An album with “not a bad track on” it has been dubbed one of Bob Dylan‘s “best albums”.
Love and Theft, released in 2001, has been compared to Highway 61 Revisited by fans discussing the merits of the album, where Dylan can be heard “on the top of his game” according to one user posting to the r/BobDylan subreddit. They wrote: “Does anyone else think Love and Theft is one of Dylan’s best albums? There’s not a bad track on here. It feels like a return to being the same songwriter as that of Highway 61 Revisited. It has a really timeless quality to it and it is such a fun album.
“You can tell on Summer Days he’s on the top of his game and really having a ball. After all the years since its release, I find myself returning to this album frequently, much more than his other 2000s albums. I think when all is said and done this album will stand the test of time and still sound fresh in twenty years.”
Fans agreed with the assessment given, and considered it the real “comeback” album as opposed to Time Out of Mind, which many view as Dylan’s return to form. One wrote: “To me it’s his real comeback album. It’s a masterful record that cemented his sound and vision for the next twenty-five years. And it sounds like he is having a blast. And I hadn’t felt that way since Blonde on Blonde.”
Another agreed, adding: “It’s the album where he had the confidence to produce it himself and really has defined his willingness to be himself since.” A third noted: “It’s definitely one of my favorites! The first time I saw him perform live, this was his newest album, so aside from the great songs, I associate this record with the excitement of seeing that live show.”
Does anyone else think “Love And Theft” is one of Dylan’s best albums?
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Others agreed the tour helped make it one of the better Dylan albums of this century. One wrote: “Can’t say enough about this album. Saw him touring after this album and it’s one of the best concerts I’ve ever been to. My god, the band was on fire that night.”
Another wrote: “The more raucous blues songs don’t do much for me (but they don’t do much for me in his early stuff either). Mississippi is a fuckin’ tune though and I love the lounge rock tracks like Po’ Boy and Moonlight. Lyrics to ‘Po Boy are hilarious.”
A third suggested it was a great album and did not need the “late stage career” defence some may use. They wrote: “Insanely good album. Doesn’t even need qualifiers like ‘considering how late it happened in his career’ or whatever, I put this right up there with anything from the 60s or 70s.”
Absolutely love this album and would agree that there is not a bad track on there. Better than Time out of Mind and Modern Times put together in my book.