Review:

on 2011-04-21 CharlesMartel Said:

The Essential series of compilations, issued by CBS, has provided many a music lover with the opportunity to possess some of the best tracks of particularly prolific artists without having to go out and buy a huge back collection. For that CBS and Sony deserve high praise indeed. For some it provides a welcome introduction into the music of a well-known long established artist from a different era. For others, such as myself, it provides a much needed opportunity to gather in one place a collection of well loved tracks without having to purchase a vast back catalogue. For that reason, this compilation was always going to be a must to add to my collection once it came out.

This CD pretty much has all my favourite Dylan stuff on it so it succeeds in its probably intended aim of meeting the consumer's needs without resorting to downloading while it also meets my need without having to try to amass his back catalogue.

The first CD comprises the early years of Bob Dylan covering the 1960's and some of the 1970's as well. For me, this is the best of Bob Dylan. It starts, naturally enough, with "Blowin' in the Wind", one of Dylan's finest protest songs. And it really continues on that vein from there. No Dylan compilation would be complete without "Like a Rolling Stone", a social commentary on homelessness and despair, but also a tribute to possibly the single most influential song in the history of popular music. On another note I find "All Along the Watchtower" interesting, for it is not the version with which I am most familiar. Even Dylan himself thinks the Hendrix version is the definitive one it seems. But while on the subject of Dylan tracks that have been covered, when you listen to "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" you realise what a disgraceful travesty the Guns n Roses version was.

The second CD, in my opinion, happens to be weaker, but this is because it covers the period when Dylan went rather off the boil in my view and his output was distinctly patchier and less consistent. Consequently, I listen to this CD less frequently. However, it does contain some of my personal favourites such as "Hurricane", a great anti-racist song, and based on a true story, as well as "Blind Willie McTell" about the legendary bluesman.

I like a lot of Dylan's music but I do not go overboard on it. I am not sure I would want to own whole albums of his stuff - no I am sure: I wouldn't. This is an album of virtually all of Dylan's classic tracks. Now I suppose real die-hard Dylan fans will point to tracks which are not here, personal favourites which may not be as well known as the ones on this album. (I would point to "Desolation Row" as the most obvious example which is missing). Well that is probably true, but that is not the point. To me, a compilation like this is intended to give the non die-hard a chance to own the majority of the artist's best works without having to buy all his albums. And so the chance to own this was just what I wanted. And well worth it, it has turned out to be. Pretty much all the great tracks from his more than forty year career are here. So, if you want to own a single Dylan album, make it this one.
Rating: 7/10