Customer Reviews

Planet Waves

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Don't mess with record companies. When Dylan left Columbia for Asylum in the early 1970s, Columbia apparently retaliated by releasing "Dylan" (as of this writing still not available on CD; not that anyone is really complaining). This album contained rather unnerving outtakes from "Self Portrait" (considered by many as his worst, or at least most confusing, album), including covers of "Mr. Bojangles", the Elvis Presley classic "Can't Help Falling in Love", and Joni Mitchell's "Big Yellow Taxi". Dylan returned to Columbia two albums, and a little more than one year, later.

While on sabbatical from Columbia, Dylan played with The Band and "Planet Waves" appeared in very early 1974. Some rather exciting things followed. Dylan, in seclusion for years, toured for the first time since 1966 (and with the very same band). So, once again, fans had yet another "comeback" on their hands (1970's "New Morning" was also called a "comeback" as well as 1975's "Blood On The Tracks"; this speaks volumes about Dylan's repertoire). But this time the tour wouldn't stop. "The neverending tour" continues unabated to the present day.

On its appearance, "Planet Waves" divided fans and critics, and continues to do so. Some listeners outright hate it, calling it "rushed", "sloppy", and "obsessive". Others hail it as a hugely underrated masterpiece, calling it "edgy", "rough", "personal", or "from the heart". Most would probably agree that it isn't one of his worst, while conceding that it stands a little distant from his absolute best work.

A number of moods pervade "Planet Waves". The bouncy opener "On a Night Like This" will cause all still feet to twirl with glee. But the suicidal follow-up, "Going Going Gone" will plant those feet in concrete while perking up ears and brains. And then the very heavy and sandpaper rough "Tough Mama" (with the classic line "Today on the countryside it was hotter than a crotch") kicks the tempo up again, but in a very different way than "On a Night Like This." The album appears uneven but it actually conjures up a collective mood after repeated listenings. A straight reading of the lyrics reveals obsessions with love, death, the past, and youth. Dylan pleads with countless lovers on this album: "Tough Mama", "Hazel", "You Angel You", "Never Say Goodbye", "Wedding Song". Arguably, the songs on "Planet Waves" may explore the complicated dimensions of his deep love for Sara, his ex-wife. Perhaps all of the referents point to one person? After all, who hasn't felt both a deep passionate love and a self-deprecating hatred for the same person? "Dirge" demonstrates the latter, spewing invective such as "I hate myself for loving you." This intense love finally gets fed steroids on "Wedding Song". Here Dylan turns the phrase "I love you" into a dizzying mantra. And it's obvious by this point that he's hurting. Thematically, "Planet Waves" sits comfortably in front of, and in the shadow of, "Blood on the Tracks". That album also explored the many aspects of emotional and existential love (though "Planet Waves" arguably showcases more of the physical side).

Of course one exception shouts out: "Forever Young". And why do two versions sit side by side on this album? Apparently some friends of Dylan made fun of the slow version, and he decided to keep it off the album. But the engineer loved it and insisted that it remain. So maybe the two versions remained a compromise? Also, side one of the original vinyl lp ended with the first "Forever Young", so the CD somewhat ruins the affect of flipping sides. In any case, "Forever Young" has joined the ranks of classic Dylan.

"Planet Waves" stands as yet another complicated, sophisticated, and stratified Dylan project. His work always invites heaps of discussion that, for some people, never ceases. Not only that, "Planet Waves" was Dylan's first number one record (which seems impossible), though sales weren't as impressive as expectations. Though Dylan never regained the heights he attained in the 1960s, it doesn't seem like he really wanted to. In "Wedding Song" he sings "It's never been my duty to remake the world at large, Nor is it my intention to sound a battle charge." Dylan had openly abdicated the throne imposed on him by some of his fans. He instead retreated into the personal and complex world that "Planet Waves" continued to explore. And he kept going going.

Bob Dylan left Columbia, lured away by David Geffen and a bundle of cash no doubt, and released "Planet Waves" recorded with the Band. After two records, Mr. Dylan went back to Columbia. Some say because of the absolutely horrid "Dylan" record Columbia released. A record full of pretty bad "Self Portrait" outtakes. Apparently Dylan didn't like the idea of Columbia controling the vast amount of tapes in their vaults. Who knows, had Dylan not gone back to them all those years ago, perhaps the Royal Albert Hall concert would have come out back in the Seventies when it should've, but he did go back and now this record is back with CBS/Sony as well, at home with all the other Dylan records.

The Band are absolutely astounding on this record, weaving their music in and out and through Dylan's vocals the way no musicians have done before or since. The songs are personal, moving and unforgetable. "Dirge" will tug at your heartstrings, "Wedding Song," is joyous and "Forever Young" (both versions) is like a promise. Be true to yourself and you'll be forever young. At least that's the way I see it. But, in my way of thinking, the best song from this session is the one they left off the record, "Nobody 'Cept You." Fortunately you can get it on "The Bootleg Series, Vols 1-3" and through the magic of iTunes you can rip it along with the rest of this record and put it back where it belongs.

Planet Waves is definitely a worthy Dylan album with the Band. With awesome sweet tunes like "Hazel" and "You Angel You", you almost need this. "On a Night Like This" is almost a sequel to the New Morning opener "If Not For You", that's cool stuff. It's also cool how they carry on with "Forever Young". I don't know about buying the SACD version of this...just buy this one, unless you have SACD player or you NEED to hear a better mastering. 4.5 stars because this isn't as essential as "Blood on Tracks" or the old stuff. But it comes darn close.

First of all Bob Dylan is certainly not for everyone. However, if his style is up your alley this is a classic. You can turn on the radio and hear all those classic songs of his like "lay lady lay" or "like a rolling stone" to name a couple. Planet Waves is the type of album where the sum of the songs come together wonderfully. This is probably my favorite Dylan album and I have all the "classics" like Blonde on Blonde, Blood on the Tracks, Highway 61 revisited. ect. I'd recommend this to any Dylan fan.

This ol' rocker first heard Planet Waves in a Navy barracks out in Lamoore Naval Station, CA in the early 80s. I was particularly taken by two songs, the second version of Forever Young and the last track Wedding Song. Wedding Song goes back to the original Dylan-with-acoustic-guitar-and-harmonica era. I'll say one thing, neither version of Forever Young sounds like Rod Stewart's rendition, but then, what Dylan song ever sounds remotely like his when covered by anyone else anyway, know what I'm sayin'? I had to go through Helen Highwater to get this album, too. After I left Lamoore, I couldn't find it then forgot about it for a big bunch of years. When I started getting stuff from Amazon, I saw it listed in a Dylan list and ordered it. Well, I kept getting messages amounting to "we're trying to find it for you, please be patient." That turned into "there's a problem filling your order," wich I took for a bad sign. After a few months, Amazon had to admit defeat and cancel my order with sincere regrets, so I wrote it off with a sigh. A couple of years later, just for grins and giggles, I checked, and lo and behold, it was available, for real this time. I ordered it for Christmas, got it, wrapped it it up and put it under the tree. After we'd opened all the gifts and cleaned up the place, I put all the CDs I got together to file on the shelves later. Well, when I went to put them up, Planet Waves wasn't with the other CDs. It was simply gone, the one CD I craved the most. All that waiting and anticipation for nothing.... After searching throughout the house several times, I wound up reordering it and got it (again) rather quickly - whew! Needless to say, all that angst has caused me to enjoy it even more. To me, it was more than worth it and is my favorite Dylan CD. I highly recommend it as a transitional album between the "old" Dylan and his style of today. Every song comes from the heart, and considering the amount of music for which he's responsible, that's saying a lot.

I love Planet Waves for its warmth, resolve in the face of uncertainty, and beautiful collaboration between Dylan and the members of The Band, who together create a kind of improvisational rock chamber music. The album's recording in November 1973 occurred precisely at a central turning point in Dylan's career--his reemergence as a touring artist after an interval of more than seven years. Dylan's decision to resume touring (with The Band) resonated with the source of his musicality, the "planet waves" underlying all of music, love, family, and history. Planet Waves is many things. It is the start of a narrative of departure into the unknown ("Going, Going, Gone") and a telegraphed message that "the prison walls are crumblin', there is no end in sight" ("Tough Mama"). It is a confession of self-hate for having loved a sinister enemy ("Dirge") and a ringing declaration that now "my hand's on the saber" ("Something There Is About You"). It is poems of winter and shared solitude ("On a Night Like This," "Never Say Goodbye") and of love anticipated and found ("Hazel," "You Angel You"). It is a blessing for Dylan's children ("Forever Young") and, above all, a letter of deepest love for his wife Sara ("Wedding Song"). In its entirety, Planet Waves is a summation of Dylan's life at the threshold of a new and better world.

In style and theme, Planet Waves and its successor, Blood on the Tracks, are near opposites. Planet Waves is photographic, with a focus on the present moment (the album's cover lists the exact recording dates). In contrast, the structure of Blood on the Tracks resembles a cubist painting. Blood on the Tracks makes time crystalline by reflecting against one another the past, present and future, the observer and the persons observed. Using this technique, Dylan tells anguished yet profoundly analytical tales of broken relationships. The lesson of Blood on the Tracks, as I understand it, is that love exists in a realm apart from, and not fully compatible with, the ordinary events of our daily lives.

Planet Waves and Blood on the Tracks each rank among Dylan's supreme achievements for their sweep, depth, and internal cohesiveness. Perhaps some day, as a culmination of his career, Dylan will harmonize the divergent visions of these two works. Even if he does not accomplish this, I will always believe in the hope offered by Planet Waves.

Bob Dylan has recorded with many bands over the years, but this record he recorded with THE BAND, a group who were intimately grooved into his music and it shows. They play their hearts out and Dylan sings from the soul. This is my absolute favorite Bob Dylan album. I have friends who think I'm a bit nuts, because I'm playing this CD all the time. "Forever Young," on the album twice, is an absolutely true song. All the songs on this record, in fact, ring true. Dylan's voice, always recognizable, has changed quite a lot from album to album, but here he is in top form. If you want a good intro into Bob Dylan, you couldn't find a better place to start.

I wish that I could give this album 4 1/2, but 4 will have to do. Planet Waves is a GREAT record musically and a very enjoyable listen, but I have just a couple of quibbles with it...

1) Some of the music is a little bit dated-- i.e. You Angel You and Something There Is About You-- which are both beautiful but have a distinctive 70s sound about them. For this reason, Planet Waves doesn't hold up as a timeless classic the way that Highway 61, Blonde On Blonde and Blood On The Tracks do.

2) Someone already mentioned here that the songs are a bit forgettable. It's true that I listened to this album a few times before I even noticed "Never Say Goodbye," maybe because the songs are generally shorter than typical and many of them have similar tempo.

3) The utilization of The Band could have been much better. They provide excellent backing for Bob, but aside from Robertson's prominent guitar work, they just don't shine like they could. I was hoping to hear some of Levon's powerful vocals, Garth's entrancing organ...but they're just not here. I realize that it's a Bob Dylan album, but considering the breadth of their collaborative efforts and The Band's own immense success as a group, you would think that they'd have been given a bigger creative role. Unless you are intimately familiar with their instrumental style, you may not even know that The Band was involved here.

I feel bad criticizing Planet Waves because I certainly don't want to discourage people from buying it. It's an upbeat, energy-filled, ROCKING album with some truly great and passionately sung songs-- Dirge, Wedding Song, Tough Mama, Hazel, and of course the unforgettable Forever Young (I like both versions, but the first is the classic version performed on The Last Waltz). Bob's voice is very melodic and expressive here and the music is strong. I just would have liked to have heard more of The Band because I'm such a big fan and I know that more of their input would have given this album the depth that it needs. They do and always have provided a solid bottom for Bob and they really get what his music is all about. The magic is here, but in my opinion, this album had the potential to be much more memorable and just slightly misses the mark.

It was '74. I was a high school senior waiting excitedly for this record. Went to a head shop in the next town and there it was!! I rushed home put it on and... whooosh! it went right over my head. And now 35 years later I finally get it. It's real, natural , organic Americana music. His vocals were perhaps as strong as they ever were or have been since. And The Band is smokin indeed. The moral of the story? Always trust The Bob.

Don't be put off by the awful cover art - "Planet Waves" (1974) is a must for Dylan admirers. It contains some of his greatest, most heartfelt music - "Forever Young" (slow version) and "Dirge" are classics. Dylan was is in good form around this time and would follow this up one year later with the brilliant "Blood on the Tracks" (1975).