Best of Vol. 1, Six Reviews in One

Throughout the years the suits at Columbia, then Sony have tried to make more money of Mr. D by mixing and matching his material, not just in a Greatest Hits compilation, but as a "Best of Import" from Japan, Holland, Sweden, or some other far away place. They tout them as better, different, remastered, a gold version and lots of times they'll build these compilations around a song that hadn't appeared on any other album.

The current favorite is the wonderful song, "Things have changed," which shows up on five different sets available today.

"The Best of series Vol. 1 and Vol. 2" Imports are the only one of the 5 sets that you can get separately and, since they couldn't put "Things Have Changed on both CDs, they put "Shelter From The Storm," from the Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding move "Jerry Maguire" on the first disc. If you were to buy both discs in this set you'd be out over fifty bucks. Of course, there isn't a bad song on the discs, but if you're like me, you already own most of them.

"The Very Best of Vol. 1 & 2" Swedish version has 33 songs on it, all available elsewhere except, of course "Things Have Changed." The songs are about the same as on the other compilations and this one will set you back thirty-three dollars.

"The Ultimate Collection," is of course not the ultimate collection, but it is a collection of 33 songs, very similar in scope to the songs in the other collection and built around, "Things Have Changed." This version will shrink you wallet by thirty-nine dollars.

"The Essential Bob Dylan" double CD set has 30 songs on it and has a nice flow to it. Like the other compilations mentioned here it features "Things Have Changed." You'll have to fork over twenty-one dollars to get this one. It's the most reasonably priced of the bunch, and so it's the only one I'm giving five stars to.

"The Essential Bob Dylan" Import has six more songs on it and it'll cost you 16 more dollars. That's a lot of money to pay to get those extra six songs.

Okay after rounding them up and telling you a little about them, I have to say that I'm pretty disappointed in Sony about this group. Unlike "Greatest Hits, Vol. 2" which like these isn't really a Greatest Hits compilation, these CDs cost a whole gang of money and give us only one new song. "GH 2" gave us a half dozen new tunes, so we (not me, cuz I wasn't born yet) didn't feel ripped off when we bought it. Also, the "Biograph" compilation was stuffed with new songs. Ah well, my recommendation would be to buy the American version of "The Essential Bob Dylan" for twenty-one dollars and shine the rest of them on. Five stars for that one, four for the rest.

Reviewed by Stephanie Sane

Bob Dylan: A True Musical genius

This treasure has all of Bob Dylan's greatest- Like A Rolling Stone, Don't Think Twice It's Allright, Times They Are A Changin, Mr Tambourine Man, Forever Young, Just Like a Woman, Blowin in the Wind, and the list goes on & on. Would've been complete if it had Tangled Up in Blue. Bob Dylan has an EXCELLENT live show- I saw him at the First Union Spectrum in Philadelphia PA on November 17th 2001- he has a great band- See him if you ever get the chance!
Dylan has had such an influence on many other folk-rock artists out today:
Counting Crows: "I wanna be like Bob Dylan"(Mr Jones)
Hootie & The Blowfish: "Ain't Bobby so cool? I only wanna be with you. Yea I'm tangled up in blue, I only wanna be with you."(Only Wanna Be With You)

LONG LIVE BOB DYLAN!

Excellent Volume 1 of Dylan's Best

There have been many Bob Dylan greatest hits compilations over the years, and no major excuse is needed for yet another one. The excuse for this particular compilation, originally released in 1997, was the prominent use of several Dylan songs in the movie "Jerry Maguire", including "Shelter from the Storm" in a (slightly) different version from the one on "Blood on the Tracks".



"The Best of Bob Dylan" (18 tracks, 76 min.) provides a chronological overview of his biggest hits and best known songs, including "Blowin' in the Wind", "Like a Rolling Stone", "Lay Lady Lay", "Knockin' on Heaven's Door", Tangled Up in Blue", and the latter day tracks "Jokerman" and "Everything is Broken". The afore-mentioned "Shelter from the Storm" closes the album. Three years later, this set would be followed by the equally excellent "Best of, Volume 2". The remastered sound is fabulous. Regretfully there are no detailed liner notes. Taken together, Volume 1 and Volume 2 of "The Best of Bob Dylan" provide a truly "Essential Bob Dylan" overview.

The Best - like it says...

The customer couldn't have been more right - this definitely IS the best place for new fans to start listening to Bob Dylan. With all the widely known hits like "Blowin' in the Wind", "Mr. Tambourine Man" and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" to less known songs such as "Lay Lady Lay" and "Tangled Up in Blue", 'The Best of Bob Dylan' is definitely a collection of his best!
The quality of the tracks is excellent; great remasters!
I recommend this to everybody looking for some great music.

What is a true fan?

This album cuts right to the heart of the thorny question: "Can you be a true fan of an artist if you are primarily a fan of their greatest hits compilations?" Much as it hurts me to say this, my gut has always told me the answer is "no". Why does it hurt so much to arrive at this answer? First, I absolutely adore Creedence Clearwater Revival's Chronicle Volume I - it has to be one of my top 10 all-time favorite albums. But since I don't love any of CCR's "real" albums, I'm not a true fan of CCR according to my rigid standards for true fandom. It pisses me off to have to admit that. My second reason involves my girlfriend. She is hopelessly devoted to Bob Dylan's imported Best of 1 - I reckon it is her favorite album. And yet, she rarely listens to his other material. I mean, she has several of Dylan's albums, but it is Best of 1 that she returns to time and again. So, according to my standards, she's not a true Dylan fan. Don't get me wrong, she's more than just a casual fan. But a true fan? I fear not. In my opinion and (I suspect) those of several influences from my formative years (Chris S., David F., and Steve M.), a true fan appreciates most of, if not all of, an artist's works. So, I'll keep enjoying my Chronicle and N.G.A. will keep enjoying her Best of 1, but until we develop more complete appreciations of CCR and Dylan, respectively, we simply won't qualify as true fans.

What do I think of Best of 1? That's easy. There are a bunch of amazing songs here and it would be foolish to even consider giving this album less than 5 stars. There's not much I can say about the individual songs that hasn't already been said more eloquently by countless others over the past 30 years. On this one album, you will hear timeless folk music, classic rock, and the roots of "the (alt-country) movement". Heck, Dylan even had a punk attitude long before that genre was born. Simply put, if you don't have any of Dylan's other albums and have at least a passing interest in popular music, this album belongs in your collection.