No Direction Home: The Soundtrack (The Bootleg Series Vol.7) - Bob Dylan

Advantages: Masterfully edited, full of astounding footage both familiar and otherwise...a classic.
Disadvantages: None.

...Martin Scorsese's brilliant documentary tracing the progression of Bob Dylan from endearingly awkward Duluth teenager to other-worldly, speed-fried Icon is as stunning a piece of work as any of the director's classics, and leagues above most of his output from the preceding decade. Utilising a wealth of revelatory, rarely-seen footage and interview material, No Direction Home is, for the first half at least, as much about America in the pause-for-breath moment between the beat writers of the 1950s and the counter-culture student movements of the mid-to-late 1960s as it is about the life and work of Robert Zimmerman. It is - clichéd as it sounds - a sweeping, engrossing portrait of a time and of a place, scouring the terrain leads from the rattle-tattle zap-pow gyrations of Ginsberg and Kerouac to the pound pound pounding of Odetta... Read review

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Advantages: Great Set That Offers An Interesting Insight Into One Of The Most Interesting Eras In His Career
Disadvantages: Mainly For Fans, But May Offer An Incentive To Get Into Him For Those Who Aren't

...footage of left out material from Don't Look Back, a Dylan biopic from 1965, of Love Minus Zero/ No Limit and Does She Need Me (I Can't Leave Her Behind), a recording of Dylan trying out a new song in his hotel room, the full performance of which can be found on the Genuine Bootleg Series Volume 2, and some other bootleg disks. Comparing this to the likes of Don't Look Back, this is more of a biography and focuses less on what Dylan did, and looking instead at how he developed as a musician and how he dealt with certain situations. This is also a cram-packed biography, packing in almost three and a half hours to cover the period of about 10 years. Ultimately, this is the era of Dylan that is often the most fascinating and is when his fame was at its peak, although i would implore anyone that likes it to explore other albums outside the 60s... Read review

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Advantages: Appeals to folk and rock fans, and is simply a great set of songs
Disadvantages: Not as focused as other Dylan albums

...'Bringing It All Back Home' is simply great. This album harnesses both the developed acoustic skill of Bob Dylan, and the beginning of his rock and roll legacy. Released at a time when many people longed for the acoustic folk of the Bob Dylan of the mid 60's, the ever dynamic and stubborn Bob Dylan expressed his frustration and displayed his genius through the medium of rock and roll. 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' is a perfect example on this album of the fantastic songs Dylan produced with his blues rock sound while he maintained his complicated and unique lyrical ability. However, the album harbors songs like 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue' and 'Mr Tambourine Man', which can be more closely likened to earlier acoustic Dylan work. Amongst Dylan's versatile amalgamation of acoustic folk and rock one constant remains - the sheer lyrical... Read review

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