Bob Dylan ‎– Street-Legal

This Sony SICP-30497 version contains the 1999 Street Legal re-mix. It is not clear if it is a new remaster or if is the same as the 2003 remaster.

Street Legal is a downright weird album, and I’m resisting calling it awful, an album filled with cranky songs regrading Dylan’s divorce, infused with a number of wordy Dylanesque epics that seem to go uninterestingly nowhere. And that’s just the concept of the music, his delivery is a total sham, sounding entirely silly.

In reality, I’ve never been able to pay attention to any of these songs for more than a couple of minutes before my mind drifts off, then is shockingly brought back to the reality that my only escape is to shut it off. There are those who would contend that the near constant touring Dylan has done since 1974 has brought forth a new and unwelcome vocal style, suggesting that the man’s timing, emotional connection to the songs, and even knowing what his fans may finding interesting has been totally destroyed from straining to be heard in such large venues. As to his lyrics, Dylan has always written throw away lines, yet here on Street Legal it becomes increasingly difficult to discern a good line from a bad one, where they meet or overlap, completely devoid of any inherent dynamics, with the only thing keeping his-Bobness floating at this stage of his career rests on the brilliant epic-ness of his mid 60’s albums. Dylan paints no surreal imagery here, he simply strings dense wordy interesting ideas and phrased (to him) together that offer the listener nothing, nor do those lyrics spirit listeners to a private place of solitude and vision, only one confounding idea and image after another, as if he were suffering from amphetamine psychosis; which at this stage is entirely possible.

There’s also no warmth found within these grooves, many come off as outtakes, as if this studio session were merely a pitstop between shows, offering little life or inspiration. Other reviewers will attempt to suggest that this was a transitional time in Zimmy’s career, representing several periods of uncertainly that all coalesced here, with the result being that in a few short months Dylan would be so shattered and internally broken that all he could think of doing was mistakenly turning his life over to god. Putting it bluntly Street Legal is a sheer mess of an album, where the good songs are bogged down by the rest, along with the soul sound of the album, one that comes off as artificial cluttered and cheesy when these songs were presented live.

Street Legal is what happens when one’s life gets so out of control that the road in front of you all but disappears and all you’re left with are gut instants, where under those circumstances, those gut instants most often prove to be entirely wrong. Over all, Street Legal is a ride on the Further Bus with far too many inherent problems hanging out the windows to be considered in any way even a good album.

*** The Fun Facts: The album art was shot on the steps of Rundown Studios, a recoding and rehearsal space owned by Dylan, named after the general look and feel of the neighborhood. Rundown Studios was located at 2501 Main Street in Santa Monica, California. Others have suggested that the actual location of the cover is the staircase near 2 Pacific Terrace, the back of the house at 26 Arcadia Terrace, Santa Monica, California.

Originally recorded at Rundown Studios, Santa Monica, CA, on the 26th thru the 28th of April and the 1st of May 1978, with overdubs on the 2nd and 3rd of May, the album was originally produced by Don DeVito. Don DeVito remixed and remastered the album in 1999, so all releases of the original 1978 album are now rarities. However, the version of Street-Legal in 2013, The Complete Album Collection Vol. I is one of the fourteen titles remastered by Steve Berkowitz. In this case Berkowitz went back to the original 1978 master tapes and remastered the original album. This means there are now two significantly different versions of the album on sale.

As to the album's title, 'Street-legal' is an American term for a hot rod car that has been modified to allow it to be driven on public roads. It has been suggested that the term refers to Bob's newly divorced single status, yet he's clearly wearing a wedding ring in the picture.

The rear photo is also by Howard Alk was taken live on stage during the Far East tour in early 1978. The two photographs on the inner sleeve of the vinyl album were taken by Joel Bernstein in a night club in Melbourne, Australia, on the same tour, and the man with Dylan on the rear of the inner sleeve is singer and guitarist George Benson.

Review by Jenell Kesler

The first one I got had a scratchy sound (non-fill issues), but the second one was sounding pristine and clear! Looking at the vinyl you can see it is not shiny and the damned papersleeve left signs (was it pressed in France by MPO?), but SST from Germany where the master was probably made has done a very good job. The mix is astoundingly good, it looks as if it is based on the one from 1999 but is is much warmer and the instruments, which were separated in a sterile manner by Don DeVito are now connecting in a great way without losing there definition! The voice of Dylan is much more upfront and very natural, less whiny, almost with the sharpness he had on Desire, and the choir is revelated as very soulful and more in sync with Dylan, not as intrusive as on the other editions, so that No Time to Think really swings now. Senor and We Better Talk This Over have now the feeling as if they are on Blonde on Blonde, super! Changing of the Guards has no more drop outs and rocks! Where Are You Tonight tears the walls down now. It is unbelievable: buy it and hope for a good pressing like I got now!

The remix is awesome but my copy is plagued with wow and flutter - tonearm dancing around like a drunk driver walking the line and the pitch is all over the place - any one else? This one's gotta go back.

Probably the only album of Dylan's that sounds better on CD than on vinyl. The late 90's CD remaster is far superior to this pressing.

This looks like a bootleg, the blank disc manufacturer is written in the center of the disc.

No track times on cover, sleeve nor labels on this issue! Discogs showing "generic" track timings.

Hi have this pressing digmushroom is Original or new mix sounds much better than cd