Rock & Pop > pre 1970 Rock & Pop > Singer/Songwriter

Napoleon in rags

Advantages: One of the seminal rock albums of all time
Disadvantages: None

...Mike Bloomfield (guitar). Highway 61 itself stretches north to south from Minnesota, Dylan’s homeland, down through the Mississippi Delta, and the record has been likened by some as a journey to his Minnesotan roots and Mississippi-styled Blues music. (Oh, forget the geography lesson John! The music is the message.) Topped and trailed by two of his most powerful songs ever, it remains one of his defining albums. Alongside its successor, ‘Blonde ...
...‘Blood On The Tracks’ (1975), it’s arguably one of the three best he ever recorded. The opening track, ‘Like A Rolling Stone’, was a real mould-breaker for its time. Six-minute singles were not the done thing in the summer of 1965 - a single was simply seven inches of black vinyl - but Dylan broke the rules with this astonishingly fierce yet poetic epic. (Significantly, it was his highest-charting single ever – No. 2 US, No. 4 UK). For a long time, ...

JOHNV 18.11.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan

The End Of One Of Music's Greatest Trilogies

Advantages: One of Dylan's Best Albums And One Of The Best Of All Time
Disadvantages: None

Following on from the stellar Bringing It All Back home and Highway 61 Revisited comes this double LP, now squashed into one CD, which is probably Dylan's masterpiece of the sixties. The album builds on the blues themes of the previous album and moves into more experimental and unknown territory. This for me is one of the greatest albums ever made and many agree with me, the album itself placed 9th on the 500 best albums of all time by Rolling Stone ...
...with delays and an inability to tie tracks down, with Dylan initially recording with the Band in New York before taking on session musicians in Nashville for the final recording, which yielded the bulk of the album. The main context and inspiration from the album seems to be that of relationships, likely to be that of his with Sara Lownds after their marriage previously. But relationships and the hardships prevalent within them have always been big ...

Robin_Hod12 19.03.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Blonde On Blonde - Bob Dylan

Astral Weeks is a spiritually uplifting album

Advantages: Great listening
Disadvantages: None

Astral weeks is an album by Van Morrison that is hard to classify musically. It's a mixture of jazz, celtic music, blues and folk. In my opinion, it is the best album that Morrison ever produced. Songs like the title track and Cypress Avenue can transport you to another realm. It is relaxing, soothing and yet very evocative. It is highly original as many music critics find the musical genre a mystery. The lyrics are breathtaking and mystical. It's ...

TomT12345 08.11.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Astral Weeks - Van Morrison

John Wesley Harding

Advantages: Thematic, Basic and Brilliant.
Disadvantages: Short-ish, and a bit odd.

A truly exceptional album. There are those upon this earth who may desire their melodies graced by string, brass and choir; but by the gentle hand of chance I am not one of them. Many a fine song has been meddled with for ill, many a gem has been soiled by fiddling. The beauty and magic of this album, however, is that it simply lets the songs do the work. Yes, granted, the biblical references, guarded metaphors and blinding imagery are some of ...
...musicianship is second to none. (If you don't believe, me, check out the drums on 'Down Along The Cove'). (Also, don't try telling me that Dylans' deft use of his limited vocal skills is anything but a masterstroke). But the raw, dusty, earthen quality that makes this album so lucidly thematic and gives it that utter brilliance is the instrumentation. Guitar, Bass, Drums, Vocals, Lap Steel. That's it, pretty much. When you strip a band down, ...

passtheparsley 27.11.2008 · Read full review
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Review of John Wesley Harding - Bob Dylan

ANOTHER SIDE of a true musical Janus

Advantages: Good for those who like something light to listen to
Disadvantages: References are a bit dated, e.g. Barry Goldwater; uses one curse word, so parents be warned

...a singer and songwriter--and he isn't afraid to let a personal demon or two roam free across the musical stave. The title itself, ANOTHER SIDE, tells us what we're about to see: Dylan being Dylan. He's silly, dark, introspective, even naughty at times. And he won't be pigeonholed by anyone. ...

Doctor_Belch 14.02.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Another Side Of Bob Dylan - Bob Dylan