Expecting Rain

Which of the following is the worst of dylan's 'questionable' albums? Previous surveys have established the superior activities of Bob in the 1960s, 1970s, 1990s and 2000s, and arguably the 1950s, while the jury is still out for the 1980s. A vote seems appropriate, but really the point of this thread is to highlight the importance of his work in the 1980s. Which of these releases is most disturbing to you and why? Also, so as not to exclude UP, you may discuss how none of these releases are lousy, and highlight the most critical aspects of appreciating these works...it will do the world a LOT of good.

Follow up question, when any were released, were you convinced that Dylan was over and done with?

Dylan and the Dead is his worst album, ever. I love Bob Dylan so much most people would describe me as having a mental illness, and I've never found a single redeeming quality to it.

there's some good drum and bass on a few tracks! (i think Joey comes to mind). and i want you is on the cusp of a passionate delivery...

Apart from Infidels they are all different degrees of shite. However, within a couple of days there will be loads of posts saying that these albums are great and even Dylan's dregs are a million times bettter than the entire Stones, Springsteen, Neil Young and Bay City Roleers output combined. It will be a stupid opinion but lots of people will say it and I will be called a troll and will be told that I am worse than Hitler.

This

this is why the first page of these threads are always the best!

having said that, i'd listen to any one of them before i'd listen to a Springsteen album all the way through...

It doesn't take much to outdo Springsteen and...did I get this correct?...the Bay City Rollers (are you serious?)...why didn't you mention Mellencamp too?
Regardless, the albums listed in the poll above are all GREAT, so don't be such a troll, Hitler!

the Allies have arrived!

Any album that has Dark Eyes is a good album. I love Infidels, too. I don't have the rest yet.

Oh, the gentlemen are talking and the midnight moon is on the riverside
They’re drinking up and walking and it is time for me to slide
I live in another world where life and death are memorized
Where the earth is strung with lovers’ pearls and all I see are dark eyes

A cock is crowing far away and another soldier’s deep in prayer
Some mother’s child has gone astray, she can’t find him anywhere
But I can hear another drum beating for the dead that rise
Whom nature’s beast fears as they come and all I see are dark eyes

They tell me to be discreet for all intended purposes,
They tell me revenge is sweet and from where they stand, I’m sure it is.
But I feel nothing for their game where beauty goes unrecognized,
All I feel is heat and flame and all I see are dark eyes.

Oh, the French girl, she’s in paradise and a drunken man is at the wheel
Hunger pays a heavy price to the falling gods of speed and steel
Oh, time is short and the days are sweet and passion rules the arrow that flies
A million faces at my feet but all I see are dark eyes

I'd take anything from Dylan & the Dead over any performance from this past year, maybe even the last 10 years.

I Chose Knocked out Loaded. After "Brownsville Girl", it get's pretty, well brown.

Infidels should not be on that list. Anyone who thinks so is simply wrong.

I myself think that Empire Burlesque is a great album too, but I can understand peoples problems with it.. it took me awhile to warm to it.

My vote goes to Down in the Groove. it's the only one where there is no positive side to it.

Yeah, my vote is for Down In The Groove -- I had to reread the thread to remember the second word in the album title. It was a depressing, forced experience to sit through this album many years ago when I actually bothered to listen to it, and even then it was probably only once or twice all the way through. So I may be overlooking it by not having digested it, but I simply don't want to experience it again. Whenever I'd listen to my old Infidels outtakes compilations, I'd include the album version of Death Is Not The End -- it was so horrible it made me angry in some way. Plus I remember the sound mastering being remarkably pathetic. The cover is sad too.

I actually like a few tracks from Dylan & The Dead, in all their sloppy glory -- Queen Jane, I Want You, Slow Train...

Empire Burlesque sounds pretty good in one of its rougher mixes. Brownsville Girl keeps Knocked Out Loaded barely afloat, despite They Killed Him's best efforts.

The disappointment I feel over this comment can barely be contained, smoke. The archives reveal that you are the same person that received the Untrodden Path Hero of the Day Award on January 20, 2010. I had to ask myself, what could have possibly happened to the once flawless and astute judgment of this dear person? The only thing I can come up with is, you simply haven't listened to Dylan & the Dead enough to fully appreciate it.

As to the overall poll, I won't be voting. As scientific enquiry has shown repeatedly throughout history, when one starts from a faulty premise, the results will be faulty as well.

I rarely listen to Dylan & The Dead, but I think it's tied to Real Live in terms of shit. They're all great songs performed into the ground. Dylan & the Dead has a better voice, but he forgets a lot of the lyrics.

Real Live is almost like a parody, even though it has that Tangled Up in Blue...I prefer other versions from that year.

I agree that Infidels should not be on that list.
Other than that, flip a coin, for either KOL or DITG.
Dylan & The Dead, could have been a whole lot better,
if Dylan would have let The Dead pick the songs.
I've always loved Dylan's music and I'd never count him out,
but after EB, KOL, and DITG, I was starting to have my doubts,
all was forgiven with "Oh Mercy'.

perhaps you would share with us what your top 6 albums from the list are instead? and, i'm looking forward to your comments about what doesn't stink about each album ... for instance, some specific things smoke should look for next time he give Dylan and the Dead, i mean, besides the lighter and the stashbox.

such heightened perspective is really at the heart of what this thread is about...

Also,
the only reason infidels is on the list is because it was released in the 80s and not a Christian album....i'm not anticipating any votes.

That.

to arthurprecarious: I want to stand for that you call a stupid opinion. I wouldn´t go so far to compare you with Hitler though.

Dylan and the Dead; one of the very few Dylan albums I don't listen to almost at all.

Someday you wil come around. You've got a whole life ahead of you. Don't force it. It will make itself known to you when the time it right.

(I'm not trying to provoke you in any way but ) have you listened to anything from 2002 - 2003 ?

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=54159

Please listen to this show , my gift from me to you , and then come back and tell me what you just said . I promise you won't regret it

KoL is unique in having no redeeming qualities although I enjoy "Drifting" in some of its 1988 renditions and it made me curious to hear Waylon Jennings' "Precious Memories"

Infidels is a pretty fine record in places so I've no idea why it's on this list.

Burlesque was a big disappointment after the Rolling Stone writeup but I think that's Planet Waves syndrome: too much hype ruins some decent material and there are a handful of enjoyable tracks on that (Clean Cut Kid, Trust Yourself, Emotionally Yours, Something's Burning come to mind)

Real Live has the fabulous "Tangled" even if it's recorded too late in the tour after the voice is shot. And after initial disappointment with the repeating live tracks on the second side ("Masters", "Thin Man") I've warmed up to the performance. I just wish they would have recorded Vienna or used some of Paris.

DitG is pretty awful but I'm a sucker for the silly and breathtakingly amateur "Shenandoah" (hard to believe he didn't put Pretty Boy Floyd on that record) and I'll recommend the 1988 Lake Compounce "Had a Dream" to any Dylan fan.

I consistently enjoy the final 4-5 tracks on UTRS over anything on the crabby Oh Mercy; more humor, more bitterness, better players, less buttoned up.

I admit I don't have and probably never have had Dylan & the Dead but I recall getting a kick out of another version with Highway 61 and the Wicked Messenger, among others. Kind of a desperate choice after the massive chart failures of the previous few years. Kudos to Garcia for attempting to dig him out.

What? "Brownsville Girl" is one of his greatest songs, ever.

you like Billy Joel, too? Brownsville is a big demonstration of nothing.