| 10th August 2007 01:29 PM |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
http://www.thesun.co.uk/article/0,,2006140003-2007360852,00.html |
| 10th August 2007 01:37 PM |
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| MrPleasant |
Thanks. For newbies, I guess (the set). Regular fans don't need this. The only tracks I don't have are "Song To Woody" and "You're Gonna Quit Me". |
| 10th August 2007 01:44 PM |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
I can't beleive there is only one track from Highway 61 Revisited!
The best of Dylan is really those 60's albums,s minus the debut and Nashville Skyline. New Fans should just buy Blonde on Blone, Freewheelin' et al. Thats what I did. There is no need for Dylan compilations like this in my opinion. |
| 10th August 2007 01:53 PM |
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| Gazza |
1 from Highway 61 and 1 from The Basement Tapes...
but two from Under the Red Sky!
And nothin' from Self Portrait! I demand the inclusion of 'Copper Kettle'... |
| 10th August 2007 01:53 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
Honky Tonk Man wrote:
The best of Dylan is really those 60's albums,s minus the debut and Nashville Skyline.
The mid 70's run is equal to it IMO |
| 10th August 2007 02:00 PM |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
The mid 70's run is equal to it IMO
I don't really know it!
I am ashamed to admit that the only 70's Dylan album I own is Blood On The Tracks. It's a belter though and Desire has always been on my CD list. |
| 10th August 2007 02:03 PM |
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| Gazza |
That's the two I mean. 'Street Legal' is criminally underrated too.
Then theres some of the live albums from that era...before The Flood, Hard Rain and the Bootleg Series one from the '75 Rolling Thunder leg.
A glorious run of form both in the studio and in concert.. |
| 10th August 2007 06:36 PM |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
That's the two I mean. 'Street Legal' is criminally underrated too.
Then theres some of the live albums from that era...before The Flood, Hard Rain and the Bootleg Series one from the '75 Rolling Thunder leg.
A glorious run of form both in the studio and in concert..
and I keep meaning to get them. It's just laziness on my part! |
| 11th August 2007 12:17 AM |
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| Prodigal Son |
Even when Dylan slipped up in the 70s, like on Self Portrait, he was still worth listening to. He really didn't start struggling til the 80s when maybe only two of his albums could be considered strong (Infidels and Oh Mercy). Let me give some insight onto his 70s work from the standard PS ratings gauntlet:
-Self Portrait: C+ (not horrible like some say, but pretty average)
-New Morning: A- (unspectacular recordings but a unique set of songs that only stumbles at the end with "Three Angels" and "Father of Night." The seemingly throwaway "If Dogs Run Free" and "Winterlude" work simply because Dylan's tongue-in-cheek cornball work comes off as funny. As for the other 7 tracks, it's a strong improvement over the mock-country running in circles of Self Portrait)
-Pat Garrett & billy the Kid: B- (don't own this but have heard all tracks involved and most of it is kinda boring soundtrack instrumental work)
Planet Waves: B+ (tremendously underrated record w/the Band. The delivery is not grandiose at all but songs like "Hazel," "Going Going Gone," and "Dirge" deserve credit as solid work that lays the template for his resurgence later in '74)
-Dylan: E+ (Yes this was a real slap from Columbia as Dylan was in negotiating difficulties with them prompting him to release his new disc Planet Waves on Asylum records. So in response, this unauthorized collection of Self-Portrait outtakes- yes, outtakes!- was unleashed and well, let's just say there's a reason this didn't make it to CD release. What a terrible album but who can blame Bob when he never even intended this shit for release)
-Before the Flood (Live double LP): A- (very good stuff with the Band again but their set sticks out as inferior to the Dylan tunes. He's in fine form here vocally and this may be the best of his 'official' live releases, aka not bootleg series ones)
-Blood on the Tracks: A+ (God, what a record. Even the worst tracks are scintillating statements harkening back to his 60s excellence. There are so many standards and well known tracks here it's astounding. "Buckets of Rain" is maybe his best closing track ever, save "Sad Eyed Lady")
-Desire: A- (Truly this is one of his most eclectic releases as he augments his sound with fiddle, percussion and multiple guitar players. So we get a real unique flavour that makes songs like "Hurricane," "Isis," "Oh Sister," "Black Diamond Bay" and "Sara" like Hootenany on steroids. Then songs like "Mozambique," "One More Cup of Coffee" and "Romance in Durango" make it seem as if Dylan was listening to too much Arabic, Spanish and Italian music. But anyway, other than the bombastic 11-minute "Joey," nothing here is weak IMO).
-Hard Rain: B- (A live one that does a weak job documenting the Rolling Thunder Revue tour of 75-76 that spawned a superior Bootleg Series years later and a lousy movie called Renaldo & Clara. A lot of these tracks are of the Desire/BOTT variety in re-worked arrangements which is something Bob has been doing his whole career. Here though, that format falls flat on too many songs. In some cases, he turns what were great tunes into tired excercises on stage.)
-Street Legal: C+ (Some people find this to be an overlooked, compelling LP but I just don't see it. Too much of it is slick, trumphed-up late 70s rock. It just doesn't appeal to me what with all the female backup singers, saxophones and the like. That's not to say this doesn't hit gold sometimes as I really enjoy "Senor" and the "Like a Rolling Stone" soundalike "Where Are You Tonight [Journey Through the Heat]." However, the rest is rather mediocre, stiff and tired especially "No Time to Think," "We Better Talk This Over" and "True Love Tends to Forget" three of Dylan's worst till that point all on the same album. Dylan was at a low point creatively and personally even if his record sales were still good but his Christian re-birth makes sense in light of this).
-Slow Train Coming: B+ (If you hate born again Christians, namely those who preach and rant against a sinful world, then approach with caution. But do know that musically, this is a good album that was probably his best post-Desire, pre-Oh Mercy LP. The lyrics sometime reveal a bitter crackpot as did the entire 79-83 period, but you'll find no matter the religious content, songs like "Precious Angel," and "I Believe in You" are somewhat moving while the bluesier tracks (and there are a lot of these) reveal "Gotta Serve Somebody" and "When You Gonna Wake up" to be excellent. Vocally, this is the start of his long decline into crappy singing but he does give it his all even if he sounds ragged and old for a 38-year old man. The sound is a laid-back studio sound with country touches thanks to Dire Straits' Mark Knopfler as the producer and guitarist. Sound-wise, this is basically a Dire Straits album with Dylan singing).
-Live at Budokan (double LP live): C+ (This is a real depressing affair as we get the re-modelled live versions of Dylan classics but this time he's got the Street Legal modelled group which was a huge Vegasy version of what Dylan and the Hawks circa 1966 were. There are many solid renditions here but many more overblown, gospely things that indicate his religious change. As usual with his half-hearted work, Dylan mumbles and slurs out the words to no end.) |
| 11th August 2007 09:40 AM |
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| Zack |
Nice exegesis, PS.
Not sure I hold Blood/Desire as high as the Home/Highway/Blonde run as Gazza does, since Desire seems to be to me to about the performances rather than the songs, the polar opposite of say, Planet Waves, which features stellar songs kind of knocked off quickly and without deep consideration(like they couldn't decide which arrangement of Forever Young to put so, so they said hell, let's put on both!)
Best closer: I far prefer Desolation Row to Sad Eyed Lady. Agree Buckets of Rain is right up there with his greatest. |
| 11th August 2007 12:11 PM |
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| Honky Tonk Man |
quote:
Zack wrote:
Nice exegesis, PS.
It's what he's been best at for years!  |
