1001 Albums Summary

Absolutely bananas follow-up to Rumours. Split halfway between the gorgeous pop of its predecessor and "let's try this out" experiments. Long and indulgent, like all the best double albums are.

The best Floyd album, with meditations on loss and the price of fame. The big question throughout: was it worth it? Pink Floyd equalled this several times, but they never surpassed it. The shimmering textures and expressive performances seem like they would feel self-indulgent, but instead there's an aching feeling. This is some of the finest rock music from the 1970s, and some of the finest music ever.

You could make the argument that latter-day Bob Dylan kind of runs together, and that's fair. But this is one of those albums that earns its "best since Blood on the Tracks" accolades that always follow Dylan these years. The production by Daniel Lanois is both atmospheric and lean, with lots of shifting moods and texture as a backdrop to Dylan's caterwauling. (I mean it in a nice way.) It's got a couple of genuine classic songs, in "Not Dark Yet" and "Make You Feel My Love," but the other tracks also feed into the mood of the whole thing. This is not going to change music like Dylan's genuine classics did, but I'm not sure that's a fair expectation anyway. It's still very good.