Bob Dylan – The Best of Bob Dylan Review

Compilations of great artists are no surprise. Just about everyone working with more than a handful of hits has one. Barry Manilow even got one. The Nolan Sisters had a record, too. Everyone is playing the compilation game and so few of them are worth your while. Not just because they limit the storytelling experience of a fully-fledged album but because your favourites are different to the ones featured on a record. Such is the case of The Best of Bob Dylan, a straight-shooting collection which accepts all the right features onto its tracklist. It has still not been released in the United States, but for those in Japan, New Zealand and the United Kingdom, it provided a decent assortment of solid songs before the release of The Essential Bob Dylan.  

No song is out of place for this release. Everything is as it should be and a few omissions which can be respected and understood. The 1980s are skipped over entirely, and those who made this compilation live in blissful ignorance of Knocked Out Loaded. More power to them. At least the religious period Dylan endeavoured in is not lost – Gotta Serve Somebody is the choice of this compilation. Would the title track have made much of a difference? It is possible but even then, to consider the gap of quality between it and Oh Mercy is understandable. In doing so there is a complete lack of recognition for a warped but certainly interesting period for Dylan.  

It ends with Everything is Broken from Oh Mercy, a track now seemingly overlooked compared to the rest of the songs on this release. Deserving of its place but not as powerful as the earlier works like Like a Rolling Stone. Still, The Best of Bob Dylan makes the bold move of featuring just one song per album. It means tough choices and snubs to Highway 61 Revisited and Ballad of a Thin Man, casualties of a discussion The Best of Bob Dylan half-heartedly makes on what they perceived as his best works at the time. Sorry, Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands fans, it is not likely we shall see it on a compilation any time soon. Even in 1997, the jury was out on that Blonde on Blonde masterpiece. I Shall Be Released manages to sneak its way on, as does an alternate version of Shelter from the Storm in bonus track form – interesting additions and not at the expense of anything according to the stringent qualifiers made up by this release. 

A harmless and inoffensive compilation. No qualms about it but no risks taken, other than perhaps the choice of Oh, Sister a representation for Desire. Ultimately a fine collection of the best of Dylan, that much is inarguable. These are his great and many peaks – though some detractors would have hoped for a couple of deep cuts from those darker days. Still, for a collection seemingly cobbled together at a time when Time Out of Mind was making the rounds, this serves as an opportunity to listen to some of the very best occasions of the great singer-songwriter in isolated form. Mr. Tambourine Man remains a beautiful track regardless of where it falls, in playlists of compilations, and the magic for many of these tracks is quite similar here.