Customer Reviews

Street Legal

5 star:		(46)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I've been avoiding buying "Street Legal" for years because everything I have ever read about it focuses on its terribly muddy sound. That may well have been true (I never heard the original release) but I recently purchased this remastered version and the sound is great! Beyond that, the songs are truly among Dylan's most melodic best and sung with incredible fervor. If you are a Dylan fan you've heard this from countless people: "I'm sure Dylan is a good song writer but he just can't sing!" Ok, we Dylan fans know that's not true but next time it happens just pull out "Street Legal" to prove that he can too sing by anyone's standards. Many of these songs are a tour-de-force of Dylan's absolutely unique and ingenious way of phrasing. He rhymes lines with the middle of some words, cramming the rest of the line into a space only he could find within the beat. The backing on this album is also exceptional. It's a big band with horns and backup singers in the tradition of Joe Cocker tunes like "Feeling Alright." They play with incredible intensity. The lyrics are sometimes bewildering. The songs are seldom linear stories but more like collections of imagery. This works for me because you always hear something new depending on the mood you're in. There's also a lot of psydo-religious imagery packed in there. I wonder why this isn't considered the first of his "born again" phase after hearing it. It doesn't get preachy, though, more like a level of mysticism, and unfocused at that. To summarize, I love this CD and it's been living in my CD player for weeks now.

Far from being Bob Dylan's best album, but it is interesting for several reasons, and sort of a rarity in his catalog. A transition album in one sense, Street Legal came on the heels of Desire and the Rolling Thunder Revue, this is the one and only studio album on which Dylan employs a big, slick backing band (complete with Steve Douglas's saxophone and several female backing vocalists.) It is also, in respect, a sort of pre-requisite to his subsequent "born again" phase and his "Christian trilogy" of albums, from the subject matter on certain songs to individual quotes ("I'm exiled, but you can't convert me"), to song titles (Changing of The Guards), right down to the name of the album itself. And also, while Blood On The Tracks is commonly known as Dylan's "divorce album" (along with the closing track, Sara, on Desire), Street Legal, in a way, deals more with it in actuality; as, in fact, the majority of the songs (titles and all) deal with a "coming down to earth" view of love and romantic disillusionment. Standout tracks include the ackwnoledged master tracks, Changing of The Guards and Senor (Tales of Yankee Power), and another major track in my mind is the vastly underrated No Time To Think. This is one of Dylan's most amazingly constructed songs - chock full of highly dense verses with blistering internal rhyme schemes - as well as having a fantastic backing. Is Your Love In Vain?, True Love Tends To Forget, and the frenetic closing song, Where Are You Tonight? (Journey Through Dark Heat) are notable songs as well. Some people complain that this album's musical backing, atmosphere, and production are too suffocating and glossy (especially when compared, of course, to earlier Dylan material), but I find it has its own charms. No other album in the Dylan catalog sounds this way - it builds on the already big sound of the Desire album - and, while such overbearing theatrics make it hard to focus on the lyrics at times, it also puts them in a special context. The female backing vocalists manage to avoid sounding corny most of the time and actually sweeten some of the songs with excellent vocal harmonies; whereas Dylan himself turns in some great vocal performances himself (I'd actually say this is one of his best albums singing wise; Love In Vain and True Love are both very well done), and the horns lend a nice air to several tracks. As for the lyrics, they are some of the most dense that Dylan has ever written (one chorus begins, "I was down in the reeds without any oxygen..."); featuring unprecedented amounts of internal rhyming and truly innovative and clever rhyme schemes on such songs as Senor. These techniques may seem more showy than emotionally true at times, but they just add to the tone of excess that already runs through the album. While I certainly don't reccommend this as one of your first Dylan albums, I think you should definately get it if you are a fan - it has several classics and he's not done anything like it since.

Recorded at the tail end of his second creative wind (the mid 70's), "Street Legal" is one of those great albums obscured under the ruble of a forty year career. The epic "Changing of the Guards" launches Dylan into a new musical direction with background singers and sprightly horns, not to mention that it is truly one of Dylan's greatest songs. As if to counterbalance his new form with a reminder of his mid 60's rock albums, "New pony" offers a shamelessly raw rock 'N roll sound that hadn't appeared on any Dylan record in the 70's and requires that listeners play it as loud as possible.

However, three consecutive dull tracks ensue, and the album's momentum is slowed considerably. "Baby Stop Crying," includes a very good vocal performance by Dylan and a good chorus, but it takes the new sound of "Changing of the Guards" to an extreme, and the result is a less accessible sound, particularly for Bob Dylan. "Is Your Love in Vain" and "No Time to Think" follow the bland model of "Stop Crying."

Fortunately, the album makes a triumphant come back with yet another of Bob Dylan's most legendary songs, "Senor." With its "Highway 61 revisited" style guitar licks, haunting atmosphere and Dylan's brooding voice, "Senor" is as dark as anything on "Time out of Mind." The remastering job really shines on this track, as well. The drums beg for attention and the entire band sounds very crisp.

The brilliant performances do not end there, as the rollicking "We Better Talk This Over" again offers mid 60's style guitar rhythms and is one of those rare Dylan performances that is bound to get your body moving.

"Street Legal" joins classic albums like "Oh Mercy" or "Shot of Love" as the album to get if you're sick and tired of the over-played hits of Dylan's career. Some of the songs on "Street legal" are so brilliant that Dylan fans who ignore the album are doing themselves an egregious injustice. There is no way that this album could entirely disappoint any Dylan fan.

I already owned the original CD version of Street Legal when the remastered version was released but I bought this new release as well. I have compared the old and the new versions and I have to admit that the improvement in quality is much better than I had expected. Both the music and Bob Dylan's voice are much clearer and sharper in this new release. It is like the album was recorded using today's technology. So, if you already own the original version and enjoy it do not hesitate to buy this new one.

Well first thing is first. I could go about the strength of the tracks on this album - but that's subjective. I've been a little surprised at some of the comments others have made about the songs. I love this album and don't think there's a bad track on it. Dylan has certainly had different phases in his career - and this was just another one of them. For me it works - but the strength of the songs along was not what generated the five stars.

Too few people who have posted here have addressed the real issue at hand - how good is the remastering job? So let me get right to that - the sound of the music is light years ahead of the original Columbia CD. In fact, I just played them back to back - and while I always knew the original CD was somewhat lacking - when played side by side it really is embarrassing. The sound here is crisp - the drums have soul - and the vocals are sweet (that's saying something for Dylan!) So - for that reason alone, the price is just outstanding. If you like this album but already have it on CD - don't hesitate - this is great - hear Street Legal like never before.

Now on to the "Original packaging" aspect of the release. The sticker on the front of the CD makes it clear that the packaging has now been fully restored. Well crikey - that ain't saying much. The packaging sucks. The original CD packaging was precisely the same sans two black and white pictures which are so small on the reissue to not matter at all. This isn't a reason not to buy this version (of course) but don't expect much.

Finally - Columbia are also remastering/reissuing Duke Ellington's catalogue. They have done such a great job with the booklets for those reissues. Interviews, essays, historical info (some as many as 72 pages without extra cost.) So why is it too much to expect the same treatment on this album (and other Dylan albums?) Heck - even the lyrics would have been a welcome addition. I mean saying they restored the original packaging when the said packaging was horrible in the first place is taking the pee a bit. Still - that aside - if Columbia put out a version with an excellent booklet they'd have won hands down. Damn -I bought my copy of Desire in London and it had a great booklet of lyrics etc. Why do we get screwed in the US? However. as it stands, this one is a must have.

What a pity that the three current reissues of Dylan material are this and two greatest hits collections. I won't buy those no matter what Columbia do. Please.... How about a comparable job on Shot of Love!

I have every single Dylan album that he put out, and then some. My Dylan CD collection totals over 120, including offical, import, and bootleg releases.

There is something about this album that always brings me back to it. It's by far my favorite Dylan album, probably my favorite album of all time. This album isn't for everybody, it's very dark and reflective. But there's something between the lines that I identify with. I can't even put my finger on it, but this album is the best.

This album presents Dylan sorting through his problems; he's in a spritual battle with himself and the Enemy within. It's mixed with hints to Taroism, witchcraft, drug abuse, and recovering from broken relationships. Keep in mind, this was his last album before he converted to Christianity. You can just tell with repeated listenings that he was submerced in darkness before he saw the Light.

I would definately recommend this album who is going through their own spiritual battles or who is in or just getting out of a bad relationship. Dylan is a deep thinker, and this album is the best for people who share Dylan's ideas of searching for truths outside of this world.

In my opinion, this is Dylan's second best album of the seventies after BLOOD ON THE TRACKS. The lyrics are complex and highly symbolic, steeped in kabbalistic, tarot and astrological imagery. Behind the imagery is Dylan at his starkest and most desparate, grasping for love and meaning. Many people have criticized the album because of the fairly rough horn section and the pseudo-Motown backup vocals. To me, this type of backing is a fascinating counterpart to complex lyrics, creating an effect that is exotic but at the same time very soulful. "Changing of the Guards" is a song evidently about Dylan's search for a spiritual answer that evidently lead him to Christianity. It is my favorite song on the album, with both a melody and lyrics that continue to haunt long after the song is over. The last three songs approach the rich passion of BLOOD ON THE TRACKS. Aside from "New Pony", which I find cloying and repetitive, there is not a weak song on the album. The newly remastered CD sounds incredably sharp and clear. This would not be the best album for a Dylan novice to start with, but is an essential addition to the collection of any fan.

Negative reviews of this album led me to avoid it for the longest time. I'd heard (and been irritated by) the female backers on other Dylan releases, and "Street Legal" is the first album to feature them prominently (not counting Emmylou Harris's marvelous work on "Desire"). Imagine my surprise to find a collection of spectacularly written songs set to catchy, evocative tunes that sound unlike anything else in the Dylan canon.

Sure, the female backers still annoy me at times (if it weren't for them, I'd give the album five stars, no question), and Dylan's voice is beginning that steady nasal climb. But there's no getting around his songwriting genius. "Changing of the Guards" is storytelling at its most brilliant. "Where Are You Tonight?" is heartfelt and powerful. "We Better Talk This Over" is as catchy as any of Dylan's tunes. "No Time to Think" is a technical rhyming masterpiece. And "Senor" is dark and mysterious and impenetrable in a way only Dylan can be. Hey, I even kind of like the sax solos! Go figure.

This may be the most underrated album in Dylan's oeuvre.

I usually listen to music in my car. I found myself several times sitting in a car in front of my garage not wanting to turn this CD off. I am a big Dylan fan and I consider this to be one of Dylan's best albums. Everything seems to be so simple. The background vocals are fantastic.

I'm a life-time Bob affectionado and have heard nearly everything he's done and have also seen him a dozen times or so. At first I bought into the critics and didn't care too much for this album or the tour for this album. But after listening to it for a couple of years it could not be ignored. I think it is as good as anything he's ever put out. I rank it with Highway 61 and Blood on the Tracks as his overall top albums in terms of quality and consistency. Gotta Serve Somebody, Infidels and Nashville Skyline are way up there too. I still can't relate to Big Red Sky, Knocked Out Loaded or Down in the Groove (except for Silvio which rocks).