Search - Bob Dylan :: Coll: Oh Mercy / Time Out of Mind / Love & Theft

He's Older Now, but as Good, Maybe Better than Ever

Stephanie Sane | from the Asylum | 10/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"He was good when he was a kid, he was good when he was in his fourties and his fifties. He's old now, but he's better than ever. Read on:



"Oh Mercy" is easily one of my favorite Dylan albums, and if it's not in the top five, it's certainly in the top ten. A lot of people, who had written off Mr. D's relevance, were taken aback when this record came out. There was a lot of, "Dylan's back." or "I knew he had it in him." kind of comments going around after folks gave this record a listen too. Folks in the biz, those in the know, started calling "Oh Mercy" Dylan's comeback record. But then there were those who had been faithful fans, listening and appreciating his music all along. For them, Dylan had never really gone anywhere to come back from. That said, this record does harkens back to those Dylan albums of yesteryear, with those story songs that are so wonderful. This is most certainly a five star album and one you absolutely must own.



"Time Out of Mind" is considered a comeback album by many. These people think that just because Bob Dylan put out a couple Christian Records, or A couple records with a gang of Gospel singers, or a couple records of old blues and public domain songs, that he'd lost it, forgotten how to do rock and roll, forgotten how to write. So when these so called comeback albums come out, they raise their hands, look to the heavens and shout out "Praise the Lord, Dylan's back." How silly, Mr. D's always been around and God willing will still be giving us these comeback records every three years or so thirty years from now. That said, "Time Out of Mind," has a dark feel to it. It pulls you in with a combination of Dylan's mournful voice and mournful lyrics. It's different than anything he's done before.



I've heard it said that Bob Dylan said of "Love & Theft" that it's like "a greatest hits without the hits." Well, when you listen to this masterpiece, that's exactly the kind of feel you get for this album. It's like each of the songs is an old friend, like we've heard them all before. How did Dylan do that? Maybe it's because he recorded "Love and Theft" with his touring band and they were all so used to playing with each other. It shows. In a way this album reminds me of "Blood on the Tracks" the album that I consider Mr. Ds best. Every song on "The Tracks" belongs there, an integral part of the whole. Sure every song stands alone, but together they make a masterpiece. That's the way it is with "Love and Theft." I don't know if this is the best album Mr. D has ever done, cuz I still listen "The Tracks," all the time, but if it's not the best, it's certainly number two. And who knows, after listening to it for another year or so, I may reevaluate that, but for now all I have to say is this CD is so good it'll make you cry.



Reviewed by Stephanie Sane"

Three Stellar Records in One Collection

Zachary Hackett | Reno, Nevada | 10/30/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Here are three records from late in Dylan's body of work, the three best ones of his latter period, if Dylan can be said to have periods. Many break his career up into bits and pieces. You know the folk and protest period, the folk rock period and so on and so on, while others, myself included, just appreciate his albums each and every one.



Oh Mercy - Eerie Haunting Sound You Can't Get Out of Your Mind



Many people thought this album was a comeback for Dylan, many others, myself included, never thought he went away. However, I must admit Daniel Lanois' production sort of brings one back to the Dylan of old, you know, before he signed on the girl backup singers. Their is an artistic sound to this record reminiscent of a smoothed out Blonde on Blonde sound. So I can see how one would think they were getting the Dylan of the Sixties back again.



I've heard it said that this record has not stood the test of time as say, Highway 61 has, but I'd have to disagree. I play this record often, actually more than Highway 61, so I guess by my lights, the record still has pretty strong legs. The imagery in "Man With a Long Black Coat" is as powerful as anything Dylan has done. "Shooting Star" is every bit as good a song as "She Belongs to Me" for example and "Political World" is just as meaningful now as when Ronald Reagan was President, some, myself included, would say more so. And who hasn't suffered from the "Disease of Conceit" a song that could be about us all.



It is hard, out of such a body of work to pick out an album you like best, actually impossible, but for me this one is right up there near the top.



Time Out of Mind - Eerie, Haunting, Dark and Searing



When TOOM (Time Out Of Mind) came out it had been seven years since Dylan had done an album of original songs. Was TOOM worth the wait? I'd say so. For me this record harkens all the way back to "Blood on the Tracks" with Dylan delivering searing songs full of hurt, heartbreak and emotion. This album is bittersweat and dark. This album is great. This album stands near the top of a superb body of work.



And yet again, when this record came out it was hearlded as a comeback for Dylan. I swear this man has had more comebacks than Carter's got pills. Mr. Dylan never left. He has always been here, always making music, just sometimes some of his records don't etch their way into your soul the way others do. Some of his records are merely outstanding, some others, like this one, blaze like a firey comet streaking across the desert sky, burning their way into your conscious.



I suppose every five years or so Dylan has to put out a record like this just to remind us all what a real poet is all about.



Love and Theft - Kind of a Playful, Jazzy, Crooning and Rocking Bob Dylan



Still again, after a long hiatus of no albums with original tunes, many people hailed "Time Out of Mind" as still another comeback for Dylan with this record, delivered four years later in 2001, building upon said comeback. Only this time he isn't as eerie, haunting and dark as he was on "Time". In fact at times it seems Mr. Dylan has turned downright playful with his music. We have Dylan kind of crooning on some of the songs in this set of very good rock and roll songs, many of which have kind of a jazzy inflection to them.



In my opinion Dylan's gravely voice works well with this set and the songs blend into each other making a whole that is much better than the sum of its parts. I play this record quite a bit, but then I play most of his good records quite a bit. Some have said, my Gal Sara, for instance that perhaps I play Mr. Dylan's music a bit too much. Thank goodness I've got an iPod, so that when I'm up alone at night working on the computer or trying to hammer out words on paper with pen or pencil, I can listen to this record as loud as I want. My hearing may be going though, but so what, it's worth it."

The New Dylan...

bonvar | 01/04/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"That would've been a good name for this set.

This is a coupling of albums that really makes sense. If you're a Dylan fan from days of yore, this would be a good way to bring yourself up to speed. None of these albums ever really qualified as a comeback in the literal sense; Dylan wrote plenty of good songs in the 80's, he just scattered them across a few too many albums. I guess 1997's _Time Out of Mind_ comes closest; it had been been six years since his last all-new record (the unfortunate post-Wilbury hangover known as _Under the Red Sky_, thankfully omitted from this set). But even then, he'd been burning it up onstage for two years prior, and had made two offbeat but charming albums of accoustic folk/blues interpretations. Really what sets the three records here apart is that they forced even the sometimes inattentive general public to sit up and take notice. That tells you something about how good they are.



The one thing that would have improved this set would be if they'd found a way to include the three essential non-album tracks that came out during this time period ("Series of Dreams", a spare part from _Oh Mercy_, "Dignity", from _Greatest Hits Vol. 3_, and "Things Have Changed" from the _Wonder Boys_ soundtrack).



The remastered version of _Oh Mercy_, included here, is a nice sonic upgrade from the old version."