Great Rock Albums of 1979: Bob Dylan- At Budokan

Cheap Trick weren't the only ones who put out a live album from Budokan in 1979, Bob Dylan did too. Like Cheap Trick, this was taken from concerts recorded there in 1978 and released early in the following year. On the album, Dylan plays some of the long time classics as well as some of the tracks from the albums that were more recent around that time. For someone who didn't have have every Bob Dylan album around then and wanted a good mix of Dylan material, this live recording provides all of this. Classics such as "Mr Tambourine Man" and "Like a Rolling Stone" feature heavily here and others like "Shelter From the Storm" also get a good play, although I still prefer the version of that song from "Hard Rain."

When "At Budokan" was released, Dylan had some harsh reviews from critics and Dylan purists alike. Critics, like Rolling Stone said the album was slick and sterile while some purists accused him of selling out. This album was not a sell out for me. See, if Dylan wanted to sell out back in 1979, he would have put a disco beat in all of his songs. That would have been a sell out! To me, like I said above, this is a good and sometimes alternative listen to some classic Dylan tunes and there is nothing I dislike about it.

Track Listing:

1. Mr Tambourine Man

2. Shelter From the Storm

3. Love Minus Zero No Limit

4. The Ballad of a Thin Man

5. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right

6. Maggie's Farm

7. One More Cup of Coffee

8. Like a Rolling Stone

9. I Shall Be Released

10. Is Your Love In Vain

11. Going Going Gone

12. Blowin' Like the Wind

13. Just Like a Woman

14. Oh Sister

15. All Along the Watchtower

16. A Simple Twist of Fate

17. I Want You

18. All I Really Wanna Do

19. Knockin' On Heaven's Door

20. It's All Right Ma, I'm Only Bleeding

21. Forever Young

22. The Times They Are a Changin'

Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan- rhythm guitar, vocals, harmonica

Billy Cross-  lead guitar

Steve Douglas- saxophone, flute, recorder

Debi Dye- backing vocals

Bobby Hall- percussion

Jo Ann Harris- backing vocals

David Mansfield- pedal steel, violin, mandolin, dobro, guitar

Alan Pasqua- keyboards

Ed Rash- tambourine

Steven Soles- acoustic rhythm guitar, backing vocals

Helena Springs- backing vocals

Rob Stoner- bass, backing vocals

Ian Wallace- drums

This album would be the last before Bob Dylan's conversion to Christianity but that's a story for further down the road in 1979. For me, this album is a great way to reminisce over many of the great classics of Bob Dylan.

Next Post: The Police- Regatta De Blanc

To buy Rock And Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London

Great Rock Albums of 1979: Hawkwind- PXR5

I had never heard of Hawkwind back in 1979. They came to my attention a few years later from an old friend who was a few years older and listened to them quite a lot through the 70's and as far as I know continues to do so. When he treated me to some of their material from the early and mid 70's, I have to admit I was rather impressed. At the time, I made many comparisons to Pink Floyd in the sense that I thought they were one of those groups you listen to when you want to sit in a secluded room while puffing the magic dragon and contemplating the meaning of the universe. I would later discover that none other than Lemmy from Motorhead fame was a former Hawkwind member and that only made me want to check them out more. I got that opportunity when I first got to England. Not one but two of the friends I made in that first year were hardcore fans and treated me to more of their music.

Confession time, "PXR5" is one of those albums I had to rely on YouTube for before I could write about it here. In fact, it was the first time I heard the album in its full glory. I remembered the great tracks "PXR5" and "Robot" and vaguely remember "Uncle Sam's on Mars" mainly due to the amusing title. Now I can say that the rest of the album is just as good. I hear a hard rock edge to it which I like, especially with the opening track "Death Trap," which it doesn't loose. In short, I really like this album.

Track Listing:

1. Death Trap

2. Jack of Shadows

3. Uncle Sam's on Mars

4. Infinity

5. Life Form

6. Robot

7. High Rise

8. PXR5

Hawkwind

Robert Calvert- vocals

David Brock- guitar, keyboards, vocals

Adrian Shaw- bass

Simon House- violin, keyboards

Simon King- drums

What I love about Hawkwind is that fact that it's hard to put them into a nice fitting category. Wikipedia tries to by referring to this album as "space rock" and while I won't debate that, I wouldn't be so quick as to label them. Hawkwind have a unique sound that incorporates a bit of hard rock, progressive rock and some others. That probably makes it perfect listening for when you are in outer space.

Next post: Bob Dylan- Live at Budokan

To buy Rock and Roll Children, go to www.strategicpublishinggroup.com/title/RockAndRollChildren.html

Also available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Froogle and on sale at Foyles Book Shop in London