All Time Top 1100 Albums (Aerosmith - Big Ones) P265

Love and Theft - Bob Dylan (2001)

Too much of the album was basic 12-bar blues or sounded like a set of jazz standards that any half-decent band could knock out. I like blues, but I like it to go somewhere interesting and not just sound like a retread of the past. “Mississippi” aside, the first half wasn't great and I found myself looking at the list of instruments on the credits – mandolin, banjo and accordion – and wondering why they weren’t employed more, or even at all. But the second half of the album was much better – that banjo gets a nice workout on “High Water”, the B3-driven “Honest with Me” gives the album some much-needed oomph and the accordion sounds sweet in the appropriately titled “Sugar Baby”.

I don’t think Dylan’s voice is that bad on here. Sure, he sounds like he’s spent the previous night gargling with Whiskey and howling at the moon, but people might like to note that “Honest with Me” was nominated for the Best Male Rock Vocal Performance Grammy. Still, what do they know because the album won the Grammy for Best Contemporary Folk Album, but I didn’t think it was that great and this is the kind of music I listen to.

It’s difficult reviewing a Dylan album without comparing it to his best work. Naturally he did far better stuff than this in the 60s and 70s and the two Daniel Lanois-produced albums that saved both the 80s and 90s for Dylan were streets ahead of this in my opinion.

Love and Theft 6/10.
 
At one point in time I had every album Dylan officially released on vinyl. The last one I bought was Oh Mercy but I had stoped really engaging with any of the material before then. I know of a number of people that have come to Dylans music in the past 10 - 20 years and I really enjoyed the last one (Rough and Rowdy Ways) but this album typified everything I had come to dislike about his work. There just isn't enough to get excited about. I played it earlier and it was ok but only that and, for me, Dylan has always meant more than ok - he has helped define and shape whole periods of my life.
He is doing what he was doing at this time well so I will give it a 6/10
 
Musically, this feels like a nice enough stroll through a pleasant enough yet unremarkable park. Just that there‘s this guy trying to provide a running commentary along the way. Seems like he might have a few snippets of worth to share, however he’s had a few too many swigs of hooch beforehand and thus isn’t such enjoyable company 4/10
 
Musically, this feels like a nice enough stroll through a pleasant enough yet unremarkable park. Just that there‘s this guy trying to provide a running commentary along the way. Seems like he might have a few snippets of worth to share, however he’s had a few too many swigs of hooch beforehand and thus isn’t such enjoyable company 4/10
A nice, succinct review with a dash of humour.
 
Talking Heads
Remain in Light
2/10

Beth Orton
Central Reservation
4/10

David Crosby
If Only I Could Remember My Name
7/10

Def Leppard
Euphoria
2/10

Beck
Mellow Gold
2/10

Bad Company
Bad Company
6/10

Bob Dylan
Bringing it all back home
6/10

Aretha Franklin
Aretha Now
6/10

Carly Simon
No secrets
3/10

The Beatles
Help!
6/10

Rush
Permanent Waves
5/10

Leonard Cohen
Songs of love and hate
3/10

Crosby Stills & Nash
Crosby Stills & Nash
7/10

Frank Sinatra
Sings for Only the Lonely
5/10

Talk Talk
Spirit of Eden
5/10

Roxy Music
Country Life
3/10

Joe Jackson
Body and Soul
2/10

Madonna
Erotica
2/10

Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
2/10

Metallica
Metallica (Black?)
6/10

New Score

Bob Dylan ( Father to love-child @BlueHammer85 )
Love and Theft
How do you rank an ageing great?

Album starts, couple of tracks in - I'm not really enjoying this. It's raining, and I'm commuting to work and I've got Bob's strained growls guiding me in to the office.

Why does everyone have him up high on a pedestal (especially once his vocals have decayed further)?*

What is this?

Finally a song that fits his voice - Lonesome Day Blues - it's decent.

Let's carry on - couple more OK and now we have found High Water. I'm feeling him a little more.

Not too much longer to wait until we discover Cry a while - best song on the album for me. Beautifully disguised change of pace that runs throughout (shouldn't really have worked on this song in my head but it does). He is showing me something I've not seen from him - he really does have it in the bag! Dare I say, it was actually quite upbeat.

Outside of the above three there isn't much for me to get excited about but I am quite happy that I have discovered these which gives me hope their is much more for me to discover and enjoy about his extensive back catalogue.

I think we are landing on about a 4 here but I am more open to be venturing more of his back catalogue than I was listening to the first couple of tracks.

* The sheer volume of music that he has created is unbelievable, but I often wonder how much of a filter/ or critique he applies to his writing. As he has gotten older, is he more critical (as his tastes have developed and matured or does he allow stuff to be released because it is still 'better' than a lot of the shite people get paid for producing nowadays?). I think this of other long standing artists as well.

He covers a few styles on this album, I really feel the people around him need to resign him in for the songs that do fit his voice imho............
 
Its not one of my favourite Dylan LPS but its not his worst by any stretch. Po Boy and Misissipi the stand out tracks - I also liked floater and but its overall a suprisingly pleasent album, nothing id consider awful and from a period when his best stuff had already been written - 6/10
 
I'm really struggling with this one. Not even a smoke will make this one sound better. Heroin will probably make listening that bit easier, though. How did this get into the... never mind. haha. On a plus...the production and music is spot on. Some of the songs are awful, though...and I could never get my ears around Dylan's singing.
3/10
 
Talking Heads
Remain in Light
2/10

Beth Orton
Central Reservation
4/10

David Crosby
If Only I Could Remember My Name
7/10

Def Leppard
Euphoria
2/10

Beck
Mellow Gold
2/10

Bad Company
Bad Company
6/10

Bob Dylan
Bringing it all back home
6/10

Aretha Franklin
Aretha Now
6/10

Carly Simon
No secrets
3/10

The Beatles
Help!
6/10

Rush
Permanent Waves
5/10

Leonard Cohen
Songs of love and hate
3/10

Crosby Stills & Nash
Crosby Stills & Nash
7/10

Frank Sinatra
Sings for Only the Lonely
5/10

Talk Talk
Spirit of Eden
5/10

Roxy Music
Country Life
3/10

Joe Jackson
Body and Soul
2/10

Madonna
Erotica
2/10

Violent Femmes
Violent Femmes
2/10

Metallica
Metallica (Black?)
6/10

New Score

Bob Dylan ( Father to love-child @BlueHammer85 )
Love and Theft
How do you rank an ageing great?

Album starts, couple of tracks in - I'm not really enjoying this. It's raining, and I'm commuting to work and I've got Bob's strained growls guiding me in to the office.

Why does everyone have him up high on a pedestal (especially once his vocals have decayed further)?*

What is this?

Finally a song that fits his voice - Lonesome Day Blues - it's decent.

Let's carry on - couple more OK and now we have found High Water. I'm feeling him a little more.

Not too much longer to wait until we discover Cry a while - best song on the album for me. Beautifully disguised change of pace that runs throughout (shouldn't really have worked on this song in my head but it does). He is showing me something I've not seen from him - he really does have it in the bag! Dare I say, it was actually quite upbeat.

Outside of the above three there isn't much for me to get excited about but I am quite happy that I have discovered these which gives me hope their is much more for me to discover and enjoy about his extensive back catalogue.

I think we are landing on about a 4 here but I am more open to be venturing more of his back catalogue than I was listening to the first couple of tracks.

* The sheer volume of music that he has created is unbelievable, but I often wonder how much of a filter/ or critique he applies to his writing. As he has gotten older, is he more critical (as his tastes have developed and matured or does he allow stuff to be released because it is still 'better' than a lot of the shite people get paid for producing nowadays?). I think this of other long standing artists as well.

He covers a few styles on this album, I really feel the people around him need to resign him in for the songs that do fit his voice imho............
I listened to Cry A While a few times to work it out.
At the beginning it sounds like a typical Delta Blues in style.
It uses the I IV V chords harmonically, like any Blues song, but it doesnt change chords in the usual places, when Bob starts singing we start verse 1 on the I chord with an unusual Staccato (Jerky) type of beat, then when we expect it to change to the IV chord (as in a normal 12 Bar Blues) but it doesnt. Just stays on the I chord, eventually changing later on.
This kind of thing has been done before. I just cant remember what or who by.

Wonder who Mr Goldsmith was ?

Well, I had to go down and see a guy named Mr. Goldsmith
A nasty, dirty, double-crossin’, backstabbin’ phony I didn’t wanna have to be dealin’ with
But I did it for you and all you gave me was a smile
Well, I cried for you—now it’s your turn to cry awhile


There are some references to old Blues songs in his lyrics here.
Dope Head Blues by Lonnie Johnson contains the lines

Feel like a fightin’ rooster
Feel better than I ever felt


Bob added them in verse 3
 
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