10 Perfect Folk Rock Albums With No Bad Songs
1. Desire - Bob Dylan (1976)
After Dylan's return to form with Blood On The Tracks in 1975, he quickly followed it up with the equally brilliant Desire. The opening track, Hurricane, was a thematic return to Dylan's early protest days. For more than eight and a half minutes he regales us with the unjust incarceration of Rubin Carter, a black man falsely convicted of a murder.
Isis explores themes of an estranged love, through the tale of a man who goes on search of a mysterious treasure. The start of the song hears Dylan leaving his partner. To distract himself from the pain, he embarks on a quest for gold, all he finds at the end of the journey, however, is empty promises. He returns to his love, recognising this as the treasure he sought. It's filled with aesthetic ideas that conjure up vivid imagery.
Joey is another track that plays out like a movie script. Dylan tells the tale of a gangsta with folkloric qualities. He paints Joey as a Robin Hood type character, who is gunned down by an old foe. Finally Sara is the most mournfully honest track Dylan has ever written about his life. It's a song that explores the pains and pleasures of an intensely passionate relationship doomed to fail.
This is one of Dylan's greatest records. The lyrics paint such evocative images, you can't help but get swept up in all the romance and excitement.