174 - Bob Dylan - Desire

This is the first Dylan album on the Rolling Stone Top 500 Albums list that I wasn't gritting my teeth to get through. I think my overall thoughts on the album are encapsulated in my thoughts on his first two songs on Desire - “Hurricane” and “Isis.” Both songs feature Bob actually enunciating fairly well. The songs propel the listener along but are dynamic enough that the rhythm doesn't just flog you along. There is a definite band feel here with the wide variety of instrumentation. But in the end, a listener's satisfaction depends on whether the song lengths detract from what is good about the songs. “Hurricane” would kick ass at 4 or 5 minutes long but was okay at its 8:33 length. “Isis” would keep my attention if it was closer to 4 minutes than 7. And, Good God, Bob... “Joey” running over 11 minutes is so tiring. If you have that much to say, break it up into a suite or just write a book. The repetition put my ears on a weary folk music treadmill.

Behind the scenes stories tell of Bob basically filling a studio with 101 different artists. Some have called those sessions chaotic, where the contributors seemed to dominate and pull the songs in various directions with little input from Bob. That is kind of what I hear on Desire. It seems Bob wanted to try something new, but wasn't entirely certain where he wanted to go. I got the impression that Bob basically decided to just roll with the punches – maybe an attempt to put himself into the compromise state he felt was required for a band situation. One of the highlights for me was hearing Emmylou Harris on several songs. I think she was a very nice fit for this. In the end, Desire has interesting moments dispersed on a sprawling, messy canvas.

Songs I Knew I Liked: None

Songs I Now Like: “Hurricane” (had only heard parts of the song – mostly via the scene in Dazed & Confused where they walk into the billiard parlor)

Songs I Don't Want to Ever Hear Again: “One More Cup of Coffee” (his Arabic-esque vocal warbling on this song really drives me nuts) and “Romance in Durango”