Desire Bob Dylan Full Album

[Carmina Piette]

JoeyWhat a horrible person to set up as a hero. Mine is certainly not an original criticism on this score, at the time the album was released music critic Dave Marsh noted it in his Rolling Stone review ( -album-reviews/desire-255500/):

Michael H. Little at The Vinyl District, who I genuinely regard as the greatest music critic in the known universe, was even more scathing (see his entire review of the song at -droppings-bob-dylan-joey/):

I'll be totally honest: when I first heard that there was a new Bob Dylan album full of original material on the way, my first thought was, "Not now, Bob!" With so many important conversations happening right now around police brutality, anti-blackness, and white supremacy, I could not fathom how Bob's words might fit into our present moment, or where in my busy mind I might even make space to absorb this new work.

But here's the thing about Bob Dylan's poetry: it's always managed to exist outside of time. In the '60s he was reminiscing about Woody Guthrie, and in more recent years he has once again seemed to slide backwards through the ages, obsessing over the work of Frank Sinatra and the Great American Songbook. The struggles he's written about have never been rooted in the exact moment they occurred; it's why he shunned the idea of being a voice for his generation during the political uprisings of the '60s. The songs on Rough and Rowdy Ways name-drop several generations' worth of actors, singers, writers, activists, and icons, piecing all their stories together into a puzzle that shows how history can't stop skipping, skipping, skipping and starting over again.

Rough and Rowdy Ways is Bob's first album of new material in 8 years, and easily one of his strongest releases of the 21st century. Frankly, it's everything I've been craving from him for the past two decades: deeply personal and incisive lyrics, unfussy compositions, and expressive singing. I can't recall the last time his voice sounded so vulnerable and lovely. He's seen it all, and he's here to sing about it: the cold-hearted cruelty that keeps halting humanity's progress; the cyclical and inescapable violence and injustice; the aching desire to find love and be loved.

It's clear from listening to his words that Bob Dylan has been in a period of deep reflection, looking back on his past experiences, mourning the people who he's lost. When he sang "My heart is at rest, I'd like to keep it that way," in the song "Black Rider," I found myself holding in my breath. "Black rider, black rider, tell me when, tell me how / If there ever was a time, then let it be now." Is he saying goodbye to us? Or is he simply twisting another phrase around his finger, winding us up for the next thousand shows of his Neverending Tour?

I don't know where Bob Dylan is going, but when he gets there, I know he's going to stare back at us through a prism, scattering a dozen tales from a dozen eras across the room into a jagged outline of the truth.

Bob DylanReviewed on this page:

Bob Dylan - The Freewheelin' BobDylan - In Concert: Brandeis 1963 - The Times They Are A-Changin' - Another Side Of Bob Dylan - Bringing It All Back Home - Highway 61 Revisited - Blonde OnBlonde - The Basement Tapes - John Wesley Harding - Nashville Skyline - New Morning - Self Portrait - Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid - Dylan - Planet Waves - Before The Flood - Blood On TheTracks - Desire - Street Legal - Bob Dylan At Budokan -Empire Burlesque - Biograph - Oh Mercy - Under The Red Sky - The Bootleg Series - Good As I Been To You - World Gone Wrong - Love And Theft - Modern TimesI assume you already know who this guy is. Dylan's contribution is first and foremost as a lyricist. Able tocommunicate tenderness, bitterness, melancholy, anger, detachment,even confusion - he brought a range of emotional expression neverbefore seen in popular music. Most of his songs are built onstandard rock or folk chord changes and simple but effectivemelodies, designed to deliver the payload: his words.Dylan's Never-Ending Tour has been going on since 1990, and Ifinally caught it and wrote a review on our concert review page. I also slogged all the way through a Dylan sessionography,which I've reviewed on our book reviews page.There is alot of Dylan stuff out there on the Web. There's anewsgroup (rec.music.dylan).Here's a pagewith a zillion links. But thisis the most thorough Dylan page I've found. (DBW)I'm not a big Dylan fan, but the man's impact on rock music isimmeasurable, and he may rank as the most popular songwriter of the60s - in that respect, he's rivalled only by the Beatles. As a tribute, I've worked with DBW to compile a list of Dylansongs covered on albums that we review elsewhere on this web site.(JA)"All Along The Watchtower" - Jimi Hendrix

"The Ballad Of Hollis Brown" - Steve Stills

"Blowin' InThe Wind" - Stevie Wonder

"Born In Time" - Eric Clapton

"Chimes Of Freedom" - TheByrds"Clean Cut Kid" - Carla Olson"Dear Landlord" - JoeCocker"Forever Young" - Diana Ross"Girl From The North Country" (a.k.a. "North Country Girl") - Rod Stewart; Pete Townshend"Hey Mr. Tambourine Man" - The Byrds

"I Shall Be Released" - Joe Cocker; The Band

"I Threw It All Away" - Elvis Costello

"If Not For You" - George Harrison

"It Ain't Me Babe" - The Turtles

"It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" - The Byrds

"It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A TrainTo Cry" - Bloomfield Kooper Stills

"Jack O'Diamonds" - Fairport Convention

"Just Like A Woman" - Joe Cocker; Roberta Flack"Like A Rolling Stone" - Jimi Hendrix; The Turtles

"Love Minus Zero" - The Turtles

"Mama You Been On My Mind" - Rod Stewart

"Most Likely You'll Go Your Way" - Todd Rundgren; The Yardbirds

"My Back Pages" - The Byrds; The Nice

"Only A Hobo" - Rod Stewart

"Seven Days" - Ron Wood

"She Belongs To Me" - The Nice; Billy Preston; Tom Tom Club

"Sign Language" - Eric Clapton

"Sweetheart Like You" - Rod Stewart

"Tears Of Rage" - The Band

"The Times They Are A-Changin'" - The Beach Boys; The Byrds; Simon & Garfunkel

"This Wheel's On Fire" - The Band; The Byrds

"Tomorrow Is A Long Time" - Sandy Denny; Rod Stewart

"Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You" - Jeff Beck

"Up To Me" - Roger McGuinn

"Wanted Man" - Johnny Cash

"Wicked Messenger" - The Faces

"You Ain't Going Nowhere" - The Byrds

Bob Dylan (1962)

I don't have this, but I've heard bits and pieces. To be a legitfolk singer, Dylan had to prove he could sing other people's songs,so there are only two originals here ("Song To Woody," "Talkin' NewYork Blues") even though he already had a ton of original materialby this point. (See The Bootleg Series for more of these early songs.) (DBW)Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)

- The best album to come out of the early 60s folk scene; it's fullof Dylan classics ("Don't Think Twice," "Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall,""Blowin' In The Wind"), and he's as compelling interpreting otherpeople's songs as his own ("Corrina, Corrina"). As usual, filledwith hilarious lines underscoring serious points ("Talkin' WorldWar III Blues," "Bob Dylan's Dream"). His energetic good humor iscontagious, too: "Honey Just Allow Me One More Chance" isengagingly silly. Some gentle electric guitar and other folk-rockacoutrements, but here Dylan's at his best with just an acousticguitar and harmonica. (DBW)

- Plenty of classics here, like the plaintive "Girl From The North Country" and the bitter "Masters Of War," that are among my favorite solo acoustic Dylan tunes. Dylan's young voice is strong, his lyrics still earnest and direct, and his guitar playing more attentive and ambitious than on later albums. Except on the gorgeous, understated "Corrina, Corrina," extra instrumentation and cover versions are almost absent, and everything is focused on Dylan's formidable talent. Can't go wrong with this 50 minute set. (JA) In Concert: Brandeis 1963 (rec. 1963, rel. 2011)

Recorded just before the release of Freewheelin', this serendipitously preserved set captures Dylan at the height of his political phase (apparently inspired by then-girlfriend Suze Rotolo) and just before becoming a household name. So after the opening "Honey Just Allow Me One More Chance," there's one diatribe after another, including three "talking blues" numbers ("Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues"), and everything - even the somber "Ballad Of Hollis Brown" - is performed with the irrepressible joy of a child showing off birthday presents. No breathtaking revelations ("Talking Bear Mountain Picnic Massacre Blues" is no more than a curiosity), but as a treat for fans, it's hard to match: "Masters Of War" and "Talkin' World War III Blues" - the two great songs about fear of nuclear war - are performed back to back. (DBW) The Times They Are A-Changin' (1964)

Today's word is "morose." There's none of the humor or variety of Freewheelin' - just one slow, sad, guitar-and-harmonica number after another. Aside from the title anthem, the protest songs are dirge-like, obviousand painfully repetitive ("The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll," "Only A Pawn In Their Game," "With God On Their Side"),and the love songs are even less energetic ("Boots Of Spanish Leather"), conspicuously lacking hisusual kaleidoscopic imagery and ruthless self-examination. But when he's not too caught up in bathos or self-righteousness, he does craft some intriguing tunes ("One Too Many Mornings," "North Country Blues"), and there is that title anthem. Produced by Tom Wilson. (DBW)Another Side of Bob Dylan (1964)

- Dylan abruptly left protest music, moving on to introspective ballads("Ballad In Plain D," "To Ramona"), shaggy-dog humor ("MotorpsychoNitemare") and not-a-love-song's ("It Ain't Me Babe," "All I ReallyWant To Do"). It's consistently interesting; a piano crops up hereand there ("Black Crow Blues"), but basically it's another guitar-vocal-harmonica album, recorded entirely in one all-night session.(DBW)

- An amazing songwriting effort; Dylan's sense of melody, creative wordplay, and instinct for entertainment were all at a peak ("Spanish Harlem Incident"), and there's a good crop of classics tunes like "It Ain't Me Babe" and "Chimes Of Freedom."Dylan bites the hand that feeds with his renouncement of political self-righteousness on "My Back Pages," but he gets in plenty of pointed social commentary on the comic relief numbers ("I Shall Be Free No. 10"; "Motorpsycho Nightmare"), and his commentaries on relationships are effective ("It Ain't Me Babe").The only minus is that the arrangements do take only a tentative step forward from the last few albums; the slow honky tonk piano and harmonica on "Black Crow Blues" isn't terribly interesting. And when he slows the pace, even his most crafted verbiage doesn't keep your attention (the eight-minute romance novel "Ballad In Plain D"). Produced by Tom Wilson. (JA) Bringing It All Back Home (1965)

From the first notes of "Subterranean Homesick Blues," rock androll was changed forever. The lyrics rush by in double and triplerhymes, puns, and non sequiturs, over an insistent electric bluesbackground: not only is there no bridge, there's no chorus. Therest of side one is electric, and every song is excellent - eventhe lengthy, rambling "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" holds yourinterest, like a potboiler you can't put down.He's also far ahead of his contemporaries on the acoustic side, including "Mr. TambourineMan," probably the best known song here. The tunes are strong("Outlaw Blues," "Love Minus Zero / No Limit"), and lyrically hemoves from offhandedly humorous to deadly earnest, sometimes withina single line ("Maggie's Farm," "It's Alright Ma (I'm OnlyBleeding)"). Shortly after this album he released the vicious "PositivelyFourth Street," which became a huge hit - it's only available ongreatest hits and compilation albums. (DBW)

Historically important and packed with great songs, but the execution is faulty: Dylan's chugging electric band is ragged and dull, and he over-emphasizes the stale blues conventions that underlie much of the material ("Outlaw Blues"). (JA) Highway 61 Revisited (1965)

Here he refines his mid-Sixties electric sound, making effectiveuse of piano and organ as well as stinging guitar (courtesy of Mike Bloomfield). The lyrics areamong his most successful ever: "Like A Rolling Stone" was a bighit single, and "Ballad Of A Thin Man" was a counterculturalmilestone. "Tombstone Blues" and "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues"pushed the limits of rock subject matter still further; theseriocomedy numbers are terrific (title track and "From A Buick6"), the family-size ballad "Desolation Row" is uncanny, and eventhe lesser works are fascinating ("Queen Jane Approximately," "ItTakes A Lot To Laugh"). (DBW)

The sidemen here included Al Kooper and Harvey Brooks. Produced by Bob Johnston (Tom Wilson handled "Like A Rolling Stone"). (JA) Blonde On Blonde (1966)

Recorded in Nashville and New York with a horde of backing musicians, the songsaren't quite as sharp as on the two previous albums ("Just Like AWoman" suffers from a none-too-deep chorus, "Sad Eyed Lady Of TheLowlands" just plain drags), which is exacerbated by the fact thatthere are twice as many of them. (It was the first rock and rolldouble album, as far as I know.) There are, though, plenty oflyrical gems: "Stuck Inside Of Mobile," "I Want You," "Sooner OrLater One Of Us Must Know," and some terrific comedy numbers (thesingle "Rainy Day Women #12 and #35," "Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat").Arrangements vary from gentle and acoustic ("Visions Of Johanna")to loud and raucous ("Absolutely Sweet Marie"). (DBW)

The Band plays on several tunes; Al Kooper is in evidence; and one of the Nashville players, drummer Ken Buttrey, went on to join the Stray Gators. (JA)The Basement Tapes (rec 1967,released 1975)

- A bunch of demos recorded with the Band, this became the biggestselling bootleg in rock history (at least until Prince's Black Album), and wasfinally released officially on the principle that if someone's going to make money off of it, it might as well be the record company. Most rock critics adore the record; to me, it's no mystery why Dylan & the boys didn't want to release it: the tunes are rambling, sloppily performed ("Odds And Ends"), and built on blues and country clichs ("Don't Ya Tell Henry," I don't think I could write a melody and lyric as banal as "Long Distance Operator" if I tried); the lyrics are improvised, incoherent and frequently dull("Million Dollar Bash," "Goin' To Acapulco"); and the few good tunes have been already released in professional versions ("You Ain't Goin' Nowhere," "Tears Of Rage"). A third of the tracks have no Dylan involvement, and these are trivial at best ("Katie's Been Gone" by Robertson and Manuel); only a serious Band fan or masochist needs this record. (DBW)

- I disagree so strongly it's hard to believe Wilson even heard the same record.I am a Band fan, and although the collection isn't as good as their own, later albums - there's bad sound quality and off-key vocals ("Tears Of Rage") - it's thoughtful and irresistably sincere ("Yea! Heavy And A Bottle Of Bread"). Despite Dylan's penchant for dull blues changes, I hear plenty of variety; even when really loose ("Apple Sucking Tree"), almost nothing sounds improvised; and almost everything is short and to the point.The eight tunes without Dylan are mostly substantial, and apart from "Long Distance Operator" would have been candidates for the group's own albums ("Katie's Been Gone"; "Ain't No More Cane"). (JA) John Wesley Harding (1967)

Reacting against the drug-fueled experimentation of the Summer Of Love, Dylan retreated to minimal arrangements and religious themes here; many find the atmosphere hypnotic but I tend to wonder "What the hell is this man talking about?" (DBW)

I've had trouble getting into this, but some of the material isstrong: the rambling "Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest"; thegently rocking "Wicked Messenger"; the straight-up country number"I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" (complete with steel guitar, courtesy of Nashville legend Pete Drake); and, ofcourse, "All Along The Watchtower." The two-man rhythm section of Buttrey and McCoy, held over from Blonde On Blonde, isindeed minimal, but never intrusive; and Dylan's voice is in goodshape here ("Drifter's Escape"). (JA)Nashville Skyline (1969)

- Another huge change for him, straightforward country & westernsongs with his most direct lyrics ever. Also, his voice is clearerand warmer than any record before or since, thanks to taking abreak from cigarettes. The crack session band keeps things moving,and the tunes are always entertaining if not always profound. Hehad a big hit here with "Lay Lady Lay," and other oustanding tracksinclude "One More Night," "I'll Be Staying Here With You," and thecomedy number "Country Pie." Country singers continue to recordthese songs to this day, with good reason. (DBW)

- I'm no country fan, but somehow Dylan manages to wring a gallon of emotional sincerity out of this concoction. The aching remake of "Girl From The North Country" is a great example; Johnny Cash usually does nothing for me, but the effect of Dylan's wispy tenor trading off with Cash's croaking baritone is magical. The solid backing band helps; Drake, McCoy, and Buttrey were all held over from John Wesley Harding, and there are a few other guests like Charlie Daniels (I've read that he actually plays bass here). (JA) Self Portrait (1970)

This record was slammed on release, and I figuredthe critics must've been exaggerating. But there's almost nothing(except for a few examples of his nicotine-free singing voice) torecommend this record:there aren't many originals, and most of them are almost comicallyclichd ("Living The Blues"). To make matters worse, acouple of the tunes are presented in two equally weak versions:"Little Sadie" and "Alberta." The instrumental "Woogie Boogie" isdull, and the recordings (mostly with country-rock arrangements)are slipshod and unrehearsed, in stark contrast to the previousrecord.The female chorus on "All The Tired Horses" and the abundance oflyrical clichs are a foreshadowing of the weakest momentsof New Morning. He covers some good songs (Paul Simon's "The Boxer," the Bryant's "TakeA Message To Mary") and some terrible ones (C. Null's "I ForgotMore Than You'll Ever Know"), but either way the performances areflat. Even the live versions of "Like A Rolling Stone" and "SheBelongs To Me," with the Band, pale next to their studio cousins.(DBW)

The credits here are endless, including all the last record's sidemen, the Band, Al Kooper, David Bromberg, and a pile of people I've never heard of. (JA) New Morning (1970)

This is one weird record. It starts off with another simple, prettycountry tune that would have fit on Nashville Skyline ("IfNot For You"), then heads for new territory: a couple of great,spare new songs ("Day Of The Locusts," "Time Passes Slowly"), areally weak love song ("Winterlude"), a couple of lame attempts atbeat poetry ("If Dogs Run Free" featuring Maeretha Stewart doingsome wild scat singing, "Three Angels") and a religious numberpresaging his later "born again" work ("Father Of Night"). Theinstrumentation is unusual - spotlighting his piano playing, whichis surprisingly effective - with female backup singers, and anuncharacteristically professional and well-rehearsed band. (DBW)

Kooper, Brooks, Daniels, and Bromberg all reappeared, joined by Russ Kunkel, Billy Mundi, and others. (JA) Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid (1973)

Soundtrack to the Sam Peckinpaugh film of the same name, which Dylan appeared in. There areonly a couple of vocal numbers, including the classic "Knocking On Heaven'sDoor" and three versions of "Billy," which basically retells the movie's plot. Some of the instrumentals are interesting, particularly "Bunkhouse Theme" and the haunting "Final Theme," with the melody stated on a recorder, but overall this hardly ranks among Dylan's most enduring work. Guests include Booker T. Jones and Priscilla, and Roger McGuinn, plus Brenda Patterson, a background vocalist who appears courtesy of Playboy Records. (DBW)

A lot of other random sidemen also showed up, including Russ Kunkel, Jim Keltner, and Byron Berline. (JA) Dylan (1974)

When Dylan temporarily left Columbia Records, they rushed out thiscollection of outtakes from Self Portrait and New Morning. Often there's a guilty pleasure in listening to recordings that an artist didn't want issued, but not this time: none of the tunes are Dylan originals, and they're uniformly less interesting than the cuts that made Self Portrait, which was lousy to begin with. There are no high points; the only possible point of interest is his version of Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi," which he does up in stereotypical Dylan style, singsong whine, rapidly-strummed acoustic, female backup singers, and all. Everything else, from "Mr. Bojangles" to "Can't Help Falling In Love" to "Spanish Is The Loving Tongue" is embarrassing and unlistenable - the sole exception is "A Fool Such As I," with a snappy, crisp country arrangement that sounds straight out of the Nashville Skyline sessions. (DBW)

Since the material is so diverse, it includes an immense list of sidemen, e.g., the Band; Bloomfield, Bromberg, and Kooper; future Dire Strait Mark Knopfler; Nashville guys like Buttrey, Daniels, Drake, McCoy, and Tim Drummond; session veterans like Keltner, Kunkel, and Jerry Scheff; and even Mick Taylor. (JA)Planet Waves (1974)

- Bob's reunion with the Band sounds unrehearsed and half-finished.There are good songs here ("Tough Mama," "Hazel," twoversions of "Forever Young"), but apparently not much thought wentinto the performances: the Band members indulge in their usualclichs (the descending bass line from "The Weight" isresurrected over and over again - hey guys, some of us never likedthe song in the first place). Dylan's first #1 album. (DBW)

- Recorded in three days, and it sounds like it. The sloppiness and cacophonous overplaying is ironic, because the Band's own studio work was always immaculately rehearsed and complexly, but economically arranged - which explains why such tunes as "The Weight" are important and eminently likeable classics. But here Robertson won't shut up, and the lack of overdubs cuts them off from the horn arrangements that make their best albums great.The slow, five-minute "Forever Young" is a stately bore, and the fast, electrified hillbilly version is a joke; "Dirge" is like an unfinished rewrite of "This Wheel's On Fire," sans chorus; Dylan's acoustic solo spotlight ("Wedding Song") has a routine, but unresolved sea chantey melody; the most thought-out attempts would have been album filler on a Band LP ("You Angel You"). Harumph. (JA)Before The Flood (1974)

- A live double album, recorded with the Band. All the Band's biggest hits are here ("The Weight," "Stage Fright," "The Shape I'm In," "Up On Cripple Creek"), along with many of Dylan's 60s hits ("Lay Lady Lay," "Rainy Day Women"), and everything's transformed into the Band's ragged country-rock. For Band fans, that's probably a good thing; for me it's monotonous, as all the different Dylan periods are processed into one shoddy sound. Dylan himself is thoroughly unremarkable, shouting out his lines without much feeling, even on the short solo acoustic set. Don't pick this up unless you're already a Band fan. Easily Dylan's biggest-selling live record, as it went gold and shot up to #3 on the charts. (DBW)

- A surprising disappointment. The Band's own live records are far more energetic and practiced; here their vocals are shockingly bad, literally almost always off key. And Hudson's mid-70s synth mania drowns several tunes in washes of electronic ooze. They get in only seven of their songs, and of those only "Endless Highway" and the classic "When You Awake" aren't available on other live albums. That said, Wilson's right that Band fans like myself will be curious to hear their take on Dylan's big hits - if only once or twice. (JA) Blood On The Tracks (1975)

Sadness and loss permeate this record; spare arrangements and hisgripping delivery add up to what is perhaps his most powerful andcoherent statement. "Tangled Up In Blue" was inspired by Joni Mitchell's Blue, although I can'tquite see the relationship - it is one of his finest story-songs."Simple Twist of Fate," "You're A Big Girl Now" and "You're GonnaMake Me Lonesome When You Go" are strikingly different takes on thefragility of love; "Idiot Wind" is Dylan at his angriest and mostcutting. The melodies aren't too complex but they're alwayscaptivating. (DBW)

There are two bands here, but the players are mostly new and mostly obscure. Dylan's second #1 album, and it went platinum to boot. (JA) Desire (1976)

This album, mostly written with novelist Jacques Levy, is wellworth listening to, but I can't really say why I like it, asidefrom the brilliant protest story-song "Hurricane." It's not as focused as itspredecessor; it contains the 11 minute celebration of a gangster,"Joey"; it features Scarlet Rivera's monotonous violin on too manytracks; and most of the time I have no idea what it's about. Butsomehow it works - one of life's little mysteries. Two otherstandout tracks, though, are "Mozambique," with strange, wonderfulharmony vocals, and the brooding "One More Cup Of Coffee." (DBW)

Guests included Eric Clapton and Emmylou Harris. "Hurricane" just cracked the Top 40, the last time Dylan did that well for a while. (JA)Hard Rain (1976)

Another live record. (DBW)

The band here, loosely based on the Desire lineup, included Mick Ronson and T-Bone Burnett; the short track listing includes "Lay Lady Lay," "Idiot Wind," and "Maggie's Farm." This marked the beginning of Dylan's commercial decline in the late 70s, peaking in the middle of the Top 40. (JA) Street Legal (1978)

By now the band is Ian Wallace on drums, Bobbye Hall on percussion, Jerry Scheff on bass, Billy Cross on guitar, and Alan Pasqua on keys, with David Mansfield replacing Rivera on violin and prominent backing vocals by Carolyn Dennis, Jo Ann Harris and Helena Springs. The band sounds like it's on cruise control, heading through each track at an unvarying pace and minimal effort - for once on a Dylan album, different tracks don't set different moods. Bob himself seems pensive and inert, with his lyrics either rambling and obscure ("No Time To Think"), appallingly crude ("New Pony")or baldly straightforward ("We Better Talk This Over"). There may be something brilliant about the lyrics that I'm not picking up on, but musically and performance-wise, there's not much to recommend this disc. Produced by Don De Vito; it was a commercial flop, stalling at #11 and failing to go platinum. (DBW)

There are no real high points here, I can't vouch for the lyrics, and it's truly monotonous, with an early-70s big band sound that emphasizes the female chorus, lazy sax, and simple organ. But Dylan's voice, often in a low register, retains some emotional power; and at least there are no disco or pop influences. (JA) Bob Dylan At Budokan (1978)

At least Dylan sounds comfortable here, backed by the same well-practiced RollingThunder Revue band that appeared on the last record - Hall, Wallace, Pasqua, etc. - and produced by Don DeVito.Everyone seems perfectly capable as they run through the double album's combination of 60s classics and occasional 70s numbers ("Forever Young"; "Simple Twist Of Fate"; "One More Cup Of Coffee").Problem is, the big-band approach gives everything a sluggish, amiable, glitzy sound that smooths over almost every song's emotional core.Steven Soles' pointless doubling of Dylan's acoustic guitar and vocals, Steve Douglas' sprawling, bloozy sax, Cross' generic rock guitar, Mansfield's breezy flute, mandolin and violin lines, and the trio of female singers all help to comp