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Bob Dylan's catalog contains so many absolute classics (Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Another Side, Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde on Blonde, etc) that it's easy to fall in love with them for decades and forget about his "lesser" albums. You know the ones I'm talking about - the ones that have weak critical ratings. The ones you see piled up in used record stores, but don't see in your friends' record collections alongside Bringing It All Back Home and Blood on the Tracks. You might know one or two of their tracks from one of the man's Greatest Hits collections, but you really aren't all that curious about the other songs on the album. "Probably just filler," you may think.
I've been there. For years, my appreciation of Bob Dylan's music was deep, but it wasn't broad. Those classic albums were the soundtrack to my life - to long walks, drinks with friends, quiet listening sessions at home. I loved them, but after hundreds and hundreds of listens, they no longer made my heart skip a beat. Sadly, after so many years of happy listening, I needed something new.
So I decided to get some more Dylan albums - the "lesser" ones I mentioned above. I got "New Morning" on vinyl and "Oh Mercy" on CD. I downloaded "Planet Waves" and gave a few more good listens to "The Times They are A-Changin'" (an album I didn't fully appreciate - beyond the title track - when I first got it). And most pertinently, I bought "Street Legal." I listened to these albums in full until the songs were familiar and relatable and comfortable. What I found is that the reviews aren't wrong - these albums aren't as good as those classics. They have weak tracks, and in some cases, quite a few of them. But every one of these albums is also home to enough great songs to justify purchase and the time investment to appreciate them.
That's certainly the case with "Street Legal." This album is home to some great tracks and a few that are... less great. It has "Changing of the Guards," a long-form classic with a propulsive horn riff, provocative lyrics and a tasteful choral group echoing Bob's outbursts every few seconds. It has "Is Your Love in Vain?" and "Where are You Tonight?" - both of which ask important questions right in their titles! It has "New Pony," which I'm not in love with. But that's okay, because Dylan threw in "Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)" to sweeten the deal.
If you've only explored the Dylan classics, and you think you've hit the end of the line, take a good long look at "Street Legal" and the other albums I've mentioned. You may find a whole new batch of Dylan songs to love. I know I did.
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Leandro AlessandriniReviewed in Italy on February 18, 2025
Un nuovo fan del menestrello
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