Masked & Anonymous [Soundtrack]

Bob Dylan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 22, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Soundtrack
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B00009VTY1
• In-Print Editions: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (43 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #77,561 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

OK, so the movie to which it’s attached has been denigrated by most of the critics who’ve reviewed it. The soundtrack itself is a marvel that stands just fine on its own. Start with the four tracks by Dylan himself, including bristling new versions of "Cold Irons Bound" and "Down in the Flood" recorded with his remarkable touring band. Add gospel heavyweights Shirley Caesar shouting "Gotta Serve Somebody" and the Dixie Hummingbirds offering country-soul salvation in "City of Gold." But these and performances by Los Lobos and the Grateful Dead are just a warm-up for the CD’s more inspired third: Dylan covers by a variety of obscure international artists. There’s a Japanese language version of "My Back Pages" courtesy of the Magokoro Brothers , an Italian hip-hop take on "Like a Rolling Stone" ("Come Una Pietra Scalciata!") by Articolo 31), a beguiling, string-driven "One More Cup of Coffee" from Turkish pop star Sertab Erener, and a gentle, spoken-word "Most of the Time" by Swedish singer Sophie Zelmani. Oddly, this loopy, polyglot approach stands as a truer testament to Dylan’s genius than the atrocious dialogue (two snippets of which mar an otherwise fine album) or self-conscious artiness of the movie. --Keith Moerer

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not enough Bob..., July 23, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Masked & Anonymous (Limited Edition Digipak) (Audio CD)

Okay, let me get this straight -- eight Dylan tracks were newly recorded by Bob and his band and used in this movie. But this CD contains only four of them. Yo, Sony -- we Bob fans want BOB, and to think that these tracks were left off this album for the likes of Dylan covers by Articolo 31, Sertab, Francesco de Gregori, and Sophie Zelmani (not to mention the tracks by Shirley Caesar and the Dixie Hummingbirds, which aren't even in the film) kind of boggles this fan's mind. Some of the covers are interesting, but others are old hat (like the Dead's "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" and Jerry's "Senor," both of which are more notable for their length than anything else). I would have been happy to give up any of these for the four missing Bob-tracks. The digipak edition is otherwise dandy, with a good booklet and a great seven-track SACD bonus sampler. The sound is breathtaking on these remasters, but one wonders why the duplication of the film's "Cold Irons Bound." Ah well. We'll probably see a Masked & Anonymous II with the four missing tracks eventually. Maybe as The Bootleg Tapes Volume 7. Heh heh...

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars wtf?, August 26, 2003

By 

Sandy (Pittsburgh, PA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Masked & Anonymous (Limited Edition Digipak) (Audio CD)

I'll have to disagree with some of the other reviewers, but mostly in terms of the songs they liked and hated. This is a pretty good record. A great Japanese version of My Back Pages starts it off. There is also a cool Italian rap (not Spanish) version of Like a Rolling Stone, and One More Cup... is good track. Most of The Time is also cool, but Sophie Zelmani changes all of the references to the female character to a male one, leading to all sorts of awkward non-ryhmes ("Most of the time/ I can't even be SURE/ if he was ever with me/ Or if I was ever with HIM"??). Los Lobos and De Gregori are annoying tracks. All of the Dylan-performed tracks are great, and I can never understand where the complaining about his voice comes from. Keep listening 'N Sync if that's what you're looking for. And for the record, I have never heard of anyone calling "Saved" one of his worst records. wtf?

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bobby D, July 31, 2003

By 

"maxmaxmax" (Maplewood, NJ United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Masked & Anonymous (Limited Edition Digipak) (Audio CD)

I like the album. The alternate versions of previously released stuff is good, but Dylan's voice obviously wasn't in tip top shape for them. Either way, he makes the best of what he has. Diamond Joe is the only one you'll understand completely if you don't already know the words (like me). If you are looking for an album full of people re-singing Dylan in Dylan's style, this album isn't gonna give it to you. There's a song that samples Rolling Stone and the rest of the lyrics are rapped in Italian. It's doesn't have the same gravity as Dylan, but it's fun to listen to and catchy. The Japanese cover of My Back Pages is good- really angry sounding. I thought Sophie Zelmani's cover of Most of the Time was excellent. It's quiet, she's got a pretty voice and she let's the desperation of the song into her voice. The Los Lobos track's was nice. The Dead track and Garcia track I found to be a little too slow and drab for me to appreciate. One more cup of coffee was pretty wild - very gypsyesque. City of Gold was OK - reminded me of a song Joe Cocker would do. It didn't sound like a Dylan song.