Search - Bob Dylan :: The Essential Bob Dylan (Rm) (2CD)

Margo S. from MARBLEHEAD, MA
Reviewed on 5/2/2012...

Bob Dylan has no peers! Listening to him takes me right back to college and fills me with nostalgia for the late '60s and early '70s!

1 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.

Great stuff, but by no means an "essential" album

Johnny Boy | Hockessin, DE | 01/24/2010

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Bob Dylan is an American icon. No, let me rephrase that. Dylan is not just an American icon, he's a world icon. His contribution to music is amazing, and he is by a long shot my favorite performer. He is the greatest songwriter to ever live, bar none.



And that's why 'The Essential Bob Dylan' is incredibly misleading and if you are a longtime, die-hard fan, completely unnecessary. Read on for further details.



First off, two discs just isn't gonna cut it. Sure, it's got several essentials, but Dylan's career is one of those that's nearly impossible to summarize without a box set or concept theme behind the compilation. But 'The Essential' tries -- and hard, at that -- to anthologize Dylan on two discs.



And it fails. Miserably. Dylan cannot simply be represented by two discs. It's impossible. It's missing classics, like 'Idiot Wind,' 'Buckets of Rain,' 'Changing of the Guards,' and 'One Too Many Mornings,' among countless others. What's represented is all entirely worthy of a million stars, but it's not essential. More like a 'Bob Dylan Collection.'



First, why is Dylan's '80s career BASICALLY UNREPRESENTED? Only 'Jokerman,' from his 1983 album 'Infidels,' and 'Silvio,' from 1988's 'Down in the Groove' get representation here. That means, no 'The Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar,' 'Every Grain of Sand,' 'Joey,' 'Series of Dreams' or 'Dignity' are here, among countless others. In my opinion (though many people disagree) some of Dylan's best work came in the 1980s. To this collection, Dylan in the 1980s barely existed, if at all. What a shame.



Alright, I've critcized this disc enough. Now to some positives. What's here is great. 'Don't Think Twice, It's All Right' rarely gets radio play or attention, and is certainly an obscurity. It's nice to see 'The Essential' give it the representation it deserves. The disc also contains 'Maggie's Farm,' 'It Ain't Me Babe,' 'Just Like a Woman,' 'Mr. Tambourine Man,' 'I Shall Be Released,' and perhaps the best protest song Dylan ever wrote, 1975's 'Hurricane' all get representation here.



Overall, 'The Essential Bob Dylan' is hardly essential, but it's a good entry point I guess for the new Dylan fan, and it's an alright sampler for a casual fan who doesn't plan on digging deep into Dylan's catalogue. But otherwise, I can't recommend this. It's a classic case of Columbia, Dylan's label, trying to milk Dylan's name for money, and is nothing but a cash cow. What a shame. This could have been a really great collection, but instead, it was another wasted opportunity.



Two stars for the music (which is all worthy of million stars), but still, it's not worthy of your time and money unless you are an easily-pleased casual Dylan fan.



NOT RECOMMENDED."