A decade into his career and with his finest work behind him, Bob Dylan wishes to speak of desire. What does he wish for? Desire is a coupling of all those fine notes he leaves behind in his earliest works and those that do not make the cut in later releases. It is unclear as to whether Dylan wants a clean break from his past or a new approach to his style, while still keeping the notes that made him the man he is. After all, Dylan is a great experimenter. One of the few to leave his mark on sound and the arts as more than a musician, but as an innovator that so many learn from.
As opening track Hurricane would hint at, something greater was trundling down the tracks. Blood on the Tracks now a year gone by, but Desire is the calm after that storm. Even then, the calm is still enough to rock the boat, to innovate and excite and preside over more strong lyrics. A wild and large crashing of musicians makes for a special collaborative piece. Experimental, but in a way that does not grate on the ears too often. Dylan is no Trout Mask Replica, and at his heart is still a desire to make something of quality. He manages that much with Desire, but his own, eponymous inclinations are shrouded in the guilty and misery-doused tones of his lyrics and the drifter-like attitude he and his stories take on.
These are the risks Dylan wishes to show, however ambiguous they may be. Closing track Sara is certainly a close call for listeners, who get to hear a real, vulnerable part of Dylan. A crying farewell to his at-the-time wife, Sara. But that big band atmosphere still rings through, notably so on Hurricane and understandably so on Isis. From there, Desire deviates into songs of little cruxes and oddities as their starting point. Dylan wishes to adapt those moments as fleeting observations and fun challenges to write about. Joey lingers on as a lengthy track, not as strong or moving as Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, but certainly as descriptive and emotionally in tune with the singer and his intentions. Just not as strong. He had hit the highs once, and to do so again with a song just a few seconds shorter than his Blonde on Blonde masterpiece is wishful thinking.
Weaker moments of experimentation in Mozambique and Romance in Durango still pave the way to pockets of artistic interest. Art is risk, and Dylan accepts that. Seventeen studio albums into his career and his works are still as fresh, free and risk-oriented as his first offering. His big-band style is an engaging one, the sultry lyrics are stretched and syllables are dragged out as best as Dylan can perceive them. His experiment is a success, more because his lyrical strengths are so consistent, and how he adapts them to this new avenue of musical styling is interesting. One More Cup of Coffee is as entertaining as it is interesting, and a perfect understanding that desire does not have to be for a big change, sometimes it can be for something as small as coffee. Desire treads through its narrative with that in mind, the desires are simple and the writing is effective.
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More summarily for my part, it seems to be a much more personal album than almost anything he has ever done and for that reason it is one of my personal favorites. Even “Hurricane ” has a more personal disdain than the way he normally chastises issues and events. But then again, he could have me fooled. Wouldn’t be the first time. Having said that, I still love this work.
Brilliant and though provoking
Like Dylan himself, some of his albums have grown in stature with the passage of time. “Desire” is high among them. Among its tracks, Oh Sister, Sara, One More Cup of Coffee, Hurricane, Isis, and Black Diamond Bay should take their place among Dylan’s finest work. And how could anyone be surprised: “Desire” was the last in a handful of albums — peaking with “Blood On The Tracks”, which permanently placed Dylan heads above his contemporaries and among America’s greatest songwriters, if not its greatest.