Customer Reviews

Empire Burlesque

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Empire Burlesque has one thing in common with Self Portrait, Street Legal and every other Bob Dylan album that is panned more often than not: If it had been released by an little known upstart, it would have been accepted, maybe even acclaimed. The expectations are so perennial high for Dylan to produce another Blood on the Tracks that average, decent or even good albums he releases are often condemned to a negative responce because they do not stand-up to his highest accomplishments.

Empire Burlesque rattles the expectations critics continuously hold for Dylan in two specific ways: 1) Instead of poetry, it features mostly simple, straight-forward rock lyrics. 2) Instead of an unadorned, organic feel, it possesses a slick, well-produced atmosphere. Although, we all would prefer another "Gates of Eden" or "I Shall Be Released," the love and relationship-centered songs of Empire Burlesque are nothing to scoff at. Clever, true and free of clichés that would trap lesser songwriters, songs such as "Tight Connection to My Heart," "I'll Remember You" and "Emotionally Yours" are excellent representations of Dylan's more pop-orientated prowess. Granted, the thick production and hefty accompaniment are a bit much. Every song on Empire Burlesque, with the exception of the gorgeous finale, "Dark Eyes," which Dylan performed unaccompanied, could have benefited from being giving some breathing room with the elimination of one or a few back-up vocals or instruments. A complete stripping, however, would rob the album of the instances in which such sonic density work. On "Something's Burning Baby," the heavy accompaniment, especially Anton Fig's jangling drums, bolsters the song's sense of power and urgency and on the spicy "Clean Cut Kid," Dylan mirrors the success of the large ensemble with which BB King usually plays. Although far from perfect, Empire Burlesque is a fine addition to Dylan's discography.

When Green Day changed up their sound around the mid-90's and came through with a more slickly produced, commercial sound, a lot of their loyal fans didn't like it. But what they seemingly forgot to look at amidst their curious anger is that Green Day's new stuff sounded really good ('Warning' especially), even though, yeah, it sounded quite a bit different.

When it comes to Bob Dylan, die-hard fans compare an album like Empire Burlesque (and probably a couple before it) with the likes of Highway 61 Revisited and Bringing It All Back Home, and a lot of them not only don't like the change but are agitated with their sneaky hero, though his status as 'constantly-looked-up-to' remains in tact.

Granted, as much as I like Empire Burlesque, it has to be careful with itself because as it goes from one song to the next you almost feel like you're going to hear this as a soundtrack for a really syrupy Cameron Crowe movie, and that's no good. But Dylan's sensibilty doesn't go quite that far down the wimpy direction as he remains hard-hearted and overly introspective, even if fairly non-sensical at times.

I love songs like 'Tight Connection to My Heart' 'I'll Remember You' 'Emotionally Yours' and 'Never Gonna Be The Same Again.' Though the disk sounds slicker than usual, it's a mistake to think the authenticity level dropped at all. If anything, he seems to be connecting with these songs at a higher degree than what is usual with him.

Another great thing about this album is that it's pretty consistent. A couple of the tunes are slighter but none of them are bad and they're all at least a litte above mediocre, with a high portion of it ranging from good to excellent. And that's saying a lot for someone like Dylan, who is so terribly inconsistent. Not long ago I listend to Planet Waves and there are 2-3 outrageously listenable songs there but so much of it is so mediocre.

I've always thought Dylan likes being disliked and that's why he puts out such terrible songs intermingled with all the stuff that's good. He doesn't want people coming too close and that desire of his seems to draw his fans near all the more.

I saw Dylan in concert last year and he was on keyboards due to some kind of arthritis, or something. There was a guitar planted on the center of the stage and after every song Dylan walked over, with his back hunched over and his shoulders sulking, his white warm-up suit and cowboy hat making him look like a modern-day Texas circus hand. Once there he would walk around the vicinity of the guitar and oftentimes the crowd's screaming would peak, but every time Dylan did not pick up the guitar and instead slowly meandered over to his keyboards. Not once did he pick up the guitar that night but he led the audience to believe he would about 15-20 times. What a tease.

On Empire Burlesque he seems to have softened up and not minded creating something nice all the way through. And those strange actions of his which somehow draw his worshipers ever nigher are absent here, and I'm thankful for that.

Usually the nicest thing anyone can say about Empire Burlesque is that the songs would've been pretty good without Arthur Baker's production. In fact, bootlegs of pre-Baker-ized tunes would fetch a pretty penny. But personally, I think the synthesizer-laden sound actually adds a lot to the album. Maybe it's just because I was ten and totally unaware of the album when it first came out, that I am able to see it as not so much of a crass commercial attempt to jump on the latest fad. For me the cheesy `80s production is no more anachronistic that his `60s sound. Of course, his `60s sound wasn't exactly the dominant style of the period, especially the anti-psychedelic John Wesley Harding. But that's what makes this album so fascinating, never had Dylan tried so hard (and failed) to pander to his audience. Check out the Miami Vice threads on the cover. It certainly shows the most time and care spent in the studio since Self-Portrait. Just take a look at "When The Night Comes Falling From the Sky" (my favorite track on here). Now compare it to the E-Street Band backed version on The Bootleg Series 1-3, which is far closer to the kind of arrangement you would expect from Bob, without being nearly as good. But thanks to Arthur Baker, the song becomes far more memorable and fascinating (and not just like a car crash that you can't help but look at). Just listen to those octagonal electronic drums! You can also do a side-by-side comparison of "Tight Connection To My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love)" with the earlier unreleased "Someone's Got A Hold Of My Heart". In my mind, there's no contest. One of the biggest disappointments of Infidels was despite having Sly and Robbie produced by Mark Knopfler, you don't really get a Reggae-Dire Straits sound. It just sounds like any other Dylan album. At least he's trying something new here. I love "Tight Connection", "Seeing The Real You At Last", "Clean Cut Kid", "Trust Yourself", "Something's Burning, Baby" and "When The Night Comes Falling". And I don't know how much I would've without Arthur Baker. They are kind of part of the Planet Waves mold. Only the slower songs "I'll Remember You", "Emotionally Yours", and "Never Gonna Be The Same Again" suffer from this high-paced sleek design. Actually the biggest drawback to the album is everyone's sole favorite, "Dark Eyes". In returning to the solo acoustic guitar format, it reminds most people of Bob's entire back catalog - something no one Dylan album can stand up to - instead of forcing the listener to accept the "new" Dylan. "Dark Eyes" hedges Bob's bets, and Empire Burlesque suffers because of it.

this is a great record. I avoided it for years because of bad reviews. I took a chance on it 2 months ago and now it's a staple in my cd player. it's not Blood On the Tracks(what is?) but it's a blast nonetheless. it's catchy, stompin' and downright funky. People complain that it's too synthy, but it's no more synthy than B.S.'s Born In the USA. Frankly, Empire is a better record. if Al Green had done Emotionally Yours, they'd say it was a great soul song. it is anyway. Something's Burning is great. Trust Yourself, Clean Cut Kid are both funky as gramma's old goat. Dark Eyes is fantastic and will stick in your head long after it's over. the sound of the cd is contemporary, but so what? the songs are good, the performances are good. to me, that's good music. don't be put off because it doesn't sound like a "Dylan album". check it out and give it a few listens. you won't be disappointed.

This is an overlooked item in Dylan's catalog. It's far from being his best album, of course-or even best of the 80's-but it's a good album, nonetheless. Although it definately has an early 80's feel to it (with its reliance on synthesizers and drum machines, something few probably ever expected Dylan to utilize), there are some fine songs here that still stand up today. In a contrast from his three recent non-secular albums and the previous album, Infidels, that was sort of at different places on the map, the lyrics here are concentrated almost entirely on relationships. From actual love songs (I'll Remember You, Emotionally Yours) to songs that approach the topic from a wider perspective (Tight Connection, Seeing The Real You, When The Night, etc.), it's explored in depth. All those songs are good, and When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky is a minor masterpiece, an overlooked track-one of Dylan's best from the 80's. The only song that isn't up to par (though a couple aren't up the level of the ones mentioned) is Clean Cut Kid, which seems too contrived for its own good. But the album is generally quite good throughout, sometimes even extending over the boundaries of the mid-80's synth sound to produce some truly beautiful songs. On that note, the closing track, Dark Eyes, is a beautiful masterpiece, and his first all-acoustic song since...? A truly great close to the album. Dylan fans will want to own this album.

EMPIRE BURLESQUE is a terrific album. But before I tell you my own impression, let me tell you what helped shape this impression. I use AllMusic Guide a lot, and this record is the one that's rated the highest of the 1980s, earning 4 1/2 stars out of 5, above INFIDELS (4 stars) and OH MERCY (3), and on level with TIMES THEY ARE A CHANGIN' as well as DESIRE. So I went in expecting a lot. A lot is what I got.

Easily the best song on this collection is the opening track, a particular favorite of mine. It has backup vocals that work, and Dylan singing some great lines on that one. The rest of this is pretty solid material, with only one dud in sight: "Something's Burning", which has never done a lot for me, but it does suit the atmosphere of the record, much like "New Pony" does on STREET-LEGAL. One of the biggest complaints with this is Dylan going contemporary in what has become a critically shunned era in this culture. It is true, Dylan's missed the boat as to what was happening on the music scene the majority of his post 1960s career, but you can't predict just what he's going to do. And its not the first attempt. The reason he hired Knopfler for SLOW TRAIN COMING was to give it a contemporary song. AllMusic cites the production as a flaw, but I don't really see why. It works for this listener, and this album is one of the his best later works. In fact, I'd say its even more solid than the critically acclaimed OH MERCY. But this, OH MERCY, and INFIDELS comprise the major releases by the shifting persona Dylan of the 1980s.

"Dark Eyes" is a good song, but doesn't deserve all the aclaim it gets. "Clean Cut Kid"'s cool, as well is "Emotionally Yours". Very solid record.

Oh, btw, I like "When the Night Comes Falling From the Sky", and even wrote a story with that title. Not only that, I really dig "Revolution #9" from THE WHITE ABLUM, as well. So there!

Mike London.

P. S. So I don't lose all credibility, I rated this 5 stars to offset the the negative reviews bringing it down. This is not a five star album, but it deserves a much better rating than it has now. And for those who say "Well, HIGHWAY 61 REVISTED is a 5 star release this can't even be close", HW61R was made 20 years before this and music moves on. On its own terms, this is the four and a half AMG gave it, even though his 1960s releases will always be considered his most important contribution to music in general.

Maybe I like this album because it served as a soundtrack for my life when it came out in the Summer of '85. It contains some great songs and great singing. I think "Tight Connection to My Heart" is a Dylan classic. I prefer this song over its precursor ("Someone's Got a Hold of My Heart" on Bootleg Series 1-3). The lyrics, music, singing, and instrumentation are excellent.

"I'll Remember You" and "Emotionally Yours" are also great songs. Their lyrics are straight-forward rather than overtly poetic or esoteric, but what's wrong with that? Dylan uses many different styles when writing. Some of the same people who rip into this album for having simplistic, Tin Pan Alley lyrics are able to appreciate the lyrical minimalism of FreeWheelin' BD, Nashville Skyline, New Morning, and Under the Red Sky. These are well-sung, melodic songs with direct, intimate messages. And the musical accompaniment is great.

To a lesser degree, I like "Seeing the Real You at Last," "Trust Yourself," and "Something's Burning Baby." Each has something worthwhile about itself--the first, for example, is kind of a hoot as Dylan rips into his former love while funky horns and electric guitars are blasting away.

I agree with the criticism of Arthur Baker's quasi-disco production of "When the Night Comes Falling From the Sky." It had potential to be a classic but it ends up sounding dated and blustery (rather than timeless and powerful). Dylan's singing is also weak on this song. It does have some great words, though. "Clean Cut Kid" seems like a missed opportunity. Again, it has some good words but suffers from an ill-conceived arrangement. "Dark Eyes" is a fine song (its appeal has grown over the years). I've never cared for "Never Gonna Be the Same Again."

Overall, I'd recommend this album to people who appreciate Bob Dylan. I completely disagree with people who say this is his worst album--it's not even close! I think it's one of his mid-quality albums. it has some gorgeous piano, some Hammond organ, and a nice, warm feel to many of the songs.

If anyone other than Bob Dylan had recorded this album, it would have garnered rave reviews from fans and critics alike. But, because Ol' Bob has such a legacy to live up to, if it's not "Blood on the Tracks" or "Highway 61," then both critics and fans pay it no heed. This is a very good CD. Sure, not every song clicks, but I can name few CDs from any artist that gets every song right all the time. This is a very enjoyable album to listen to straight through. The CD version allows you to edit out the tunes you are not happy about. You won't do that much with this one. It's a darn fine '80s record from Dylan. Maybe not as good as "Infidels," but it is very different and you can't compare the two. Listen to this, then listen again. You will be very pleasantly surprised.

Don't listen to the Nay Sayers...This is a fine album...Yes it does have the dated album cover with Bob wearing the cheesy Miami Vice suit... and some people may find this too slick and overproduced...but there are some great songs on this album...
Tight Connection to My Heart, When the Night Comes falling, Emotionally Yours, and Clean Cut Kid, are worth the price of admission

In a decade where most of his work was mediocre at best, Bob Dylan hit the heights with this album full of catchy rock, compelling folk and touching love songs. By far, Dylan's best album of the 80s. Two other Dylan goodies from the 80s are "Infidels" (1983) and "Oh Mercy" (1989).