Bob Dylan Album by Album thread (part 3)

The first time I noticed Bob Dylan was when I heard him on the radio with the Traveling Wilburys. I was 11. When this beloved band was discontinued after their 2nd outing, I had already begun digging into the solo work of its 5 core members. As a teenager at the time, I only went for the most recent album of an older artist - to keep my music being relevant.
So my introduction to Bob Dylan was "Under the Red Sky", on which I found quite a few things to like, especially "2 x 2" with its fabulous piano solo by Elton John, "Born in Time", the organ-dominated "Handy Dandy" and the rollicking "Cat's in the Well", which prominently features David Lindley. The two guitar solos on the moody and deep title track are great as well, even though I still cannot tell which one is George Harrison's and which one is Waddy Wachtel's. "10.000 Men" proved to be somewhat disturbing for a kid in the early teens, but what really upset me at the time is that Slash's cameo is completely wasted in the fade of a really weak opening track.

I really enjoyed watching the "30 year Anniversary Concert" on TV. It introduced me to further rock greats.

"Good As I Been To You" sounded really boring to me, so I skipped it completely and still haven't bought it.

When I first listened to "World Gone Wrong", I didn't expect much, as it was yet another album of traditionals which were played solo by the artist on vocals, guitar and harmonica. It took a while to get into, but this one proved to be a real grower. Along with Eric Clapton's "From the Cradle", it guided me to research deeper into the history of the blues, even writing the sole lengthy paper I had to write at school on the subject of the blues - in English which is my 1st foreign language. Thank you Bob for motivating me.

Dylan gained back his focus whilst making this album - and he has kept it ever since.

"Technology to wipe out the truth is now available", he wrote in the liner notes, commenting on the spin that was going on in the media at the time. Now with the internet, everybody can doctor their own spin and some people do. This is an album that has got weight and these are good songs to sing.

 

Lovely post Yannick...stay tuned...

 

Good evening ladies and gentlemen. I trust that you are all well enough to continue this long but interesting thread….it involves Bob Dylan and some of the songs he recorded…

Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume 3

It encompasses recordings released between the years 1973 and 1991, the time period since the previous volume of the series, released in 1971. All of Dylan's studio albums from this time span are represented, with the exceptions of: Dylan, compiled by Columbia without Dylan's input; The Basement Tapes, consisting of material predating this time period; Saved; and Empire Burlesque. The track Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar was added to later pressings of Shot of Love after initially being released on the flipside of a single. It includes four Top 40 singles and one previously unreleased track, an outtake from the sessions for Oh Mercy, the song Dignity with a new backing track overdubbed and produced in the autumn of 1994 by Brendan O'Brien.

Six of its tracks had been released as singles in the United States. Changing of the Guards and Jokerman did not make the singles chart, while Knockin' on Heaven's Door peaked at #12, Tangled Up in Blue at #31, Hurricane at #33, and Gotta Serve Somebody at #24. The liner notes provide a more detailed track-by-track personnel listing.
In 2003, this album was released along with the other two Dylan greatest hits sets in one four-disc package, as Greatest Hits Volumes I-III.

Track listing

All songs written by Bob Dylan, except where noted.

1. Tangled Up in Blue – 5:42
from the album Blood on the Tracks
2. Changing of the Guards – 6:36
from the album Street-Legal
3. The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar – 4:03
b-side to the single Heart of Mine
4. Hurricane (Dylan, Jacques Levy) – 8:34
from the album Desire
5. Forever Young – 4:58
from the album Planet Waves
6. Jokerman – 6:16
from the album Infidels
7. Dignity – 5:58
previously unreleased
8. Silvio (Dylan, Robert Hunter) – 3:07
from the album Down in the Groove
9. Ring Them Bells – 3:02
from the album Oh Mercy
10. Gotta Serve Somebody – 5:25
from the album Slow Train Coming
11. Series of Dreams – 5:53
outtake from the album Oh Mercy previously released on The Bootleg Series Vol. III
12. Brownsville Girl (Dylan, Sam Shepard) – 11:04
from the album Knocked Out Loaded
13. Under the Red Sky – 4:09
from the album Under the Red Sky
14. Knockin' on Heaven's Door – 2:30
from the soundtrack album Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid



Well, I sense there's some stuff to talk about here....some interesting stuff at this time, 1994...over to those with any kind a hearts or ears (who am I quoting/ paraphrasing?) a thousand points if you can guess!....talk on ladies and gentlemen about the greatest song writer the world has known....

 

i guess im in the minority most likely, but I like the version of Dignity on the Greatest Hits better than Tale Tell Signs.

 

Well, the TTS version (rockabilly) is the WEAKEST of the four released:

1) GH vol 3 -- Re-recorded with Brendan O'Brian. I like it OK.
2) Original 1989 version -- from Touched By An Angel soundtrack. Best one.
3) Live "Unplugged" version -- not bad.
4) TTS rockabilly version -- Interesting, not great. (imo)

 

Hi everyone...

MTV Unplugged

MTV Unplugged is a live album by Bob Dylan, released in 1995 by Columbia Records was reissued in 2007 by Sony. It documents Dylan's appearance on the then-highly popular MTV Unplugged television series, recorded at Sony Music Studios in New York on November 17, 1994 and November 18, 1994. It gave Dylan his best sales in years, reaching US #23 and going gold, while hitting #10 in the UK.

The singer-songwriter had originally wanted to do a set of traditional folk songs. At MTV's behest, he instead performed mostly classics from his early albums.

Performing With God on our Side Dylan significantly omits two verses about the Germans and the Holocaust and about Russians, possibly because they dealt with American allegiances during the Cold War, which ended in 1991.
This live album features one of only two recordings of the early Dylan song John Brown. The other live recording of this song is on the 2005 LP Live at the Gaslight 1962.

The album was assembled from two live shows recorded at Sony Music Studios in New York on November 17, 1994 and November 18, 1994. Dylan wore the same clothes both nights for the sake of continuity in the home video release.

First session

The first session was recorded live in front of an audience on November 17, 1994. The set list is as follows:

1. "Tombstone Blues"
2. "I Want You"
3. "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"
4. "Desolation Row"
5. "Hazel"
6. "Everything Is Broken"
7. "The Times They Are A-Changin'"
8. "Love Minus Zero/No Limit"
9. "Dignity"
10. "With God on Our Side"

Second session

The second session was recorded live in front of an audience on November 18, 1994. The set list is as follows:

1. "Absolutely Sweet Marie"
2. "Shooting Star"
3. "All Along the Watchtower"
4. "My Back Pages"
5. "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35"
6. "John Brown"
7. "The Times They Are A-Changin'"
8. "Dignity"
9. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door"
10. "Like a Rolling Stone" (false start)
11. "Like a Rolling Stone"
12. "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You" (false start)
13. "Tonight I'll Be Staying Here with You"
14. "Desolation Row"
15. "I Want You"

Track listing

All songs by Bob Dylan.

1. "Tombstone Blues" – 4:54
2. "Shooting Star" – 4:06
3. "All Along the Watchtower" – 3:36
4. "The Times They Are a-Changin'" – 5:48
5. "John Brown" – 5:22
6. "Desolation Row" - 8:22
7. "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" – 3:31
8. "Love Minus Zero/No Limit" – 5:23
9. "Dignity" – 6:30
10. "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" – 5:30
11. "Like a Rolling Stone" – 9:09
12. "With God on Our Side" – 7:16

The European release includes "Love Minus Zero/No Limit". The songs that did not get an official release are circulating in the Dylan bootleg community.



I received this album on VHS before I was a fan of Bob Dylan. I had heard about him but wasn't too impressed with what I heard on this performance. Since then I have appreciated this more and more. There's some great playing to be heard here. A lot of reworkings of songs, but I think they work pretty well in general. The version of Shooting Star here is my favourite.

 

I really do not like the Unplugged performance at all. I can't quite put my finger on it, but Dylan just does not have the verve I expect. One of the only cases where I did not like the Unplugged version from an artist I greatly like.

 

I watched the DVD once, and agree with you here mostly. Maybe if I watch it a couple more times it will grow on me, too. I thought he bent the notes a little too far for comfort with his singing. Normally he does that kind of thing very well, but in this case, it just put me off the songs a bit. Backing band is really good, though, and I like the arrangements. Sometimes I wish Bob would be just a bit more reverent and less mannered or deliberate when he does new arrangements, settings, and vocal stylings for his songs. His performance feels a little forced at times, for this show, if ya know what I mean.

 

Yeah. John Brown sounds great to me and I really like Shooting Star. With God On Our Side is quite good too as well as Dignity and Tombstone Blues. Some of the other classics are not favourite versions...but the ones I mentioned are really good in my eyes.

 

I can't stand this live set. It sounds forced and yet off the mark at the same time, that's a bad combo. If you are going to do the hits, and shoe horn them into an MTV program in a forced way, then stick to the tunes as we knew them, it almost grates.

The bigger fan you are of Dylan, and the better you knew his material, the worse you are going to like this set.

It's an ok intro for the newbies, the rest of us have the great boots and will find this near useless.

 

It seems that MTV tried to sweeten the set to make it more commercial - other Dylan performances around the same time are fantastic but Unplugged feels like going through the motions.

Tim

 

I think the story I heard was that Bob & band rehearsed for a few days at Sony studios, doing quiet folk and country blues songs. The proposed show and cd were a done deal, but MTV said the planned material wouldn't be 'appropriate' for their audience, whatever youth market they felt they were targeting. (I s'pose it's worth noting that a couple new Clapton originals didn't make it to EC's 'Unplugged' for possibly similar reasons?) Dylan asked what MTV felt was appropriate, and they of course said "Knockin' On Heaven's Door". None of the originally rehearsed songs was performed.

 

I don't think that is in the tradition of Dylan. Dylan was willing to deal with the reaction. Heck he wanted that reaction so he knew someone was listening besides yes-men. Sinead seemed to feel that she could say whatever she wanted but that, somehow, no one was allowed to react in kind (unless they agreed with her of course). If a person (especially someone with a public forum) is going to put out strong opinions critical of others you need to be man or woman enough to accept, in turn, the criticisms that will come back at you (just as they should).

 

Yes, Bob claimed that MTV asked him to do a greatest hits and that's more or less what he delivered (with a few obscurities thrown in).
The MTV show was not Dylan's first attempt to record a show in the "Unplugged" format. In November 1993, one year before the "MTV Unplugged" show, Dylan recorded and filmed four free shows at the Supper Club in NYC. The idea was probably to sell these shows to MTV or some other network as 'Dylan's Unplugged show'. For some reason, the project was canned, but a performance of "Ring Them Bells" appeared on "Tell Tale Signs".
The set lists for the Supper Club shows were eclectic, with several songs from his then brand new "World Gone Wrong" performed with Dylan's touring band ("Ragged & Dirty", "Blood In My Eyes", "Delia", "Jack-a-Roe"), as well as songs from the recent past ("Ring Them Bells", "Disease of Conceit", "Jim Jones") and a few old favorites ("I Want You", "Forever Young", "My Back Pages", "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight").
After the Supper Club shows, Dylan appeared on David Letterman's TV show, performing "Forever Young" in the arrangement used for the Supper Club shows.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NanoTz-46Q
Recordings of the Supper Club shows are circulating among Dylan collectors and many prefer them to the official MTV Unplugged show.

Personally, I have always liked some of the "MTV Unplugged" performances, even if the show is a bit uneven and lackluster. "Dignity", "Shooting Star", "John Brown" and "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" all sound pretty good to me. However, "The Times They Are A-Changin'" is quite dull and the best thing about "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" is that the performance is short.
During the first night of taping for MTV, Dylan performed a lovely version of "I Want You", that for some reason never made it to the broadcast or album (he also performed it the next night, but that performance is not as good as the first one).
Dylan's lead guitar playing throughout the MTV show is surprisingly effective and much better than Dylan's playing during most of his regular shows around that time.
Sadly, Sony made a major mistake when they pressed the European edition of the "MTV Unplugged" album. For some reason, noise from the audience made "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" nearly unlistenable (the applause when the audience recognises the song never stops and is heard throughout the song). Sony offered customers to exchange their defective copies, but a lot of people were never told and still believe the track is supposed to sound that way.

 

I like MTV Unplugged. Overall it's a very solid performance and this version of "With God On Our Side" is my favourite. But there's a lot of great unreleased material from the Unplugged performances. It's a shame they didn't include "I Want You" and "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright".

 

Shooting Star is great. The outtake of I Want You is tender and sublime. Just wonderful. The rest? meh. Supper Club is the way to go. Amazing.

 

I trot this blasphemy out overy so often, but it IS true: I like the "Unplugged" performance of "Desolation Row" better than the album version!

As for the rest of the album, it's OK, but I never listen to it. "Hazel" is pretty cool, but that might be one of the ones that was cut and is only on bootleg. There were so many truly good "Unplugged" outings around that time (Clapton, Nirvana, Neil Young) -- it's too bad MTV told Bob to change the setlist.

 

Im surprised Bob didnt tell mtv to shove it and walked. Guess he was in need of the exposure.

 

I think he was. In 1994 Bob Dylan was a man who had just recorded to badly received cover albums and who was wondering if he could ever write a song again. His popularity and critical acclaim was at an all time low. An appearance on a popular TV show like MTV's Unplugged was a wonderful opportunity to get some attention again.

 

I'd love to hear the outtakes...maybe I'll try youtube

 

According to the album list prepared back at the start of thread 1, the next album for discussion is Bob Dylan Live '96 (indie store exclusive) - 1997 but I'm not really turning up much info on this. The album after that will be Time Out of Mind. Unless there's anyone who wants to talk about Bob Dylan Live '96, we can just go to TOOM.

 

Found the following online. I don't own it...

Bob Dylan Live '96
Columbia CSK 3818
The recently (12/01/97) released, but already scarce, promotional CD.

Only 5000 made!

My Back Pages - House Of Blues, Atlanta, GA 08/03/96
Tombstone Blues - House of Blues, Atlanta, GA 08/04/96
Ballad Of A Thin Man - House Of Blues, Atlanta, GA 08/04/96
Boot Of Spanish Leather - House Of Blues, Atlanta, GA 08/03/96

 

The outtakes are so much better!

 

Well it looks like Time Out of Mind coming soon. Thanks for the heads up george...but we'll press on with TOOM...

 

Time Out of Mind is thirtieth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released in September 1997 on Columbia Records. It was his first double studio album (as it was released on vinyl - it was released also as a single CD) since 1970's Self Portrait.

For fans and critics, the album marked Dylan's artistic comeback after he struggled with his musical identity throughout the 1980s, and hadn't released any original material since Under the Red Sky in 1990. Time Out of Mind was hailed as one of the singer-songwriter's best albums, and it went on to win three Grammy awards, including Album of the Year in 1998. It also made Uncut magazine's Album of the Year. Furthermore, the album was ranked #408 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time in 2003.[1]

The album features a particularly atmospheric sound, the work of producer (and past Dylan collaborator) Daniel Lanois, whose innovative work with carefully placed microphones and strategic mixing was detailed by Dylan in the first volume of his memoirs, Chronicles, Vol. 1. Despite being generally complimentary to Lanois, especially his work on the 1989 album Oh Mercy, Dylan has voiced dissatisfaction with the sound on Time Out of Mind. He has gone on to self-produce his subsequent albums.


Track listing

All songs were written by Bob Dylan.

1. "Love Sick" – 5:21
2. "Dirt Road Blues" – 3:36
3. "Standing in the Doorway" – 7:43
4. "Million Miles" – 5:52
5. "Tryin' to Get to Heaven" – 5:21
6. "'Til I Fell in Love with You" – 5:17
7. "Not Dark Yet" – 6:29
8. "Cold Irons Bound" – 7:15
9. "Make You Feel My Love" – 3:32
10. "Can't Wait" – 5:47
11. "Highlands" – 16:31



I think there were some songs that were left off this which could have made it even more outstanding. Not Dark Yet is great...