Album Of The Day #104: WORLD GONE WRONG - Bob Dylan

Title: World Gone Wrong
Artist: Bob Dylan
Label: Columbia
Released: 1993
Songs: World Gone Wrong/Love Henry/Ragged & Dirty/Blood In My Eyes/Broke Down Engine/Delia/Stack A Lee/Two Soldiers/Jack-A-Roe/Lone Pilgrim [Adger M. Pace & B.F. White]
Traditional, except where noted
Arranged by: Bob Dylan
Produced by: Bob Dylan
Thoughts: World Gone Wrong is obviously a sequel to Good As I Been To You, but it really is better. I think what weighed Good As I Been To You down is the same thing that makes it enjoyable: its’ variety. World Gone Wrong sucks all the happiness out of Good As I Been To You and focuses that energy in presenting songs that are a lot longer and have a lot more depth. The stories on Good As I Been To You were about small-town outlaws and love, while World Gone Wrong’s songs are about soldiers, tired and beaten men, strange love and the troubles in the world. “Delia” and “Love Henry” are probably the weakest tracks here, but most of it is consistently good. I mean, “Blood In My Eyes” has to be up there as one of the best Dylan performances. It’s such a beautiful song with such great lines. “World Gone Wrong” is a great opener and “Lone Pilgrim” is a tear-jerking closer.
The big thing that is carried over from Good As I Been To You is his incredible guitar playing, which is focused on more here. Listen for the knocking on the body of his guitar on “Broke Down Engine.” How cool is that?
Speaking of cool, does his outfit on the cover and the inside picture confirm how cool this man is? This is what makes me love Bob so much. He is cool in his own right, so he doesn’t have to try. He just has to be himself.
In conclusion, this duo of folk albums is probably some of his most interesting work. I think these are transition albums, like John Wesley Harding was back in 1967. His next album showed him taking traditional ideas and putting them to work in his own songs, instead of on other people’s songs, like he did on Good As I Been To You and World Gone Wrong.

I already did Time Out Of Mind, so next up will be “Love And Theft”. (By the way, if you are going back to my Time Out Of Mind review, I would like to say that I since have joined expectingrain.com's forum!)