One track on Empire Burlesque stands out as completely different in style and sound from the rest of the album. Most of the tracks feel very modern, but the final song — ‘Dark Eyes’ — sounds like it could have fit in nicely on Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan or another of his earliest recordings.
It’s a spare, haunting track that continues the trend of Dylan putting his most transcendent material in the last spot on the tracklist. Might as well go out strong, I suppose.
Bob Dylan released a live record in 1984, the year after Infidels came out, then returned with an original album — Empire Burlesque — in 1985.
Empire Burlesque is another of Dylan’s most polarizing albums… I’m amused by how many of his releases are described as both his best and his worst by different fans. This is the last of the albums I bought to prepare for this series, and once again I’m glad I did.
I don’t rank it on either extreme — it’s a strong collection of songs hampered by some very dated production techniques, but for the most part the quality shines through.
Meet Me In Montauk 