Greatest Hits Vol.1 - Bob Dylan

Culled from his first 7 albums, this set does a good job of summarising his career up to that point. A little brief at just 10 tracks, this would serve as a good introduction to Dylan at his peak. The track selection is predictable, but it does include the fabulous 'Positively 4th Street' which wasn't included on an actual album, so it only appears on compilations. It's Dylan at his acerbic, visceral best. This was originally offered as a stop gap after the motorbike crash, as Dylan found less time for pandering towards a mainstream audience, releases like this became all the more frequent. This captures Dylan after 'Blonde on Blonde', but before ...  Read the complete review

There are a limited number of artistes who were on that first superstar stage in the 60s whose influence has continued into the new millenium. The Beatles certainly, you can argue for Elvis Presley though he sold out mercilessly to be an over bloated cabaret act, The Rolling Stones longevity counts but it is for their attitude where they created a 'you don't have to love us' mentality. The Beach Boys, from surf boys to groundbreaking musicians without peer to self destruction and of course Bob Dylan. A few weeks ago Dylan, who will be 60 later this month, won an Oscar. The category of Best Song From A Film is not the grand prize but nevertheless it was an ...  Read the complete review

My greatest hits is mildly different to the one described above, so the irregularities are intentional and good. Bob Dylan is perhaps the most influential artist of all time, so investing in a greatest hits CD is perhaps not a bad idea. I normally find that compilations take away from the songs, given that tracklisting on albums is one of the most important things. It just doesn’t feel the same when a track is played alongside one from five albums later, but the songs are of such high quality that it doesn’t matter here. These tracks are selected from his first seven albums, spanning just five years, which was by far his most ...  Read the complete review

Music reviews are not something that I feel entirely comfortable with writing. I find it particularly hard to define why I like a particular artist or song, so I have tended thus far to stay away from trying to write music opinions. I have a CD collection of well over 200 discs, so out of the 200 plus why then have I chosen to dabble in this category by reviewing Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits? Well the answer to that lies not so much in my own love of this album, but its apparent popularity with other people. I must admit that when I got my first CD player about 12 years ago or so, this was one of the very first CD's that I bought. What I have noticed since ...  Read the complete review