Bob _Dylan- Hard Rain

Hard Rain

There's something oddly poignant about an audience member drunkenly shouting "'LAY LADY LAY!'" before Bob Dylan and his gypsy band rip into the then-recently released 'Oh, Sister.'
"Hard Rain" is the first official document of the 1975-76 Rolling Thunder Revue, released thirty years before the ominous "Bootleg Series Volume 5."

 

 

 Despite being one of the most legendary tours in rock history, "Hard Rain" received lukewarm reviews upon release, probably because the performances were taken from near the end of the tour, and has since become slightly obscured by the wealth of recordings offered by the fifth installment of Dylan's "Bootleg Series."
But what "Hard Rain" has that its successor doesn't is grit. The lack of polish in recording and performance seems to be more fitting for the Rolling Thunder Revue, and for the song selection in particular. 'Maggie's Farm,' 'Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again,' and 'Shelter From the Storm' are all treated like rental cars, with reckless abandon, and more delicate treatment is not given to more balladic songs like 'Lay Lady Lay,' 'I Threw It All Away,' and 'Oh, Sister,' the version here actually topping the version found on "The Bootleg Series."

 



Son Volt- Straightaways

Straightaways

When Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar, his former partner in Uncle Tupelo, split up in 1994, the common wisdom was that Tweedy was the melodic and optimistic Paul McCartney of the team, while Farrar was the cathartic and moody John Lennon. That analogy seemed to stand up when Wilco's debut disc A.M. was sweet and tuneful, while the first album by Farrar's Son Volt, Trace, was angst-ridden country-rock. Tweedy transcended his pigeonhole with the diverse, ambitious Being There, but Farrar remains trapped in his on Son Volt's follow-up Straightaways, a more laid-back, understated version of Trace. Farrar does one thing really well, and that is his use of a gravelly baritone and suspended guitar chords to capture the exhaustion and desperation of a man at the end of his rope. Unfortunately, he tends to do it over and over and over again.



Stephen Stills -1975 Stills

1975 Stills

As Crosby wandered about as El Dopo, Nash took photos of himself, and Young set about betraying all ala Jean Genet, Stills got himself together, must have swallowed some pride and produced a CD that was, is and remains a sobering account of one's life. More rocking than Dylan's "Blood On The Tracks," this effort laid it out as finely as anything he would ever do what it meant to live one's life with careful reflection.
All the songs here are extraordinary, and his tendency towards excess seeps out only with "Love Story", and that suits the song just fine.
Ringo is along for the ride here, Donnie Dacus proves to be an excellent foil for Stills, and nods to Neil in the form of the best version ever of "New Mama" round out an album that begins on a great song "Turn Back the Pages" moves through the brilliant "Favourite Changes" and fulfills everything Stills was capable of.
CSN was in free fall. Stills seemed to have nowhere to go with the dissolution of Stills-Young, and faced with this precipice, summoned forth all of his strengths. His guitar playing, particularly his otherwise annoying wah-wah, was at its very best. His voice was terrific, and perhaps this is really his highwater mark as a solo artist.