It’s hot. What I like to do in this blistering heat is nothing. Well, as close to nothing as I’m capable of doing. Music plays an important part in slowing me down, sets my speed for the day. Today started with an oldie but, to sound cliché – goodie. By oldie I mean, January 1976, old and by goodie I mean I still pull this one out after all these years. Bob Dylan’s Desire is some of his best work. It is storytelling at its finest with a heavy beat that has the listener moving slow, mainly because you want to hear each and every story this master spins.
Desire opens with Hurricane
It is a ballad seeking freedom for the incarcerated Rubin (Hurricane) Carter. In 1985 the conviction was overturned and Carter was finally released. He currently lives in Ontario Canada.
The swaying beat of Isis maintains the “do nothing” tempo and the story Dylan spins is dark and mysterious. Harmonica and fiddle keeps things more than interesting.
Mozambique, the most up tempo song, will do little more than have you closing your eyes. Ahhh… In your imagination you are dancing on some deserted beach. It’s like a vacation and you don’t leave your lounge chair.
Things slow down with the achingly beautiful One More Cup of Coffee. This is followed by Oh Sister. The live version featured below is not as restful as the album version but hopefully it will whet your palate and send you scurrying to purchase this magnificent collection.
Joey, an eleven minute tale of a boy living on the wrong side of the law, is only available on the album and is well worth the price of admission.
The stories don’t end there. The next song, Romance in Durango has everything you could want from a bestselling novel; guns, vengeance, desert heat, love, & banditos with the added benefit of trumpets and Dylan. What more could you ask for, except possibly the screen version.
Okay, Black Diamond Bay will have you tapping your foot, but I promise that is the extent of your activity on this one. It is another movie wishlist piece. The visuals transport you far away only this time you aren’t swaying on the beach. This time you’re in a grand casino as the world crumbles around its cast of characters. Masterful storytelling. Dylan is king.
If at all possible he may have saved the best story for last. A love story. Sara. “So easy to look at so hard to define.” Any piece that starts with such a brilliant harmonica solo gets a head start in my book. “A radiant jewel a mystical wife.” The journey this time takes you into a magical fairy tale of endless love. There are so many wonderful lyrics. “Loving you is one thing I will never regret.” And you will never regret taking the time to enjoy this classic. “So easy to look at so hard to define.” Any piece that starts with such a brilliant harmonica solo gets a head start in my book. “A radiant jewel a mystical wife.” The journey this time sends you into a magical fairy tale of endless love. There are so many wonderful lyrics. “Loving you is one thing I will never regret.” And you will never regret taking the time to enjoy this classic.