Bob Dylan is an impressive figure in music history. He isn’t a sex offender or a domestic abuser. At least as far as I know. From the Sixties up to the present day, the worst thing about him, according to people who knew him personally, has been that he is a prick and an occasional plagiarist. I could add that his live shows aren’t very good now, but I’ve seen him in concert twice and I actually didn’t mind him. However, from old footage I’ve seen, his live shows in the Sixties and Seventies were definitely much better.
Speaking of the Seventies, let me give a quick rundown of his albums from the start of the decade:
* Self Portrait (June 1970): critically panned
* New Morning (October 1970): critically acclaimed
* Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid (July 1973): a soundtrack album that was critically panned
* Dylan (November 1973): considered one of his worst albums
Despite the inconsistency, all four of those albums were certified Gold in the U.S. But in 1974 and 1975, he got back on top thanks to a new streak of critically acclaimed albums. 1974’s Planet Waves was Dylan’s first album to hit #1 on the Billboard 200. 1975’s Blood On The Tracks also hit #1 and went 2x Platinum, becoming one of his most beloved albums. That same year, he also released The Basement Tapes, a great compilation of previously unreleased material. Then in January 1976, Dylan released Desire, which also hit #1 and went 2x Platinum. It would end up one of the biggest-selling albums of the year in the U.S., with the lead single and album opener, “Hurricane,” cracking the top 40 on the Hot 100.
All but one of the songs were recorded between July 28 and 31, 1975. “Joey” was overdubbed on August 11, 1975, but the only song actually recorded after the summer was “Hurricane.” Recorded on October 24, 1975, it is about the conviction of former boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter for a triple murder in 1966, of which the song recounts with questionable accuracy. Well, I say it was recorded after the summer of ‘75. That’s not technically the whole truth because the song had to be re-recorded. The first recording was made in late July along with the rest of the album, but there was originally a lyric in the song that made a potentially libelous claim about two witnesses. The legal department at Columbia Records wanted the line removed, which Dylan did, but producer Don DeVito hadn’t separated the tracks enough for Dylan to just redo his vocals while leaving everything else intact. So the whole eight-and-a-half minute song had to be re-recorded. Strangely, the legal department still let the Jewish guy from Minnesota sing the N word.
Also, Emmylou Harris sang background vocals across the album, but she wasn’t available to re-record “Hurricane,” so singer and actress Ronee Blakley filled in.
Before we can talk about the rest of Desire, let’s get back to Dylan being a prick. In late 2020, Dylan sold his entire publishing catalog to Universal Music for over $300 million. Soon after, Dylan was sued. By whom, you ask? Well, a songwriter named Jacques Levy had co-written seven of the nine songs on Desire. Levy died in 2004, but his estate sued Dylan, citing a 1975 contract that guaranteed Levy 35% of the earnings from his contributions to Desire. Dylan’s lawyers argued that the contract was a “work for hire” arrangement that only entitled Levy to royalties, not ownership. Dylan won the case, and did not have to pay the $1.75 million demanded by Levy’s estate (plus $2 million in damages). To put this in perspective, if Dylan had $20, Levy’s estate was asking for just 25 cents. That seems a bit unfair, and may even taint one’s impression of the album in hindsight.
Anyway, let’s talk about the album.
Perhaps its biggest rock airplay hit was the heartfelt closing track, “Sara,” named after Dylan’s wife at the time. They married in 1965, but after ten years, their marriage was not going well. They were estranged and had separated at least once in 1975. The song “Sara” was one of three that Dylan put to tape on July 31, 1975, the final day of recording. The person Sara was in the studio when that song was recorded, and I presume she was also there for the other two songs – “Isis” and “Abandoned Love” – which also talked about marriage. She must have been very touched, except “Abandoned Love” was dropped from the album in favor of “Joey,” an eleven-minute song about the life and death of New York City mobster Joey Gallo. I can only speculate that Sara took this to mean Dylan cared more about murder cases than his own wife because she filed for divorce in 1977.
Again, Dylan’s a prick. You might wonder when I’m actually getting to the point, or why I can’t just separate the art from the artist. I did try to do the latter. “Isis” is a legitimately great song, but I still think Desire is merely alright overall.
Your mileage may vary.
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