Eventually, the allure and appeal of funky 1980s iconography wins any artist over. Few could push away those graphics, the innovations they brought and the now dated feel they have. Tackle any music programme that constantly belts out the classics of the 1980s and they all feel as though they have been pushed through the sickly pop culture filter of the time. Ragged, orange graphics, a feeling that a spray paint can has run out just before a squiggle was formed. Not even Bob Dylan could remove himself from that, hence Empire Burlesque and its strange participation in the big blazers and pop rock of the time.
Horrifically generic opener Tight Connection to My Heart (Has Anyone Seen My Love) may as well be a Haddaway single. It has all the cheese of a Rick Astley pop manoeuvre, and the imagery of it too. Richard Scher’s synthesizer removes most of the beauty in Dylan’s lyrics, however, the few smatterings of inspiration here are diluted by a new wave of dedication from Dylan. Seeing the Real You at Last smacks of irony, as Empire Burlesque features not a note that feels all that similar to what Dylan fans would appreciate from this artist. Where I’ll Remember You should be the soulful perfection Dylan’s acoustics lend themselves to, it instead feels like a horribly mixed piece of 1980s fodder. Annoyingly enough, buried deep on the B-Side is a forgotten single and excellent string-oriented piece in Emotionally Yours, a nice change of pace from the horrors of the A-Side yet still dragged by its synth inclusion.
Empire Burlesque fares even worse elsewhere though, as tough as it is to believe. Clean Cut Kid sees a slight improvement, more for the work Mick Taylor brings to the recording than anything else. Trying to cut through the synth and style-heavy 1980s with a harmonica feels a bit like trying to stand out with a funky graphic surrounding a headshot of the artist. That is what Empire Burlesque is. A real standout for Dylan, who finds himself mixed in with the crowd of everybody else doing the exact same as him, but with better results. Dylan cannot quite commit himself to being a shoddy version of Sting, so bows out and tries to adapt his lyrical qualities to a new sound, and fails admirably. Still, at least the relatively light and harmless Trust Yourself is a bit of clap-a-long fun. When the Night Comes Falling From the Sky is a bit of 1980s life and storming success done right for Dylan. It is over before it began.
Butchering the discotheque of the 1980s, Dylan storms through in an attempt to keep himself attached to the pop-art climate. His best works are when he challenges that, though. He may have innovated with electric music, but now he plays second fiddle to it. Empire Burlesque is horribly dated and nothing like the work Dylan would provide, before or after. Complete indifference is the best Empire Burlesque can feel as it trundles through the synth-heavy eighties. Not even Dylan could prevent himself from being swallowed up by the thick fog of a Mick Taylor guitar bridge. Empire Burlesque is an album of moments. Very brief, disconnected moments, that never amount to much more than a squandered opportunity to truly face off against the dominance of synth-pop.
Yea, that’s fair. It would be interesting to hear all these songs re-done without all that cheese, as, individually, there are quite a few of those special moments, and maybe many more would manage to come through. Seeing the Real You At Last, and Dark Eyes, are still standouts on thr record, and I’ll Remember You has been redeemed in many live performances.