Product Description

1. Tangled Up In Blue 2. Changing Of The Guards 3. The Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar 4. Hurricane 5. Forever Young 6. Jokerman 7. Dignity 8. Silvio 9. Ring Them Bells 10. Gotta Serve Somebody 11. Series Of Dreams 12. Brownsville Girl 13. Under The Red Sky 14. Knockin' On Heaven's Door

Track Listing

1. Tangled Up In Blue
2. Changing Of The Guards
3. Groom's Still Waiting At The Altar
4. Hurricane
5. Forever Young
6. Jokerman
7. Dignity
8. Silvio
9. Ring Them Bells
10. Gotta Serve Somebody
11. Series Of Dreams
12. Brownsville Girl
13. Under The Red Sky
14. Knockin' On Heaven's Door

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13415 in Music
• Released on: 1999-04-05
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

Two decades' worth of incredible Dylan tracks
Many of the albums Bob Dylan released in the late 70s, 80s, and early 90s were not overwhelmingly successful, and much of the really good music included on those albums has been overlooked through the years. Released in 1994, just prior to Dylan’s return to prominence, this Greatest Hits Volume 3 CD boasts a number of great songs that have never gotten the credit they deserve. It’s an eclectic set of songs, boasting a variety of styles, but it is pure Bob Dylan.

I’m going to examine these songs in order by release date. The oldest song included here is the classic Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door from Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973). Planet Waves (1974) gives us Forever Young, an atypical but amazing, slow-paced, powerful Dylan song. Blood on the Tracks (1975), one of Dylan’s most universally praised albums, gives us the CD’s opening track, Tangled Up in Blue; this quintessential Dylan story-telling song really starts the album off with a bang. The song Hurricane from Desire (1976) is a long, incredible song about Rubin Carter, the prize-contending boxer wrongly charged with murder and imprisoned for nearly two decades in a racially charged case (a story which was dramatized in the feature film The Hurricane starring Denzel Washington in 2000)—this is one of Dylan’s best songs ever. Changing of the Guards from Street Legal (1978) is a much different song, with backing vocals that give it a real gospel feel (although the lyrics make it unclear exactly what the song is about, at least to me). Next is Gotta Serve Somebody from Slow Train Coming (1979); this is a slow song that sounds a little hollow to my ears and is thus my least favorite song on the album. The 1980s are represented with five songs. The Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar comes from Shot of Love (1981); I really like this uptempo track, but it is rather unusual and not the type of song you might expect on a Greatest Hits album. Jokerman dates back to Infidels (1983). Knocked Out Loaded (1986), regarded by some as Dylan’s worst album, is well represented here with the amazing, long (11 minutes), and unforgettable song Brownsville Girl—this one is not to be missed. Down in the Groove (1988), another less successful album, makes what I consider a minor contribution here in the form of Silvio. Oh Mercy (1989) had one great song after another, and while I really like Ring Them Bells, I don’t think it is the best song from that comeback album. The other three songs here are from the early 1990s. Under the Red Sky, from the strangely enjoyable yet often-criticized album of the same name (1990) is a weak edition to this collection, although I rather like the song in and of itself. The much-appreciated Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3 (1991) is well represented by the incredibly appealing Series of Dreams. Finally, there is Dignity, the only brand-new song included on this album; it’s a great song, but it pales in comparison to most of the other songs collected here.

Featuring an amazingly diverse set of songs and sounds from America’s greatest musician, this third volume of Dylan’s greatest hits is just as good as the first two volumes chronicling his earlier work. In a sense, it is even more important because incredible songs such as Brownsville Girl have been wrongly overlooked due to their inclusion on badly-received albums and also because this volume basically covers almost two decades of Dylan’s work. Those who thought Dylan peaked in the early 70s could not be more wrong, as this collection as well as his string of widely-acclaimed CDs in the years after 1994 prove in the strongest of terms.

CLASSIC POST 60'S DYLAN AT HIS BEST
Fourteen tracks and 77 minutes of classic post 60's Dylan, I rate this record, of all the Dylan compilations, to be second only to 'More Greatest Hits'

The recordings are mostly album tracks covering the period from 'Planet Waves' (1974) to 'Under A Red Sky (1990). All selections including 'Tangled Up In Blue', 'Forever Young', 'Jokerman' and 'Ring Them Bells' are genre classics and illustrate the breadth and variety of Dylan's amazing creativity.

Two of Dylan's finest songs 'Dignity'(backing track added version) and 'Series of Dreams' both of which were inexplicably jettisoned from the excellent 'Oh Mercy' album appear here, as does 'Brownsville Girl' and 'Silvio' - standout gems from two otherwise unremarkable Dylan albums.

From the opening chords of 'Tangled Up In Blue' to the spiritually inspired 'Knocking on Heaven's Door' (used in Gabrielle's recent hit and one of only two Dylan single hits in the period) this is Dylan at his best. Buy it!

Could've been so much more.....
What the hell?!
Twenty-three years between "Greatest Hits, vol. II" and this album, and they put out a single-disc compilation.

Anyway, what is on here is obviously good, or even great, but what isn't is a scandal. Let this album lie, and go get the twin peaks of "Blood On The Tracks" and "Desire". Or maybe all get three. But this one won't do by itself. It doesn't have "Every Grain Of Sand"! (You have to buy "Shot Of Love" to get that one...)

The compilers at Columbia Records should've done what Dylan himself did when putting together "Greatest Hits, vol. II" - put out a double album and chosen from singles and album tracks alike. That would have made a much, much stronger selction. This one doesn't even have "Every Grain Of Sand"!

Maybe you should just buy the "Biograph" box, along with "Desire" and "Blood On The Tracks". That'll satisfy most Dylan fans.

And did I mention that "Greatest Hits vol. III" doesn't have "Every Grain Of Sand"?