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Bob Dylan
Desire


4.0
excellent

Review

by DesolationRow USER (80 Reviews)
March 15th, 2006 | 78 replies


Release Date: 1976 | Tracklist


When was modesty considered an act of propaganda? Since when was being nonchalant about personal achievement perceived to the public eye as misinformation, or sham? Joseph Stalin was probably the most well known leader who took advantage of that. He rose to power using propaganda as means of instilling fear into citizens, and keeping them quiet to prevent revolution. Once again, using a Communist/ Fascist reference as an introduction into a Bob Dylan review, this is where I tell you that Bob Dylan was modest about his work. In 1975, Bob Dylan was experiencing personal turmoil with his (soon to be ex) wife, Sara, as he told his agonizing tale on his acclaimed Blood On The Tracks. The album was cynical, heartfelt, and morose, due to his pending divorce, and took up his spare time writing the songs in no rush. But in 1976, he was eager to release a more buoyant, less cynical album that did not just put the listener to tears weeping of his loss. Instead, Desire is a much more operatic release, sprawling epic suites along an hour long span, with bearing little conscience for song length, and implying much more conceptual aspects into individual songs rather than paying more attention to detail to the album as a whole. But on the topic of modesty, Bob Dylan could not have written Desire by himself, and credited himself with that burdensome confession. Instead, a handful of guest musicians and harmonizing vocalists helped Zimmerman create the record. And so, point in case, the album is very unique from anything Bob Dylan has ever done, musically, structurally and lyrically.

How Desire is so different in comparison to, say, anything Bob Dylan had wrote prior to it, is mostly due to his embracing of conceptual songwriting. Blood on the Tracks saw only one pure concept suite, Lily Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts. Instead of just a lone opera among much more conventionally written songs, Desire bends all the rules that Dylan had previously set as an orthodox songwriter. Usually, Dylan's mini suites clock in around seven minutes in length. Seven minutes is the bare mean time of Desire in length. Of course, there are some more conformist three minute jangles on Desire, but they range from the nimble picked three minute songs to expansive, epic eleven minute, fictitious biographical tales of a man taken prisoner. But while Dylan's more avant-garde songwriting approach is every bit entertaining as his other albums, the song lengths are very monotonous and tedious. As good of a song they are, the length is blown out of proportion to a ridiculing state, especially when it is a drab, standard verse-chorus-verse-bridge configuration heavily based upon repetition. A very experimental, cool listen, yet can get very tiring very quickly, with little modification in the structuralism.

Not everything about Desire is out of proportion, though. Bob Dylan recruited a handful of guest musicians to juxtapose his ideas into masterpieces of melody. With the help of partner Emmylou Harris, the vocal duet between Bob Dylan and Harris rivals the harmonizing likes of Johnny and June Cash. Emmylou adds the Southern Belle sugar and spice to Bob's gravelly, trilling voice. The two duel with a subtle intensity that blends folk, country and rock into an auditory piece of art. Scarlet Riviera appears as a guest fiddler, and adds touches of bluegrass and jamboree that sweep in and out of Bob Dylan's harmonica, whilst a droning piano (Isis) deepens dark, menacing minor chords. But what is possibly the most rewarding (which happens to be very ironic to what the content attends to) aspect of Desire is Dylan's arrangements. Lyrically, Dylan speaks his mind with little concern of what anyone else thinks. He nakedly addresses his crumbling marriage (Sara) with a hostile emotion that goes full circle within six minutes and thirty seconds. Possibly what is Dylan at his most controversial is where he tells a tale of attacking minorities and racial profiling (Hurricane) which is most likely a response to the civil rights movement of the previous decade. For those of you, like me, who have never heard Bob Dylan use vulgarity in songs, will find Hurricane to be rather blunt. He openly uses the "n word" and other profanities to tell of police brutality on black men. This is very similar to the controversy that Guns N Roses had sparked with their song 'One In A Million'. It is very strange to hear Bob Dylan curse that much in his songs, as he is usually soft spoken with wordplay, but Hurricane (even with its profane racial remarks) is an epic song with rambling acoustic guitars and sputtering melodies that chime.

It is not just country and controversy that fuel Desire into being a great album. It's much more a juxtaposition of genres and cultures that Dylan seems to ignite on Desire. For instance, there is a blatant mariachi influence on Romance In Durango, where Harris and Dylan clash in Spanish verses, while horns and Latin percussion chime behind them. Desire is a world of cultural disbelief and shock, with flourishes of raw beauty and power. Any which way you interpret Desire's songs, there is going to be something divisive within its longevity. But Robert Zimmerman did not write Desire out of hatred or animosity, but rather a scenario of falling victim to fate, or maybe even his own human error. Interpretation is left to the listener on Desire, and there is not a set right or wrong answer for interpretation. That is what makes Desire such a great record in the first place, anyways. So, despite all of the lyrical siege, Desire is a captivating record, filled with unique arrangements and an ambiguity that remains to be seen as anything derived from hatred.



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user ratings (646)
4
excellent


Comments:Add a Comment 
Storm In A Teacup
March 16th 2006


46395 Comments

Album Rating: 3.5

You prove yourself as one of the better writers on the site again. Awesome review. I like his voice.

DesolationRow
March 16th 2006


833 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Feedback is booming tonight!



But thank you to those of you that did leave some feedback.

This Message Edited On 03.15.06

Zebra
Moderator
March 16th 2006


2647 Comments


'Oh, Sister' is the only song I've heard off of this album. It's a nice tune, but nothing amazing.
I liked this more then your other reviews because it was much briefer yet still informative. Nice work.

ocelot-05
March 16th 2006


807 Comments


I really admire him for voicing the injustice of the Hurricane. Too bad it took another 10 years for him to get out.

Jawaharal
March 16th 2006


1832 Comments


I still have yet to listen to Bob Dylan, even though I have Blood On The Tracks right in front of me.

JohnXDoesn't
March 16th 2006


1395 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Very nice review. I appreciate all the background info given which helps to set up the album and it's times.



This is a great Dylan album in a catalogue full of them. And I too appreciate how as an artist Dylan has not been afraid to move away from what worked before (Blood On The Tracks) and explore other avenues as a songwriter and recording artist. And Hurricane must be one of rocks greatest "protest" songs, period. It packs more info, fire, and understanding into several minutes then most authors could fill in a book.This Message Edited On 03.16.06

DesolationRow
March 21st 2006


833 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Hurricane sounds a lot better with headphones.





Zebra
Moderator
March 21st 2006


2647 Comments


[QUOTE=Ent]Hurricane sounds a lot better with headphones.[/quote]

The whole album sounds better with headphones.

DesolationRow
March 22nd 2006


833 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Actually, everything sounds better with headphones.

DownPaymentBlues78
April 14th 2006


278 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

"I read another very interesting review of this that basically claimed it was one of the biggest lies in musical history."



Iai, I believe I've read that very same review. The poor fellow felt that Dylan was lying to him in Sara when he said he never wanted her to leave because Bob included the line "One day you'll be in the ditch, flies buzzing around your eyes" on Blood on the Tracks. Didn't understand that Dylan was a mess of emotions and is capable of feeling many things.

bannedwarrior
September 10th 2011


164 Comments


good record

Activista anti-MTV
March 3rd 2012


3154 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0 | Sound Off

isis is still a favorite

omnipanzer
August 22nd 2012


21827 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Probably my favorite Dylan album.

clercqie
August 22nd 2012


6525 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Not my fav of his (it does rule however), but Hurricane is definitely one of his best songs.

oWhoadYo
August 25th 2012


2427 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Sara very well may be the saddest song in history.

oWhoadYo
August 25th 2012


2427 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Some songs could be shorter though.

oWhoadYo
August 25th 2012


2427 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

He's not afraid to add an extra minute... or 3...

omnipanzer
August 26th 2012


21827 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Sara very well may be the saddest song in history [2]

oWhoadYo
August 26th 2012


2427 Comments

Album Rating: 4.0

Actually on second thought, I believe that I know of a sadder song. But it's not a whole lot sadder. But still... It's sadder...

wacknizzle
October 30th 2012


14555 Comments

Album Rating: 5.0

Just got into this Dylan album recently, there's some really amazing songs on here. I'm in love with Isis right now, the lyrics are really resonating with me.



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