[Maggie's Farm]]"
| —
| —
| 22
|}

== Certifications ==
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Bob Dylan|title=Bringing It All Back Home|type=album|award=Gold|relyear=1965|id=10238-3101-2}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United States|artist=Bob Dylan|title=Bringing It All Back Home|type=album|award=Platinum|access-date=August 20, 2012}}
{{Certification Table Bottom|nosales=true}}

== References ==

=== Notes ===
{{reflist|group="nb"}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist}}
<!-- Orphaned citations that may be of use:
<ref name = "Dylan Playlist">{{Cite news |last=Sablich |first=Justin |date=October 18, 2016 |title=Bob Dylan's New York: A Playlist |work=New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/18/travel/bob-dylans-new-york-a-playlist.html |access-date=September 27, 2022}}</ref>


<ref name = "Dylan compared to Homer">{{Cite news |last=Strauss |first=Valerie |date=October 14, 2016 |title=Teaching Dylan: "His work as a whole is as staggering as that of Homer or Shakespeare" |newspaper=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/answer-sheet/wp/2016/10/14/teaching-dylan-his-work-as-a-whole-is-as-staggering-as-that-of-homer-or-shakespeare/ |access-date=September 27, 2022}}</ref>


<ref name = "Dylan's Voice Archive">{{Cite news |last=Harvilla |first=Rob |date=January 27, 2011 |title=Dylan's Voice Archive: Nobody Likes Him in His Hometown |work=[[The Village Voice]] |url=https://www.villagevoice.com/2011/01/27/dylans-voice-archive-nobody-likes-him-in-his-hometown/ |access-date=March 21, 2025 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231130173555/https://www.villagevoice.com/dylans-voice-archive-nobody-likes-him-in-his-hometown/| archive-date = November 30, 2023 | url-status = live}}</ref>)-->

==Further reading==
*{{cite book|title=A Brief History of Album Covers|first=Jason|last=Draper|publisher=Flame Tree Publishing|location=London|year=2008|pages=40–41|isbn=9781847862112|oclc=227198538}}

{{Bob Dylan}}
{{Bob Dylan songs (1960s)}}
{{Bob Dylan singles}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1965 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Tom Wilson (record producer)]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at CBS 30th Street Studio]]
[[Category:Columbia Records albums]]
[[Category:Bob Dylan albums]]