The 1980s are widely seen as an absolute low in Bob Dylan’s career. A time when gospel music to half -hearted albums like “Knocked Out Loaded” and even forgotten films like “Hearts of Fire“Drifted. But he published seven solo albums and the first Traveling Wilburys-LP during this time. Real fans know that there are a lot of great songs under scrap like“ Ugliest Girl in the World ”and“ Under Your Spell ”.
10. “Series of Dreams”
In the 1980s, Bob Dylan kept taking up an absolutely brilliant song. And then decided not to publish him on his album. “Series of Dreams” is a wonderful example of this frustrating trend. The wonderfully ripped piece was for the 1989 album Oh Mercy cut out.
But Dylan was not satisfied with that. The more the producer Daniel Lanois pushed it, the more Dylan opposed. He said Rundheraus that it was too long. And he didn’t want to cut out anything. Only two years later it was revived as a newly mixed version The Bootleg Series Volumes 1-3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961-1991 appeared.
A video was made. In 1993 Dylan even played it live. An alternative recording appeared in 2008 The Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Tell Tale Signs: Rare and unreleased 1989-2006.
Bob Dylan: The 10 best songs of the 1980s
9. “Brownsville Girl”
With the exception of cooperation with Jacques Levy “Desire” And some songs that he composed with members of the band wrote Bob Dylan almost his entire material from the time before the 1980s without outside help. But as soon as the eighties broke up, he started writing songs with everyone. From Tom Petty to Carole Bayer Sager, Tim Drummond, Robert Hunter and even Bono.
His most powerful cooperation was the 11-minute “Brownsville Girl” (written together with Sam Shepard) on the otherwise miserable album Knocked Out Loaded from 1986. The piece jumps everywhere. But it keeps reminiscent of the Gregory-Peck film The Gunfighter From 1950. Nobody knows who lines like “People don’t do what they believe. They only do what is most convenient. And then regret it” and “even the exchange exchanges here in the area will be corrupt”. But they are amazing.
Bob Dylan: The 10 best songs of the 1980s
8. “Dark Eyes”
At the beginning of 1985, Bob Dylan was too Empire Burlesque Almost finished when the producer Arthur Baker asked him to write a simple acoustic song to complete the otherwise smooth, modern sounding album.
Dylan didn’t have the material. Until one night in the lobby of the New York Plaza Hotel stumbled across a prostitute. “She had blue rings around her eyes. Black eyeliner. And dark eyes,” he wrote in the 2004 in the Chronicles. “She looked as if she had been beaten up and was afraid of being beaten up again”.
The sad picture inspired Dylan to write “Dark Eyes” in his Plaza hotel room while looking down on the Central Park. It took another ten years before he played the song live for the first time. At the request of Patti Smith, when he asked her to choose any song from his catalog that you should sing in a duet.
Bob Dylan: The 10 best songs of the 1980s
7. “Everything is broken”
In 1989 it seemed quite possible that Dylan would never make a great album again. Despite a series of entertaining tours with Tom Petty and the Grateful Dead, his last three albums were extreme disappointments.
Worse, sometimes it seemed like he was hardly trying. “I had no connection to any kind of inspiration,” he wrote in Chronicles. “Whatever was there at the beginning was gone and shrunk. Things changed when Bono suggested him to work with Daniel Lanois. He made his way to New Orleans to go with the producer Oh Mercy to work. One of the new songs he wrote, everything is broken, ”reflected his state of mind. Especially after he had seriously injured his hand and could not play guitar for a long time.
Ironically, a song about his broken state was one of the first signs that he was actually not broken and was still capable of great.
6. “Tweeter and the Monkey Man”
At first glance, the Traveling Wilburys song “Tweeter and the Monkey Man” (written by Tom Petty and Bob Dylan) seems to be an allusion to Bruce Springsteen. After all, the song is peppered with references to Springsteen songs such as “Thunder Road”, “Stolen Car”, “Mansion on the Hill”, “State Trooper” and even “Lion’s den”. But in one Interview with Rolling Stone out of the 2013 Schwor Petty that it was a loving homage.
“It wasn’t thought at all [Springsteen] To mock, “said Petty.” It started that Bob Dylan said: ‘I would like to write a song about a guy named Tweeter. And someone else is needed.’ I said, ‘The Monkey Man’. And he said: ‘Okay, I want to write the story. I said, ‘Okay, New Jersey.’ And he said: ‘Yes, we could use allusions to Bruce Springsteen title.’ He clearly meant that as praise. “
5. “Sweetheart Like You”
“Sweetheart Like You” is a love song that Bob Dylan could write. “You know, a woman like you should be at home,” he sings in the song of 1983. “You belong there. And take care of someone who really loves you.”
This passage annoyed some people. “This line did not come Exactly as I wanted to have it “, said he 1984 dem Rolling Stone. “But, uh … I could have easily changed this line so that it was not so excessive, uh, tender close ,, Do you know? But I think the concept would still have been the same. You see a good -looking woman on the street. You ask yourself: ‘What are you doing on the street? You’re so pretty. What do you need all of this for? ‘”
Apart from this one line, it is a very nice song that he applied with one of his first videos. It shows Dylan and his band who play in an empty bar while a pretty sad caretaker is watching. He has not yet played the song live.
4. “Most of the time”
Quite a few people left in 2000 High fidelity With the same question: “What was that great bob-dylan song you played in the end?” The answer was “Most of the Time”. An urgent melody of the regret of Oh Mercy.
Similar to “Everything is Broken”, it is the words of a man who made more than just a few mistakes. Even if this song is dipped in heartache. “Most of the time,” he sings. “She ain’t even in my mind/i wouldn’t know her if i Saw her/she’s that far behind”. On Tell Tale Signs There are two amazing alternative versions.
3. “Every grain of sand”
Dylans LP Shot of Love From 1981 it is an extremely mixed work that concludes with the absolutely sublime Every Grain of Sand ”. Despite songs like“ Property of Jesus ” Shot of Love Not a strictly Christian album. But it is easy to recognize the biblical covers in “Every Grain of Sand”.
“How Cain now I see this chain of events that I have to break through,” sings Dylan. “In the anger of the moment I can see the hand of the master. In every leaf that trembles. In every grain of sand”. Many fans believe that the final version is the home demo on the first Bootleg Series. You can hear Dylan’s dogs bark in the background. But somehow that only makes the song better.
2. “Blind Willie McTell”
In an alternative universe, Bob Dylan “Blind Willie McTell”, “Foot of Pride” and “Someone’s Got a Hold on My Heart” would have on the album published in 1983 Infidels recorded. And then a triumphal tour started with the New Wave band Plugz, which was at him in 1984 Letterman supported. That would have given him a big comeback. And brought him in a completely different way in the 1980s. But it shouldn’t be. “Blind Willie McTell” is one of the best songs he wrote every decade. But at the time he just didn’t think he was published.
“I thought I wouldn’t have received it properly”, said he 1984 Rolling Stone. “But I don’t know why the stuff comes out of me. I think it never seems to get out of other people.” Dylan finally released it in 1991 on the Bootleg Series. ES was celebrated as a breathtaking masterpiece. After the band started it in 1993, Dylan accepted it in his live show. The next two decades remained in rotation.
1. “Jokerman”
In the early 1980s, Dylan spent a lot of time with sailing in the Caribbean. “I and another guy have a boat down there”, said he 1984 The Rolling Stone. “‘Jokerman’ I came up with on the islands. It is very mystical. The shapes there and the shadows seem to be so ancient. The song was somehow inspired by these spirits, whom they call jumbis.”
The mysterious song forms the start Infidels. Dylan released it as a single, who did not even end up in the charts. Nevertheless, he applied with a video. And came in 1984 with his legendary Letterman appearance on. The song then disappeared for another 10 years. Until he suddenly played it at 103 consecutive concerts.