Customer Reviews

Coll: Oh Mercy / Time Out of Mind / Love & Theft

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Here are three records from late in Dylan's body of work, the three best ones of his latter period, if Dylan can be said to have periods. Many break his career up into bits and pieces. You know the folk and protest period, the folk rock period and so on and so on, while others, myself included, just appreciate his albums each and every one.

Oh Mercy - Eerie Haunting Sound You Can't Get Out of Your Mind

Many people thought this album was a comeback for Dylan, many others, myself included, never thought he went away. However, I must admit Daniel Lanois' production sort of brings one back to the Dylan of old, you know, before he signed on the girl backup singers. Their is an artistic sound to this record reminiscent of a smoothed out Blonde on Blonde sound. So I can see how one would think they were getting the Dylan of the Sixties back again.

I've heard it said that this record has not stood the test of time as say, Highway 61 has, but I'd have to disagree. I play this record often, actually more than Highway 61, so I guess by my lights, the record still has pretty strong legs. The imagery in "Man With a Long Black Coat" is as powerful as anything Dylan has done. "Shooting Star" is every bit as good a song as "She Belongs to Me" for example and "Political World" is just as meaningful now as when Ronald Reagan was President, some, myself included, would say more so. And who hasn't suffered from the "Disease of Conceit" a song that could be about us all.

It is hard, out of such a body of work to pick out an album you like best, actually impossible, but for me this one is right up there near the top.

Time Out of Mind - Eerie, Haunting, Dark and Searing

When TOOM (Time Out Of Mind) came out it had been seven years since Dylan had done an album of original songs. Was TOOM worth the wait? I'd say so. For me this record harkens all the way back to "Blood on the Tracks" with Dylan delivering searing songs full of hurt, heartbreak and emotion. This album is bittersweat and dark. This album is great. This album stands near the top of a superb body of work.

And yet again, when this record came out it was hearlded as a comeback for Dylan. I swear this man has had more comebacks than Carter's got pills. Mr. Dylan never left. He has always been here, always making music, just sometimes some of his records don't etch their way into your soul the way others do. Some of his records are merely outstanding, some others, like this one, blaze like a firey comet streaking across the desert sky, burning their way into your conscious.

I suppose every five years or so Dylan has to put out a record like this just to remind us all what a real poet is all about.

Love and Theft - Kind of a Playful, Jazzy, Crooning and Rocking Bob Dylan

Still again, after a long hiatus of no albums with original tunes, many people hailed "Time Out of Mind" as still another comeback for Dylan with this record, delivered four years later in 2001, building upon said comeback. Only this time he isn't as eerie, haunting and dark as he was on "Time". In fact at times it seems Mr. Dylan has turned downright playful with his music. We have Dylan kind of crooning on some of the songs in this set of very good rock and roll songs, many of which have kind of a jazzy inflection to them.

In my opinion Dylan's gravely voice works well with this set and the songs blend into each other making a whole that is much better than the sum of its parts. I play this record quite a bit, but then I play most of his good records quite a bit. Some have said, my Gal Sara, for instance that perhaps I play Mr. Dylan's music a bit too much. Thank goodness I've got an iPod, so that when I'm up alone at night working on the computer or trying to hammer out words on paper with pen or pencil, I can listen to this record as loud as I want. My hearing may be going though, but so what, it's worth it.

That would've been a good name for this set.

This is a coupling of albums that really makes sense. If you're a Dylan fan from days of yore, this would be a good way to bring yourself up to speed. None of these albums ever really qualified as a comeback in the literal sense; Dylan wrote plenty of good songs in the 80's, he just scattered them across a few too many albums. I guess 1997's _Time Out of Mind_ comes closest; it had been been six years since his last all-new record (the unfortunate post-Wilbury hangover known as _Under the Red Sky_, thankfully omitted from this set). But even then, he'd been burning it up onstage for two years prior, and had made two offbeat but charming albums of accoustic folk/blues interpretations. Really what sets the three records here apart is that they forced even the sometimes inattentive general public to sit up and take notice. That tells you something about how good they are.

The one thing that would have improved this set would be if they'd found a way to include the three essential non-album tracks that came out during this time period ("Series of Dreams", a spare part from _Oh Mercy_, "Dignity", from _Greatest Hits Vol. 3_, and "Things Have Changed" from the _Wonder Boys_ soundtrack).

The remastered version of _Oh Mercy_, included here, is a nice sonic upgrade from the old version.

I guess to make this a review I've gotta tell you the CDs are worth owning. Oh Mercy has an excellent mood and feel, but I guess I'm the only one who thinks some of the songs are mediocre-ish or a little forced, but the feel enhances them all. Time Out Of Mind keeps a lot of that mood but just isn't influenced as much by it musically, but still leaves you with that same sweet melancholy feeling. "Love And Theft" is called Bob's best by a lot of people and definately has great music and is certainly his most diverse stylistically since New Morning and is even moreso. And Bob thinks he's lost it...

But on the packaging: as Magnus Eisengrim said it is a book styled box made of cardboard and molded plastic. Upon opening the three CDs are placed in trays and in the fourth space fits the booklets for the three albums. All are the standard CDs, Oh Mercy is the reissued version the label leads me to believe, but not the SACD. I owned Time Out Of Mind and "Love And Theft"'s standard issues, so I can very securely say that all is missing from them in this package is the back insert of the CD case, both have transparent trays that you can see through for a picture underneath and it is to be assumed the Oh Mercy package had the same thing. As I said this set doesn't have these, but most people probably won't care a lot seeing as all there are is a couple pictures and the track list and general fans probably won't feel incomplete without them.

So this set is probably more for collectability than the jewel case edition, but most who will be buying this edition will be collectors. But what really matters anyway is the music, so any way you'll have these albums. If you've got an SACD player, don't buy this though, because, as I said, these aren't SACDs and Oh Mercy and "Love and Theft" are both available on SACD. Let's hope Time Out Of Mind will become available on it, because that is an album that deserves a 5.1 mix.

By the way, at Best Buy I saw sets of this style of Willie Nelson, and some other people I don't recall right now, and I guess as Magnus said, Black Sabbath.

Here are three records from late in Dylan's body of work, the three best ones of his latter period, if Dylan can be said to have periods. Many break his career up into bits and pieces. You know the folk and protest period, the folk rock period and so on and so on, while others, myself included, just appreciate his albums each and every one.

Oh Mercy - Eerie Haunting Sound You Can't Get Out of Your Mind

Many people thought this album was a comeback for Dylan, many others, myself included, never thought he went away. However, I must admit Daniel Lanois' production sort of brings one back to the Dylan of old, you know, before he signed on the girl backup singers. Their is an artistic sound to this record reminiscent of a smoothed out Blonde on Blonde sound. So I can see how one would think they were getting the Dylan of the Sixties back again.

I've heard it said that this record has not stood the test of time as say, Highway 61 has, but I'd have to disagree. I play this record often, actually more than Highway 61, so I guess by my lights, the record still has pretty strong legs. The imagery in "Man With a Long Black Coat" is as powerful as anything Dylan has done. "Shooting Star" is every bit as good a song as "She Belongs to Me" for example and "Political World" is just as meaningful now as when Ronald Reagan was President, some, myself included, would say more so. And who hasn't suffered from the "Disease of Conceit" a song that could be about us all.

It is hard, out of such a body of work to pick out an album you like best, actually impossible, but for me this one is right up there near the top.

Time Out of Mind - Eerie, Haunting, Dark and Searing

When TOOM (Time Out Of Mind) came out it had been seven years since Dylan had done an album of original songs. Was TOOM worth the wait? I'd say so. For me this record harkens all the way back to "Blood on the Tracks" with Dylan delivering searing songs full of hurt, heartbreak and emotion. This album is bittersweat and dark. This album is great. This album stands near the top of a superb body of work.

And yet again, when this record came out it was hearlded as a comeback for Dylan. I swear this man has had more comebacks than Carter's got pills. Mr. Dylan never left. He has always been here, always making music, just sometimes some of his records don't etch their way into your soul the way others do. Some of his records are merely outstanding, some others, like this one, blaze like a firey comet streaking across the desert sky, burning their way into your conscious.

I suppose every five years or so Dylan has to put out a record like this just to remind us all what a real poet is all about.

Love and Theft - Kind of a Playful, Jazzy, Crooning and Rocking Bob Dylan

Still again, after a long hiatus of no albums with original tunes, many people hailed "Time Out of Mind" as still another comeback for Dylan with this record, delivered four years later in 2001, building upon said comeback. Only this time he isn't as eerie, haunting and dark as he was on "Time". In fact at times it seems Mr. Dylan has turned downright playful with his music. We have Dylan kind of crooning on some of the songs in this set of very good rock and roll songs, many of which have kind of a jazzy inflection to them.

In my opinion Dylan's gravely voice works well with this set and the songs blend into each other making a whole that is much better than the sum of its parts. I play this record quite a bit, but then I play most of his good records quite a bit. Some have said, my Gal Sara, for instance that perhaps I play Mr. Dylan's music a bit too much. Thank goodness I've got an iPod, so that when I'm up alone at night working on the computer or trying to hammer out words on paper with pen or pencil, I can listen to this record as loud as I want. My hearing may be going though, but so what, it's worth it.

Because of the long section in Chronicles on Dylan's perspective on Oh, Mercy, I wanted to check it out. I had Time Out of Mind on cassette from when it first came out, and I had Love and Theft on CD--but the under $20 price for all three made me get this set, with the idea that I would give my second wrapped copy of Love and Theft to someone as a present. (Each of the 3 CD's is wrapped as new--in the light cardboard box which has no additional extras at all.)

Anyway, Oh, Mercy is really excellent. Each song entices your involvement and interest. I am glad to finally catch up with it.

Time Out of Mind is a genius work. From my cassette version of 10 years ago, I knew it was an older guy singing about aging, the perspective from the mature end of relationships,and sounding like a person who had seen and experienced much. Personally, I think it is his best overall work since Blood on the Tracks.

Love and Theft is another story. The first two CD's would easily get 5 stars, but this one seems too simple minded. It is not lighthearted sounding with purity (as I think of Nashville Skyline) but rather just somewhat superficial. I have played it a number of times, and I keep hoping that I missed something-because when it came out, the critics were saying how wonderful and special it was, but I think it is just ok. It is way above something like Selfportrait or Dylan, but it would not make the upper echelon of Bob Dylan albums.

Overall, the package of the 3 is a great deal, and well worth the price.

I've been meaning to get this for some time...I am a 'die hard' Old Time Bob Dylan fan and often have not enjoyed his more recent work...I am glad I finally bought this collection, but I still prefer the earlier (60's & 70's) stuff...

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