Bob Dylan - Desire

Frontloaded and formulaic, the album is definitely different from its immediate predecessor. Opening "All Along the Watchtower" clone "Hurricane" dominates the album with an underdog tale that illustrates that just because prose is interesting doesn't mean it's great set to music. "Isis" has a great sound, but the lyrical work gets lazy, for example this exciting dialogue: she said where you been, I said no place special, she said you look different, I said well I guess, she said you've been gone, I said it's only natural, she said you gonna stay, I said if you want me to yes. "Mozambique" at least also has a good band sound to go with the tropical melody, but apparently if it's not un-poetic outlaw narratives we get generic pop songwriting. This is also the first song dominated by Emmylou Harris' vocal, and over the course of the album this formula becomes less and less novel, until the album grinds to a halt at "Oh, Sister" and the 11-minute "Joey". At least this particular combination of voices gives the mariachi "Romance In Durango" some lift, but on others such as "Black Diamond Bay" it's unnecessary.