Track Listing

1. Tangled Up in Blue
2. Changing of the Guards
3. Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar
4. Hurricane
5. Forever Young
6. Jokerman
7. Dignity
8. Silvio
9. Ring Them Bells
10. Gotta Serve Somebody
11. Series of Dreams
12. Brownsville Girl
13. Under the Red Sky
14. Knockin' on Heaven's Door

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4499 in Music
• Brand: Sony
• Released on: 1994-11-15
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .21 pounds

Customer Reviews

Two decades' worth of incredible Dylan tracks
Many of the albums Bob Dylan released in the late 70s, 80s, and early 90s were not overwhelmingly successful, and much of the really good music included on those albums has been overlooked through the years. Released in 1994, just prior to Dylan's return to prominence, this Greatest Hits Volume 3 CD boasts a number of great songs that have never gotten the credit they deserve. It's an eclectic set of songs, boasting a variety of styles, but it is pure Bob Dylan.

I'm going to examine these songs in order by release date. The oldest song included here is the classic Knockin' on Heaven's Door from Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid (1973). Planet Waves (1974) gives us Forever Young, an atypical but amazing, slow-paced, powerful Dylan song. Blood on the Tracks (1975), one of Dylan's most universally praised albums, gives us the CD's opening track, Tangled Up in Blue; this quintessential Dylan story-telling song really starts the album off with a bang. The song Hurricane from Desire (1976) is a long, incredible song about Rubin Carter, the prize-contending boxer wrongly charged with murder and imprisoned for nearly two decades in a racially charged case (a story which was dramatized in the feature film The Hurricane starring Denzel Washington in 2000)-this is one of Dylan's best songs ever. Changing of the Guards from Street Legal (1978) is a much different song, with backing vocals that give it a real gospel feel (although the lyrics make it unclear exactly what the song is about, at least to me). Next is Gotta Serve Somebody from Slow Train Coming (1979); this is a slow song that sounds a little hollow to my ears and is thus my least favorite song on the album. The 1980s are represented with five songs. The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar comes from Shot of Love (1981); I really like this uptempo track, but it is rather unusual and not the type of song you might expect on a Greatest Hits album. Jokerman dates back to Infidels (1983). Knocked Out Loaded (1986), regarded by some as Dylan's worst album, is well represented here with the amazing, long (11 minutes), and unforgettable song Brownsville Girl-this one is not to be missed. Down in the Groove (1988), another less successful album, makes what I consider a minor contribution here in the form of Silvio. Oh Mercy (1989) had one great song after another, and while I really like Ring Them Bells, I don't think it is the best song from that comeback album. The other three songs here are from the early 1990s. Under the Red Sky, from the strangely enjoyable yet often-criticized album of the same name (1990) is a weak edition to this collection, although I rather like the song in and of itself. The much-appreciated Bootleg Series Vol. 1-3 (1991) is well represented by the incredibly appealing Series of Dreams. Finally, there is Dignity, the only brand-new song included on this album; it's a great song, but it pales in comparison to most of the other songs collected here.

Featuring an amazingly diverse set of songs and sounds from America's greatest musician, this third volume of Dylan's greatest hits is just as good as the first two volumes chronicling his earlier work. In a sense, it is even more important because incredible songs such as Brownsville Girl have been wrongly overlooked due to their inclusion on badly-received albums and also because this volume basically covers almost two decades of Dylan's work. Those who thought Dylan peaked in the early 70s could not be more wrong, as this collection as well as his string of widely-acclaimed CDs in the years after 1994 prove in the strongest of terms.

This Album Flows as if Dylan had a Plan
This, Dylan's third American Greatest Hits album, like the second has songs on it that had not come out before. "Dignity" and "Series of Dreams" both outtakes from "Oh Mercy" and excellent songs make their debut here. "The Groom's Still Waiting at the Alter" found on both "Shot of Love" and "Biograph" is here, sandwiched between "Changing of the Guard" and "Hurricane." "Groom" had been available in the past, but on one record that didn't do so well and on another that was very expensive. It was never a hit, in fact a lot of these songs were not really hits. It's almost as if Dylan took a gang of songs he really liked and put them together here. Well, if that's what he did, it works for me, because this is absolutely one of my favorite Dylan albums. You know, even with iTunes and iPods where it is so easy to play any group of songs in any order you want, I still like to listen to albums the way the artist intended. I still like to believe they had a plan when they put their work together. This album flows as if Dylan had a plan.

Dylan Just Keeps Getting Better
"In a crowded room full of covered up mirrors, looking into the lost forgotten years for dignity." What a line, delivered the way only Dylan can deliver them. The years just roll on and he just keeps getting better. Like a shape changer he keeps changing, redefining himself, putting out new stuff, rereleasing his old stuff, putting out his live stuff and I am always amazed. When I first got this album (I bought it on cassette), I stuck it into the play in my car, because I couldn't wait to get home. "Tangled Up in Blue" came on and I immediately forgot that I was listening to a Greatest Hits record, was taking right back to the first time I'd heard "Blood on the Tracks" and I stayed right there till "Changing of the Guard" came on, not the song I was expecting, but I was immediately hooked right in. Then right onto "The Groom's Still Waiting at the Alter", a down right rocker with a heck of a Gospel flavor. Next comes "Hurricane" a song with a different band, different flavor and that is the genius of Bob Dylan. He can pull you in any direction he wants you to go and you follow.