Not Dark Yet CD Single, 3 Reviews in One

Three reviews in one, because anyone who buys one of these CD singles is going to want to buy them all. Also, it's easier to understand just what you're getting with these singles if you can see them all together.

Love Sick: Dylan Alive Vol. 1. (Japan) Eight Tracks on Two CDs. First CD: 1. Love Sick (Album version), 2. Can't Wait, 3. Roving Gambler, 4. Blind Willie McTell. Second CD: 1. Love Sick (Grammy Version), 2. Cold Irons Bound, 3. Cocaine Blues, 4. Born In Time

Not Dark Yet: Dylan Alive Vol. 2 (Japan). 1. Not Dark Yet (Album Version), 2. Boots Of Spanish Leather, 3. Tears Of Rage, 4. Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power)

Things Have Changed: Dylan Alive. Vol. 3 (Japan). 1. Things Have Changed (Album Version), 2. Highlands, 3. Blowin' In The Wind, 4. Make You Feel My Love

With the exception of the three album versions and the version of "Love Sick" recorded at the Grammy's the rest of the songs were recorded live on that tour of Mr. Ds that never ends.

It doesn't take too much imagination to see that if the people in the suits at Sony threw away the album versions of the above songs, they could combine the rest of the stuff on the three CD singles and make a pretty darned good live album that would be representative of Dylan's Never Ending Tour. Who knows, maybe in the future we'll get lucky and they'll do that. I say lucky, because these songs are great and Dylan is in fine voice. This stuff belongs together, should be listened to together. We can only hope, but until then, they all get five stars.

Reviewed by Stephanie Sane

Recommended to the rich.

Defenitely too expensive for too little music, but the music is fine. I don't get it why they had to put the album version of 'Not dark yet' on this cd, but they certainly managed it! 'Senor' is very well done, the best live version I know of this song. 'Tears of rage' gets lost somehow in the rich tapestry of guitar sound; the original version of this beautiful, heartfelt song (on 'The basement tapes') is so much better. 'Boots of Spanish leather' is the glory of this album: very intimate, obviously sung from the point of view of the looser in this funny yet bittersweet song. Bob Dylan's voice these days rather reminds me of a craw, but sometimes it fits perfectly with the song, and the artist certainly can't be accused of a lack of emotion. Don't know how he does it, but he still does it well.