Do I actually need any post 1976 Dylan albums?

Totally forgot about that, used to have it on cassette! Agree it is great!

 

Personally a Dylan collection without
Slow Train
Infidels
Oh Mercy
Time Out Of Mind
Love And Theft
is missing a lot.
Also personally
Saved and Shot of Love, but I know lots of folks get touchy about the lyrics, even though they reflect things Dylan has always sung about.

Bootleg series 1-3 is essential
The live albums in the Bootleg Series are essential
Also bootleg series The Gospel Years is essential.
It is fine for folks not to have any of those, but if we're talking important Dylan albums, they are all included, in my opinion.

 

If you have Christmas in the Heart, you have everything.

You do not need anything more, not even all the money in the world.

It took a lifetime for Scrooge to learn that.

I'm telling you now, so you can avoid the suffering.

 

I saw him in concert touring behind Love and Theft. Little did I know at the time that it was his last tour (and one of his very last shows) in which he played guitar on stage.

 

a friend recommended i listen to street legal a while back now , like more than a decade ago. a great record by bob.

 

It's all subjective, but IMO, Slow Train Coming is superb. Even many who don't like the lyrics or message consider it one of his best albums musically. Produced by Jerry Wexler, Mark Knopfler on lead guitar, Soulful BGVs, biting brass, and Dylan has never rocked any harder than this.
Good As I Been To You and World Gone Wrong are good for hearing him come full circle, getting back to his bare bones acoustic folk roots. According to his book Chronicles Vol. 1, he had intended for these to be his final albums, but it wasn't to be.
Love and Theft is one of his most eclectic albums with some of his best melodies (especially since he's generally more of a lyricist than a tunesmith).
Tempest has those ravaged vocals, but he was at his storytelling best.
And I personally love Christmas in the Heart.

 

I really enjoy the Trouble No More deluxe box, though you may find 2 discs is enough to satisfy you.

His piano playing on the live discs is a highlight rather than a hindrance.

 

Yes. A few of the 80s ones are a bit rubbish but the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s stuff is great. The two early 90s acoustic ones are very underrated!

 

You will notice that no one can seem to agree on what Bob's greatest post-1976 albums are, so I think that you're absolutely justified in thinking that his "classic" period ended around that time.

That is not to say that he didn't release some great material afterward, but as always with Bob, much of it didn't actually appear on an official album. The Eighties, in particular, were so spotty that I made a compilation called "Eighties Bob" of what I consider the best stuff... most of which had been left on the cutting room floor, ("New Danville Girl," "Foot of Pride," "Blind Willie McTell," etc.)

As for his "Born Again" period, if it doesn't turn you off completely, the various live recordings are the way to go-- they exude a fiery passion that is missing from the studio releases of that time, IMO.

 

That conclusion certainly does not follow from your proof. At any rate, "classic" is a very vague term. You could argue that his classic period ended in 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 0r just about any year afterward. So what, really.

The original question was not what is his "greatest" album, which is a pointless question.

I don't disagree with your other observations though.

Dylan has created at a very high level for his entire very long career. That is astounding, given that most creative people cannot achieve that level for very long.

 

The original question mentioned "greatest post-1976 albums," which I interpreted to mean officially released albums, not compilations or still-unreleased tracks. I was making the point that after 1976, much of what I consider to be Dylan's greatest work did not appear on official albums at all, particularly throughout most of the 80's, and that many of post-1976 albums are inconsistent in terms of quality.

As far as use of the term "classic," of course it's highly subjective because that's what opinions are. The other assertions on this thread haven't been empirically tested, have they?

And while I agree that "Dylan has created at a very high level for his entire very long career," I would argue that he isn't always the best judge of his own material when determining what gets officially released... a moot point in 2021, perhaps, with all that has become publicly available, but which just reinforces my point that while the official albums might be the best place to start, one certainly shouldn't stop there. For me, it's that exploration that makes appreciation of Dylan's work truly rewarding, and I can't think of many other artists where that is the case. The man threw away gems that most artists would kill to officially release.

 

Yep. And many of his 80s albums had great songs scattered through them - Jokerman, for instance.

Also 100% essential is the Bootleg Series Vols I to III.

 

Yes.

 

The cream of the crop.

2001
2006

 

I bought the two disc set first but regretted not buying the deluxe box so I did the only logical thing to do and bought it

 

He released a career high just last year in Rough & Rowdy Ways.

 

Clickbait?

 

Will future generations care about his post-Hurricane songbook?

That's the real question.

I really doubt they will. Too much religiosity or old-man roots music.

Maybe the 1997-2006 era will get a bit of play.

 

You don't have to rely on others' opinions to enjoy reading them. This thread has given us (or at least me) an interesting insight into how Dylan's later albums are perceived by the members of this board.

 

You don't "need" any of them but you would be missing out on some great music. Plenty of good suggestions already

 

did you like the cowboy run heading into 1976?

every fan sets out their own path... fun to share it on here sometimes with others...

 

no

 

Its kind of difficult to make suggestions or give counter reasons as to what your missing out on if one doesnt have more information as to what you think is better about the 1963-1976 albums compared to those afterwords.

What is it you like about the 1963-1976 album period that you dont like from 1977-2020 time period? His voice? His writing? His performance? The music? The bands?

If I knew more specifically what it is you dont like then there would be more of a conversation. As it is, Im not even sure if youve listened to post 1976 Dylan. If you havent then how did you come to the conclusion that you dont need any of the post '76 albums? If you have, then tell me why you dont like them and maybe I can point you to a song that you havent heard by him or to reconsider.

As it is, people are simply naming off titles.

 

It would be a hell of a lot easier to name post-'76 Dylan records that are not worth owning. That list would be very short, maybe a few of the '80's titles that are not Oh Mercy or Infidels.

 

More Dylan? Oh, Mercy!