Watching the River Flow genre blues
The music of "Watching the River Flow"—whose feel the journalist Bob Spitz has likened to Dylan's "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" (1966)—has been described by different critics as a "[b]lues-powered sound [that cascades] like clumps of flotsam and jetsam", as "featur[ing] some blistering guitar work ... and rollicking piano work from Russell", and as "an energetic, funky-gospel rocker". The recording has been praised for the dynamic way in which Dylan's vocal mannerisms bounce off Russell's characteristic stride piano playing. Biographer Clinton Heylin has pointed out that Dylan borrowed the line "If I had wings and I could fly"  from the song "The Water is Wide" and words from "Old Man River" for his composition.Four and a half months after the recording session, on August 1, Russell backed Dylan on bass at the Concert for Bangladesh, organized by George Harrison. In November 1971, Russell accompanied Dylan into a studio again to record Dylan's next single, "George Jackson". At this session, Russell once more played bass. Joe Schick, the manager of Blue Rock in 1971, has commented that although Dylan and Russell had a reasonably friendly relationship, their rapport was not strong enough to record an album together. Indeed, Heylin noted in 2009 that Russell had not recorded with Dylan again; however, they did tour together in 2011. Russell died in 2016.The B-side of "Watching the River Flow" was "Spanish is the Loving Tongue" (written by Charles Badger Clark–Billy Simon). Dylan used the second of two takes of the song recorded during the New Morning sessions on June 2, 1970, in Columbia Studios in New York City. Musicians at these sessions included Bob Dylan, vocal, guitar, harmonica, and piano; Al Kooper, organ; Charlie Daniels, bass; David Bromberg, guitar, dobro; Russ Kunkel, drums; Ron Cornelius, guitar.
category style type kind class