Product Description

Track listing 1. Hurricane 2. Isis 3. Mozambique 4. One More Cup Of Coffee 5. Oh Sister 6. Joey 7. Romance In Durango 8. Black Diamond Bay 9. Sara

Track Listing

1. Hurricane
2. Isis
3. Mozambique
4. One More Cup Of Coffee
5. Oh, Sister
6. Joey
7. Romance In Durango
8. Black Diamond Bay
9. Sara

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3123 in Music
• Released on: 2004-03-29
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
Dylan shows an unlikely innocence and a greater sense of the world around him on this 1976 follow-up to the more cynical and introspective Blood on the Tracks. Working with lyricist Jacques Levy, Dylan offers a work with rougher edges and greater urgency that is distinguished by the prominence of Scarlet Rivera's melancholy violin and Emmylou Harris's bare harmonies. The album features two of Dylan's famous wrongly accused-and-misunderstood-criminal sagas but truly peaks elsewhere. Exotic imagery meshes with simple melody on "Isis," one of Dylan's most appealing rambles. The droning piano and plodding drums propel a mystical journey that contains some of his most insightful (and most ridiculous) lyrics about paranoia, trust, betrayal, and, of course, desire. ("What drives me to you is what drives me insane.") In the end Dylan shows no signs of being jaded by love's fickleness. Delicate and heartbreaking, the finale "Sara" is a gift to his ex-wife that eloquently recounts the wonders of a relationship, perhaps in an attempt to revive it. --Marc Greilsamer

Customer Reviews

Just as good, if not better, than 'Blood on the Tracks'
I came to listen to 'Desire' with no previous knowledge of Bob
Dylan's music. Of course, I had heard of him and was aware that he had written a number of classic songs, but I had never heard his music.
Anyway, 'Desire' is now one of the best albums in my collection, and is unfairly overshadowed by 1975's 'Blood on the Tracks', the second Dylan album I heard.
'Desire' features some original violin from Scarlet Rivera, and haunting harmonies from country singer Emmylou Harris. But it is Dylan's songs that stand out. He certainly does not have the most conventional of voices, but he works around this and produces a stellar collection of songs - I wouldn't want it any other way.
"Hurricane" and "Joey" tell of gangster land and murders, both apparently true stories and both told with Dylan's opinions (he strenuously protests boxer Hurricane Carter's innocence after he was accused of a triple murder back in the 1960s) in mind. "Mozambique" and "Oh, Sister" are both highly pleasant songs and highlights, but they aren't as powerful or immediately awe-inspiring as the rest of the material.
"One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)" is haunting and sounds mildly Eastern, with great harmonies from Emmylou Harris. "Black Diamond Bay" is upbeat and breathlessly tells a story set in Greece, while the Latin-flavoured "Romance in Durango" shows how diverse Bob Dylan can be.
"Isis" is a major highlight of the record, with some mystical imagery and a lingering melody. Finally, "Sara" features some of Dylan's most tuneful vocals and is a heartfelt ode to his wife, whom he separated before the making of 'Desire'. The album also carries a gypsy vibe, in part thanks to the Rolling Thunder Revue of 1975, a travelling medicine show with a number of highly regarded musicians including Dylan, Joan Baez and Joni Mitchell.
'Desire' is certainly one of Bob Dylan's greatest records and just as good, if not better, than 'Blood on the Tracks'.

STUNNING SONGS, GREAT STYLISTIC VARIETY
These tracks aren't as anthemic or immediately accessible as some of Bob Dylan's more familiar classics, so it takes some time for them to sink in. Hurricane is a torrent of a song in what sounds to me a stream-of-consciousness style, whilst Isis is likewise dense and profound, quite an epic with vivid imagery. Mozambique has a lovely melody and a lilting tropical beat, and is the only song here that exudes joy and happiness. Closest to his earlier folk style, Oh Sister is introspective, heartfelt and moving. Romance In Durango is the tragic story of an outlaw fleeing from the law but not making it and saying his farewells to his wife and child - it has a beautiful soaring Spanish chorus and a vaguely Latin flavour. Black Diamond Bay is a powerful and intense rock ballad whilst the autobiographical Sara makes reference to Dylan's earlier song Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands; it's a flowing conversational ballad with lots of charm. The musical and lyrical variety on Desire ensures a captivating listening experience. I think this album holds up well in Dylan's great body of work. Perhaps not one of his top 5 albums, but a work of enduring value containing at least four classic songs.

Dylan's languid best
I bought Desire in a state of fever pitch excitement, having been blown away by Hurricane on Radio Luxembourg (unbleeped version!)

Having heard the whole album, I came to the conclusion that Dylan was relaxing at long last and putting that legendary imagination to startling use with some sparkling and atmospheric narratives like Romance in Durango (you can just imagine yourself in Mexico), Isis, Joey (tribute to a dead gangster, no less!) and the truly wonderful story related in Black Diamond Bay.

Dylan sounds lyrically mature and right at his peak here. An extra dimension is added by clever use of instrumentation, notably Scarlett Riviera's violin.

That said, this collection also includes the crackling tension of Sara. Stark simplicity of guitar and voice was all this song needed.

If you're sold on Dylan's folky roots or country period, this is ideal mid-period Dylan to plot the course of his development.