Product Description

As with most other 1980s Bob Dylan albums, KNOCKED OUT LOADED is a piece-meal work--a combination of various sessions, performed by different groups of musicians, presenting the many sides of Bob Dylan. Touching upon juke-joint R&B ("You Wanna Ramble"), reeling Stones-like blues-rock ("Got My Mind Made Up", co-written by then touring partner Tom Petty and featuring his Heartbreakers), and a gospel arrangement of a Kris Kristofferson tune ("They Killed Him") which inevitably harkens back to Dylan's earlier spiritual explorations, the bard seems unsure where his own attention lay.
Still, much as KNOCKED OUT lacks a sense of cohesion, it doesn't exclude the mystery of Dylan's best work. "Brownsville Girl", an eleven-minute opus co-written by playwright Sam Sheppard, isvintage Zimmerman, struggling to encompass an entire worldview within the context of a mid-tempo, brassy, Tex-Mex blues-as-passage-in-a-diary. It is a rough-edged diamond that is among the most unique parts of Dylan's entire catalogue, andit was delivered so effortlessly that nobody dared think Dylan had lost any of his powers.

Track Listing

1. You Wanna Ramble
2. They Killed Him
3. Drifting Too Far From The Shore
4. Precious Memories
5. Maybe Someday
6. Brownsville Girl
7. Got My Mind Made Up
8. Under Your Spell

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10352 in Music
• Released on: 1993-02-01
• Number of discs: 1

Customer Reviews

One of his worst, but essential for "Brownsville Girl"
Yes, everyone knows that basically this is a poor album with Dylan on an automatic pilot that if he was not careful would crash straight into the side of the Rocky Mountains. Buried alive by multiple female gospel-style backing singers and some cheesy 1980s keyboard-dominated backing, the feel is not really lifted by some pretty uninspiring songs such as the lazy blues-by-numbers of "You Wanna Ramble" and the triteness of "Precious Memories and "Under Your Spell. I have a strange liking for "Driftin' Too Far From Shore" for some reason though, and I've always quite liked "Maybe Someday" and "Got My Mind Made Up". They have a refreshing breeziness to them which is sometimes good to experience from Dylan. Not everything is "Idiot Wind" after all. "Emire Burlesque" has good points as an album for the same reason. Then, of course, there is the universally-panned "They Killed Him", as God-fearing Dylan bemoans the death of Christ, complete with children's choir. Watch out, though, it is infectious and you'll find yourself singing it !

One of the problems with "Knocked Out Loaded" was that, quite simply, Dylan had no place in the self-love 1980s, just as The Rolling Stones hadn't. It would be the nineties when retrospective respect was rightfully re-bestowed.

Oh, I almost forgot. "Brownsville Girl". Twelve mintues of Dylan narrative cinematic imagery, complete with "back on form" trademark voice. Yes, I agree, it falls behind "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts", "Hurricane", "Joey" and "Changing Of The Guards" in the ranks of great Dylan narratives, but it ain't half bad, especially considering from whence it came. The album is essential just for this track.

Better than the critics say
In the last song Under your spell-comes a line which gives this album its title-"knocked out loaded"-and it came from a song of the 40s called Junco Partner.
That's what I like about Dylan's music-he grabs stuff from everywhere.
Take the first song You wanna ramble-its a little known one from Junior Parker-the man who wrote Mystery Train and Feelin' Good.
His restructuring of Precious Memories is I suppose unusual and shows imagination
Only 8 songs though as Brownsville Girl takes up over 11 minutes.
Whatever this is one of the highlights but the rest is pretty good

Not as bad as all that.
Undoubtedly Dylan is the most important artist of the past one hundred years. Most artists are lucky to have the one seminal album, but how many does the Bobster have? 6? 7? And there in lies the problem for him. Fans and critics alike expect so much from the great man that anything that doesn't quite match up to Blonde on Blonde or Blood on the Tracks is awful.

True, Knocked Out is hardly a classic. But there's enough here to make it a worthwhile addition to most people's cd collections - if not for Brownsville Girl alone!