(Columbia, 1979)Sleazy wheeze, Bobert! What happened to that forceful singing from just a few years back, my newly-mellow friend? GOD HAPPENED! And there’s nuthin wrong with that; I don’t react with much more than a shrug to Dylan’s religious phase from a general philosophical or political or even lyrical standpoint – whatever floats the guy’s thingy is AOK with me – but this glossy Vegas act does bug me. Horns and fancy gee-tar and backup ladies can be deployed with taste and grace, and this sure nuff ain’t it. “Slow Train” (edited by a minute here!) is a passable bore, yes, but “Do Right to Me Baby” is a disco-mega-lite horrorshow that sounds like the worst of George Harrison’s late-’70s creative death whimpers. Awful. They can’t possibly dig this stuff in heaven, can they??
Funny you should mention Harrison after just touting the Wilburies. Maybe the Wilburies were so good because both Dylan and Harrison had to atone for similar sins?
ReplyDeleteI can't remember the last time I heard "Do Right to Me Baby"...I can't imagine wanting to listen to it again. But it's not the worst song on the album; I insist that's "Man Gave Names to All the Animals."