Love both those albums, Something There Is About You is an all time Bob fave for me, phaser and strats forever. Y’all die hards should check out the No Other producer Thomas Jefferson Kaye’s stuff. It’s not good, but he’s an interesting guy
Sales pitches for sleepers: Dan Fogelberg - Souvenirs Not even his best album (Nether Lands), nor his most accomplished/impressive (The Innocent Age), but it is the moment he discovered greatness. He incorporates some of the harmonies and sounds of the Eagles country-rock, but in a much more personal and emotionally-resonant way. "Illinois" is a huge favorite of mine with gorgeous suspended harmonies and a gentle loping rhythm that I could listen to 1000 times, but he tries out a lot of different vibes on this and I think he succeeds at them all (even bluegrass). It also closes with arguably his signature song, "There's a Place in the World for a Gambler" which...goosebumps. Jorge Ben - A Tabua De Esmeralda My single favorite album not in the English language. It would have been in my top 3 if I understood Portuguese, hands-down. Most albums I listen to and start picking apart how they're arranged and written, but this one just dazzles me in such a holistic way that it's futile to try and break it down. Seriously, listen to the best work of a genius. Linda Ronstadt - Heart Like a Wheel One of the best interpreters (and song-finders) of the '70s on her best record. She had an incredible knack for breathing new life into vintage songs of multiple genres (rock, country, R&B). Half the tracklist comes from the '50s and '60s, but they never sound like oldies pastiche. Instead she makes them work right alongside contemporary stuff by J.D. Souther and James Taylor. The liner notes are an insane list of celebrity guests and behind-the-scenes session aces, but Andrew Gold in particular really shines in setting up her insane voice. And yeah...WHAT a voice. Richard and Linda Thompson - I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight Their best album was yet to come, but this debut set the bar insanely high. "When I Get to the Border" is joyful and shambling, "The Calvary Cross" is intense and moody, "End of the Rainbow" is absolutely fucking crushing. Thompson isn't always flashy about deploying pyrotechnics, but make no mistake, he's one of the best to have ever picked up a guitar.
1. Neil Young - On The Beach 2. Big Star - Radio City 3. Joni Mitchell - Court And Spark Sparks - Kimono My House Genesis - The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway Lou Reed - Rock N Roll Animal Steely Dan - Pretzel Logic any of those could be the top 3 really Shout out to Phoebe Snow, I love Harpo’s Blues
I was so tempted to put Reed in my 3. What Wagner and Hunter do to polish those songs up to arena size is incredible. That intro to “Sweet Jane” just SOARs
The other live heavy for me this year is Rory Gallagher - Irish Tour ‘74. I don’t think he ever quite had the tunes, but yowwww unreal guitarist
It’s one of the only live albums I’ve ever heard that I think would contend for a top 3 slot. They do so much to revamp a bunch of the songs
Continuing with Dylan, I listened to Before The Flood, which is a double live album that he recorded with The Band, almost entirely compiled from two shows in California in February. The record is divided into little sections, with the first side being electric Dylan with The Band backing him loudly, the second side is all The Band stuff, which I was less interested in. Third side is half acoustic Dylan and half The Band, and the final side is electric Dylan again. I don't think Dylan has ever sounded better as a vocalist than this time period, the "thinness" of his voice in the 60s gone, but before he'd develop the raspy style he has now. Here he's sounds powerful and soulful, so this is a phenomenal live collection from him. The setlist is pretty much a Greatest Hits, all people pleasing, no obscure tracks buried in here, or leaning heavily on new material - it's a best of Dylan, though some of them are slightly reinterpreted - like his version of "It's Alright Mama (I'm only Bleeding)”, which he absolutely races through at a breakneck pace. I could maybe have done with with less of The Band tracks, but when Dylan is behind the mic, he's in incredible form, and probably jumps right up as my favourite of the few Dylan live albums / bootlegs I've heard. He certainly wasn't this good when I saw him live about a decade ago...
Honestly I went in with no expectations in 2019 seeing him live and he was excellent. He’ll never play the hits or play the versions you know from the records, but he has a killer band and really seemed to love playing music up there
he played quite a few hits when i saw him, actually. pretty killer setlist. Bob Dylan Setlist at Ovens Auditorium, Charlotte
I saw him in 2009, when I was a new-ish fan, only knew his "classic" stuff, and I found it pretty hard going at times ha. Getting halfway through a track and realising, "Oh, wait is he playing X now?" too. I'm sure I'd enjoy him more now, but after spending what was probably quite a bit of money to go see him when I was like 17, it wasn't a great experience - but maybe he was just having an off night / I wasn't in the right frame of mind! Bob Dylan Setlist at Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff Would like to see him again at some point, before it's too late.
I went to a fine arts camp the summer of 2007 and Dylan played a show on campus, but tickets were definitely more than I could afford at the time. It was an open-air amphitheater, so I stood outside and listened to the first 3-4 songs. Then a torrential downpour rolled through and I had to run back to my cabin in the absolute driving rain. Wish it hadn't rained that night! I definitely would have listened in for the whole concert. Bob Dylan Setlist at Kresge Auditorium, Interlochen
This was pretty much my exact experience around the same time frame. I remember looking at my gf like 2 minutes into one song and being like "Oh, he's playing Like A Rolling Stone". So I don't think it was necessarily an off night.
this is so funny, I haven't seen him, but my friend did a few years back and said the EXACT thing about not realizing what song it was til the chorus hit
It looks like (maybe?) Neil Young’s On The Beach might win this week, which would have been our first yearly winner that I haven’t heard - so I got in there at the last minute and fixed that. It’s great stuff, as you’d expect from Neil Young really, I knew I’d enjoy it. He’s not an artist that I know particularly well, but everything I’ve heard has been excellent, so well overdue a proper discography dive at some point. A small note, but I noticed that “Revolution Blues” makes reference to building computers - I wonder if that’s the earliest reference to computers in pop music?
I’m gonna go: 1. Minnie Riperton: Perfect Angel 2. Joni Mitchell: Court and Spark 3. Billy Joel: Streetlight Serenade Other cuts: Bob Dylan: Planet Waves ABBA: Waterloo