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Customer Reviews of Street Legal

"Street Legal" represents some of Dylan's most literary writing if one considers 'Changing of the Guards' and 'No Time to Think' (And can't you just see Bob descending on a paper mache moon wearing an elf costume playing a lute on 'No Time to Think'!!).

There are a few songs that just don't work here: 'Baby, Stop Crying', 'True Love Tends to Forget'. The rest is solid.

Especially impressive is the 2nd half of the album: 'We Better Talk This Over', 'Where Are You Tonight', and 'Is Your Love in Vain?'. One has to appreciate the narrator of 'Is Your Love in Vain?' asking the woman if she can match his passion. My favorite is 'We Better Talk This Over' and that harmonic dissonance achieved by Dylan and his backup on that first: "...we better talk this over..." 'Senor'...'New Pony'... Oh, you gotta love 'Pony'!!

A friend mentioned that he thinks the band on this album is one of the finest Dylan has assembled. I agree. I like what Dylan's done here.

Forgotten Classic
Recorded at the tail end of his second creative wind (the mid 70's), "Street Legal" is one of those great albums obscured under the ruble of a forty year career. The epic "Changing of the Guards" launches Dylan into a new musical direction with background singers and sprightly horns, not to mention that it is truly one of Dylan's greatest songs. As if to counterbalance his new form with a reminder of his mid 60's rock albums, "New pony" offers a shamelessly raw rock 'N roll sound that hadn't appeared on any Dylan record in the 70's and requires that listeners play it as loud as possible.

However, three consecutive dull tracks ensue, and the album's momentum is slowed considerably. "Baby Stop Crying," includes a very good vocal performance by Dylan and a good chorus, but it takes the new sound of "Changing of the Guards" to an extreme, and the result is a less accessible sound, particularly for Bob Dylan. "Is Your Love in Vain" and "No Time to Think" follow the bland model of "Stop Crying."

Fortunately, the album makes a triumphant come back with yet another of Bob Dylan's most legendary songs, "Senor." With its "Highway 61 revisited" style guitar licks, haunting atmosphere and Dylan's brooding voice, "Senor" is as dark as anything on "Time out of Mind." The remastering job really shines on this track, as well. The drums beg for attention and the entire band sounds very crisp.

The brilliant performances do not end there, as the rollicking "We Better Talk This Over" again offers mid 60's style guitar rhythms and is one of those rare Dylan performances that is bound to get your body moving.

"Street Legal" joins classic albums like "Oh Mercy" or "Shot of Love" as the album to get if you're sick and tired of the over-played hits of Dylan's career. Some of the songs on "Street legal" are so brilliant that Dylan fans who ignore the album are doing themselves an egregious injustice. There is no way that this album could entirely disappoint any Dylan fan.

A terribly underrated work of genius
Negative reviews of this album led me to avoid it for the longest time. I'd heard (and been irritated by) the female backers on other Dylan releases, and "Street Legal" is the first album to feature them prominently (not counting Emmylou Harris's marvelous work on "Desire"). Imagine my surprise to find a collection of spectacularly written songs set to catchy, evocative tunes that sound unlike anything else in the Dylan canon.

Sure, the female backers still annoy me at times (if it weren't for them, I'd give the album five stars, no question), and Dylan's voice is beginning that steady nasal climb. But there's no getting around his songwriting genius. "Changing of the Guards" is storytelling at its most brilliant. "Where Are You Tonight?" is heartfelt and powerful. "We Better Talk This Over" is as catchy as any of Dylan's tunes. "No Time to Think" is a technical rhyming masterpiece. And "Senor" is dark and mysterious and impenetrable in a way only Dylan can be. Hey, I even kind of like the sax solos! Go figure.

This may be the most underrated album in Dylan's oeuvre.