Different from other Dylan'sI
592956
I gave this as a present to a die hard Dylan fan...he loved it!  He says it's different...in a good way.
2995508
It's amusing that they would sell this cd at Starbucks locations, because it's really the last thing a person looking for a Dylan primer would want.  The racks of used record stores are filling up with this cd, my guess because curious latte drinkers who may or may not have seen Scorsese's documentary think it might be a good impulse to buy a Dylan cd.

Unfortunately, Dylan refuses to fit nicely into anyone's niche.  I think the problem with Dylan is that people come in expecting a certain "Dylan," whether it be the snarling "Like A Rolling Stone" era or the cute protest songs of the early 60's.  For the Dylan stereotypes, by all means buy his Greatest Hits or the Essential Dylan collection.

The irony is that Starbucks is selling a collection of Dylan songs for hardcore fans.  It's a complete joy to hear a live Maggies Farm with all the energy but a new arrangement, early recordings of songs like "Man of Constant Sorrow."  This cd is a great continuation of the consistently exciting Bootleg Series.  It's not, however, much of a companion to a Vanilla Bean Frappuccino.
3690321
2006's NEVER HEAR THE END OF IT was Sloan's longest album.  While I haven't checked the timings, I would be willing to bet that PARALLEL PLAY is their shortest.  I absolutely don't understand previous reviews that identify only a couple of great songs.  There are a couple of bland songs (in particular the final track, "Too Many"), but most of the rest are either good or extremely good.  For instance, "Emergency 911" is a very good song, but I would rate at least six songs better. Even by Sloan's admittedly exceptionally high standards this is a very good album.  I might rank it below TWICE REMOVED, ONE CHORD TO ANOTHER, ACTION PACT, and the aforementioned NEVER HEAR THE END OF IT, but I would put PARALLEL PLAY next, maybe alongside NAVY BLUES.  But Sloan is one of those bands like Sleater-Kinney or Spoon that just seems to be capable of spitting out an unending number of remarkably fine discs.  Anyone unfamiliar with Sloan getting acquainted with them through this disc would be amazed to learn that they have several that are better.

Since people here are mentioning their favorites, I'll add mine.  "Witches Wand," "Burn for It," "Believe in Me," "Cheap Champagne," "Down in the Basement," and "I'm Not a Kid Anymore" are all, in my opinion, first rate songs.  Others are merely good.  But even so I also like "The Dogs" and other cuts.  The only pseudo-complaint that I think someone could make about the album is that it doesn't cut new ground.  But so what?  Even if it repeats previous successes, they are great repeats.

I did get a huge kick out of "Down in the Basement," intended as an obvious rip of Bob Dylan.  Sometimes the guitar playing puts you in mind of HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED with Michael Bloomfield on guitar, sometimes the Basement Tapes, with fellow Canadian Robbie Robertson.  But if you are a fan of Dylan, the song is a delight.
739632
This is not my favorite Dylan album by a country mile. It's not that this is a completely unappealing album to listen to but when I am in the mood for Bob; there are at least 15 records I reach for before this. As Jimi Hendrix and a host of other rockers proved with their cover versions, the fabulous songs are here, it's just Bob's execution that bores me to tears.

Mr. Dylan delights in re-inventing his old songs on stage and I can think of three fairly sterile tunes from John Wesley Harding that have become on stage barn burners in recent years:

Drifter's Escape
Wicked Messenger
Down Along The Cove

The Love And Theft era band (featuring the guitar styling's of the great Charlie Sexton from 1997 to 2002) has rightly been heralded as among the greatest Bob ever performed with and those guys helped Bob find the buried treasure hidden in these fine songs. You can find the modern day arrangement of Down Along The Cove on the Bonnaroo 2004 CD but I wish Bob would put out a Never Ending tour live album featuring these gems. Just as Knocking on Heaven's Door was ultimately delivered in its definitive form on the Before The Flood live album, so these tracks should get their due on a live release.

Bonus tip: Check out intensely rocking versions of Wicked Messenger by The Faces and Jerry Garcia (Legion Of Mary) to get an idea of the power inherent in this song.
2359291
Reminds me of when Dylan went electric. (too much info?)  Come on, I don't want to hear Mumford & Sons make the same album over and over.  Wilder Mind is definitely different than their first two releases but I am enjoying it just as much.  They are still fantastic musicians and I do love to listen to Marcus sing.  Such a distinctive voice.
1900375
Dylan has some large roadblocks between happiness and his daily life. One is his size. At fifteen, hes well over six feet and weighs close to 250. Its not fat, hes big like his dad...His late dad who died of cancer when he was three. Its just him and his mother, still living in the house his parents bought and had such dreams for. Then theres his appearance. Hes hairy, really, really hairy, hence the nickname his best (and only) friend JP, gave him. Because of it, everyone has called him Beast for years.
 Inside, hes not really different from the rest of his classmates. He has fears, crushes and is above average intellectually, but has found himself a literal prisoner of his best friend, who uses emotional blackmail to get Dylan to strong arm other teens who owe JP money. JPs no saint, but readers get an inkling of what makes him tick, thanks to his conversations with both Dylan and his mother. JPs family is rich in money, but poverty-stricken in nurture and family warmth. In fact, hes lived in a fancy tree house in his back yard for years.
 When junior year starts, a new edictno hats, no long hair, coupled with a really cruel act by JP lands Dylan on the roof outside his bedroom window and he breaks his leg in the resulting fall. Moms worried that it was a suicide attempt, and her worry lands him in a teen therapy group. Its there he meets Jamie who is beautiful, funny and transgender. Unfortunately, he missed hearing her share that in group because he was in a major self-pity mode.
 How he and Jamie navigate the uneasy path of attraction, gender issues, JPs manipulative behavior, Dylans desperate wish for a cosmic sign, not to mention two moms who are on 24/7 helicopter status because of fears that their child will come to a bad end, make this a very hard book to put down. Despite language and one sex scene, its a very good book for school and public libraries to consider adding.
225419
Bob Dylan.  Ya hate him or ya love him.  Not sure there is an "inbetween".  For some of you "doubters" you might want to start with some of his later recordings.  He has done some out of the Dylan realm type songs that may interest you.  Me?  HUGE FAN.  Always have been.  I have over 3/4 of his albums and still deciding what to get next.  A singer - songwriter who has an Academy Aware, Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Nobel Peace prize, that made his roots grow in the tumultuous 60's ... probably has something you might relate to.  This is one of 3 albums that is a tribute to Frank Sinatra.
3778302
This is Bob Dylan for late at night. You've just gotten home after a long, pleasent evening and you are tired. You wanna listen to some music. How about Bob Dylan? Nah, don't wanna get to riled up right now...Put on Infidels. It is the 'chillest' Dylan out there (at least that I know of). When you don't want to think (Highway 61 Revisited), don't want to experiment (Another Side of Bob Dylan/Self Potrait) this is great.

Three best songs:

3: I and I. Very chill, reggae-ish. I'm looking forward to the version on "Is It Rolling, Bob?" the Dylan reggae tribute.

2. Jokerman. Ultimate relaxation right here. Jokerman dance...

1. Neighborhood Bully. A true rocker. The one way this album reminds me of that underappreciated (at least in my opinion) Dylan album Shot of Love is that they both have one song that everyone must agree rocks. "Neighborhood Bully" is that song.
394607
I purchased This before hearing samples or reading reveiws, then before it came I read some reviews, I got nervous, wondering what I had gotten myself into. Don't listen to those bad reviews. Sure he sounds different, but that doesn't mean it's bad. I also ordered Modern times, Dylan 3 discs deluxe, Highway 61 revisited and blonde on blonde. I am so glad I did. You can never go wrong with Dylan he just went back to where he started, loving blusey,laid back music, He is a great Talent! I can't wait untill another one comes out. I have been a fan for years but this is the first music I have bought and I don't know what took me so long.
2332673
Now this is his first album.  His voice is younger, and style a little different than later albums.  I thoroughly enjoyed hearing this album that I'd never heard any songs from before.  Harmonica is great in it as well as guitar.  His lyrics are good too.  I am so amazed how original he was right out the gate in his lyrics and his whole sound.  A worth while album to add to any Dylan fan collection for certain.  I hesitated at first ordering it, looking at that young face, but so glad I did.
4315594
Just finished Daniel Mark Epstein's "The Ballad of Bob Dylan" and I've been trying to think how I would describe it - it is unique among the Dylan books.  Easier to say what it is NOT:
it's not an overly factual namedropping compendium of Dylan's "career"; it's not a gossipy Enquirerlike speculation about his private life; it's not a line by line sucking-all-life-out dissection/analysis of his lyrics; it's not a blathering lovefest by a worshipping bobhead; it's not a socio-political historical overview pretzeled into an author's narrow niche thesis....
IT IS - a story about Dylan's creative process (i.e. his life), a narrative framed by four specific events, places in time and space, to anchor Epstein's  wide ranging, beautiful, sensitive, lush layering of the well known, the little known and the new insights his long view brings to Dylan's over-examined lifestory.  The pacing is cinematic with close-ups, still-lifes, flashbacks, panoramic views and snippets of ugly reality peppering the dreamscape created by Dylan's aura. Epstein's writing is seamless, with very little intrusions of  "I" yet the whole book is actually Epstein's ballad, his tale of how Dylan inspired and influenced and I can't think of the right word - - infused?? a particular aesthetic lens on his view of the musical and poetic landscape.
On page 445, Nora Guthrie's quote beginning with "What more do you want?" beautifully positions core truths..."There are people who have brought a new spirit to the world.  They've really added a spiritual spice to the mix that changes everybody....But once that energy stops, then you'll realize what you had in the time you had it".
I listen to Dylan songs almost every day, the lyrics run through my head pretty regularly (I always say there's a Dylan lyric for every situation) and I go to every Dylan concert I can - to witness, to be in the presence of his energy and to pay tribute, to show respect and appreciation for him and for his work.  As an artist I so totally "get" why he keeps doing what he's doing and the fact that he is constantly changing, creating new work is quite an inspiration.
Epstein's book is a lovely, engaging and timely reminder of why Dylan is Dylan.
3308340
Ordered this to fill out my Dylan collection. First few times I listened, not impressed. But, evidently, it's an acquired taste. The more I listened, the more I "appreciated" his major departure. Can't say I love or even like it a bunch. But, don't regret spending the $'s.
1812242
Culturally significant movie. Bob Dylan plays electric for the first time. The hubbub about his playing was not so much about his being electric, but that he only played 2 songs. I was a big fan of folk music at the time and it put me right back there.
1680573
All those years ago as a school boy in Minnesota, Dylan sat listening to old blues and folk vinyls, playing his guitar and singing along with them. He grew to know them like good friends and became familiar with their essence and soul. He paid special attention to their inflections, timing and feel, so that when he arrived at Greenwich Village and began playing in the coffee houses Dylan had a genuine feel for the music.  As he began singing and recording his own songs these songs and artists were part of his secure base, his roots.
In recording World Gone Wrong Bob Dylan decided to do a tribute to his roots by producing an all folk and blues cd.  This is a very stripped down and spare cd.  We hear only Dylan's nasal voice, guitar and harmonica and that makes a pretty powerful combination. Stripped of all the other instruments and studio finesse one hears how kinetic and emotional these songs can be with Dylan as a performer.
In addition to the Dylan's performances are the liner notes which he writes about each song.  They are not to be missed. About the title song World Gone Wrong, Dylan says:
"Strange things are happening like never before, strange things like courage becoming befuddled and nonfundamental, evil charlatans masquerading in pullover vests & tuxedos talking gobbledygook, monstrous pompous superficial pageantry parading down lonely streets on limited access highway."
The songs themselves are of course wonderful things made more intense with Dylan's nasal voice of gravel and gritl which can be alternately tender, harsh, pain filled, caustic and angry.  Ragged and Dirty by Willie Brown is about love, working man style. "If I clean up Sweet Mama, can I stay all night with you." Broke Down Engine a Blind Willie McTell song is intense and powerful.
In World Gone Wrong a Mississippi Sheik's song we hear Dylan's wonderful nasal voice with the familiar cadence of drawing out the ending notes.
I can't be good no more
Once like I did before
I can't be good, baby
Honey, cause the world gone wrong
Other noteworthy songs are Blood in My Eyes, a raw and ragged love song of great depth and caring and Delia, a tender and caring ballad about poor Delia who was a gambling girl and died of a gunshot would.  Dylan sings "All the friends I ever had are gone.
This is perhaps not a typical Dylan cd because it lacks any of his original material.  It does aptly showcase how powerful and emotional a performer he is.  It also demonstrates his care and respect for the American folk tradition.
2392420
I have been a Dylan fan since his first album, Bob Dylan. I have lived through all the changes that this man has gone through and put me through. Now down to business.

Dylan is not the Dylan of the earlier years. However, this third part of the "trilogy" is very good. He's cranky, unfortunately still religious, and still commenting on the world we live in. The music is laid back blues, country and jazz tinged and some rock and roll thrown in for good measure. Most of the time his lyrics make sense and even offer insights, sometimes they just rhyme. I find myself listening to this album a lot. The songs I particularly like are "Thunder on the Mountain," and "Workingman's Blues, # 2." the latter song is as political as the old Bob is gonna get, he even mentions the "proletariat" and "fight on the front line."

You can't go back in time, except to listen to his old stuff, which is still far superior to his new stuff. But this ain't half bad and much better than most of the other pop stuff being produced. I'll see you at the Meadowlands Bob.
3355900
Casual fans may not realize that this is the product of Robert Zimmerman's kin, but is that important anyway?  The music is only [Bob] Dylanesque in lyrical introspectiveness.  The melodies and harmonies are unique throughout, proving that Jakob is a formidable talent in his own right.  And did anybody notice that he can actually sing?  Forget about "6th Avenue Heartache", the best tracks on this album are the ballads--"Three Marlenas" and "Invisible City" in particular, as well as the immaculate "One Headlight."  Also of note: most of the songs are unusual in that they are instantly likeable but also stand up well after repeated listening.  The one possible flaw is a lack of variety in the style; the songs all stick to the same highly polished, countryish formula.
202175
As far as songwriting Bob Dylan is the best of the best. No one comes close. The fact that this compilation can find 4 cd's of very good songs to cover testifies to that. They could have made it 8 cd's without running out of quality songs. Is there another artist that has produced to that level? Sorry, none.

To me Dylan covers are very predictable. If the artist has any talent at all I know the song will at least be pretty good. How can it not be? Even Miley Cyrus can come off well covering a gorgeous song like You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go. But the flip side of that is that it will almost never be worth listening to over the original as sung by Bob himself. Covers of great non-hit tracks here like New Morning, Simple Twist Of Fate, or Changing Of The Guards are fun to listen to. Once or twice. But then I just want to hear the Dylan original.

I have my dozen or so favorites here that I will want to hear again, but the rest is pretty disposable and generic. Last night I had this set on my ipod in shuffle mode. After a while the lone genuine Bob track Chimes Of Freedom came up. I can probably come up with about 200 Dylan songs that I like better but it still stood out here. What they say is true - Nobody sings Dylan like Dylan.