#274 The Best Album of 1989, Round 1 Match #34: The Primitives vs. Bob Dylan
Hey folks!
Today’s Best Album of 1989 match is:
#63 The Primitives, PURE
vs.
#66 Bob Dylan, OH MERCY
To vote, follow this link to the Google Form. You will need a Google login to vote. If you can’t or won’t have one, let me know ASAP (either through this newsletter, my email [kentmbeeson@hey.com] or on the Best Album Brackets Bluesky account) and I’ll see what I can do.
Today we have a Designated Cheerleader from the Best Album Brackets Head Cheerleader @bsglaser.bsky.social and it’s for OH MERCY! Take it away, Brian!
Bob Dylan has recorded dozens of albums, and there's typically a consensus about which ones are "good" or "bad." Sometimes this consensus changes (see: his Born Again period from 1979-81), and sometimes records get upgraded or downgraded between "good" and "masterpiece" (maybe JOHN WESLEY HARDING?) But OH MERCY is a kind of outlier, in that there are equal cohorts who love or dislike it, with no real consensus. I'm in the "love" category, and it's hard for me to understand why a Dylan and/or music fan wouldn't be.
The biggest issue with OH MERCY might be narrative: it falls not before or after what might be Dylan's biggest and longest slump in quality, but in the middle of it. Before OH MERCY is a run of mid-80s stinkers (EMPIRE BURLESQUE, KNOCKED OUT LOADED, DOWN IN THE GROOVE), and right after is UNDER THE RED SKY, which is in the running for Bob's worst overall LP. Generally, if an artist breaks a bad streak, we like it to stay broken for a bit--it makes the story better. But Dylan didn't fully get his act back together until the hard reset of GOOD AS I BEEN TO YOU and WORLD GONE WRONG in 1992-93, followed by TIME OUT OF MIND in 97 and "LOVE AND THEFT" on Sept. 11, 2001 (yup). That's a long, winding road to redemption. He's been a little up and down since then, but also fully in control of his artistry throughout the 21st century.
So back to OH MERCY. Some folks just don't dig it. Maybe it's because in 1989, instead of setting a trend, Dylan followed one: hiring Daniel Lanois to help reconfigure an artist's sound and reintroduce them to both old and new audiences. U2, Peter Gabriel, Robbie Robertson, and the Neville Brothers all turned to Lanois and emerged from the studio sounding reinvigorated, maybe even with a hit or two. Love it or hate it, Lanois had a signature studio sound--a little murky, a little funky, plenty dense--that could serve as an intriguing setting for an artist who showed up with songs that were ready to fly.
And here's where the arguments really get going: Did Dylan bring his best stuff to Lanois' New Orleans studio? I think the real answer is "mostly." It's not end-to-end bangers like BLOOD ON THE TRACKS or HIGHWAY 61 REVISITED, but there are really strong songs on OH MERCY. "Most of the Time" is a great combo of Dylan delivering on lyrics and melody, and Lanois surrounds it with sliding bass and slinky rhythms; there's a reason it works so well in HIGH FIDELITY, expressing the depth of John Cusack's feelings in a key moment. Similarly, tracks like "Man in the Long Black Coat" and "What Good Am I?" take full advantage of the sonic architecture on offer. But if that framework hits your ear the wrong way, and I think it does for a lot of people, then it'll be hard to wrap yourself fully around the songs.
In his memoir CHRONICLES, VOL. 1 (subsequent volumes still TK), Dylan expresses both frustration with his Lanois experience and a sense of discovery and gratitude. He loved it enough that he collaborated with Lanois again for TIME OUT OF MIND, but not enough to declare total victory. But that's often a sign that Dylan was onto something--he's hit a lot of peaks by being in a sort of battle with himself and his muse.
So if I have a recommendation for how to fall in line (if not in love) with OH MERCY, it's this: just put it on. It's only 10 tracks, 38 minutes long. Let it play in the background first, let it wash over you, wherever you are and whatever you're doing. Then start to turn your attention back to it, a bit at a time. Listen to how the echoey harmonica and swampy guitar lines work together in "What Was It You Wanted," how New Orleans funk meets rockabilly in "Everything Is Broken," and how Dylan gets (ahem) down in the groove of his own material. He's allowing himself to be led by the music instead of fighting against or ignoring it--which is what's made so many of his more recent records and live shows great.
Will OH MERCY become your go-to Dylan LP? Probably not. But I can tell you that it's one I return to pretty frequently, and most of the time there's a lot to love across its entries into the never ending Dylan catalog.
Click here to see the current results for the entire tournament, and click here to see the current results for the prediction bracket contest.
Yesterday, #2 Beastie Boys, PAUL'S BOUTIQUE defeated #127 Cardiacs, ON LAND AND IN THE SEA 145-33.
We’re halfway through Round 1, everyone! That’s 25% of the total tournament. Thanks for making this a success!
Kent