John Wesley Harding
suggested
country
with its textures and structures, but
Nashville Skyline
was a full-fledged
album, complete with steel guitars and brief, direct songs. It's a warm, friendly album, particularly since
Bob Dylan
is singing in a previously unheard gentle croon -- the sound of his voice is so different it may be disarming upon first listen, but it suits the songs. While there are a handful of lightweight numbers on the record, at its core are several excellent songs --
"Lay Lady Lay,"
"To Be Alone With You,"
"I Threw It All Away,"
"Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You,"
as well as a duet with
Johnny Cash
on
"Girl From the North Country"
-- that have become
country-rock
standards
. And there's no discounting that
, arriving in the spring of 1969, established
as a vital force in
pop
music, as well as a commercially viable genre. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine