Talk:Visions of Johanna

Lyrics

Is it possible to put the extra lyrics from perth 1966 on this wiki page? The expecting rain site has never worked for me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.241.12.85 (talk) 19:50, 30 October 2007 (UTC)

"Royal Albert Hall" show

Is anyone sure that the official album was definitely erroneously titled "The Royal Albert Hall" show? Couldn't that be a jab at the bootleggers, who actually were erroneously titling the show?

I think everyone is sure it was titled that because of the famous bootleg and it is in quotation marks to signal the title is inaccurate as fact, but as myth it was believed by those unfamiliar with the work. The bootleggers knew. :-)

"It was recorded at the Manchester Free Trade Hall during Dylan's world tour in 1966, hence the quotation marks around the false attribution to the Royal Albert Hall."

https://www.discogs.com/Bob-Dylan-Live-1966-The-Royal-Albert-Hall-Concert/master/28288

131.111.184.102 (talk) 09:53, 10 April 2018 (UTC)

Mercury sound

If I'm not mistaken, it's "thin, wild mercury sound" and not "wild, thin mercury sound". Confirm/deny?

famous lines?

"the ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face."

that's not even the most famous line on the album. —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.133.254.89 (talk) 07:56, 3 January 2007 (UTC).

Yeah, the most famous BonB line is "I forced my hands in my pockets and felt with my thumbs, and gallantly handed her my very last piece of gum." --(cross references "Don't wanna be a bum you better chew gum" from Subterranean)

Sad shape of this article

This article consists almost entirely of original research, which is a pity, given the enormity of this song as work of music and poetry. I'm going to delete all the unsourced and poorly-written speculation and try to find some info about this song in the next few days--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back 17:46, 28 February 2007 (UTC)

hey this is marcia a devoted bob dylan fan. this song being about drugs is idiotic. this is a story about what goes on while someone waits for johanna. the aura of bob dylan is that we will never know what he is talking about. he is a poet as well as a songwriter, musician, artist and a mystery.

The "australian" verse seems a little weird, is there any proof of this having been actually sung by Dylan ? The explanation about Johanna being Dylan's secretary is not supported by any kind of evidence either. Sounds like some guy made it up and posted it there. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 91.103.40.50 (talk) 16:38, 20 February 2009 (UTC)

Close reading

Came across the following (web link here, and on main page [1])

'Visions of Infinity' by Jonny Thakkar, in The Owl Journal, Hilary Term '07.

You may disagree with it, but at least it provides a published baseline. Bob aka Linuxlad 07:48, 29 June 2007 (UTC)

The link I provided to this is now dead, though you can probably still get a pdf of the whole issue from the Owl Journal site. I've emailed the present editor to see if there is a better link still available. Bob aka Linuxlad (talk) 19:37, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

I've actually read that essay before and thought it was an excellent analysis of a difficult song. I've considered citing that same piece in this article; the problem is The Owl is essentially a student literary magazine--probably doesn't qualify as a reliable our authoritative source.--The Fat Man Who Never Came Back (talk) 21:17, 27 December 2007 (UTC)

The piece is already quoted in the main article (qv) :-). It's probably still available as long as you take the whole archived pdf. In the context quoted, not for a definitive reading but an informed traceable point of view, Thakkar's standing looks good enough - he is I think a post-grad student of several years experience, and an editor of the Owl mag from some years back. Certainly a notch up on the rambling home-spun rubbish that usually collects in WP's Dylan articles. Bob aka Linuxlad (talk) 09:33, 28 December 2007 (UTC)

With dozens of well-regarded books to draw on for the background and analysis of "Visions of Johanna", I don't think anyone has to dig down a couple layers to find reliable information. I realize the comments above are almost four years old, but recent activity indicates these possibilities are still being considered. Allreet (talk) 15:03, 16 May 2011 (UTC)

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GA Review

This review is transcluded from Talk:Visions of Johanna/GA1. The edit link for this section can be used to add comments to the review.

Reviewer: GreatOrangePumpkin (talk · contribs) 13:33, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

Excellent song. Will review it.

GA review (see here for what the criteria are, and here for what they are not)

1. It is reasonably well written.

   a (prose): b (MoS for lead, layout, word choice, fiction, and lists):

   Good prose as usual

2. It is factually accurate and verifiable.

   a (references): b (citations to reliable sources): c (OR):

3. It is broad in its coverage.

   a (major aspects): b (focused):

4. It follows the neutral point of view policy.

   Fair representation without bias:

   I think "epic" is a little bit povy

The only "epic" I see is this:

Bill Janovitz also emphasizes the urban, unreal quality of "Visions of Johanna", calling it a "sprawling epic".

But this is a direct quote from Janovitz, surely if it's a critic's opinion, it's not POV. Mick gold (talk) 18:08, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

Oh, now I see, "epic" has been removed. Mick gold (talk) 18:47, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

1. It is stable.

   No edit wars, etc.:

2. It is illustrated by images, where possible and appropriate.

   a (images are tagged and non-free images have fair use rationales): b (appropriate use with suitable captions):

3. Overall:

   Pass/Fail:

• ISBN check: ok
• Dabsolver check: removed one dab
• Checklinks check: ok
• Reflinks check: ok
• "Some of the New York recordings, released on bootleg recordings, have a faster tempo, and in the fifth verse contain the additional line "He examines the nightingale's code". " - maybe "Some of the New York recordings, released as bootlegs, were uptempo and contain in the fifth verse the additional line "He examines the nightingale's code".

I have changed it to very very close to what you suggested. Moisejp (talk) 15:55, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

ok

• Do you mean New York = New York City?

I have added "City" to the lead. Moisejp (talk) 15:54, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

• "listened closely to full studio tapes of the Blonde on Blonde sessions, and he describes how Dylan guided the New York backing musicians through fourteen takes" - reads better imho

Removed "he". Moisejp (talk) 15:54, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

• Maybe linking hard rock

Done. Moisejp (talk) 15:54, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

• "Wilentz writes that the final, quieter New York takes are close in feel to the Nashville version which appears on the album.[5]" - Can you rewrite it? It sounds a little bit odd.

Mick gold, you have this source. Do you want to address this one? Thanks. Moisejp (talk) 15:55, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

OK, I've had a stab at re-writing, with a direct quote from Wilentz. Mick gold (talk) 18:08, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

good

• Why do we need "(another character in the song)" if this was already explained?

Oops, that was my mistake. I had missed that Mick gold had already talked about Louise earlier on. I have now removed "another character in the son". Moisejp (talk) 15:54, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

• It is the first time I see an audio file in an infobox.

"Like a Rolling Stone" has the audio file in the info box, and it seems to me I've seen it elsewhere as well. I've tentatively moved it out of the info box if you quite prefer it that way. But if you didn't really mind it in the info box, I thought the page layout was less cluttered with it there. Moisejp (talk) 15:54, 7 November 2011 (UTC)

Much better now, especially as it is so big. Now it is a GA! Congrats ;) !

Many thanks for your review, Great Orange Pumpkin Mick gold (talk) 11:30, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Thanks from me, too! Moisejp (talk) 14:47, 8 November 2011 (UTC)

Old Crow Medicine Show cover

Old Crow Medicine Show covered this song on their latest album, 50 Years of Blonde on Blonde. I have tried to add this information to the "covers" portion of this article but, despite several modifications, the edit has been reverted by another editor. I am at a loss to understand why OCMS's cover does not merit mention alongside those of Lee Renaldo and Kåre Virud.... PurpleChez (talk) 15:47, 26 August 2017 (UTC)

You need to take it to Wikipedia talk:WikiProject Songs if you think you are going to get support. --Richhoncho (talk) 15:49, 26 August 2017 (UTC)