I Ranked All Of Bob Dylan's 1980s Studio Albums

[@smithdenbleyker9624]

Keep this good work going. These Dylan Tier lists are great!

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

I shall! Thank you!!

[@samuelwnovak]

60s: Bob-curious 70s: Maximally Bob-curious 80s: certifiably Bobpilled 90s: you’re in it for the long haul 00s: Dylanologist 10s: published Dylanologist at the bleeding edge of the field 20s: you can’t actually name another musician that doesn’t directly relate to Bob 30s: Cyborg Bob (“CyBo[rg]b”) 40s: Immortal Cyber-Superconsciousness Bob. We are Bob; We are One. 50s: Bob across the galaxy 60s: the Universe (“Bobverse”) ends and the process begins anew

[@bratman5096]

Knocked out loaded over shot of love is among the most insane Dylan takes I've heard

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

😂 😂 I will admit that when I was editing this I was a little perplexed myself

[@briantronsgaard1423]

In the Summer Time and Dead Man, Dead Man (or whatever it was called) I absolutely loved. Love the production and sound of Shot of Love. It's like he was trying to be Springsteen album. Chuck Plotkin, I guess.

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

@ very interesting sound on Shot of Love

[@jerrywhoomst1116]

Was looking forward to this, probably the decade I agree with you on the most so far.

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

Such a strange string of 7 albums

[@EricBerger-p3x]

​@@DustinLowmanMusicIn the 1980s, it's the outtakes where he really shines.

[@SeanDaRyan]

Don’t fall apart on me tonight and Too Late versions from the Springtime Time in New York are my favourite two Dylan songs of the 80s I can’t believe he didn’t release those

[@jeffderwin2330]

I’ve been listening to “Oh Mercy” quite a bit lately - I keep enjoying it more and more. It is an A for me. Overall, I tend to agree with your tier rankings. I keep surprising myself that I can’t dislike “Saved”, but I can’t entirely recommend it. “Shot of Love” has two songs that surpass anything in it. “Infidels” was in constant rotation when it came out - now I hardly listen. “Brownsville Girl” saves “Knocked Out Loaded.” I barely listen to “Empire Burlesque”, but it isn’t a compete dud - tough to get around the production. As for the future decades - I love the acoustic folk albums, “Time Out of Mind”, and 21st century albums that contain original material. Can’t wait to hear your takes!

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

@@jeffderwin2330 we’re largely in alignment. Thanks for watching, and for the thoughtful comment!

[@founder9915]

As a person who prefers New Morning to many many MANY other Bob Dylan's albums, i will give Shot of love a try. Your comparison made me very interested

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

@@founder9915 give it a try - maybe three listens before you cement any judgment. I hope you get something out of it!

[@johnmcwatters887]

Every Grain of sand is a masterpiece.

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

@@johnmcwatters887 amen

[@johnmcwatters887]

@@DustinLowmanMusic if you take the songs from 80s Dylan the ones that really shine for me. It’s every grain of sand in Brownsville girl, dark eyes and a few more especially joker man.

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

@ those are undoubtedly highlights!

[@johnmcwatters887]

@ down in the grove is down in the trash for me

[@matm4331]

Thank you for the discussion. I have a soft spot for 80s Bob as I was a 1980s kid introduced to Bob on the "We Are The World" video. On that, I just thought he had a presence that the others didn't. The studio albums that weren't great was not unusual for 1960s era rock stars in the 80s. The MTV affect can't be overstated and all the older acts struggled to adapt. That being said, there are good songs on every album and his resilience paved the way for future projects that really put it all together again...

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

@@matm4331 well said. It’s a bewildering decade of music, but if nothing else, he continued creating interesting, and occasionally classic, work. I didn’t realize anyone got into him because of We Are The World - fascinating!

[@GoneButNotGone]

Even when Bob’s at his weakest, he’s stronger than most songwriters of the given era. I like Down in the Groove, because I like it, and I like underdogs. Saw Dylan with Petty at MSG, NYC in ‘87, and he played lots of this stuff, so I have a soft spot for his 80s period. Jokerman, Ring Them Bells among my favourite tracks. Early 90’s I had the good fortune to see Gordon Lightfoot live and he covered Ring Them Bells, which was transcendent. Again, I like your quick, efficient approach to these videos. Well done.

[@alex11v3]

"I would pair Jokerman to any song on Bringing It All Back Home" Even the last four ones? Tambourine, Alright Ma, Gates and Baby Blue???

[@nickh8097]

I was waiting for the 80's! Don't Fall Apart on me Tonight was on repeat for a good two months for me lol

[@spencerdobkin9479]

Empire Burlesque is a solid album - B for me with a bunch of strong songs. To have Knocked out Loaded ahead of Empire and Shot of Love is ridiculous. Come on dude. Infidels is an easy A for me. Absolutely fantastic album, but I don't agree it's on the level lyrically of Bringing it all Back Home which is a total masterpiece.

[@jonathanthomas4722]

Interesting Tier series! Funny, Bob loves Oh Mercy. I was in high school in the 90’s so am awaiting your insight on the records I recall. Better like As Good As I Been To You and Time Out Of Mind! 😂

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

I adore those '90s acoustic records, rest assured 😉

[@olympe9455]

I love this series and your comments/interpretation of every songs. Awesome work!! Could you pleeeeeease do the same with Leonard Cohen?? 😉

[@cje1]

Good stuff, with coherent justifications of your placings, even when they are very different to my own. Agree that Saved is unfairly maligned.

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

@@cje1 I appreciate the kind words, for me and for Saved!

[@greigmartin4339]

Oh Mercy is solid A tier for me and his best since Blood on the Tracks with only Time Out of Mind bettering it since. Hard to disagree with anything else except I Remember You is pretty high on my 80s Bob top songs.

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

No love for the 2000s records?

[@greigmartin4339]

@@DustinLowmanMusicI do like Modern Times a lot. love and Theft, Together thru Life and Tempest have their moments and the rest is meh for the most part. Glad he is still around doing his thing but i don’t have as high hopes for new releases as I once did.

[@EricBerger-p3x]

​@@DustinLowmanMusicI think Bob started outright stealing other people's thoughts (and even melodies) way too much since Love & Theft. Not like before where he would purloin traditional tunes and phrases from age old folk tradition, but actually stitching together entire songs from plagiarized verses from poems and books (as he did in his memoir). He also started a habit of shuffling around phrases from one song to another, giving them an incoherent feel. His songs in the 2000s are more collections of random thoughts that often poorly stick together rather than a fullt realized emotion or tale. And way too many two-note blues songs that sound the same. E.g. compare the outtake Can't Wait with the official studio album take. He traded in originality and emotion for predictability and sameness. But that's a conversation for another video.

[@mattbarr7050]

Every grain of sand is my favorite.

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

@@mattbarr7050 gorgeous song

[@GiuseppeGuadalupe]

Jokerman is his best song imo

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

Don’t agree with the take but also don’t hate it at all

[@Pinkie-Red-Studios]

Tight connection to my heart is my favorite Dylan song, I hate to admit it but I didn’t really like the album. This decade was harder but it stills has some good songs. Anywho, the 90s being TOOM so I’m excited to see that 😁 PD: look at the music video for Tight connections 😭 the little dance at the end

[@adandap]

I wouldn't lump "I'll remember you" in with "Emotionally yours". I think the former is a far better and more heartfelt song.

[@EricBerger-p3x]

Knocked Out Loaded over Street-Legal?! Are. You. Kidding. Me? Also, 'New Danville Girl' is an infinitly better version of 'Brownsville Girl': it has better lyrics, way better vocals and way way better production. Truly one of Bob's all-time greats.

[@pmoran7971]

Not a fan of Dylan but really like 'desire' a superb album

[@milesmartin4729]

Sylvio! Silver and gold...

[@rodriguelavalle2001]

Oh Mercy is an A for me

[@CoolHandLuke7]

There was this movie I seen one time...

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

Didn't know whether to duck or run, so I ran

[@SH-ud8wd]

Infidels could have been a classic with "Blind Willie McTell" (matching "Knocking on heaven's door") and "Foot of pride" (matching "Desolation Row") from that sessions, instead of the questionable "Union Sundown" and the boring "Neighborhood Bully".

[@thejonahcade]

thanks

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

You got it dude

[@_Singularity_]

Shot of Love and Infidels are frustrating albums for me. They both have so much potential, but to my ears the recording/production isn’t what it should have been, and the wrong songs were chosen for the albums. Leaving off Foot of Pride and Blind Willie McTell, for songs like Neighborhood Bully or Union Sundown, is a baffling decision. By the way, totally disagree about Man in the Long Black Coat. His best song of the decade imo

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

Agree re: SoL and Infidels. Caribbean Wind is another one that he abandoned before it had a chance to flourish. I still get a lot of kicks out of both albums though.

[@DuhBrickMan]

Infidels is one of my favorite albums of his

[@EricBerger-p3x]

'Man in the Long Black Coat' is like a Sergio Leone western in terms of atmosphere. 'Shot of Love' suffered because he laboured on it way to long and kept removing the supposed tentpole songs (Angelina, Caribbean Wind, The Groom's Still Waiting- which was not on the original LP release) and substituting them with newly written, far lesser songs (Trouble, Dead Man and the godawful Lenny Bruce).

[@EricBerger-p3x]

​@@DustinLowmanMusicThe live version with the original set of lyrics is the definitive version to me. All later rewrites became weaker and weaker.

[@andrewyoung8764]

i'll venmo you 50 bucks to take self portrait out of F 🙏

[@harrisonbridges5144]

Infidels ahead of desire is wild

[@nathanielvalla6142]

Down in the groove is Bob Dylan hanging out with 80s Grateful Dead too much.

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

I think he was just totally lost at that point. Had no clue where to turn creatively.

[@stevehajas6500]

I want to like this video but the editing and constant screen change of the chart is distracting, I had to stop watching.

[@darkdaysahead01]

It’s a very odd choice to edit like this.

[@jameswyrtzen7489]

This series is fueg

[@DustinLowmanMusic]

🔥 🔥

[@deadfdr]

What a waste of time