8. Bob DylanNashville Skyline
I feel obliged to put one Bob Dylan record on there because I’ve heard so much Bob Dylan over my life due to my stepdad, who has recently died and who was one of my best pals in life. He was a massive Dylan fan and I always used to hear it whenever I would see him. I just think these songs on this album are so pure and honest and if there’s a single simpler song ever written that’s better than ‘I Threw it All Away’, I have yet to hear it. It’s not even three minutes long and in that short time, every word is perfectly chosen, at least to me. It’s got everything there about love and loss and really what else is there to write songs about? I often get teary-eyed when I hear it. That said, I have realised whilst thinking about this list that I can get teary eyed quite often listening to music!
I suppose Nashville Skyline is a bit of an unusual choice because there are a few people who can’t get along with his voice on this record, but also it probably doesn’t have the same artistic credibility as say Blood On The Tracks or the same profile as his earlier works or whatever. But I love a lot of those records from eras which are a bit overlooked like Street Legal and Infidels or his Christian records which get a bit derided, like Shot Of Love.
