Arthur Lee's Love - Buyer's Guide

With Forever Changes, an iconic album frequently lauded as one of the best albums ever recorded, it's surprising how little people know of the rest of the Love back catalogue. Let's see what we can do about that.




Love ( 1966 )
This'll come as a bit of a surprise to those who only know Forever Changes. Surprisingly aggressive garage punk is the dominant sound here, with Hey Joe and My Little Red Book being particularly strong versions. Softly to Me shows their quieter, more melodic side and is a much more complicated piece of writing. Very consistent debut. ( 8/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Da Capo ( 1967 )
A much more ambitious record, with harpsichords,flutes and horns added to the mix and sustained songwriting on the first side which is almost the match of the Forever Changes material. 7 & 7 is refines and perfects the debut's garage sensibilities while She Comes in Colors and Orange Skies show Arthur Lee and Bryan MacLean's songwriting developing rapidly.  Revelation takes up all of the second side and is a sprawling blues rock piece with moments of greatness and self indulgence fairly evenly stacked. ( 9/10 )  BUY IT HERE

Forever Changes ( 1967 )
An album totally deserving of it's many accolades, Forever Changes is a much more diverse and varied album. Scaling back the electric instruments, Lee chose to use mostly acoustic guitars with bass and drums to give the lyrics plenty of space, and he certainly had a lot to say about his generation. Cleverly charted horn parts are used to add texture and are often quite punchy while there's still room for some great psychedelic guitar parts, notably on A House is Not A Motel. Amazing stuff and essential for any serious sixties collection. ( 10/10 )  BUY IT HERE

Four Sail ( 1969 )
Often regarded as the strongest of the post Forever Changes album, I actually think it's one of their weaker offerings. With a new line up, this is a much more heavy rocking version of Love, which seems to be inspired by the likes of Jimi Hendrix and Santana. Lee still had a great single in him with Always See Your Face, but elsewhere the tracks get a little too jammy with solo's that go on for too long, and you miss the impression that every note is in exactly the right place that the first three albums left you with. Still some good songs here, but they often feel like they're at the demo stage and are crying out for an arranger. ( 5/10 )   BUY IT HERE

Out Here ( 1969 )
Following up an album with too much jam material with a double album may sound like a pretty poor idea, but there's no questioning that the songwriting on Out Here is much more fully realised. Willow, Willow, I Still Wonder, Listen To My Song and You Are Something are all classic tracks in Lee's catalogue which would have fitted onto earlier albums nicely, and the longer jam orientated tracks are played with much more authority than on Four Sail. As with most double albums, there's a little bit of filler but this is a much stronger album and a worthy addition to your collection.  ( 7/10 ) BUY IT HERE

False Start ( 1970 )
Continuing on in the vein of Out Here, this is much more concise and features one of Lee's best post Forever Changes songs in The Everlasting First, which features a notable guitar contribution by Lee's friend Jimi Hendrix. It's not quite as diverse as Out Here however and towards the end the songs do begin to get a little repetitive. It's a little on the short side too, and could do with a couple more quality tracks on the second half to help the flow. ( 6/10 )  BUY IT HERE

Out There
An excellent collection put together by Big Beat Records in 1990, this gathers most of the best material from Out Here and False Start and resequences them into a superior double album length CD. For all but the most hardcore fans, this will probably be all you need to represent their recordings from the Blue Thumb label. ( 8/10 ) BUY IT HERE


Love Lost ( recorded 1971 )
A recent release this one, put together by the reliably hardworking folk at Sundazed Records.  After being resigned to a major label, CBS this time, Lee put these excellent recordings together, but something went awry ( as it often did with Arthur ) and they were never released. They alternate between heavily Hendrix influenced soul rock hybrids to charming, delicate acoustic sketches. Lee revisited a number of these songs for his solo album Vindicator, but they're almost all more vital in these early, sometimes rough vignettes, almost as though he'd lost interest in them by the time of Vindicator. A very interesting bonus.  
( 6/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Black Beauty ( 1973 )
Finally seeing the light of day later this year apparently, this was recorded in 1973 for the Buffalo label, who unfortunately folded before it could be released. With an all black band, this is a much grittier r&b funk rock hybrid which while still heavily indebted to Hendrix, reaches even further back to Lee's soul roots. Only heard as a bootleg of patchy quality so far, it's generally been fairly poorly regarded, and the copy I've heard certainly makes it hard to get into. It'll be interesting to hear how the improved sound quality of the official release changes people's opinions. Reviewers who've heard the remaster seem to be unanimously rating it as Lee's best of the seventies. No rating from me until I've heard the real deal.

Reel To Real ( 1974 )
Utilizing the same line up that recorded Black Beauty, this is another album that is pretty hard to find but did have a limited release on vinyl. It continues Black Beauty's mix of soul and funk, and couldn't be more different to Love's sixties material if it tried, which makes it very hard to rate. As a hard rocking soul album it's not bad, although the production has dated considerably. But as the guy that put out Forever Changes, or even False Start? I just can't recommend it. ( 4/10 )


I'd also recommend checking out two archival releases put out by Sundazed. Ifyoubelievein and Candy's Waltz are both full of acoustic demo recordings put down by Bryan Maclean.
The material on Ifyoubelievein is the most interesting and was recorded in the sixties and seventies. Barber John, Fresh Hope, and Strong Commitment in particular are very strong additions to his catalogue.
The material on Candy's Waltz is of a much more recent vintage, but still shows moments of inspiration.

BUY If You Believe in HERE
BUY Candy's Waltz HERE

Bob Dylan - Essential Bootlegs

The Genuine Bootleg Series
Taking the first 3 volumes of Dylan's official Bootleg Series as it's inspiration, this long running series cherrypicks the best obscure Dylan material and presents it in a chronological context. An ideal place for the beginning or casual collector to start, the more serious Dylan collector will end up doubling up with a lot of this material as you pick up other titles, but there's no faulting the scope or track selection in this series.

Folksinger's Choice
A very animated Dylan's February 1962 appearance on Cynthia Gooding's Folksinger's Choice radio show. Alternating between performance and interview, the obviously enamored Gooding engages Dylan in some hilarious bouts of myth making which have to be heard to be believed. Emmett Till and Talkin' New York get airings as do a number of covers, most of which are found here in better quality than on other circulating bootlegs of the era. Even better, due to a loophole in the English / European copyright laws bypassing radio / TV material broadcast in the U.S, this is available to buy from Amazon.co.uk for almost nothing. Click on the cover to be taken there.

The Freewheelin' Outtakes
Dylan recorded enough material for the Freewheelin' album to fill another couple of LPs, but managed to get away with filling the final release with mostly his own material. The covers found on here show off Dylan's growing diversity well, from Robert Johnson's Milk Cow Calf Blues, to Hank Williams Lonesome Whistle Blues to rock n roll rave up That's Alright Mama. There's also a number of quality Dylan compositions too, with the Death of Emmett Till leading the pack, sounding like a dry run for much of the material on his next album.

The Gaslight Tapes
An excellent early document of Dylan's residency at the Gaslight Cafe in 1962, this features a mixture of early Dylan compositions ( Hard Rain, the excellent Freewheelin' Outtake Rocks & Gravel ) and traditional folk material ( Cuckoo, Cocaine, Ain't No More Cane ) , all very nicely recorded and with Dylan's confidence noticeably growing and his performance skills maturing nicely too. Sony released an official version of this via Starbucks, but left off a lot of the more interesting material. Until they get it right, you're better off sticking with one of the numerous bootleg versions.

Stolen Moments
Probably the best solo live Dylan performance you're ever likely to hear, this concert was originally recorded in 1963 for release as Dylan's first official live album, even getting to the point of having some promotional copies pressed before it was inexplicably abandoned. The abridged version intended for that release has been circulating for years, but the full concert has only recently seen the light of day on this fabulous release. Loaded with otherwise unheard gems ( Dusty Old Fairgrounds, Bob Dylan's New Orleans Rag, Hero Blues etc. ), and compelling, authoritative performances of some of his best known early material, this is class all the way and an impressive document of a confident young performer who knows exactly what he's got to offer the world. Unbeatable.



A Tree With Roots
Here's another four discs of material from Dylan and the Band's six month Big Pink Basement Tapes sessions. These have been bootlegged in many forms before, but this has the best sound quality so far and does a great job of assembling a huge amount of material into a manageable, logically sequenced whole. There's a lot of great material on here which didn't make it onto the official release. Without the Band's post production tinkering it's a little rougher around the edges, but that's a large part of it's charm. An official release beckons, but until then this will do the trick nicely.

The Dylan / Cash Sessions
A very loose and charming session with Dylan joining Cash and his band to run through a selection of old country and rock n roll standards as well as a few of their own cuts. Their duet version of Girl From The North Country found it's way onto Nashville Skyline of course, but the majority of this is much looser so as long as you don't go into this expecting finished takes, there's a lot of fun to be had here. Dylan and Cash's affection for each other is evident , and it's obvious that they're both a little nervous performing with one of their heroes. Fans of Dylan's smooth country croon from this era will find much to enjoy here, and Cash's presence is felt strongly enough for even none-Dylan fans to need a listen to this.

Hold The Fort, Lock Up The Warehouse
A more thorough look at the 1976 Rolling Thunder Tour than the officially released Hard Rain, this is a very well mixed soundboard recording. Among the rarities we have the entertainingly Desire-esque Vincent Van Gogh, Rita Mae, T-Bone Burnett's Silver Mantis and a gripping version of the rarely performed Going Going Gone. There's also an excellent duet set with Joan Baez with an intense version of Railroad Boy, and a lovely take on Woody Guthrie's Deportees. A great, high energy show.

The Rundown Rehearsal Tapes
An excellent collection of informal rehearsal recordings of Dylan running his band through material for the upcoming Street Legal tour. Bizarrely many of these versions are more committed and confident than the shows captured on Live at the Budokan, and there are some great reinterpretations, The Man In Me, and You're A Big Girl Now work particularly well in their new format. Sound quality varies from session to session, ranging from good to excellent.

Rock Solid
Dylan's shows in Toronto on April the 19th and 20th were filmed and professionally recorded - a rare instance of Dylan having professional recording gear in the right place to capture the best show of a tour. It was never released officially, but has circulated as a good quality bootleg for years. Featuring most of Slow Train Coming and Saved, these are much more lively than the studio versions of these songs and Dylan's enthusiasm for the material is obvious. Also includes the excellent Coverdown, Breakthrough which seems to have only been played at this show.

Rough Cuts
An excellent selection of outtakes and alternate mixes from the Infidels sessions, this includes a number of cuts which saw official release on the Bootleg series Vol. 1-3, but also a number of other interesting rarities, like Julius & Ethel, Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground and an excellent electric version of Blind Willie McTell which is just as good as the acoustic version on the Bootleg Series.

Stuck Inside of New York
1988 was a pretty great year for Dylan's live shows with a powerful new band and Dylan's voice at it's forceful best. There are a number of good quality Soundboard recordings you could check out from these shows, but this is the best in terms of performance and interesting track selection. Subterranean Homesick Blues, In The Garden and John Brown all get committed performances and there's also some great solo acoustic work on the traditionals Barbara Allen and Waggoner's Lad.

The Supper Club
The four Supper Club performances were originally filmed in 1993 for Dylan to edit into an unplugged special to compete with MTV's popular show. For some reason it never came together, but we're left with excellent quality Soundboard recordings of the four shows, which leave Dylan's performance on the official MTV Unplugged special for dead. A prime candidate for issue in the official Bootleg Series.


The Tell Ol' Bill Sessions
This is a fascinating look at Dylan's studio process, following the evolution of  the track Tell Ol' Bill in the studio. Over an hour of the same track may drive the uninitiated nuts, buts there's plenty of variety on display here, and it's priceless for anyone trying to work out what makes Dylan tick.

Bob Dylan In The 21st Century - Beginner's Guide ( And Selected Compilations )

Love & Theft ( 2001 )
Dylan's first of the century is also one of his best of the last thirty years. It's got an authentic fifties twang to it, with a whole lot of rockabilly, western swing and the blues. It's also the first album for a long time where Dylan's chosen to use his touring band in the studio, which works a treat here. Of the highlights, Mississippi is a great song which had been percolating for quite some time, Summer Days is a great old fashioned rock n roller with energy to spare, and Po' Boy has one of Dylan's best couplets ever ( you'll know it when you hear
it ). Awesome. ( 9/10 )  BUY IT HERE

Modern Times ( 2006 )
Love & Theft's more laidback cousin, this evokes a similar era but is a much more thoughtful affair and on the whole, more Muddy Waters than Chuck Berry this time around. He's become adept at using established blues material as a launching pad for a total rewrite, as evidenced by Rollin and Tumblin' and The Levee's Gonna Break. Spirit on the Water has a nice relaxed swing to it with some lovely understated guitar work. Someday Baby and Workingman's Blues #2 provide the mid album solidity, while the moody closer Ain't Talkin' delves deepest into his psyche, although how much of this character is a construct of Dylan's, only he probably knows. Intriguing stuff that doesn't quite grab me as much as Love & Theft but is still highly recommended.    ( 8/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Together Through Life ( 2009 )
This had a somewhat muted release and critical response compared to the fanfare that was accorded Modern Times, and while it doesn't live up to the quality of the previous two albums, it's still very entertaining. Los Lobos' David Hidalgo makes his presence felt on accordian, injecting enough tex mex to make opener Beyond Here Lies Nothin' rattle along nicely. Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter has co-written nine of these tracks but the overall impression seems to be that Dylan doesn't have as much to say, or maybe he just doesn't play well with others on the songwriting front. Nevertheless, there's nothing weak on here, and musically it's all great stuff, it just doesn't have anything with the staying power of Ain't Talkin'. ( 7/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Christmas In The Heart ( 2009 )
This is a pretty hard album to recommend, but also a really hard album to not like. Dylan's enthusiasm and sincerity are both quite evident here, and while his voice may not always be quite up to reaching some of the notes you expect on some of the more well known fare here, the arrangements are top notch. Particularly good are the more raucous numbers Christmas Island and Must be Santa. Some of the slower, more traditional numbers on the other hand drag a little, but these are certainly in the minority.  It's not really fair to judge this against other Dylan albums, and while this is admittedly not an album you're likely to play at any other time of the year, it's a fun Christmas album which does exactly what it sets out to do.
( 6/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Biograph ( 1985 )
Aside from the Australasian only Masterpieces, this was the first attempt at a multi disc
( 5LPs or 3CDs ) Dylan retrospective, and it does a pretty good job of compiling a legacy that is almost impossible to compact. The main drawcard for fans though, is a spate of previously unreleased tracks, the best of which, Percy's Song, Abandoned Love, Up Top Me and I'll keep It With Mine, easily vie with his very best. This makes it a great starting point, but a little frustrating for bigger fans that have a lot of this material already. There's a definite market for a large scale Dylan rarities collection of previously released non album material. ( 8/10 ) BUY IT HERE


The Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3 : Rare And Unreleased 1961-1991 ( 1991 )
This is an essential set, definitely the most consistently surprising rarities set released by a major artist. The fact that Dylan had this much amazing material which he didn't deem fit to place on his original albums shows just how great a lot of those albums are, but also illustrates that he's not always the best judge of his own material. There's a lot of interesting stuff here from the sixties and seventies, but it's the eighties material which is particularly illuminating, and had the tracks from the last disc of this release been peppered throughout his eighties albums, we may have a very different opinion of his work of that decade. Blind Willie McTell, Foot Of Pride and Series of Dreams are up there with the very best of his work. Essential. ( 10/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Live 1961 - 2000 Thirty-Nine Years of Great Concert Performances ( 2001 )
Essentially a live rarities collection, this is unfortunately only available in Japan at a very high price. It does as good a job of representing the many different live sides of Dylan as it's possible to do with a single disc collection, and the main drawback is that you want to hear more from certain shows than just the one track. highlights for me are Woody Guthrie's Grand Coulee Dam from a 1968 tribute show with the Band ( although Dear Mrs Roosevelt from the same show is even better ), and a great version of Nashville Skyline's Country Pie. Now let's have an expanded multi disc version at a more reasonable price. ( 7/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Masked And Anonymous ( 2003 )
This is an interesting and challenging soundtrack to an interesting and challenging movie. The Dylan covers on here are a middling and very unusual bunch, but what you really need this for is the four Dylan recordings. Great reinterpretations of Down In The Flood and Cold Irons Bound, and nice takes on traditionals Diamond Joe and Dixie. These four tracks are fantastic, but frustratingly only represent a very small amount of the material Dylan and his band recorded for the film. There are a number of tracks featured in the film that we don't get here, not to mention a wealth of material that didn't even make it to the film so one can't help feeling a little cheated by this. ( 4/10 ) BUY IT HERE

The Bootleg Series Vol. 7 : No Direction Home ( 2005 )
The soundtrack to Martin Scorcese's fascinating Dylan documenatry, this covers the same ground as the film, leading up to 1966. The first disc focuses on his acoustic folkie material with some interesting early work ( Dink's Song especially ), but the second disc is where things get particularly interesting. On his fiery Maggie's Farm performance from Newport, complete with blistering guitar leads from Mike Bloomfield you can really see why Pete Seeger thought the apocalypse had hit. A clutch of interesting alternate versions from his first three electric albums are also great, with the Highway 61 material proving particularly illuminating. ( 7/10 ) BUY IT HERE

I'm Not There ( 2007 )
Another Dylan covers soundtrack, this succeeds where Masked & Anonymous ultimately failed by gathering a more unified set of artists - generally a hipper, younger crowd of indie folk and americana stars, with some notable appearances by a few more grizzled Dylan contemporaries ( Ramblin' Jack Elliott, Willie Nelson, Roger McGuinn etc ) fitting in nicely. The star turns go to the younger crowd though, with particular highlights being Jim Jones soaring vocal performance on Going To Acapulco, Iron & Wine & Calexico's mysterious Dark Eyes, and Yo La Tengo channeling Highway 61 era Dylan to perfection on I Wanna Be Your Lover. And to top it all off we finally get an official release of Dylan's title track from the Basement Tapes. Perfection. ( 9/10 ) BUY IT HERE


The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 : Tell Tale Signs : Rare And Unreleased 1989-2006 ( 2008 )
A follow up volume to the original Bootleg Series 1-3, this is a surprisingly revelatory experience. Some great unreleased songs here in the shape of Red River Shore and Dreamin' of You among others, alternate takes which often better the originally released versions ( Someday Baby in particular ), blazing live cuts ( High Water ), early, completely different takes on established classics ( Mississippi and Most Of The Time ) and selected soundtrack material never previously released on a Dylan title ( Tell Ol' Bill, the epic 'Cross the Green Mountain ). The limited edition three disc version is even better, but you need to sell a kidney to afford it.  
( 10/10 ) BUY IT HERE

The Bootleg Series Vol. 9 : The Witmark Demos 1962-1964 ( 2010 )
A great collection of Dylan's original publishing demos. Often primitively recorded perched on a desk in a small office, it's amazing that these sound as good as they do. The fidelity is surprisingly good for the most part, and Dylan's performances while not quite as committed as he would generally present live or on an album intended for commercial release are all very fine. Generally acoustic guitar, vocal and harmonica arrangements with piano sometimes substituted for the guitar, these tracks will appeal to fans of Dylan's first three albums, and offer an excellent alternative chronicle of that early Dylan era. Scattered amongst the familiar gems are plenty of otherwise unreleased oddities, most very good indeed. Ballad for a Friend, All Over You and Gypsy Lou are just the tip of the iceberg. ( 8/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Bob Dylan In The Eighties - Beginner's Guide

Saved ( 1980 )
Dylan's crusade / tirade continues with the second of his so-called Christian trilogy. The least popular of the three ( which is saying something ), this is definitely the most in your face lyrically, but musically is full of interesting stuff and one of Dylan's most underrated albums. The production is fairly nondescript which makes this a bit of a challenge to get into, but it's worth the effort. What Can I Do For You is a winner, with it's committed vocal, and some of Dylan's best harmonica work. Pressing On has developed a deserved reputation lately, thanks to it's faithful John Doe cover on I'm Not There, and Dylan realised In The Garden's potential enough to keep it in his live set for most of the eighties. With a slightly better production job and less bible-thumping lyrics, this would stand up to favorable comparison with Slow Train Coming. ( 6/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Shot of Love ( 1981 )
Dylan chills out a bit with this, and presents his faith in a less provocative manner which makes it a far easier secular listen. The production and band performances are both a little shambolic and loose, but for the majority of this material this approach works. In Lenny Bruce, and Every Grain of Sand  it contains Dylan's first two masterpieces of the decade, while The Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar was hailed as a return to his mid sixties Highway 61 sound. Dead Man, Dead Man sounds like a blueprint for I & I from Infidels and In The Summertime has the feel of Van Morrison's contemporaneous material.  Unfortunately at this point Dylan began to lose a little confidence in some of his better material and two more ambitious and superior tracks ( Angelina and Caribbean Wind ) were left off in favor of some more pedestrian material. These weaker tracks bog things down a little, but generally this is a pretty consistent albeit unspectacular listen.   ( 6/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Infidels ( 1983 )
Producer Mark Knopfler brought in the big guns for this one. Reggae legends Sly & Robbie lay down the bottom end, Rolling Stone Mick Taylor joins Knopfler on guitars, and Dire Strait's Alan Clark provides keyboards. Unsurprisingly this is Dylan's smoothest sounding album since Slow Train Coming, but it's still a little on the inconsistent side, and suffers from the same track selection problems as Shot of Love. Jokerman is fabulous and shows Dylan's grasp of language at it's very peak. I & I continues in a similar vein and is moody and mysterious. The romantic tracks Sweetheart Like You and Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight are pleasant but slight. The more politically oriented material, particularly Neighborhood Bully and Union Sundown come across in a less sympathetic light unfortunately and had Blind Willie McTell and Foot of Pride found their way on here instead of these tracks this would be a contender for Dylan's best album of the decade, as it is it's still a step in the right direction. ( 7/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Real Live ( 1984 )
Dylan's first tour since 1981 is captured here on the Infidels tour, but doesn't do a particularly good job of showing the tour at it's best. It's not as bad as it's reputation would have you expect, but it's not the lost gem you were necessarily hoping for either. There's a more adventurous selection of tracks than we've come to expect from Dylan's previous official live albums, which works in it's favor. It's also nice to hear a couple of the better Infidels tracks in a grittier setting. Dylan's habit of reinterpreting his catalogue continues here with mixed results, the highlights being a rockier version of Masters of War and Tangled Up In Blue given a major lyrical overhaul. Elsewhere this is a collection of semi committed performances which is good enough to retain my attention when it's playing, but not good enough to make me go to the effort of putting it on all that often.
( 5/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Empire Burlesque ( 1985 )
Dylan's mid eighties slump begins here with an album not even a mother could love. The garish cover tells you exactly what this is going to sound like, with horrible Arthur Baker production which must have felt dated a week after release attempting to disguise an uninspired collection of duds as contemporary pop. In all fairness the eighties wasn't a happy time for many rock legends - Neil Young and Joni Mitchell are two artists that come to mind who also found it hard to find their place in the eighties aesthetic. Several of the songs on here have since been given some semblance of respectability with more sympathetic live arrangements throughout the nineties, but here they verge on unlistenable. Closing track Dark Eyes on the other hand is a solo acoustic gem, which would stand out in far more esteemed company. ( 2/10 ) YOU CAN BUY IT HERE, BUT I WOULDN'T RECOMMEND IT

Knocked Out Loaded ( 1986 )
Where Empire Burlesque was at least filled with Dylan songs, his muse seems to have deserted him completely here, resulting in a set heavy on co-writes and covers. The production, while still dated, is marginally better which makes this an easier album to listen to, but still a hard one to enjoy. His cover of Kris Kristofferson's They Killed Him may be the worst track he released in the eighties, but Brownsville Girl does it's best to even up the odds and with more appropriate production would be held in very high regard. The rest of the material is generally bland and inoffensive, but to me Dylan should never be background music.
( 3/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Down in the Groove ( 1988 )
The bland corporate rock continues here, with a bunch of superstar guests failing to light a fire under the floundering Dylan. The dirge-like Death is Not The End is held in reasonably high regard but is a leftover from Infidels. Silvio is a moderately engaging rock number which works a lot better live, while the acoustic cover of the Louvin Brothers classic Rank Strangers comes across particularly nicely, although one suspects it wouldn't fare so well on a stronger album. Much like Knocked Out Loaded, this is a decidedly average listen that's not offensively bad, but offers little in the way of reward for listeners. ( 3/10 ) BUY IT HERE

The Traveling Wilburrys Vol. 1 ( 1988 )
Whether it was being surrounded by quality musicians or just the chance to have fun with little in the way of expectations, Dylan seriously raised his game here. Sharing the writing duties would certainly have helped ease the pressure for Dylan, and his tracks on here are all excellent. Tweeter and the Monkeyman is a fantastic Springsteen pastiche full of drama and intrigue which would have seemed totally out of place on any of his own albums, but fits perfectly here. Dirty World is more fun than Dylan sounds like he's had for years, and Congratulations coasts along nicely. Lots of fun and a bit of an unexpected reward for those who'd been loyally buying up his previous albums as they'd been released. ( 8/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Dylan & The Dead ( 1989 )
It sounds good on paper, but there's a reason this took two years to release. Recorded in 1987 this has the Grateful Dead as a glorified back up band - a prospect that they don't seem to know how to handle. They're constantly wandering off into ponderous noodling, with Garcia's usually excellent spidery lead breaks being particularly ill fitting. Dylan's in rough form too and doesn't seem to have the confidence to take charge on what should have been a very interesting combination. The intriguing track list isn't given a chance to shine and apart from few moments of inspiration in Slow Train this is turgid and disappointing stuff. ( 3/10 ) BUY IT HERE

Oh Mercy ( 1989 )
Refreshed after his first stint in the Traveling Wilburry's, Dylan here comes up with his most confident and assured set of songs of the decade, and an album that compares favorably with his very best work. Most of the Time and What Good Am I? show a lyrical depth that we haven't seen from Dylan for a number of years. Daniel Lanois' production gives this an ambience which sounded fresh at the time and sounds timeless now, illustrated best on the fabulously spooky Man In The Long Black Coat, while Everything is Broken and Political World are brimful of pop smarts.  Dylan's best since Desire. ( 10/10 ) BUY IT HERE