Bob Dylan - MTV Unplugged (1995)

Reviews:

Unplugged albums are frequently corny, but this was an important artistic move for Dylan in 1995, when many fans had given up on his incomprehensible singing and lackluster concerts. With sympathetic backup musicians, including organist Brendan O'Brien and guitarist John Jackson, Dylan returns the coherence to his originals ("All Along the Watchtower," "The Times They Are A-Changin'," "Desolation Row," "Like a Rolling Stone") and rearranges them just enough to freshen their sound. The previously unreleased "Dignity" is one of Dylan's best songs this decade, and it fits nicely with the rickety versions of "John Brown" and the finale, "With God On Our Side." –Steve Knopper, amazon.com.

This show, taped for MTV, finds Dylan turning in an 11-song set, with eight of the songs dating from his 1963-1967 heyday, including such standards as "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and "Like a Rolling Stone." ("John Brown," a powerful antiwar song from 1963, had not been released on a Dylan album previously.) The '70s are represented by "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," and the '80s by "Shooting Star" and "Dignity" (a trunk song, the studio version of which had emerged only the previous November on Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits, Vol. 3). Dylan, accompanied by a competent five-piece band, approaches his material in a gentler fashion than on some of the originals – "The Times They Are A-Changin'" and "With God on Our Side," for example, seem sadder and less defiant than they did back in 1964. Otherwise, unlike some other Unplugged performances, this one doesn't offer a noticeably different view of the artist's work. But then, Dylan has been unplugged for much of his career, anyway. –by William Ruhlmann, allmusic.com


Product Details:

Label: Columbia
Catalog#: COL 478374 2
Format: CD, Album, Live
Country: Europe
Released: 1995
Number of Discs: 1
Genre: Rock
Style: Folk Rock


Tracklist:

01. Tombstone Blues 4:54
02. Shooting Star 4:06
03. All Along The Watchtower 3:36
04. The Times They Are A-Changin' 5:48
05. John Brown 5:26
06. Desolation Row 8:17
07. Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35 3:29
08. Love Minus Zero / No Limit 5:22
09. Dignity 6:29
10. Knockin' On Heaven's Door 5:36
11. Like A Rolling Stone 9:09
12. With God On Our Side 7:07

Total Playtime: 69:25


Credits:

Bass - Tony Garnier
Drums - Winston Watson
Executive Producer - Jeff Kramer , Jeff Rosen
Guitar - John Jackson (4)
Mastered By - Greg Calbi , Scott Hull (2)
Mixed By - Don Was , Ed Cherney
Organ - Brendan O'Brien
Recorded By - Randy Ezratty
Steel Guitar [Pedal] - Bucky Baxter
Written-By - Bob Dylan


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