Good As I Been To You (1992)

It is not good for someone who is writing a blog to be lost for words but I am struggling to come up with much to say about this 1992 offering. 

I like it, that's for sure. In fact, it is a lovely record. It is so good to hear Dylan alone with his guitar and harp for the first time since... gosh... Another Side?  Bringing It All Back Home? For an age, anyway.

It is a refreshing sound, reminiscent of his very first LP. The comparison to Bob Dylan is an easy one to make; not only is it a solo performance but it has the rough and ready quality that made the 1962 recording so endearing. Again here the guitar isn't always perfect, nor the harp, nor his voice but these imperfections enhance rather than detract giving the sound a timeless quality. Tracks like the beautiful blues number Sitting On Top Of The World or the mournful Hard Times sound like recordings plucked from an archive preserving tales from the time of the Dust Bowl. 

Some of this is the choice of song but much is now in the voice. While in 1962 Dylan was trying to sound beyond his years, thirty years on time has done the work for him. On the last LP, Under The Red Sky, there were sounds of the voice cracking; set against a slickly produced album they were awkward, here the cracks add to the atmosphere. It is almost Dylan sounding like he had wanted to thirty years before.

The issue, of course, is that this is an LP of traditional songs. Not a Dylan composition in sight. That's no problem - the choice of songs and delivery are sublime - but other than how lovely this can be, there's not a great deal more to say.

The performance aside, his pick of tunes to cover is exemplary. The first two tracks - Frankie & Albert and Jim Jones - are fine but the least touching of the whole record. The LP starts to take off with Blackjack Davey and Canadee-I-O before really hitting its straps with the sublime Sitting On Top Of The World. After that it is difficult to find a word of criticism for either the songs or Dylan's performance. There are some splendid tunes here: Little Maggie, Hard Times, Step It Up And Go, Tomorrow Night particularly noteworthy; but then again so are Arthur McBride, You're Gonna Quit Me and Diamond Joe. Even Froggie Went A-Courtin', which could have been a disaster, is delivered with a endearing sincerity that makes it work despite the silliness of it all.

If this had been an LP of original Dylan compositions I'd be declaring it a work of genius, five out of five and some. The fact it is not means that judgement has to be tempered but, taken for what it is, this is still a little gem of an LP.

Out of five?

Four and a quarter

Favourite Track?

Tomorrow Night

Up Next?

World Gone Wrong.