Bob Dylan

Blood on the Tracks
$9.99
During my life I have met more people who told me this was their favorite album of all music than any other. It probably has something to do with my living in America for most of my life, but I do remember back in late 70ties music lovers in Europe being blown away by this record. This is also my favorite album of this prolific and ambitious musician (next to Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid and Blonde On Blonde). The way the story is told here is so powerful. It is not political nor spiritual, unlike much of his other music. The theme of Blood On The Tracks to me seems to be our loneliness and the lessons it allows us to learn. When we are heartbroken we feel low but the tempo and emotions here are running high. The lyrics are great as we've gotten used to it with this artist but music is (to me) more developed and consistent than on many other of his albums. The quality of the overall recording of instruments was never one of Dylan's strengths but his voice here sounds to me more caring about its own beauty. My favorite tracks of this album are You're A Big Girl Now, Simple Twist Of Fate, If You See Her Say Hello, and Tangled Up in Blue. Back in 1998 I put together some of my favorite Dylan songs and I have revised that compilation in 2008 to include RPWL's version of Masters Of War, which I consider to be one of the best covers of all times. I used Dylan's words to name that compilation, When I Was Deep In Poverty You Taught Me How To Give:

1. Sara
2. You're A Big Girl Now
3. A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall
4. One More Cup Of Coffee
5. Hazel
6. Simple Twist Of Fate
7. Blowin' In The Wind
8. Masters Of War
9. PGABTK Main Theme
10. Masters Of War RPWL
11. Under The Red Sky
12. Senor
13. Bunkhouse Theme
14. If You See Her Say Hello
15. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
16. Going Going Gone
17. Lay Lady Lay
18. Wedding Song

The Essential Bob Dylan (Rm) (2CD)
$15.93
This guy was a legend in the 60s and he is still working today! I liked some of his songs then, and I love the songs on this set even more now. My only disappointment is the set doesn't have "Talking WWIII Blues" so now I'll have to get an album with that song on it.

Together Through Life
$13.96
The test of a good CD is when you stick on one or two tracks, but that expands as you let the album play in its entirety. This CD meets the test. Nothing knocks me out on this like when I first heard the song, "Things Have Changed", but this CD has reeled me in. Good job, Bob.

Blonde on Blonde
$9.99
The year was 1966. The year after Bob Dylan decided to make everybody try harder with "Like a Rolling Stone" and his accompanying album Highway 61 Revisited. The year that The Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, and The Byrds decided to create some of the most mind-warping and innovative albums of all time. Highway 61 Revisited is more important than Blonde on Blonde, only because it was released first and had such an immediate impact on the face of pop culture at the time, but Blonde on Blonde is a better album both lyrically and musically. On Blonde on Blonde, all the songs are about women, be it directly or indirectly. Considering his marriage to Sara and his long-term relationship to Joan Baez, it should come as no surprise that Dylan would be inspired to write less politically-charged songs and more introspective and romantic songs around this time. This album is basically about women seen through the eyes of a genius who also happens to have a romantic soul. This isn't soul music however. This is Dylan doing what he does best: mind-warp poetry set to rock and roll. This is perhaps the most lyrically complex album ever recorded. If you enjoy analyzing lyrics, don't take a sip, take a gigantic GULP because this is as good as it gets. All the songs except for "Just Like a Woman" have either a rocking or bluesy feel to them. Some songs such as "Obviously Five Believers" and "Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat" have more style than substance, but that is not a problem because it's good for the listener to take a break from the complexity of the other songs. Blonde on Blonde displays a vast array of emotions that permeate the human condition; humor, longing, frustration, anger, bitterness, and pathos are all found on this masterpiece. To my ears, all the songs are great except for "Just Like a Woman", which so happens to be the second-most popular song on the album (after "Rainy Day Women"). It's a ballad and not very profound when compared to the other riveting ballad on the album "Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands". "Sad-Eyed Lady" is slower but at least it packs an emotional wallop that "Just Like a Woman" can't even come close to muster. Something about the vocals and lyrics on "Just Like a Woman" rubs me the wrong way and I don't care for Al Kooper's organ on the song either. There are nine songs on Highway 61 Revisited and every single song on it is a classic, but on Blonde on Blonde, Dylan goes thirteen for fourteen, which to me is even more impressive. A+