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Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits
  • Artist name: Bob Dylan
  • Year: 1967
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written on top left of album, indicating that my father owned this record
  • Buy it on Amazon: $34.37

Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’m not sure that I’ve ever listened to this compilation record, but I’m a big fan of Bob Dylan’s mid 1960s corpus, so I know all the songs on it well.

What I expected

It’s pretty straightforward: ten of Bob Dylan’s hits from his first seven records, through “Blonde on Blonde.”

What it was actually like

Needless to say, Bob Dylan’s greatest song is It Takes a Lot to Laugh, It Takes a Train to Cry, but that one gets left out of every compilation or analysis of his accomplishments; this record focuses on his hits (until 1967). Here they are in order of how much I like them, from best to worst:

  1. Just Like a Woman
  2. Subterranean Homesick Blues
  3. Like a Rolling Stone
  4. I Want You
  5. It Ain’t Me Babe
  6. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
  7. The Times They Are A-Changin’
  8. Positively 4th Street
  9. Mr. Tambourine Man
  10. Blowin’ in the Wind

Grade

5/5: love it

Farther Along by The Byrds (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Farther Along
  • Group name: The Byrds
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written inside album sleeve, indicating that my father owned this record
  • Buy it on Amazon: $12.99

Farther Along by The Byrds

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’m familiar with the Byrds, but didn’t realize that they were still around and making new records in the 1970s, after David Crosby left.

What I expected

Folk rock.

What it was actually like

This was much more of a rock record than I expected. Tiffany Queen, for example, had the sound of a 1950s rock and roll song that might have been revived in the late 1970s as stadium rock, or as punk rock, and So Fine sounded like it belonged on an early Kinks record.

On the other hand, America’s Great National Pastime was Oompa Loompa music, and was not good, and didn’t belong at all with the rest of the record. Antique Sandy and Precious Kate also sounded like a Bob Dylan impression (or maybe an impression of Dylan doing an impression of the Byrds) – but was not as funny an impression as Rocky Raccoon.

The Byrds’ version of Farther Along, a traditional gospel/country classic, was pretty solid, and it makes sense to me that they named the record after it.

I was also pleasantly surprised that they ended the record with a bluegrass song, Bristol Steam Convention Blues.

Grade

4/5: would listen again

The low spark of high-heeled boys by Traffic (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: The low spark of high-heeled boys
  • Group name: Traffic
  • Year: 1971
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Island Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written on top left of album, indicating that my father owned this record
  • Buy it:

The low spark of high-heeled boys by Traffic

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve heard of Traffic, but don’t know any of their music.

What I expected

There’s basically nothing I can tell about what the music will be like from the exterior of the album. That’s not a good sign, right?

What it was actually like

Parts of this record sounded like folk, such as Hidden Treasure. Other parts sounded like rock, such as Many a Mile to Freedom. Other parts sounded more jazzy, like The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys. And other parts were a bit more funk, like Light up or Leave Me Alone and Rock & Roll Stew.

The Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys had saxophone, and what did I write recently about saxophone?

I want to stress that rock musicians really need to avoid using saxophone in their music. If you’re Charlie Parker, I want to hear your saxophone part, but in rock I just don’t think there’s a lot of use for it.

Multiple songs also had flute: Hidden Treasure, Many a Mile to Freedom, Rainmaker. And when I was critiquing saxophone a few weeks ago, I also had this to say about flute:

I’m maybe slightly more forgiving of flute being used in rock music, if only because it’s so uncommon, but there’s a simple standard that I would apply: are you Jethro Tull? Are you better than Jethro Tull, or engaged in a serious attempt to do something that Jethro Tull hasn’t done or can’t do? If you answer no to all of those questions, then you probably should leave the flute out of your rock song.

There was not a single song on this record that I found enjoyable or interesting, and I can’t imagine myself ever wanting to listen to it again.

Grade

2/5: bad, but I was able to listen to the whole thing

Home, Home on the Road by New Riders of the Purple Sage (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: Home, Home on the Road
  • Group name: New Riders of the Purple Sage
  • Year: 1974
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Columbia Records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Buy it:

Home, Home on the Road by New Riders of the Purple Sage

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve heard of New Riders of the Purple Sage, but don’t know anything about them.

What I expected

Blues rock.

What it was actually like

This was much more of a country record than I expected, but not like a lot of country music – more of a psychedelic kind of country. I enjoyed it a lot!

Groupie was one song that was much more blues rock than country, and there were moments of Sunday Susie that sounded like it could be almost a proto-punk song.

Kick in the Head sounded familiar – Jerry Garcia produced this record and it seems like New Riders of the Purple Sage were closely connected with the Grateful Dead, so maybe I’ve heard this song as part of a Dead concert.

Two songs were covers of old rock and roll classics, Hello Mary Lou by Ricky Nelson and School Days by Chuck Berry, and I have to say that they nailed both of them.

Grade

5/5: love it

On The Threshold of a Dream by The Moody Blues (Vinyl record album review)

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Record basics

  • Album name: On The Threshold of a Dream
  • Group name: The Moody Blues
  • Year: 1969
  • Number of discs: one
  • Label: Deram records
  • Collection: Brenner / Gessner
  • Distinguishing characteristics: “G” written inside album sleeve, indicating that my father owned this record
  • Buy it:

On the Threshold of a Dream by The Moody Blues

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I listened to a Moody Blues compilation a few weeks ago, and thought it was all right, but not really impressive or memorable.

What I expected

Progressive rock with Space Oddity vibes.

What it was actually like

This record had some of the same stuff that I disliked from the previous one. In particular, In the Beginning and The Dream were really annoying and I don’t get the point of them at all.

On the other hand, I thought the quality of the actual songs was quite strong. Lovely to See You and Never Comes the Day were both great, and Lazy Day was also pretty good.

Grade

4/5: would listen again