Dylan’s “bad” albums: worth getting?

I'll play along. Personal opinion only......................

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid - OK album. Has "Knockin On Heaven's Door" and some of the "Billys" are good.

Dylan (1973) - Only if you like Self Portrait. I do.

Saved - Maybe my least favorite Dylan album. Joyless, fundamental, and heavy handed.

Shot of Love - I like it, and my favorite of the born again trilogy. Most of the religious songs are more reflective than the other two albums, and some secular songs mixed back in.

Empire Burlesque - Personally dislike it. I don't love most of the songs, and think some of the 80s production is cringe-worthy ("When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky"). The only song I love on here is "Dark Eyes."

Knocked Out Loaded - This one is also near the bottom of the barrel. "Brownsville Girl" and "Under Your Spell" are good. I can leave the rest.

Down in the Groove - I like this album more than most......especially the last 4 songs on side two.

Under the Red Sky - This one is pretty good. It suffers from 1) high expectations after the great Oh Mercy and 2) that "Wiggle Wiggle" is so bad that it takes time to recover for the rest of the album.

World Gone Wrong - I love it. Prefer it over As Good As I've Been To You......which didn't make your list. (I like that one too)

Shadows in the Night/Fallen Angels - I don't dislike them, but definitely not go to albums.

Christmas In The Heart -

 

Personally, the last bootleg series focussing on Dylan’s ‘Jesus years’ really helped me to appreciate that period of his work, so I’d recommend both Saved & Shot of Love.

I’m also a huge fan of his Sinatra covers; just listen to his beautiful rendition of I’m A Fool To Love You, the first track on Shadows In The Night & if it doesn’t move you then you might need to go to the hospital & request an x-ray to check whether you have a heart. There’s a lot of material across these two albums & Triplicate (5 albums in total!) but there are plenty of gems amongst them.

As for the other albums you listed; I’ve not spent enough time with them myself, but I would say that that trilogy of 80’s albums - whilst containing some of his most disposable output & terrible 80’s production - also contain some highlights. Check out Brownsville Girl from Knocked Out Loaded, or Dark Eyes from Empire Burlesque.

 

I admit that, as a fan, I find something of worth in all of Dylan's albums, including his most maligned. That said, there are a few albums on your list that don't really hold up to scrutiny; I can't imagine I'd have much affinity for Knocked Out Loaded, for example, if it were produced by virtually any other artist. As it is, I treasure Dylan's voice, phrasing, and humor even when he is operating in full throw-away mode. I therefore wouldn't want to be without any of the albums you name.

I will add my voice to those who are singing their praises for World Gone Wrong, however. To my mind, that is one of Dylan's major works, an absolute triumph in the folk music idiom. The way he juxtaposes (mainly) blues numbers in the first half of the album with lilting, haunting folk melodies in the second is sheer genius - and I don't use that word lightly. The album was evidence to me that, during a time when his songwriting muse had seemingly abandoned him, he was still at the top of his game as a master of concept. Plus, the performances are first rate throughout.

 

Wiggle wiggle wiggle like a bowl of soup.

 

Pat Garret is great and does not belong on that list. The rest are pretty meh and I cannot recommend them. I have all of Dylan's albums apart from the atrocious Sinatra albums but second time around I regret re-buying the albums I already knew were quite weak. I'd add Infidels to that list and all live albums after Budokan.

 

Forgot about the covers on Down In The Groove---they're really good

 

"Delia" is one of his best performances

 

"Shake it like a bowl of soup" - Sam Cooke

 

Wiggle till you vomit Fire.

 

Get 'em all. I'd go first for PG&BTK, and EB.

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid - Have you heard the Billy's? Good stuff.
Dylan (1973) - Columbia Records didn't dig on Bob signing with Asylum Records, so they let this out. After a year and two albums he was back. The Battle of Ira Hayes.
Saved - I love the song Pressing On, best of the era.
Shot of Love - Some good tunes here.
Empire Burlesque - I think the best of this group. I'll Remember You, Clean Cut Kid, Something's Burning, Dark Eyes.. very underrated.
Knocked Out Loaded - Brownsville Girl is awesome, and there are other tracks as well.
Down in the Groove - Death is Not The End, Silvio and my favorite, Rank Strangers
Under the Red Sky - Hand Dandy
World Gone Wrong - Delia, as mentioned above, great tune.
Shadows in the Night - second to last
Fallen Angels - last

 

you forgot DYLAN and the DEAD

and Saved, Empire Burlesque, World Gone Wrong and Down In The Groove are all
pretty bitchin'

 

WAIT!!!!!
you had SHOT OF LOVE on that list??????
I must have missed it!!

ARE YOU M-A-D SIR ???!!!!!!!!!!

 

Do NOT, I repeat, do NOT get his Christmas album.

 

World Gone Wrong is a terrific album. Much better than its predecessor, IMHO.

Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid is not a bad album and it's worth picking up. I love the "Billy" songs and everyone knows "Knockin' on Heaven's Door". The instrumentals are mostly enjoyable.

The others....eh, some of them are okay, but I never listen to them. If I were to pick them up, then I'd work from the top and bottom of the list towards the middle.

 

Arguably, Self Portrait is in a category all its own.

 

It's hilariously bad.

 

great album! Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid

 

I love it...especially his vocal style.

 

if one is a completest they will buy them all! LOL...

 

it's the thought that counts! LOL...

 

I gave Shadows in the Night and Under the Red Sky each a listen today.

Shadows was inoffensive, and very middle of the road. There was nothing that made it stand out, but also nothing that made me want to turn it off. Pleasant background music. I already own Triplicate, and I get the impression that if you’ve heard one “Dylan Sinatra” album, you’ve heard them all. Still, I’ll give Fallen Angels a listen one of these days to see if it has anything that can significantly distinguish it from the other three.

Under the Red Sky was a pleasant surprise. Certainly not first, or even second, tier Dylan. But it is third tier, along with stuff like Planet Waves, Infidels, and Street Legal (as far as personal preference is concerned). A nice, unpretentious collection of rockers.

 

Self Portrait is a "bad" album that I love.

 

When listening to Under the Red Sky, did you "wiggle wiggle wiggle like a bowl of soup?"

 

I like all Dylan, but, yeah, there are some that I get bored with or even those that didn't really do it for me in the first place. The non-Sinatra post Love and Theft albums come across as poorer versions of that, his last great masterpiece. I'm not keen on the Sinatra stuff (and got rid, shortly after buying). Oddly, I kinda like the Christmas album from this period: it's a lot of fun, even if he sings like he's been gargling razor blades. Of the earlier stuff, if I was being really honest - and critical - my cut off point would be Street Legal, dipping back in again for the non-official version of Infidels, maybe Oh Mercy and definitely Time out of Mind. Having said that, there's stuff I listen to on pretty much all the rest, even Empire Burlesque and Knocked Out Loaded, though Saved and Under the Red Sky not so much. As for Shot of Love, it's is at least as good as Slow Train. And I love Dylan (1973). Go figure.

 

Shot Of Love and World Gone Wrong are great albums.

Most of the others on the list are very good as well. I don’t think. On has ever made a really unlistenable album. You get something from all of them.

Maybe not the Sinatra stuff though...