Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Just as good, if not better, than 'Blood on the Tracks', 25 Feb 2003
By A Customer
I came to listen to 'Desire' with no previous knowledge of Bob
Dylan's music. Of course, I had heard of him and was aware that he had written a number of classic songs, but I had never heard his music.
Anyway, 'Desire' is now one of the best albums in my collection, and is unfairly overshadowed by 1975's 'Blood on the Tracks', the second Dylan album I heard.
'Desire' features some original violin from Scarlet Rivera, and haunting harmonies from country singer Emmylou Harris. But it is Dylan's songs that stand out. He certainly does not have the most conventional of voices, but he works around this and produces a stellar collection of songs - I wouldn't want it any other way.
"Hurricane" and "Joey" tell of gangster land and murders, both apparently true stories and both told with Dylan's opinions (he strenuously protests boxer Hurricane Carter's innocence after he was accused of a triple murder back in the 1960s) in mind. "Mozambique" and "Oh, Sister" are both highly pleasant songs and highlights, but they aren't as powerful or immediately awe-inspiring as the rest of the material.
"One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)" is haunting and sounds mildly Eastern, with great harmonies from Emmylou Harris. "Black Diamond Bay" is upbeat and breathlessly tells a story set in Greece, while the Latin-flavoured "Romance in Durango" shows how diverse Bob Dylan can be.
"Isis" is a major highlight of the record, with some mystical imagery and a lingering melody. Finally, "Sara" features some of Dylan's most tuneful vocals and is a heartfelt ode to his wife, whom he separated before the making of 'Desire'. The album also carries a gypsy vibe, in part thanks to the Rolling Thunder Revue of 1975, a travelling medicine show with a number of highly regarded musicians including Dylan, Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell.
'Desire' is certainly one of Bob Dylan's greatest records and just as good, if not better, than 'Blood on the Tracks'.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
STUNNING SONGS, GREAT STYLISTIC VARIETY, 28 May 2003
These tracks aren't as anthemic or immediately accessible as some of Bob Dylan's more familiar classics, so it takes some time for them to sink in. Hurricane is a torrent of a song in what sounds to me a stream-of-consciousness style, whilst Isis is likewise dense and profound, quite an epic with vivid imagery. Mozambique has a lovely melody and a lilting tropical beat, and is the only song here that exudes joy and happiness. Closest to his earlier folk style, Oh Sister is introspective, heartfelt and moving. Romance In Durango is the tragic story of an outlaw fleeing from the law but not making it and saying his farewells to his wife and child - it has a beautiful soaring Spanish chorus and a vaguely Latin flavour. Black Diamond Bay is a powerful and intense rock ballad whilst the autobiographical Sara makes reference to Dylan's earlier song Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands; it's a flowing conversational ballad with lots of charm. The musical and lyrical variety on Desire ensures a captivating listening experience. I think this album holds up well in Dylan's great body of work. Perhaps not one of his top 5 albums, but a work of enduring value containing at least four classic songs.
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16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A story for everybody, 26 Jun 2005
This is the Dylan album i always come back to and am always touched by. It's a long way from the electric speed freak era of 'Highway 61' and 'Blonde on Blonde' but the stories in the songs are just as poignant if not more so. 'Sara' is one of his most beautiful songs and even more amazing when you find out it was recorded in one take with his estranged wife Sara actually watching him through the recording studio window as he sang it! It momentarily healed the heartache as described in blood on the tracks....if only for a little while. 'Isis' is quirky and charming, 'Oh Sister' is a warm sweeping ballad and 'Joey' is another fine example of Dylan's story telling. The album is also graced with the beautiful voice of Emmylou Harris on several tracks and the spine tingling excellence of Scarlet Rivera on violin. This is one of Dylan's best works in an overwhelming back catalgogue. So if you don't know where to start give this one a go. It won't disappoint you.
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