(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??
1 comment:
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?
I 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."
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