So far, so orthodox - he likes Freewhelin' and Blood On The Tracks, doesn't like Self Portrait, has mixed feelings about Planet Waves. Well, here's the kicker: Desire has the ability to seriously irritate me.
Of course there are caveats - huge ones - about the quality of the songwriting, the musicianship and the fact that there are, at least, two or three real no-argument-necessary Dylan classics here. But, despite all that, it has to be said that listening to this LP as a whole, time and time again, and I start to want to kill someone or something.
Actually, that's not quite true. What I really want to do is take that frigging fiddle and shove it up its owner's Black Diamond Bay. It's everywhere, ALL THE TIME. Sawing away on Isis, grinding its way through Joey, beating Oh Sister over the head until the song can't take it any more. Honestly. Go get your copy of Desire and put it on - go on, I don't like to be bossy but, go on - put the needle down on, for instance, track 4, One More Cup Of Coffee. Good song, yeah? Gentle acoustic guitar intro, lovely little bass riff. Good, yeah? Then, here it comes, HONK, HONK, it's the fiddle. Good God. I WANT TO KILL SOMEONE. I know there's meant to be a gypsy travelling band type thing going on but, please. It's got the point that it's ruining any enjoyment I've had; the track starts and rather than thinking 'oh good, Sara', I'm just waiting for the moment when that damn fiddle starts sawing away in the background. Stop it. Now.
And relax.
It's a shame that this LP has grown away from me so. When I first bought this album in my teens it got played till the cassette would play no more and was close to being my favourite Dylan release. And, apart from that bloody fiddle, this is an LP full of goodness. It's got Isis and Sara and One More Cup Of Coffee and that should be enough for any album. These are magnificent examples of song writing. Sara is particularly moving - Dylan's heartfelt attempt at reconciliation with his soon-to-be ex-wife - apparently recorded with Sara present in the studio - it pushes every emotional button possible and with a great tune to boot. Quality.
Isis is a special song; up there with some of the best of his career. Lyrically it works by telling a story yet maintaining an air of mystery as to what the hell he's actually on about and muscially it is superb, driven by a simple piano and high-in-the-mix pounding bass. (I'm also particularly taken by the live version on the 1975 bootleg issue). The simple arrangements that add to the laid back pace of many of the tracks here - particularly Oh Sister, One More Cup of Coffee and Sara - suggest a song writer at the top of game and brimming with confidence in his craft. These are top notch tunes.
Lyrically, this is an interesting album. All but two of the tracks are co-written with Jacques Levy and the effect of having a songwriting partner is felt. There is a definite feel to the lyrics here of being addicted to the rhyme. That might be an odd thing to say; Dylan himself has always been a songwriter who likes to rhyme but here, for some reason, it becomes obvious. Maybe it's because three of the tracks - Isis, Mozambique and Romance in Durango - conform to the unfamiliar (for Dylan songs) double rhyming structure of ABAB within a four line verse, which is a whole lot of rhyming in one song. Maybe it's because some of the rhymes are somewhat tortured:
We got you for the motel job and we’re talkin’ to your friend Bello
Now you don’t wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow
Or maybe it's because of the contrast between the songs written with Levy and those that were Dylan's alone - One More Cup Of Coffee and Sara - which have a more relaxed, natural, even organic feel to them. That's not to do Levy down - there are some great lines here - but there is a feel of Dylan being restrained by the demands of partnership.
A mention must be made of Hurricane as here we see the brief return of Dylan the protest singer. An appeal to the innocence of the then incarcerated Rubin Carter, he tells a story of injustice in a direct narrative of the sort last heard in The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll. It will be the last time (I think, strike me down if I'm wrong. Actually, don't) that he will protest a cause so directly.
In terms of songwriting this is right up there. My personal bee in the bonnet about the fiddle aside, this is an extremely good LP. It's just that I can't take in anything more than little bursts any more. I just can't stand that goddamn fiddle.
Out of five?
Four and a half
Favourite track?
Isis
Next Up?
Street Legal.
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