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Songs from this album are available to purchase as MP3s. Click on "Buy MP3" or
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Bob Dylan: "'Ruby, My Dear' by Monk was another one. Monk played at the Blue Note on 3rd Street...I dropped in there once in the afternoon, just to listen--told him that I played folk music up the street. 'We all play folk music,' he said." Read more musical excerpts from Chronicles, Vol. 1 on our Music You Should Hear page.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
51 of 53 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
My personal favorite Dylan album,
This review is from: Street Legal (Reis) (Audio CD)
"Street Legal" is a pivotal album in Dylan's career. If you want to get autobiographical about it, it marks the final coming to terms with his broken marriage after the turmoil of the two previous albums ("Blood on the Tracks", "Desire") and the beginning of his turning to God which was the subject of the next three ("Slow Train Coming", "Saved", "Shot of Love").
But it is MUCH more than a personal chronicle. Musically and lyrically, it is his most complex and in some ways his best work. The three long songs, "Changing of the Guards", "No Time to Think", and "Where Are You Tonight (Journey Through Dark Heat)" have the richness of imagery of Dylan's best albums from the 60's ("Highway 61 Revisited", "Blonde on Blonde"), the emotional power of "Blood on the Tracks", the spiritual awareness (though implicit rather than explicit) of "Slow Train Coming", and a degree of formal poetic unity and discipline greater than any of them. Dylan is the only songwriter in the world even capable of such control of rhyme, meter, and diction. Also first-rate are the nasty blues "New Pony" and the beautiful "Is Your Love In Vain?"; but every song is strong. Dylan's singing also reaches something of a peak on this album -- with the agility of "Blood on the Tracks" and "Desire" and the exuberant emotion of "Saved". On the whole, I'd have to put this one in the top 5 (along with "Blood on the Tracks", "Highway 61", "Bootleg Series Vol 3" and "Time Out of Mind"). The band larger than Dylan usually works with, and he makes the most of it; also of note is the cover photo, which has a coded key to the whole album that also explains the album's title (hint: tan line).
39 of 42 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Soulful Dylan,
By
This review is from: Street Legal (Reis) (Audio CD)
The lilting ballad Changing Of The Guards opens this underrated 1979 album. The female backing vocals lend a soulful tone to the music here and throughout the album. This R&B/Gospel feel is what sets Street Legal apart from Dylan's more familiar spectrum of styles.
New Pony has an even more authentic R&B air about it, whilst the beautifully tuneful No Time To Think is more in his folk-rock vein, but still embellished by the soulful backing voices. It is my favourite and a definite highlight of the album. Baby Stop Crying is a rock ballad with tempo variation and stirring organ, Is Your Love In Vain? is a tender love ballad with a melancholy undertone and Senor is a slow, meandering folk number. The next track sounds the most like early Dylan with those characteristic vocal inflections; True Love Tends To Forget is a mournful lament with an impressive arrangement. The theme on We Better Talk This Over remains mistrust and lost love, but it's a very catchy pop song with hypnotic appeal. The album concludes with a tour de force: Where Are You Tonight?, a flowing uptempo ballad with gripping imagery and an exquisite arrangement. Street Legal is quite underrated in Dylan's body of work. There is no weak track and there are many memorable songs like the aforementioned No Time To Think, Is Your Love In Vain?, True Love Tends To Forget and the final track. Some Dylan fans and critics might have been prejudiced against the R&B sound but it is most authentic and has stood the test of time. Street Legal has definitely improved with age and I consider it to be amongst Dylan's Top 10 albums.
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
One of his best,
By Kal Peduzzi (Somewhere Else) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Street Legal (Reis) (Audio CD)
The first time I listened to this album, I was immediately put off by the female background singers. I thought they completely overpowered the music, and it sounded like it was the first time they had heard each song. They didn't sound tight at all, and I swear they sound out of key half the time. I don't mind gospel background singers at all, but I thought they made a mess out of every song they sang in. What's so good about people repeating what Bob just sang 2 seconds ago? They should reinforce the singing, not repeat it. I was fuming through every line.
The second time I listened to this album, I was suddenly floored by how great each and every song was written, and I started wondering if maybe there was a mix of this album without the background singers, because with them out of the way, this would be some of his best music for sure! The words were sharp, the music was tight, and his voice was great, and not just for Bob Dylan, his voice sounds as good as it did on Blonde on Blonde. The third time I listened, I started blocking out the singers, because this was some really good music. I found myself already singing along to a good part of it, matching the somehow already familiar melodies. I knew this album would be one that I would go back to. I still haven't gotten used to those background singers, and I probably never will. If there is in fact a remix of this album without the singers, I'd buy it in a second, because this is a great, great album with some of Bob's best songs ever. "Where Are You Tonight?" is one of my favorite Dylan songs, and as most other reviewers would note, "Changing of the Guard", "No Time to Think", and "Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)" are also highlights of the album. Just about every song is catchy and well-written, nothing worth skipping over. I would recommend it to any Bob Dylan fan, and suggest that they ignore the background singers as much as possible.
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