Shortly after I started this blog I had the realisation that I'd have to write about this boxset at some point; it filled me with dread. It's important to note that I'm not anti Bob Dylan, but I've found over the years that I have a tolerance of about 20 minutes, half an hour at most, of his music. I fully appreciate his status as a musician and I see why he's so popular, but I find large doses of him very difficult. This record might well be the reason for that.
In 2006, after a two-week trip around New Zealand my friends and I ended up in Auckland and had the last day of our trip to explore the city. I made a line pretty much straight for the huge record store, Real Groovy and spent a number of hours trying to check out everything they had. I bought a lot - two weeks of incredible scenery had left me starved of record shopping. One of the finds I was most excited about was this 5-record Bob Dylan boxset, for a mere £11. It's not in great condition, but it felt worth it for the sheer quantity of music.
I'd never really sat down and listened to Bob Dylan before. You hear a lot just about the place, especially given that a lot of my friends were very big Dylan fans. That year we were going to Roskilde Festival for the second time and Bob was playing - this pleased at least two of the friends I was going with. When close friends are that excited about a certain musician, you really have to check them out properly (and, to be honest, I really should have many years before). By buying this record I thought I'd have a great chance to get to know him - what could be better than a huge best-of and rarities compilation?
There are a number of reasons I struggled with this boxset, and one of them is certainly the sequencing, which lacks any coherent flow. I'm a fan of chronological best-ofs, but I see that some work best in a more curated order. Whatever the intended flow was here, I can't see it. The album starts with Lay Lady Lay, which is underwhelming. I'm probably in the minority of people that suffered this problem, but I was very familiar with Ministry's slightly dodgy cover of the song from Filth Pig, so I was probably off to a dubious start. That is my own fault really.
Side two (of ten!) steps it up a notch - I remember thinking this was more like it. The Times They Are A-Changing and Blowin' in the Wind were classic Dylan songs I was aware of, and Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll was a pleasant surprise. However, the true gem and highlight of the 53 songs here for me was Masters of War. That political, bitter epic came out of nowhere and instantly became my favourite Dylan song. It was worth the £11 and other 52 songs just to hear that song alone.
Side three features some upbeat songs in the form of Tombstone Blues, Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar and a live recording of Most Likely You Go Your Way as well as Like a Rolling Stone, which has a great chorus. I was very familiar with Subterranean Homesick Blues from the much-parodied video but also, more regrettably, from the Red Hot Chili Peppers cover (there's a bit of a theme here - I've heard good Dylan covers since hearing this album, but the ones prior to that point were mostly somewhat dubious).
The big problem is just that there are a lot of songs that do absolutely nothing for me. It's unfair to single these out, but Visions of Johanna or Every Grain of Sand are prime examples (and both on the same side) - nothing really happens. They're fine, but there are a lot of other songs that are equally fine, and it adds up to a lot of kinda similar, rambling acoustic-guitar-and-harmonica numbers. If I had to, I could put together a single LP best-of that would be incredible. He has so many memorably great songs that it's probably make for a hugely enjoyable listen. But I appreciate it wouldn't be the "best" to everyone, so they include the many rambling, forgettable acoustic songs too to even it out. I guess the modern solution is a playlist of the Dylan songs I actually like.
The sides 6-8 are a little lighter on songs I enjoy, but they bring it round with the last disc. Even the very-80's-sounding Gotta Serve Somebody is quite enjoyable. The final side ends up being one of the most hits-heavy with I Shall Be Released, Knockin' on Heaven's Door, All Along the Watchtower and Forever Young
The boxset is pretty detailed - Wikipedia tells me it was considered to be the first "boxset", which is quite cool. The picture sleeves contain a few paragraphs about each of the songs and there's a 36-page book giving a not-so-brief history of him and his music. You'd be lucky to get such an attention to detail these days. I remember trying to read about each song as I listened to it on the first play, but I quickly got tired of that. A year or so later I tried again, spreading the task (or chore - it felt like it at times) over a few days. None of the content has stayed with me it seems, except the intro to the book where the author talks about attending a Bob Dylan themed party - you had to dress as a character from his songs. At the time, the only character I could immediately think of was an eskimo, since that song had featured heavily in road trips in my friend's VW camper van.
That summer we saw Bob live and it was quite the disappointment. I shouldn't be too harsh, he's very old and it's quite the miracle he can still play and I do feel lucky to have seen him, even if I'm not the biggest fan. However, the peak of my disappointment hit when he played Masters of War, my new favourite Dylan song - he decided to change so much about it that it had none of the anger or excitement of the version I was used to. His set was long, and my friend Vicky got particularly bored (although it's worth noting that even Hugh and Rachel who were big fans were struggling too) so we went for a wander mid-set and caught about 15-minutes of Wir Sind Helden, a German band my friend Nadine had got me into, and then returned to catch the end of his set.
I always felt that the boxset was chronically missing Hurricane, a Dylan song I knew and loved beforehand, and felt that it was a shame that the sprawling best-of I had was missing such a huge song (and contained so many songs I didn't care for). I ended up buying the more recent and equally sprawling Dylan boxset (on cd, for a bargain £6 in Fopp), mostly so that I could have that song. It turned out that buying another huge collection of Dylan songs was maybe not wise, given my tendency to prefer him in small doses. I also have a 4LP covers record in the form of the soundtrack to I'm Not There. I seem to only indulge in Dylan in large amounts (rather shamefully, I've still not consciously listened to album in the traditional sense), which might be where I'm going wrong. I should probably rectify that at some point (but where to start!?).
Format: 5x12" boxset, picture sleeves, 12" book
Tracks: 53
Cost: £11.10 second hand
Bought: Real Groovy, Auckland
When: 20/04/06
Colour: Black
Etching: none
mp3s: no
