Just Like A Woman (song)

"Just Like a Woman" is a song by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan first released on his seventh studio album, ''Blonde on Blonde'' on June 20, 1966. It was written by Dylan and produced by Bob Johnston. A shorter edit was released as a single in the United States during August 1966 and peaked at number 33 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. The song has been criticized for supposed sexism or misogyny in its lyrics, and has received a mixed critical reaction; some critics have suggested that the song was inspired by Edie Sedgwick, while other consider that it refers to Dylan's relationship with fellow folk singer Joan Baez.

Dylan allegedly wrote "Just Like a Woman" on Thanksgiving Day in 1965, though some biographers doubt this, claiming he most likely improvised the lyrics in the studio. Dylan recorded the track at Columbia studio B in Nashville, Tennessee in March 1966, together with frequent collaborator Al Kooper along with guitarists Charlie McCoy and Joe South. Retrospectively, the song has received renewed praise, and in 2011, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked Dylan's version of the song at number 232 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Though a relative success in the United States, Dylan's recording of "Just Like a Woman" was not issued as a single in the United Kingdom. However, British beat group Manfred Mann recorded a version of the song in June 1966, during their first recording session together with producer Shel Talmy. Upon release that July, it became Manfred Mann's first single to be released through Fontana Records and became a hit across Europe, reaching number 10 in the UK Singles Chart and number 1 in Sweden. It received good reviews upon release.

Background and recording

Dylan released his fifth studio album, ''Bringing It All Back Home'' in March 1965, and his sixth, ''Highway 61 Revisited'', in August of that year. In October, he began recording sessions for this next album, ''Blonde on Blonde''. After several sessions in New York, Dylan's producer, Bob Johnston suggested that the sessions were relocated to Nashville. Two musicians from the New York sessions were retained; Dylan was accompanied by Al Kooper on his journey to Nashville, and Robbie Robertson joined them there.

The master take of "Just Like a Woman" was produced by Johnston and recorded at Columbia Studios, Nashville, Tennessee on March 8, 1966. Seven complete takes and multiple rehearsals and partial takes were recorded. Take 18, the last of the session, was used on the album, which was released on June 20, 1966.

The song features a lilting melody, backed by delicately picked nylon-string guitar and piano instrumentation, resulting in what Bill Janovitz wrote was arguably the most commercial track on the album. The musicians backing Dylan on the track are Charlie McCoy, Joe South, and Wayne Moss on guitar, Henry Strzelecki on bass guitar, Hargus "Pig" Robbins on piano, Kooper on organ and Kenneth Buttrey on drums. Although Dylan's regular guitar sideman Robertson was present at the recording session, he did not play on the song.

The album version is 4 minutes and 53 seconds long. A single version, edited down to 2 minutes and 56 seconds, was released in the United States in August 1966, and in other countries, not including the United Kingdom, in the same year. Musicologist Larry Starr noted that Dylan employed a traditional AABA structure in the song, and that, unusually for Dylan, the bridge literally bridges over into the next section of the song: "Ain't clear that – ew sectionI just can't fit".

Composition and lyrical interpretation

In the album notes of his 1985 compilation, '' Biograph'', Dylan claimed that he wrote the lyrics of "Just Like a Woman" in Kansas City on Thanksgiving Day, November 25, 1965, while on tour. ''Biograph'', Bob Dylan, 1985, Liner notes & text by Cameron Crowe. However, after listening to the recording session tapes of Dylan at work on this song in the Nashville studio, historian Sean Wilentz has written that Dylan improvised the lyrics in the studio, by singing "disconnected lines and semi-gibberish". Dylan was initially unsure what the person described in the song does that is just like a woman, rejecting "shakes", "wakes", and "makes mistakes". The improvisational spirit extends to the band attempting, in their fourth take, a "weird, double-time version", somewhere between Jamaican ska and Bo Diddley.

Clinton Heylin has analyzed successive drafts of the song from the so-called ''Blonde On Blonde'' papers, documents that Heylin believes were either left behind by Dylan or stolen from his Nashville hotel room. The first draft has a complete first verse, a single couplet from the second verse, and another couplet from the third verse. There is no trace of the chorus of the song. In successive drafts, Dylan added sporadic lines to these verses, without ever writing out the chorus. This leads Heylin to speculate that Dylan was writing the words while Kooper played the tune over and over on the piano in the hotel room, and the chorus was a "last-minute formulation in the studio". Kooper has explained that he would play piano for Dylan in his hotel room, to aid the song-writing process, and then would teach the tunes to the studio musicians at the recording sessions.

This exploration of female wiles and feminine vulnerability was widely rumored—"not least by her acquaintances among Andy Warhol's Factory retinue"—to be about Edie Sedgwick. The reference to Baby's penchant for "fog, amphetamine and pearls" suggests Sedgwick or some similar debutante, according to Heylin. "Just Like a Woman" has also been rumored to have been written about Dylan's relationship with fellow folk singer Joan Baez. In particular, it has been suggested that the lines "Please don't let on that you knew me when/I was hungry and it was your world" may refer to the early days of their relationship, when Baez was more famous than Dylan. Ralph J. Gleason of the ''San Francisco Examiner'' considered that the song was "achingly autobiographical". Discussing whether the biographical basis of this song is important, literary critic Christopher Ricks has argued, "Everyone can understand the feelings and the relationship described in the song, so why does it matter if Dylan wrote it with one woman in mind?"

The target of the song is said by the narrator to have lost "ribbons and bows" from her hair. Timothy Hampton suggested that this references songs such as "Buttons and Bows" and "Scarlet Ribbons (For Her Hair)" that use the image as one of femininity, although "these traces of an earlier age of innocent song and wholesome girlhood are modernized when they are juxtaposed with the 'hip' images of amphetamines and 'fog'" in Dylan's song.

Alleged sexism

The song has been criticized for supposed sexism or misogyny in its lyrics. Alan Rinzler, in his book ''Bob Dylan: The Illustrated Record'', describes the song as "a devastating character assassination...the most sardonic, nastiest of all Dylan's putdowns of former lovers". In 1971, ''New York Times'' writer Marion Meade wrote that "there's no more complete catalogue of sexist slurs," and went on to note that in the song Dylan "defines women's natural traits as greed, hypocrisy, whining and hysteria". Dylan biographer Robert Shelton noted that "the title is a male platitude that justifiably angers women," although Shelton believed that "Dylan is ironically toying with that platitude".

Countering allegations of misogyny, music critic Paul Williams, in his book ''Bob Dylan: Performing Artist, Book One 1960–1973'', pointed out that Dylan sings in an affectionate tone from beginning to end. He further comments on Dylan's singing by saying that "there's never a moment in the song, despite the little digs and the confessions of pain, when you can't hear the love in his voice". Williams also contends that a central theme of the song is the power that the woman described in the lyrics has over Dylan, as evidenced by the line "I was hungry and it was your world".

Janovitz, in his AllMusic review, noted that in the context of the song, Dylan "seems on the defensive...as if he has been accused of causing the woman's breakdown. But he takes some of the blame as well; he was clearly taken by the woman at first, but apparently matured a little and saw through 'her fog, her amphetamine, and her pearls.'" Janovitz concludes by noting that "It is certainly not misogynist to look at a personal relationship from the point of view of one of those involved, be it man or woman. There is nothing in the text to suggest that Dylan has a disrespect for, much less an irrational hatred of, women in general." Similarly, Ricks asks, "could there ever be any challenging art about men and women where the accusation just didn't arise?" Ricks has written that the speaker in the song seems to be referring to a woman who occasionally plays the "little girl card": "Someone who has times when she regresses to being childlike—who can't live up to the best part of herself." Moreover, Gill has argued that the key "delimitation" in the song is not between man and woman, but between woman and girl, so the issue is one "of maturity rather than gender".

Critical reception

David F. Wagner, in ''The Post-Crescent'', found "Just Like a Woman" to be a "tender, melodic ballad with punch", that he felt would be the most-covered track from the album. The critic for the ''Runcorn Weekly News'' preferred Dylan's original to the cover by Manfred Mann, and wrote that "it has more meaning when Dylan sings it". Asbury Park Press columnist Don Lass described the song as "an evocative, lyrical, almost painful love song". ''Billboard'' considered Dylan in "top-form with this much recorded bluesy ballad". ''Cash Box'' described the song as "a slow-shufflin' laconic ode which underscores just how much men need ". The staff writer for ''Record World'' believes that Dylan went after a more relaxed "musical background than usual on this ditty", calling the lyrics "perceptive".

The Sun-Herald's reviewer dismissed what they referred to as the "pop songs" on ''Blonde on Blonde'', including "Just Like a Woman": "the fancy words are inclined to hide the fact that there is nothing there at all". Craig McGregor found the song "overly sentimental". Arizona Republic reviewer Troy Irvine described the single release version as "a bright mover with good folk appeal".

Retrospectively, critic Michael Gray, likewise, called it "uncomfortably sentimental. The chorus is trite and coy and the verses aren't strong enough to compensate". Gray highlights the lyric "...she aches just like a woman/But she breaks just like a little girl", commenting that "What parades as reflective wisdom... is really maudlin platitude". He does, however, praise the middle eight due to Dylan's delivery of the words. In 2011, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine ranked Dylan's version of the song at number 232 in their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2013, Jim Beviglia rated it as the 17th-best of Dylan's songs, and praised the instrumental performances as "just about perfect ora studio recording".

Live versions and later releases

According to his official website, Dylan has played the song live in concert 871 times, from 1966 to 2010. In his 1966 tour performances, Dylan chose to play the song solo rather than with the band that accompanied him on the tour. Starr commented that although the original album version is "notable for its understated accompaniment to Dylan's subtle and expressive vocals", in his performance at Manchester on May 17, 1966, Dylan "seem dintent, if anything, to exceed the sense of intimacy he had achieved in the studio".

In addition to its appearance on ''Blonde on Blonde'', "Just Like a Woman" also appears on several Dylan compilations, including ''Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits'', ''Masterpieces'', ''Biograph'', '' The Best of Bob Dylan, Vol. 1'', ''The Essential Bob Dylan'', and '' Dylan''. The "Just Like a Woman" recording session was released in its entirety on the 18-disc Collector's Edition of '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966'' in 2015, with highlights from the outtakes appearing on the 6-disc and 2-disc versions of that album.

Live recordings of the song have been included on '' Before the Flood'' (recorded February 1974), ''Bob Dylan at Budokan'' (recorded March 1978), '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966, The "Royal Albert Hall" Concert'' (recorded May 1966), '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 5: Bob Dylan Live 1975, The Rolling Thunder Revue'' (recorded November 1975), and the Deluxe Edition of '' The Bootleg Series Vol. 13: Trouble No More 1979–1981'' (recorded June 1981). In November 2016, all Dylan's recorded live performances of the song from 1966 were released in the boxed set ''The 1966 Live Recordings'', with the May 26, 1966, performance released separately on the album ''The Real Royal Albert Hall 1966 Concert''. In June 2019, five live performances of the song from the 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour were released in the box set '' The Rolling Thunder Revue: The 1975 Live Recordings''. Dylan performed the song at George Harrison and Ravi Shankar's Concert for Bangladesh in 1971, and his performance is featured on the ''Concert for Bangladesh'' album.

Credits and personnel

The details of the personnel involved in making ''Blonde on Blonde'' are subject to some uncertainty. The credits below are adapted from the ''Bob Dylan All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track'' book.

Musicians
*Bob Dylan – vocals, guitar, harmonica
*Charlie McCoy – guitar
*Joe South – guitar
*Wayne Moss – guitar
*Al Kooper – organ
*Hargus "Pig" Robbins – piano
*Henry Strzelecki – bass guitar
*Kenneth Buttrey – drums

Technical
*Bob Johnston – record producer

Manfred Mann version

Background and recording

English beat group Manfred Mann formed in December 1962 (originally as The Mann-Hugg Blues Brothers), and signed to record label His Master's Voice in May 1964. By mid-1966, the group had started disintegrating. They enjoyed the success of their single "Pretty Flamingo", which had become their second song to reach number-one on the ''Record Retailer'' chart. However, internally, the group had begun splitting. Vocalist Paul Jones gave the group a year's notice that he would be leaving to pursue a solo career. After a car accident in early 1966 which left Jones unable to perform, the group hired bassist Jack Bruce along with brass players and cut some instrumental songs. However, during the success of "Pretty Flamingo", Jones convinced the record label about recording solo in May of that year, when the group's three-year contract expired. His Master's Voice decided to sign Jones as a solo artist in June of that year, leaving the rest of the band without a record label or contract.

Bruce had by this point also left to form Cream with Eric Clapton and Ginger Baker, also leaving the group without a bassist. The solution came when they hired bassist Klaus Voormann, and singer Mike d'Abo after seeing him perform on the show ''There's A Whole Scene Going''. d'Abo who had recently quit his band accepted the offer to join. In June of that year, the band signed a contract with Fontana Records and on June 8, recorded their first two tracks with Voormann and d'Abo, "I Wanna Be Rich" and "Let It Be Me". This collaboration proved fruitful, with the group staying on that label for the rest of their career.

Producer Shel Talmy had previously helped Manfred Mann secure an audition for Decca Records in 1963, though that ultimately went nowhere. Talmy, who had produced such artists as the Kinks, the Who and David Bowie, was aware that the Manfreds were fans of Dylan's music. The band had scored a hit with another Dylan composition, "If You Gotta Go, Go Now" the previous year, and Talmy suggested that they record another Dylan song. Additionally, Manfred Mann's previous manager, Kenneth Pitt, was Dylan's British publicist, giving them access to demos and otherwise unavailable material. The song features the signature steel guitar playing by Tom McGuinness, though notably lacks any significant keyboard parts unlike much of the Manfreds' earlier material. The group recorded it on June 30, 1966, at Phillips Studio in Marble Arch with Talmy producing.

Release and reception

Fontana Records released "Just Like A Woman" as the group's debut single on that label on July 29, 1966. Coincidentally, a version by Jonathan King was released on the same day by Decca Records, which led to a feud in the charts over who's version would be more successful. Another coincidence is the fact that both these versions were released on the same day Bob Dylan crashed his motorcycle, effectively putting him out of the spotlight for well over a year. The Manfreds version was backed by "I Wanna Be Rich", which was written by the group's drummer Mike Hugg. Though Hugg claimed it was most likely a safe choice for their debut single with d'Abo, Manfred Mann disagreed, stating that the release of the single was "the most stressful moment in my whole musical career", and claimed he was depressed when it initially did not receive any radio play.

The song entered the ''Record Retailer'' chart on August 10, at a position of 37. It peaked at number ten for the week of September 21, before exiting the chart on October 12, at a position of 38. It spent ten weeks on the chart. King's version however, only reached number 56, which according to Bruce Eder of AllMusic meant that Manfreds chart success led to the "establishing of the new lineup's commercial credibility". In ''Disc and Music Echo'', it reached number nine, number 12 in ''Melody Maker'' and eight in the ''New Musical Express'' chart. Across Europe it was also a major hit. In the US however, it barely dented the charts, only reaching number 101 on ''Billboard'' Bubbling Under Hot 100 chart.

The track was well received by critics upon release. In ''Disc and Music Echo'', Penny Valentine reviewed both Manfred Mann's and Jonathan King's version, but preferred the Manfreds version, calling it more "subtle" and "far more pretty", which she attributed to d'Abo's "breathing away sexily", though she believed it would do better in the charts if Paul Jones had been the lead vocalist. Norman Jopling and Peter Jones of ''Record Mirror'' felt that the song would be a big hit, stating that d'Abo's vocals "work perfectly" within the frame of the song, while comparing the group backing to Dylan's work. They concluded by stating that it was a "fine-tempoed arrangement." In ''Billboard'' magazine, the song was called a "strong debut" and predicted it to reach the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. ''Cash Box'' called it a "harsh, funk-filled reading", which the reviewer thought would generate sales for the single.

Charts

Manfred Mann version

Bob Dylan version

Notes

References

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Citations

External links

Lyrics
at Bob Dylan's official website

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1966 songs
1966 singles
Bob Dylan songs
Van Morrison songs
Jeff Buckley songs
Nina Simone songs
Joe Cocker songs
Jonathan King songs
Songs written by Bob Dylan
Song recordings produced by Bob Johnston
Columbia Records singles
Fontana Records singles
Manfred Mann songs
Number-one singles in Sweden
Country rock songs