Bob Dylan / 3:36
SINGLE
RELEASED
“Watching the River Flow” / “Spanish Is the Loving Tongue”
June 3, 1971
REFERENCE COLUMBIA 4-45409
Musicians
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar (?)
Leon Russell: piano
Jesse Ed Davis: guitar
Don Preston: guitar (?)
Carl Radle: bass
Jim Keltner: drums
Recording Studio
Blue Rock Studio, New York: March 16–19, 1971
Technical Team
Producer: Leon Russell
In 1969, Roger McGuinn and Bob Dylan co-wrote “Ballad of Easy Rider” for the film Easy Rider, directed by Dennis Hopper. It includes these lines: “The river flows / It flows to the sea / Wherever that river goes / That’s where I want to be.” Two years later, Dylan reused this image, probably to express his weariness in response to the fierce criticism that followed the release of Self Portrait, even though New Morning was viewed much more favorably by critics. Now, the songwriter preferred to sit “on this bank of sand / And watch the river flow,” content to view the world as an observer, rather than an actor. By beginning the song with the question “What’s the matter with me? / I don’t have much to say,” the songwriter clearly admits his lack of inspiration.
Listening to “Watching the River Flow,” it’s clear Dylan’s muse did not give up, but cautiously guided him on the path to excellence. This song marks a return to the golden years by incorporating rock elements from Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde, plus a hint of gospel for the best effect (as sessions of New Morning required). Moreover, the song seals the artistic collaboration between Dylan and Leon Russell, after Dylan and Bob Johnston parted ways. In 1971, Leon Russell was at the zenith of his popularity. He had made a name for himself as the musical director for Joe Cocker—the famous Mad Dogs and Englishmen Tour—and by recording the masterful Leon Russell and the Shelter People (1971), which included two songs by Dylan: “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” and “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry.”
At Dylan’s request, Leon Russell assembled a backup group including big rock stars: guitarists Don Preston (who had played with J. J. Cale and Freddie King, among others) and Jesse Ed Davis, also known by the pseudonym “Joey Cooper” (who had played with John Lennon and George Harrison); bassist Carl Radle (Eric Clapton, Derek and the Dominos); and drummer Jim Keltner (Lennon, Pink Floyd, Steely Dan). Keltner remembers Dylan working on “Watching the River Flow”: “I remember Bob… had a pencil and a notepad, and he was writing a lot. He was writing these songs on the spot in the studio, or finishing them up at least.”97
This blues-rock song is a real success: all the musicians are in top form and accompany Dylan at their best. His voice has the perfect patina for this kind of song, and he sings his text with a certain casualness, even with some humor, which has the effect of making the lyrics lag a bit behind the music. The rhythm is perfect. Leon Russell’s piano part is a model of its kind, but it is Jesse Ed Davis’s guitar part, played with a bottleneck, that ignites the song. There are two other guitars, but they are inaudible in the mix. These musicians were reunited about two months later, on August 1, to accompany Dylan when he performed at the Concert for Bangladesh, organized by George Harrison. Dylan recorded the song at Blue Rock Studio, located in Greenwich Village in New York City, as opposed to Columbia Records. This was the first time he worked at Blue Rock. The number of takes is unknown.
“Watching the River Flow” peaked at number 18 on the Dutch top 100, and number 19 on the Canadian RPM singles chart, but only at number 41 on the US Billboard chart. Subsequently, the song appeared on the album Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits Vol. II (1971), and was later included in the compilations Greatest Hits Volumes I–III (2003, CD 2), The Very Best of Bob Dylan ’70s (2009), and Beyond Here Lies Nothin’: The Collection (2011).