The Complete Album Collection: The 70's

The '70s were a period of transition for Bob Dylan. Though he released 13 albums, three were live albums. The Basement Tapes featured transcendent demo recordings he'd made with The Band in 1967. Dylan featured outtakes from Self Portrait and New Morning. Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid featured just two Dylan songs with lyrics (including the classic “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door”). 1970’s Self Portrait was met with confusion for its liberal use of strings and backing choruses, while New Morning–released three months later—felt like an immediate comeback, featuring some of Dylan’s toughest playing since Blonde on Blonde. 1974’s Planet Waves regrouped Bob with The Band and included several key originals whose high emotions carried over to the excellent double live album Before the Flood. 1975’s devastating Blood on the Tracks was a masterpiece end to end, with “Tangled Up in Blue,” “Shelter from the Storm,” and “You’re a Big Girl Now” among the highlights. Desire and a remixed Street Legal are well-considered in retrospect, and Slow Train Coming (with the hit “Gotta Serve Somebody”) began Dylan’s evangelical Christian period.