tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post6202927469924274493..comments2023-10-16T00:27:18.680-07:00Comments on THE ACTIVE LISTENER: Bob Dylan In The Eighties - Beginner's GuideActive Listenerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08732844209597964962noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-27939694453381699682014-03-22T02:49:50.715-07:002014-03-22T02:49:50.715-07:00You're one or two marks too kind for each albu...You're one or two marks too kind for each album, but string them all together like this and maybe the decade doesn't look so bad after all. Pick out the twelve best tracks and you could make one single blinder of a record. Can I put in a word for 'Heart of Mine' from Shot of Love' - ramshackle performance but a charming tune. <br />Chris Bailey, Sheffield UKAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-78267035770609471952014-03-22T00:54:38.618-07:002014-03-22T00:54:38.618-07:00I'd agree with you about Infidels but only wit...I'd agree with you about Infidels but only with the excluded tracks, without Tell Me, Foot of Pride and McTell, it rocks but doesn't burn with an everlasting flameAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00409056965315105288noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-79442609964311146282014-03-21T06:45:38.097-07:002014-03-21T06:45:38.097-07:00I think your dead wrong on Empire Burlesque. It...I think your dead wrong on Empire Burlesque. It's Dylan's best and most coherent album of the eighties excepting Oh Mercy. I think it works way better as an album than the overrated Infidels (talk about TERRIBLE production, the outtakes sound way better and Jokerman certainly is not Dylan at his peak at all: even though it's not unpleasant, it I think it comes dangerously close to being "fake-Dylan", wordy, fake-profound/poetic, kinda like Changing Of The Guards - while his wordy and long masterpieces from the sixties always have something concrete about them (think Desolation Row, Mr. Tambourine Man etc.) Jokerman and Changing kinda leave me hanging, they're just a bunch of images strung together but there doesn't seem to be a connecting feeling that lets the songs hang together. I mean, they're nice to listen to but they leave me wanting (just my opinion, though)). <br />Empire Burlesque, on the other hand, is a pretty nice collection of love songs (exceptions: Clean-Cut Kid and Dark Eyes) from different moments in a relationship. If you don't like the production, that's fine. I must say I kinda like it and think it does the songs justice and I think as a snapshot of mid-eighties Dylan at his finest a song like When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky is a better example than Jokerman.<br />Also, I hope Columbia will release one of Dylan's November 1979 concerts really soon so we can all hear how great the songs fom the Saved album sounded in live performance compared to the tired and passionless performances that are on that actual album. Covenant Woman, What Can I Do For You, Solid Rock and Saving Grace are some of the greatest Dylan songs ever but you can't tell by their studio performances.<br />All of this is not meant to disrespect you or your work but I thought if somebody who wants to check out Dylan in the eighties visits this page it might be nice to see a different opinion, too. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6060678401939895415.post-25716987845826662012014-03-20T12:33:29.450-07:002014-03-20T12:33:29.450-07:00Oh Mercy isn't really 10/10, even though it...Oh Mercy isn't really 10/10, even though it's pretty good . . . "Disease of Conceit" is pretty bad, and again he left off some good stuff ("Series of Dreams," "Dignity") and kept some forgettable stuff. I'd say "Infidels" is the best of the 80s even with its exclusions. king cramseynoreply@blogger.com