Bob Dylan: Knocked Out Loaded - 1986

"There were some really wonderful things cut at those sessions" - Al Kooper

After treading water somewhat with the eighties production-blighted Empire Burlesque, Dylan couldn’t really get away with it twice, and he certainly didn’t with this comparatively average album. 

If there were great things cut as the album's sessions, as Al Kooper suggested, then Dylan didn't seem to have used many of them. 

Let's get in line for that Gregory Peck movie....  

You Wanna Ramble is a regulation upbeat gospelly blues, full of backing vocals  and a repetitive riff. It is lively and pleasant enough, but certainly no work of genius. They Killed Him is a cover of a Kris Kristofferson song and has a strange appeal, a deep drum sound and a blasting gospel chorus. The backing sounds great on this one, but Dylan’s voice is strangely distant. The surprising use of a children’s choir is a bit incongruous, to be honest. Driftin' Too Far From Shore is again a lively one, with those backing vocals turned up to the max. Again, it is an ok track, but nothing remarkable. The ”filler” on this album is not as impressive as the previous album’s “filler”. 

Precious Memories is a reggae-influenced number, but nowhere near as convincing as the reggae he dabbled in on Infidels. Maybe Someday is another somewhat half-baked number, dominated by the backing vocals once more and just not seeming to get anywhere. A few listens, however, and you find that it has hidden lyrical depths in its Biblical imagery and you get into it a bit more. 

Then there is the monster that is Brownsville Girl - eleven minutes of cinematic Dylan narrative majesty in the Lily, Rosemary & The Jack Of Hearts tradition. I love these lengthy, image-packed Dylan songs. This one is jam-packed with Western imagery about Mexico, The Rockies, Amarillo, The Panhandle, someone called Henry Porter and a Gregory Peck movie. The album is worth it for this bona fide gem alone. 

The rest of the material just doesn’t really pass muster in comparison, I’m afraid. Empire Burlesque was a much better album. The last two are not too bad, however. Got My Mind Made Up is actually quite a rousing, rocking number, with lots of  “woohs” from those girls again, and a kind of shuffling, upbeat Not Fade Away rhythm. 

Under Your Spell is the usual laid-back romantic number to close the album. It has the same full, pounding backing as They Killed Him, with a strong bass and an equally strong Dylan vocal. 

It has to be said the track is nothing special, though. 

Neither is the album, really. Certainly not dislikable, but just not anything inspirational, save Brownsville Girl.

 

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