In Season One, we focused on one album for the whole year. This year we’re going to move along a little faster.
We like focus, and digging deep into specific topics, so we’re adopting a quarterly format. Each quarter we’ll focus on one major theme — usually one of Dylan’s major studio releases. We’ll dive into that theme but also cover topics related to the central them, such as tours, events, or a movie.
Here are the themes we’ll cover this year:
Q1: The Mid-Career Covers Albums
Dylan returned to his roots in the early ‘90s, surprising everyone with two solo covers albums full of old covers and folk songs. We’ll look at these records, the role this shift played in Dylan’s own career and songwriting, plus Dylan’s live performances in the years 1990-1994, and the 30th Anniversary Concert (1993).
Q2: The Late 80’s Tragedy/Trilogy
Three of the four albums Dylan made in the late 80’s are considered his worst, but everything is relative – Bob’s worst is better than many artists best. We’ll dig into these three albums, the live Dylan & Dead album and show from this time period, as well as the movie Hearts of Fire.
Q3: Street Legal
Street Legal is a Dylan phase all by itself, as distinct from the Blood On The Tracks / Desire / Rolling Thunder years that proceeded it, as it is from the Gospel Years that follow. Yet it’s a huge album, supported by an equally distinct World Tour. We’ll examine all of it as well as the Renaldo & Clara movie.
Q4: Love & Theft
To end the year, we’ll jump forward to Time Out Of Mind’s successor, an album many feel surpasses it. We’ll dive into the record, the Jack Frost production, the great touring years of 1999-2001, and the Movie Masked and Anonymous.
