Bob Dylan 20: Desire

Having regained both self-confidence and critical approval, Bob spent the summer of 1975 trying to assemble a band that would best deliver the sounds he heard in his head. In another departure, he actively collaborated with another writer (New York theater fixture Jacques Levy) on his lyrics for the first time. By the time Desire was released, he had been playing the songs on a caravan-style tour dubbed the Rolling Thunder Revue. (Fueled by ego and cocaine, the tour’s participants included old friends like Joan Baez and Roger McGuinn and new friends like T Bone Burnett and Scarlet Rivera, whose violin is all over Desire.)

The surprising radio hit “Hurricane” opens the proceedings with a tentative acoustic guitar right out of “All Along The Watchtower”. Much of the “facts” presented about imprisoned boxer Rubin Carter have been disputed, but we can’t assume the clunkier lines are Levy’s work. Bob’s piano comes back for “Isis”, and it’s easy to get lost in whatever story he’s telling. “Mozambique” doesn’t do much, but “One More Cup Of Coffee (Valley Below)” and “Oh Sister” both get a boost from the golden throat of Emmylou Harris.

Apparently one questionable biography wasn’t enough, because “Joey” is eleven minutes of your life you’ll never get back. (Amazingly, Bob still plays this one onstage.) “Romance In Durango” and “Black Diamond Bay” are both enigmatic stories that fail to ignite, while “Sara”, a pretty overt song to his estranged wife, is a tad embarrassing. (One point: we really don’t think the lines about the Chelsea Hotel and writing “Sad-Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands” are meant to be connected.)

It may be considered sacrilege for some ears to hear, but Desire is one of Dylan’s most overrated albums. It starts out strong, then turns to mud. But critics loved it, people bought it, and Bob felt emboldened enough by the experience to stay on the road and even take another shot at making a film.

Bob Dylan Desire (1976)—2½