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

Advantages Newly written stuff by Bob Dylan.
Disadvantages No additional booklet, or other info inside the CD case.

...I have been a great fan of Bob Dylan for many years, and have loved all of his work. He has changed his sound, his poetry, and his style many times over, and this album has done exactly that. It sounds different to his other stuff, it sounds like an old country band, but the words are astonishing! Perhaps one of the best albums he's done, and you get the feeling that he feels the same way. Like Salvadore Dali's very last painting before he died, 'The Swallows Tail' is an almost back to basics painting for Dali, but it was done with perfection and class. Bob Dylan's Modern Times is a great example of how somebody has perfected his life as a musician.... Read review

Advantages Great Songs
Disadvantages You'll want to keep playing it.

...The best Bob Dylan album ever? Probably not, but it was the first Dylan album I bought so it will always have a soft spot in my heart. Having said that I still think this album can hold its own against "Blonde on Blonde" or "Blood on the Tracks". This was the album after "Blonde on Blonde" and was written while Dylan was recovering from his near fatal motorcycle accident. A sombre mood prevades all but the last 2 tracks on the album. Dylan songs here are full of remorse, retribution, and regret. The backing (Piano, Bass and Drums) is simple and beautifully understated.Dylan's voice sounds very natural, and the whole album sounds as if they recorded it in one session. The most famous track here is "All Along The WatchTower", but every track is a gem. If you have'nt got this album get it, Now!. ps. If you can get hold of the original LP... Read review