Leaning into those acoustic strengths once more, Bob Dylan notes another, smaller change of pace. His music at this stage was in the return period, his notoriety rising at every turn following Oh Mercy (and ignoring the disastrously dull Under the Red Sky). With his traditional cover album Good as I Been to You, Dylan had found some new passion for singing and, most notably, playing. That carries over to World Gone Wrong, a tender and forgotten piece of Dylan’s discography that marks itself as a clear and simple set of American folk and acoustic blues. That pairing is an obvious one, as gentle as it is resounding for Dylan, whose resurgence is proven to be much more than the fluke some thought it was going to be.
Opening track World Gone Wrong is as strong an opener as Dylan could hope for. Another engaged focus on the plucking style of the artist, a notable effectiveness in the stripped-back approach. Dylan and his guitar will feel both reminiscent of the glory days and delicately particular for his new phase of work. Love Henry and Ragged & Dirty are where the album finds real life and unique light. From the playing abilities of Dylan to his lyrical powerhouses, each track feels mindful of his period, a delicate moment that hopes to continue a surge of good form. Blood in My Eyes is the most intense and articulate Dylan had been since his booming period of quality decades before this piece. Emotionally charged, simple strumming and a vocal presence from Dylan proves unique.
There is the case to be made for World Gone Wrong as one of the most introspective and reflective pieces from Dylan’s discography. Delia strikes through as a lament to the friends Dylan lost on the way to his successful period, and looking back on the 1960s from this lofty, early 1990s position, it is stunning to see how many of that generation were no longer around. Stack a Lee is a fine break from that higher quality, another intimate set of guitar ballads form the B-Side, which rise and falls with a sincerity and flow to them. Two Soldiers is a delightful war ballad, some of Dylan’s best writings are hidden away on this track. Lamenting that over the course of just a few days is stunning, but so goes the home recordings of Dylan and the intimacy of them creates such a vivid, touching structure.
With Jack-a-Roe striking through with an immediacy last heard on Desire, Dylan finds himself with another thoroughly strong record on his hands. World Gone Wrong is not just a great album, it is also the last of a consistent period. Five years after the release of this piece, Dylan released Time Out of Mind. Four years after that came Love and Theft. Those longer gaps showcased not just a quality that would be otherwise inaccessible in a slate of releases that pushed an album a year, but it engages with the changing tones, paces and discoveries of Dylan. As essential as it is touching, World Gone Wrong is another quiet piece of Dylan’s discography that settles well into its charms.
