Bob Dylan-Planet Waves (1974)

July 09, 2024

Artist: Bob Dylan

Title: Planet Waves

Label: Columbia

Format: SACD

Cat: CH-90339

Year of Release: 1974

Country and Year of Edition: US 2003 SACD Promo

Sell Price: $7.31 VG+/VG+ 7/8/24

Discogs Last Sold: 6/1724 NM/VG+ $11.99

Low: $5.13

Median: $9.97

Average: $11.35

High: $39.97

Current low price: $6.64 M/NM

Current Number on Sale at Discogs: 25

Have/Want: 541/61

Where Sold: Sherman Oaks, CA

Time it took to sell: 10 years

Where and When Purchased: promo

Gwiz-gau Letter Grade: A

Sad To See It Go: No

"Today on the countryside it was hotter than a crotch...."-Bob Dylan "Tough Mama"

In NYC today when I took a walk to storage to retrieve my SACD copy of Planet Waves, it was every bit as hot as the crotch in "Tough Mama." Yesterday I bought about 15 Dylan cassettes for $1 each including Planet Waves and this sold right around the same 24 hour cycle. I got a care packet from Sony back in 2003 with half the SACD titles, which I quickly bought the rest of and a cheap SACD player and reveled in the gasp worthy revelation of the Dylan catalogue remastering. Nowadays, I'm listening out of a cheap Sony boombox that also houses a cassette player that will play those very cassettes next week. Such is life, I'm still too lazy to get my taller than God speakers out of my friends storage space and the rest of the components out of my own.

So indifference for the high end be damned, I guess I'll talk about the music. This is a rare Dylan album I didn't grow up with and bought the vinyl sometime in the early 80's used. I must've been brainwashed by Dave Marsh or something because I thought the record wasn't that good when I first heard it. Like a sloppy record by The Band with Bob singing or something like that. Somehow it grew to be one of my favorites of either of them, at least for a start to finish listen. Maybe because it was NOT part of my early childhood heavy listening or purchased as a brand new release. It wasn't even compiled on Greatest Hits Vol. II for me to know parts of it in the 70's.

There are 6 on this that I don't get sick of : the aforementioned "Tough Mama," the first "Forever Young" that closes side one (but not the speedy side 2 reprise), "Going Going Gone," the opener "On A Night Like This" and best of all the "torch ballads" mentioned on the cover that close the album "Never Say Goodbye" and "Wedding Song." The rest are all great but those 6 are the top level Bob ones for me.

I don't think I ever read the liner notes that tempt us to go back in time with a double brandy and "barstools that stank of sweaty pussy." Ike and 50's, polka bands and thrashing clowns are the order of the day.

You Angel You!

Links For Further Review

Other Bob Dylan Titles Discussed

Bob Dylan (1962)

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (1963)

Highway 61 Revisited (1965)

Nashville Skyline (1969)

New Morning (1970)

Watching The River Flow b/w Spanish Is The Loving Tongue (1971)

Before The Flood (1974)

Slow Train Coming (1979)

Saved (1980)