"Crash On The Levee"

So I was doing a tally today to see what Dylan albums I still don't own. If I discount compliations and live albums, I'm only eight records shy of having all of his albums. Mind you, two of these records are Self Portrait and Dylan, which are considered his two worst albums (in which he made a concerted effort to totally destroy his audience and deconstruct the myths surrounding him by creating...well, new myths to surround himself with), and Saved and Shot of Love, the second and third albums in his trio of born-again evangelical efforts (Saved actually sounds like there's a bit of conviction in his singing and efforts, while Shot of Love does have the gorgeous "Every Grain of Sand"). The other four CDs are his soundtrack to Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (a film which he also had a part in, if I'm not mistaken) and a trio of albums from the late '80s/early '90s: Knocked Out Loaded, Down in the Groove, and Under the Red Sky.

Beyond those, it's simply a handful of live releases - Hard Rain, Live at Budokan, Real Live, Dylan and the Dead (which is absolutely terrible), and Unplugged - and a few compliations - Greatest Hits (the first volume, which I do want to get), Essential, Best Of, etc. - most of which are not necessary (since I've got virtually all of the albums) and would be difficult to track down anyway.

So the question becomes this: how completist do I get? I've come to the conclusion that every Dylan album has at least something worthwhile on it. But do I really need all of those live albums, considering I've got all the Bootleg Series concerts (Live in '66, '75, 'and '64, all of which capture epochal moments in Dylan's career) and Before the Flood (the early '70s reunion tour with The Band where Dylan tore through classic songs like a man possessed)? None of the live albums left really offer anything more than what I've already got except maybe a few reworkings of songs that aren't on the already-owned live records. But the songs on these unowned live albums aren't necessarily Dylan's best, nor are these albums vital.

If I sound like I'm trying to convince myself of two contradictory things at once, it's mostly because I'm just airing the arguments in my head for each side to try to reach a conclusion. I know I'm going to end up getting the eight studio albums I first mentioned, even if they're really not all that good (like I said, each album has at least something worthwhile). I'm still not sure whether to get the other live albums or not. How completist do I really want to be? I am going to get Greatest Hits (the original one, released way back in the '60s and still one of the best 10-song summations of Dylan's power), mostly because it has the single "Positively 4th Street," which was never put on an album (except Greatest Hits).

So I'm looking at at least nine more Dylan CDs before I can think about calling it quits. Plus Modern Times when it comes out in September (oh, September! Cruelest of months, with your meager paycheck from August barely allowing me to survive!). So ten, I guess.

Wow. I still lack ten Dylan albums. Most bands anymore can't even record that many albums in their career.

~chuck

Song of the Moment: Bob Dylan, "A Satisfied Mind"