Album: Down In The Groove
Recorded: 1983-1987
Released: May 1988
Recorded: 1983-1987
Released: May 1988
Songs / length: 10 / 32:10
Down In The Groove is another huge collaborative effort, not just with Dylan's regular 80s co-conspirators Sly & Robbie, Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler, but also Steve Jones (Sex Pistols), Paul Simonon (The Clash) and The Grateful Dead. You can view the record in two ways: 1) a ragbag of outtakes and covers in search of a cohesive album, or 2) a curated selection of material covering the breadth of Dylan's 80s output, centred around the theme of musical styles that inspired the young Dylan growing up in Hibbing. Personally, I think the latter view is a bit of a stretch, but there's a definite feel of experimentation, or the sense of an artist trying to reconnect with his musical roots to find his way out of a creative hole.
Unfortunately, the results are often disappointing, starting with opener Let's Stick Together, a cover of a 1962 Wilbert Harrison song, made famous in the mid-70s by Bryan Ferry's iconic version. Things only improve a little on When Did You Leave Heaven?, with its cheesy opening synths that match the cheesy lyrics – it seems here that Dylan was in nostalgic mood, covering one of the key songs from 1936 film Sing, Baby, Sing, a movie he perhaps watched back in his childhood days.
Sally Sue Brown is a fairly dismal cover of Arthur Alexander's 1959 debut single, which he released under his pseudonym June Alexander (historical note: Alexander and Solomon Burke were country-soul pioneers, before Ray Charles' breakthrough record Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music, and Alexander's songs were covered by the Beatles and Rolling Stones). I've always wanted this song to be much better, mainly because it features Steve Jones and Paul Simonon – you can read a Rolling Stone interview with Simonon here discussing his sessions with Dylan – but despite its energetic zip, the overall effect is highly forgettable.
The most notable track on side 1 is Death Is Not The End, an outtake from the Infidels sessions. Though the tone, pace and vocal delivery of the song are all sluggish and funereal (it's no surprise that Nick Cave covered it), the lyrics are a vast improvement on other tracks on the record (especially the disposable Had A Dream About You, Baby that follows). For me, it's inclusion here is apt because it signals the death of a phase in Dylan's creative output – the largely awful 80s – and the start of the Never Ending Tour that has lasted from June 1988 until now. As evidenced on his 1989 live album, Dylan & The Dead, he was starting to re-engage with his inspired 60s and 70s material, and this revival of his muse provided the fertile soil for his wonderful next record, Oh Mercy.
Side 2 of Down In The Groove is only a minor improvement on side 1; of the two tracks that Dylan wrote with the Dead's Robert Hunter, Silvio is by far the superior. There's a strong Americana feel to the last three songs on the album – from 90 Miles An Hour (Down A Dead End Street) by Hal Blair and Don Robertson (famous as a songwriting duo for Elvis) to the traditional folk of Shenandoah and southern gospel of Rank Strangers To Me. None of them are first-rate cuts, but each reveals Dylan's abiding interest in the American songs that first inspired him to perform.
Album rating: D-
Down In The Groove is another huge collaborative effort, not just with Dylan's regular 80s co-conspirators Sly & Robbie, Eric Clapton and Mark Knopfler, but also Steve Jones (Sex Pistols), Paul Simonon (The Clash) and The Grateful Dead. You can view the record in two ways: 1) a ragbag of outtakes and covers in search of a cohesive album, or 2) a curated selection of material covering the breadth of Dylan's 80s output, centred around the theme of musical styles that inspired the young Dylan growing up in Hibbing. Personally, I think the latter view is a bit of a stretch, but there's a definite feel of experimentation, or the sense of an artist trying to reconnect with his musical roots to find his way out of a creative hole.
Unfortunately, the results are often disappointing, starting with opener Let's Stick Together, a cover of a 1962 Wilbert Harrison song, made famous in the mid-70s by Bryan Ferry's iconic version. Things only improve a little on When Did You Leave Heaven?, with its cheesy opening synths that match the cheesy lyrics – it seems here that Dylan was in nostalgic mood, covering one of the key songs from 1936 film Sing, Baby, Sing, a movie he perhaps watched back in his childhood days.
Sally Sue Brown is a fairly dismal cover of Arthur Alexander's 1959 debut single, which he released under his pseudonym June Alexander (historical note: Alexander and Solomon Burke were country-soul pioneers, before Ray Charles' breakthrough record Modern Sounds In Country & Western Music, and Alexander's songs were covered by the Beatles and Rolling Stones). I've always wanted this song to be much better, mainly because it features Steve Jones and Paul Simonon – you can read a Rolling Stone interview with Simonon here discussing his sessions with Dylan – but despite its energetic zip, the overall effect is highly forgettable.
The most notable track on side 1 is Death Is Not The End, an outtake from the Infidels sessions. Though the tone, pace and vocal delivery of the song are all sluggish and funereal (it's no surprise that Nick Cave covered it), the lyrics are a vast improvement on other tracks on the record (especially the disposable Had A Dream About You, Baby that follows). For me, it's inclusion here is apt because it signals the death of a phase in Dylan's creative output – the largely awful 80s – and the start of the Never Ending Tour that has lasted from June 1988 until now. As evidenced on his 1989 live album, Dylan & The Dead, he was starting to re-engage with his inspired 60s and 70s material, and this revival of his muse provided the fertile soil for his wonderful next record, Oh Mercy.
Side 2 of Down In The Groove is only a minor improvement on side 1; of the two tracks that Dylan wrote with the Dead's Robert Hunter, Silvio is by far the superior. There's a strong Americana feel to the last three songs on the album – from 90 Miles An Hour (Down A Dead End Street) by Hal Blair and Don Robertson (famous as a songwriting duo for Elvis) to the traditional folk of Shenandoah and southern gospel of Rank Strangers To Me. None of them are first-rate cuts, but each reveals Dylan's abiding interest in the American songs that first inspired him to perform.
Album rating: D-
Comments