Concluding a countdown of my favorite albums of 1976…

#1 – Desire – Bob Dylan

Desire might be my eighth or ninth favorite Bob Dylan album, but that’s enough to make it my favorite release of 1976.

This album is a showcase of Dylan as a collaborator. He co-wrote most of the songs’ lyrics with psychologist Jacques Levy; Emmylou Harris’ backing vocals add grace and texture; and most important, Scarlet Rivera’s violin gives the record a rich air of mystery. Desire sounds like nothing else he ever recorded.

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