Another Side of Bob Dylan review

The 4th studio album by Bob Dylan. This, as the title indicates, shifts away from previous albums thematically and once again Bob Dylan performs the entire album on his own.

Tracks:

1. All I Really Want to Do: 7/10 highly repetitive, but Dylan manages to wring some compelling material out of a thoroughly clichéd central concept.

2. Black Crow Blues: 8/10 a track where Bob Dylan plays the piano, this may not make an awful lot of sense but it's surprisingly engaging.

3. Spanish Harlem Incident: 9/10 an excellent lesson in how to do a fresh, interesting love song.

4. Chimes of Freedom: 10/10 how on earth is a song about someone sitting under an archway watching a thunderstorm so powerful? I don't know either, but this song, which sees Bob Dylan at his poetic best, delivers one freakishly brilliant line after another.

5. I Shall Be Free No. 10: 9/10 you will be wondering what on earth this song is about, but you'll probably also be in stiches. It's very funny for a Dylan song.

6. To Ramona: 9/10 typical Dylan fare to some extent, but it's as unpredictable, complex and human as ever.

7. Motorpsycho Nightmare: 8/10 random but highly amusing.

8. My Back Pages: 8/10 despite being not entirely coherent, this still manages to entertain and move remarkably well.

9. I Don't Believe You (She Acts Like We Never Have Met): 7/10 this one is perfectly good, but lacks the striking quality of many of the album's other songs.

10. Ballad in Plain D: 5/10 apparently, this is about a break-up. Thanks to the painfully pretentious lyrics spread across an entirely unnecessary 8 minute length, you'll need Wikipedia to work that out. It may have its moments, but it's undeniably something of a Dylan dud.

11. It Ain't Me, Babe: 7/10 a skilled if routine album closer.

Best song: Chimes of Freedom
Worst song: Ballad in Plain D

Summary: I really enjoyed this album. It doesn't seem to be particularly acclaimed, but there's some really great stuff here. I can't give it a higher rating since it does have some weaker material on here. At times Bob Dylan seems to be phoning it in, while at other times he's on top form. After the unflinchingly bleak The Times They Are a-Changing, it's also great to see a genuinely humorous album with a pleasing lightness of touch. An underrated work overall.



Final rating: 8/10