Dylan , Desire and Daniel

From the opening track this 3 CD set is G-O-O-D. Hurricane, the story of a wrongfully imprisend black boxer, starts off the first album "Desire" with great strength and the other songs do not disapoint. Joey, Oh Sister, Black Diamond Bay and the beautifully written Romance in Durango are all superb. The next album, "Oh Mercy" has U2 producer Daniel Lanios in control creating some very cool songs. Where Teardrops Fall, Shooting Star, Ring Them Bells, Man in the Long Black Coat - all are great songs and very well written. (Oh Mercy was Dylan's most critically acclaimed album of the Eighties). Finally Dylans most acclaimed album of the Ninties, which won him three Grammy Awards, is "Time out of Mind". This album, also with Lanios, is one of the most atmospheric albums you will ever hear. Lazy keyboards, cool slide guitar, organs and many other insruments fade in and out of every song resulting in an absolutely superb album (Dylan gets into the swing and plays some lead guitar!). Highlights include the single Love Sick, the epic Not Dark yet, Standing in the Doorway, and the groove of Cold Irons Bound. Ending this amazing album is a 17 minute long blues titled Highlands. This collection of three of Dylan's greatest albums is absolutely magnificent and a must have for anyone claiming to be a music lover.

Three Great Ones in this Collection

"Desire" starts out with "Hurricane" Dylan's rage against the unjust jailing of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter for murder. Ronnie Blakely supplies backing vocals instead of Emmy Lou Harris who accompanies Mr. D on the rest of the record. That's because the folks in the suits thought the first version was too libelous. I've heard both versions, the one Ronnie is on is so much better. Dylan is much punchier, almost violet the way he sings the song. Scarlett's violin rips through the whole album, a ghostly sound. "Black Diamond Bay," is a song, a story, a movie waiting to be made. "Romance in Durango" another movie in waiting is reminiscent of the Marty Robbins' "Gunfighter Ballads." The lovely "Sara," a ballad to his (ex) wife. Five Stars.

"Oh Mercy" is easily one of my favorite Dylan albums, and if it's not in the top five, it's certainly in the top ten. A lot of people, who had written off Mr. D's relevance, were taken aback when this record came out. There was a lot of, "Dylan's back." or "I knew he had it in him." kind of comments going around after folks gave this record a listen too. Folks in the biz, those in the know, started calling "Oh Mercy" Dylan's comeback record. But then there were those who had been faithful fans, listening and appreciating his music all along. For them, Dylan had never really gone anywhere to come back from. That said, this record does harkens back to those Dylan albums of yesteryear, with those story songs that are so wonderful. This is most certainly a five star album and one you absolutely must own.

Like "Infidels" and "Oh Mercy" "Time Out of Mind" is considered a comeback album by many. These people think that just because Bob Dylan put out a couple Christian Records, or A couple records with a gang of Gospel singers, or a couple records of old blues and public domain songs, that he'd lost it, forgotten how to do rock and roll, forgotten how to write. So when these so called comeback albums come out, they raise their hands, look to the heavens and shout out "Praise the Lord, Dylan's back." How silly, Mr. D's always been around and God willing will still be giving us these comeback records every three years or so thirty years from now. That said, "Time Out of Mind," has a dark feel to it. It pulls you in with a combination of Dylan's mournful voice and mournful lyrics. It's different than anything he's done before. It's hard to wrap words around this record other than to say, you'll not be disappointed if you buy it. This is a five star piece of work that belongs in any serious music lover's collection.

This is a very relevant Dylan collection. Each one of these records is Mr. D at his best. This is a good way to get these CDs and save a little money if you don't already have them.

Reviewed by Stephanie Sane