Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Rediscover a Lost Gem, October 28, 2003
Usually a label's remastering project is an attempt to get fans to shell out the bucks one more time, but Columbia's new Dylan cds are a different proposition. In particular, "Planet Waves" is like a whole new album. I never realized how warm and relaxed Dylan's vocals are, how tight The Band locks in behind him, how perfect Richard Manuel's and Garth Hudson's piano and organ accompaniment are. This remastered version is light years better than the original, and the songs aren't too shabby either. The whole gambit of moods is explored here, from the urgent rock of "Tough Mama" through the tender prayer of "Forever Young" to the aching confusion of "Wedding Song". At the time he recorded this, Dylan was a man in conflict between his love of settled family life and his desire to hit the road again, and this album captures his dilemma perfectly. "Planet Waves" could be his most underrated album.
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Ahead of its time, October 28, 2006
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.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Great One That Got Away , June 5, 2005
I never thought this got the recognition it deserved...despite the press and hype..reunited with one of the best rock bands ever, the personal feel of the songs mesh 100%..there is a live feel throughout with images of the past haunting the state the Band must have been in as success crept in...Ruminations, religious yearnings,dirges,love songs,ironic happy to be alive songs are all themes here that somehow makes me feel when listening that they are still in Big Pink playing for themselves...The SACD sound is great as is Dylan and The Band.
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