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Where do I
begin...on the heels of Rimbaud moving like a dancing
bullet thru the secret streets of a hot New Jersey night
filled with venom and wonder. Meeting the Queen Angel in
the reeds of Babylon and then to the fountain of sorrow to
drift away in the hot mass of the deluge... To sing praise
to the King of those dead streets, to grasp and let go in
a heavenly way -- streaming into the lost belly of
civilization at a standstill. Romance is taking over.
Tolstoy was right. These notes are being written in a
bathtub in Maine under ideal conditions, in every Curio
Lounge from Brooklyn to Guam, from Lowell to Durango oh
sister, when I fall into your spacy arms, can not ya feel
the weight of oblivion and the songs of redemption on your
backside we surface alongside miles standish and take the
rock. We have relations in Mozambique. I have a brother or
two and a whole lot of karma to burn... Isis and the moon
shine on me. When Rubin gets out of jail, we celebrate in
the historical parking lot in sunburned California...
©1975 Ram's Horn Music
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Contributing Artists:
Emmylou Harris
Howie Wyeth
Rob Stoner
Ronee Blakley
Scarlet Rivera
Steve Soles
Don DeVito, Producer
DESIRE
was the studio realization of the Rolling Thunder revue's
sound. The musicians involved in this mid-'70s Dylan
project were more than a backup band; they forged a
distinctive musical vision, loose and swirling, the
perfect aural equivalent of the traveling gypsy/carnival
image they affected onstage. Drummer Howie Wyeth, who
possessed an uncannily sympathetic ear for accompanying
singer-songwriters, and violinist Scarlet Rivera, built
their careers on the foundation of the Rolling Thunder
band.
Many critics balked at Dylan's lyrical collaborations with
Jacques Levy on this album, but their reservations were
just glorified xenophobia. Levy's flowing, colloquial
style suited Dylan's music and delivery perfectly, and the
two produced several gems. "Isis" is an exotic
tale of intrigue that turns out to be a unique love story.
"Hurricane" breathlessly tells the true story of
Ruben Carter, a boxer framed for murder and acquitted
years after DESIRE's release. It still stands as one of
Dylan's most exciting, emotional tunes.
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