Tag: Bob Dylan

Posted in Album Reviews

Bob Dylan – Planet Waves (1974)

Posted on by Michael

In late 1973, Bob Dylan entered the studio with old friends The Band to work on songs that would become Planet Waves. For the most part, gone are the voice of the generation songs that defined his 60s output.  Instead, “You Angel You” uses lyrical clichés on lines like “the way you walk and the way you talk” but is played with energetic country rock making it a winner. “Tough Mama” is a bit funky with some terrific organ work from Garth Hudson and opening “On A Night Like This” works as a country tinged uptempo folk song. 

Dylan’s ode to to one of his sons, “Forever Young” appears in two different versions with the slower version working as a lullaby. “Dirge” takes in a classic dirgy melody as he sings that he has “paid the price of solitude, but at least I’m out of debt”.  Album closer “Wedding Song” is a terrific acoustic song in the older Dylan style but replaces the politics with love. 

Surprisingly, this is the first Bob Dylan album to go to #1 in the US where it stayed for for four weeks starting in mid February, 1974.  His first release for Asylum Records after leaving his longtime Columbia home, Planet Waves is greatly benefited by the playing of The Band who help elevate an album of OK songs. Like 1970’s New Morning, this is another album of decent 70s singer songwriter tracks but nothing that could be called essential.

6.5/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Bob Dylan – Dylan (1973)

Posted on by Michael

Dylan (1973) is an album made up of studio outtakes that Bob Dylan did during recordings for Self Portrait and New Morning. After Dylan left Columbia Records for Asylum, the former released this set of mostly forgettable tracks with no input from the singer. The album gets off to a decent start with the upbeat “Lily Of The West”, a traditional track that Dylan adapted to make the story take place in Louisville.

It’s mostly downhill from there.  Two songs popularized by Elvis appear including the funky “A Fool Such As I”. His version of Joni Mitchell’s classic “Big Yellow Taxi” sounds thin – like the band warming up, which it possibly could have been.  His version of “The Ballad of Ira Hayes” is atrocious.  It is hard to fault Dylan as these songs were not intended for release.  Instead, it’s Columbia who deserves the scorn for having OK’d this uninteresting mess.

3/10

Posted in Album Reviews

Bob Dylan – Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973)

Posted on by Michael

The seventies brought on a first for Bob Dylan – he recorded a soundtrack album for a film.  In 1973 he released the OST for Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid. Assembling an incredible band including Roger McGuinn (guitar), Jim Keltner (drums), Booker T Jones (bass), and the return of Bruce Langhorne on acoustic guitar. Being a soundtrack, several of the tracks are acoustic guitar instrumentals including the laid back “River Theme”, a good old romp of “Turkey Chase”, and the bongo lead “Cantina Theme (Workin’ For The Law)”.

The most popular track here is the classic “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”.  The spiritual song takes some themes from Dylan’s sixties period and updates the sound for the seventies. “Mama, put my guns in the ground/I can’t shoot them anymore”. The powerful song hit the top ten in several countries and has been covered several times including by Guns N’ Roses.  On the album, the song is followed by “Final Theme” that sounds like an extended coda. While spreading his wings further to try new things, this soundtrack has top notch playing by expert musicians on simple but pleasant songs.

6.5/10

Posted in Listed

Favourite Distant (Re)Discoveries of 2023

Posted on by Michael

5. Bob Dylan – Self Portrait (Album): Everything I had ever heard about Bob Dylan’s 1970 album, Self Portrait was how terrible it was.  It was with these ears I went to listen/review for the first time and was pleasantly surprised by the album. Not a lost classic by any means but songs like first track, “All the Tired Horses” and his unique cover of “The Boxer” keeps things interesting.  While his 60s albums need to be front and centre, this one can happily play in the background.

4. Madonna – Oh Father (Song): A song that I’ve liked since the early 90s, “Oh Father” is an odd track in Madonna’s career. Appearing on the Like a Prayer album, it is one of the worst performing singles of her career.  Regardless, the dramatic ballad is a show stopper of emotion that climaxes with the powerful line –  “Maybe someday/When I look back, I’ll be able to say/You didn’t mean to be cruel/Somebody hurt you too”.

3.  Liam Gallagher – Knebworth 22 (Album): It was a significant triumph for Liam Gallagher to headline the historic Knebworth Park over two nights in 2022. The album souvenir released a year later left out a few tracks but hit all the highlights.  The album plays like a greatest hits of Liam’s career with a few surprises like the inclusion of Oasis album track, “Roll It Over”.

2.  Ghost – Mary On A Cross (Song): This track from at 2019 was discovered through a youtube search after listening to the gang at Sea of Tranquility argue about the merits of Ghost. I’m sure it’s a track that metalheads can’t stand but I played this endlessly for months.  The catchy melody and clever lyrics turn the track into an anthem, one that gets amped up by the crowd in the youtube clip.

1. The Damned – Life Goes On (Song):  The end of 2022 was not the best time of my life but coming across this track by The Damned helped through many cold nights in early 2023. The song from 1982 tells the listener that “life’s a con” and the only answer is “to go on and on and on”.  Through the doom and gloom, the line “but always remember/this is the happiest day of your life” is a beacon of light.

Posted in Album Reviews

Bob Dylan – New Morning (1970)

Posted on by Michael

Released just four months after the critical mauling that Self Portrait received, Bob Dylan’s New Morning arrived in October 1970. One of the highlights of the album is the piano and organ work of Al Kooper. “If Not For You”, the first track and only single released from the album is a country sounding, upbeat track. “Went to See the Gypsy” has a nice piano/organ groove with terrific guitar licks while “Sign in the Window” is another solid piano led track where Dylan sings of a more straightforward life – “build me a cabin in Utah/Marry me a wife, catch rainbow trout”.

In June 1970, Dylan received an honourary degree from Princeton University which is recalled with little joy in the lyrics of “Day of the Locusts”.  “The benches were stained with tears and perspiration” before “the locusts sang such a sweet melody”. “The Man in Me” would later feature in the movie The Big Lubowski.  “Winterlude” has an old timely feel with some nice sounding Spanish guitar picking, less winningly “If Dogs Run Free” is a jazz take featuring scat singing from Maretha Stewart, it is absolutely atrocious.  

At the time, New Morning was seen as a return to form by the critics. Really, it is nowhere near the heights of his 60s work and with no truly great songs, it works as a cool singer songwriter album from the burgeoning new 70s decade. “If Not For You” is the only notable song from this album, later covered by both George Harrison and Olivia Newton for her first album. The rest is for those wanting a deeper dive.

7.5/10