by ButterflyEffect

I’d like to talk about a new Bob Dylan tribute album that’s out today called Bob Dylan in the ’80s: Volume One, in the hope that I can make some sense out of it. As the title plainly states, Bob Dylan in the ’80s is focused on Dylan’s least celebrated decade, a period the man himself believes just about put an unceremonious end to his storied career. It features a few artists you might have heard of (like Built to Spill and Glen Hansard) and many you haven’t covering songs that Dylan himself rarely plays anymore. Saluting this era is analogous to erecting a statue in honor of “fat” Elvis or awarding a Medal of Honor to The Hangover Part III. It’s a toast to stasis, if not flat-out decay. I’m not suggesting that Bob Dylan in the ’80s is not a good record (it is!), but it’s very weird (and yet also somehow predictable) that it exists.

thenewgreen, I think you're a Dylan fan, you might enjoy this article.