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12/01/2006

In praise of Under The Red Sky and Empire Burlesque

Thanks to Martin Cowan for his comments on Under The Red Sky and Empire Burlesque, two largely unloved Dylan albums:

“Hi, I am a relatively new reader of your site (found it at the end of last year and avidly read your daily UK tour diary) but have been a Dylan fan for over 30 years - brought up on him by my Dad.

“Just a thought about a couple of your recent posts. Re Under the Red Sky: my opinion of this album is that it's a much-maligned masterpiece. When it first came out, and indeed for several years after, I thought it was awful. But one day, inexplicably, I just got it, and it's now one of my favourite Dylan albums.

“The front and back cover photos are great, and the music within is tantalising, mysterious, driving, melodic, and possibly the weirdest bunch of Dylan songs ever written and recorded. For the unconvinced, I've often drawn parallels between Wiggle Wiggle and some of the stuff on the revered Basement Tapes, like Yea Heavy… and Million Dollar Bash.

“On Empire Burlesque, I think Dylan was trying to write songs in the manner of Tin Pan Alley standards - very songwriterly chord changes, and really strong melodies on most of the songs. I feel this album is ripe for reappraisal, and if Sony can be persuaded to remaster it (and lose the terrible ‘80s remix), it would be viewed in a completely different light.”

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