Audio CD review:
Bob Dylan - Desire

Bob Dylan - Desire

Band: Bob Dylan Title: Desire Rating: Release Date: 2004-06-01 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Hurricane 2: Isis 3: Mozambique 4: One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below) 5: Oh, Sister 6: Joey 7: Romance in Durango 8: Black Diamond Bay 9: Sara

This Record is Doggone Good "Desire" is sort of new sound for Dylan as he is performing with the Rolling Thunder Review band and Scarlett Rivera's violin adds a haunting sound throughout. Desire came out twelve days shy of a year after "Blood on the Tracks," but it wasn't a whole year without a new Dylan record, because The Basement Tapes came between them, though it was recorded something like eight years earlier. "Hurricane" the lead off song marks kind of a return of Dylan to social commentary. Dylan did the song, because he was convinced of Mr. Carter's innocence. The song was first recorded with Emmylou Harris doing the vocal with Dylan, like she does on the other songs on the record, but apparently Colombia thought the song was libelous, so Dylan re-recorded it with Ronnie Blakely. I've heard both versions and the one used on the final release is a much better song. "Isis," is like a never ending story song that reminds me kind of "Idiot Wind. " I love it, my favorite song on the record is "Black Diamond Bay. " It tells a story of a Pacific Island that is destroyed by a volcano. The people on the island all react differently and when the narrator hears about it on the evening news, he gets up and gets another beer. He doesn't care and boy is there a lot of that going around. This is a superb record and one of Dylan's top sellers. Probably the reason for that is because it is so good. Despite some gems this is a mournful, sluggish album from Dylan "Hurricane" is an effective protest song and "Sara" is justly famous but much of the rest of the album is mournful, sluggish, and curiously unmoving. "Desire" (1976) is a mixed bag. The mechanical "Joey" at 11 minutes long is a real test of patience. Sprawling Mythological Journey Recalling the works of Carl Jung, Robert Graves (White Goddess), James Frazer (The Golden Bough), William Blake and the Beat Poets, Dylan weaves a dense tapestry of images and words. "Desire" is a truly epic album. The narratives are dreamlike and elusive, like primitive folk-tales. Benefiting greatly from a recent remastering, this once dreary sounding recording returns with a tight, crisp, 'live' sound. One of the richest, deepest, and evocative rock albums ever recorded. Highlights: Isis, Black Diamond Bay, Sara, Oh Sister. . Dylan Returned Most of the reviewers take Joey with a certain amount of surprise, but not me. After Blood on the Tracks, Dylan followed it up with Desire and his return from musical obscurity was complete with the album that spawned the Rolling Thunder Revue. I think Joey is Dylan as satirist, after all, how many bad guys have ended up as folk heroes, and why can't Crazy Joe be included in with this crowd? Sara has to be Dylan at his most depressing best with a plaintive, agonizing love song to his wife as the marriage is breaking up. While I suspect that the Dylan purists will cringe, with Blood on the Tracks, Desire, and Hard Rain you have the essential Bob Dylan of the 70's with music that has withstood the test of time just as strongly as the music of Bob Dylan the 60's folkie. I'll take him both ways without regret. My first Bob Dylan album, but here are translations of foreign words in two of the songs I love Hurricane, it tells a true story of a falsely accused African-American boxer. I have listened to this CD since I was in fourth grade. Two songs on this Cd are a combination of American-English and some foreign words. Romance in Durango has a chorus that is part Spanish and part American-English. If you've never been exposed to Spanish language, here's a translation: No llores, mi querida Dios nos vigila-Don't you cry, my dear God watches Agarrame, mi vida-You get me, my life Another song on this CD, Black Diamond Bay is mostly American-English, but has some French words. Here's the translation, again, for those of you who have never been exposed to French language: monsieur-Mister Attendez-vous, s'il vous plait-You wait, please Je vous aime beaucoup-I like you a lot Many songs on this Cd are longer than a typical song, but they are still enjoyable. You can see a complete list of all Bob Dylan discography, or go back to the Bob Dylan tabs