Expecting Rain

I'm sick of this album being butchered. No, it's not a modern art Grammy worthy masterpiece by any means, but I'd rather listen to Shanendoah, Ninety Miles and Hour and Rank Strangers than some of the worse songs from many of his masterpiece albums. I don't get as aurally turned on by Rainy Day Woman, If You See Her Say Hello, Outlaw Blues or Talkin WW3 Blues.

As a statement of originality and judicious use of the studio resources, yes, this album is a hott mess, but I like listening to much of it! Say my taste sucks all you want, you are simply incorrect because there are some absolutes in life, and Down in the Groove being a good album is one of those undebatable, absolute truths.

Listening to this album is the equivalent of having someone shovel large quantities of shit into your ears.

If shit is made from gold, then yes.

I`m with you Jackie D though I think there`s probably not too many more of us !

Their is nothing valid about this album.....

I agree. It is underrated. I wouldn't say highly underrated but there are glimmers of hope captured on it in the midst of a nadir of his works. Besides, it has a great cover shot, too.

Well, I like Silvio, and any album that has Rank Strangers, can't be all bad.
It's better than Knocked Out Load, and maybe, EB, except Dark Eyes, IMHO.

Actually there is. As stated.

This is the only official Dylan album that I have not heard. The only one I haven't bought... The comments here at ER are the main reason.

I dig this album too.
It's Bob at the end of his rope and it's Art, as valid as anything else he's done, whether or not one 'agrees' with it or not. It's a reflection of the Artist. I'd rather listen to this than ANY album by, say, U2 or R.E.M.

It's an album by Bob Dylan, and therefore is enjoyable to listen to. No more needs to be said.

Yep. I like it too. Oddly enough, the songs get better as you go along. Usually when you sequence an album you put all the good ones at the beginning.

It`s entirely up to you what you listen to Shitjoy but give it a whirl and you just might be pleasantly surprised.

I like this record. It does rank among the worst of his work but as with all Dylan's performances, there is something to redeem most of the tracks: for me, Dylan's phrasing always brings a smile to my face. I much prefer the DIG version of Let's Stick Together, to the Bryan Ferry original.

I'm with Henry Porter on this one

I too agree with Henry Porter in that, by no means a great (or even good) album, "Down In The Groove" is interesting, in retrospect, for showing the first green shoots of Dylan's recovery from his mid-80's loss of direction. With the Petty tour, post "Knocked Out Loaded", he was increasingly re-exploring his roots-rock heritage and this was more of the same (but with a lot less gusto than the live covers with Petty) as did the initial NET gigs which followed this album.The result of this re-immersion in the music of his youth (regurgitating pieces of country, R&B, R&R, pop standards) was to inform first his album "Oh Mercy" and then subsequent albums. No more would Dylan try to keep up with the latest fashions (a la "Empire Burlesque"). In fact "Rank Strangers" could almost fit on "Oh Mercy" in terms of sound and subject matter.

Give it a try. You may be pleasantly surprised. I think its better than what you've read about here. For me its an odd Dylan album but likeable... but at some level, couldn't the same be said of many of his albums?

I'm entertained by the second side. Shenandoah has an amateurish charm and Rank Strangers is a nice recording (nice job by Larry Klein). 32 minutes for a Dylan album seemed absurdly short. He was clearly at an artistic low, but maybe not as low as Self Portrait was.

I think part of the reason the album isn't more highly regarded is that Dylan wasn't fashionable any more in the '80's & the rock-n-roll media really trashed it. It's not my favorite, but I like the album. The original material isn't very strong, altho' Silvio is OK. Had a Dream About You, Baby is tolerable, altho' not the best song he coulda picked from Hearts of Fire. Similarly, Death is Not the End was an odd choice if he gonna include an outtake from Infidels. Replace those with, say, The Usual & Blind WIllie McTell & maybe the album woulda been more well received.

I like the covers a great deal. Just 2-3 years after the overproduced Empire Burlesque, it was refreshing to have an album of short songs with stripped-down instrumental backing. That's what I love about the album, that it's all about the songs. I learned long ago that nobody is gonna like an artist or an album just coz I say they should, but you gotta admit, love it or hate it, it's all about the songs on this one.

definitive fanboy

nah, he should have included "Night after Night." That's so bad it's fun. A dreadful vocal with a hopping horn arrangement, one of the weirdest Dylan tracks ever.

You can call me a Dylan Newbie (20 years of being a fan), but I like this album. Can you write a better happy birthday song and make your Uncle buy it?

I think it's underrated.

I find that all the songs sound too similar and maybe it's over produced (some say it's under produced).

When you have beautiful and atmospheric performances of When Did You Leave Heaven?, Rank Strangers to Me, Death Is Not The End, and 90 Miles an Hour Down a Dead End Street, you really cannot go wrong. Did I mention that Dylan is singing the traditional Shenandoah?

Down in the Groove is a wonderful predecessor to the covers that came through with the early years of the Never Ending Tour. When Did You Leave Heaven? was actually done better during that time.

I'm not saying there is worse material out there, but it definitely rises about Knocked out and Loaded (though I really appreciate Brownsville Girl...you would too if you imagined what it's like to be on the road like that...it's Dylan's On the Road.

"Silvio" was one of my favorite Dylan songs, when I listened to Down in the Groove I was disappointed that there wasn't anything else on it that was as good but I wasn't offended by the album. Some people here act like this album killed their father and raped their mother.