So there we have it. Until Tempest is released in a little over a month's time, my journey is complete. You could argue that missing Dylan and The Basement Tapes means I failed at my task of considering all of Dylan's studio albums - and you might be right - but them's the breaks and I'm not going back now.
So what have I learnt?
1. Dylan is one talented cat.
For all the gripes and groans I had along the way, this is an extraordinary catalogue. For over 40 years he has been turning out some of the most remarkable recordings. Certainly there have been missteps, but each time his form dipped, there was one hell of a rebound coming round the bend. For almost any other artist any one of The Freewheelin', Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61, Blonde On Blonde, Blood On The Tracks, Oh Mercy or "Love and Theft" would be a career defining work and he's got them all, not to mention Desire, Nashville Skyline, John Wesley Harding, Modern Times, Together Through Life and so on and so forth. It is a remarkable body of work. In fact, from very early in in this blog, I've been plagued with a nagging feeling of guilt when I've picked holes in the recordings. Here I am, some numbskull from the UK listening to the work of one of the greatest recording artists of all time, sucking my teeth and saying "oooh... it's not as good as the last thing he did." I hope, dear readers, that you could see my complaints within the context of someone who adores the man's work.
2. It took longer than I thought.
The more eagle eyed among you will have spotted that at the outset I had pledged to listen to one LP a week and then move on to the next. It should have taken me 32 weeks. It took one month shy of two years. Sometimes the delay was because I was busy, sometimes I couldn't be bothered to summon up the energy to sit down and write, sometimes I didn't know what I should say; but I was always listening to the same LP over and over until I felt the urge to put finger to keyboard. Not to mind, the time was well spent. Many of LPs needed the space to grow. Albums such as Saved or Together Through Life, which I'd previously dismissed, became whole new things to me and I'm incredibly grateful for that. For others, the movement was the other way: the parts of Desire or Empire Burlesque that had annoyed me before really started to irritate after the twentieth consecutive listen. On the whole, though, spending this time immersed in these records was rewarding and allowed me to appreciate so many tracks, nuances, lyrics, parts, whatever, that I hadn't fully before.
3. Self Portrait is not a good LP.
There has been a lot of revisionist stuff written about Self Portrait; that it is a misunderstood classic, too challenging for the music media of the time and unfairly dismissed. I know that the appreciation of any music is a subjective affair but, really, it's not good. It's better than Down In The Groove, certainly, but Self Portrait is still a bit rubbish. So there.
4. Until the twenty-first century Dylan needed a producer.
If you've read any of this blog, you're probably sick of me banging on about the merits of the production on each of LPs so I'll keep this brief. Until 2001 and "Love and Theft" Dylan was his own worst enemy when let loose as a producer. It didn't mean that the hired hands always did a great job - Street Legal is a bit of an aural mess and Mark Knopfler sucks much of the life out of Infidels - but by far his best work is with someone to reign him in.
5. I can't wait for Tempest.
The beauty of having listened to the whole catalogue in order is it brings into focus the arc of Dylan's progression as a writing and recording artist. The one thing that becomes clear is that is not an arc. Just when you've got a handle on where he is and where he seems to be heading - boom - he's off somewhere completely unexpected and that is great. You might not always like where he's gone or think it is an improvement on what came before but it will be new. I love it when an artist keeps you on your toes like that. So, I can't wait for Tempest; if it carries on from Together Through Life, I'll be a happy bunny, if it takes a turn down a different street that'll please me too. And if it sucks? Well, that probably just means another masterpiece is around the corner.
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