Empire Burlesque

by Bob Dylan

Overview

Say what you want about Empire Burlesque -- at the very least, it's the most consistent record Bob Dylan has made since Blood on the Tracks, even if it isn't quite as interesting as Desire. However, it is a better set of songs, all deriving from the same place and filled with subtle gems -- the most obvious being "Tight Connection to My Heart (Has Anybody Seen My Love?)," but also "Emotionally Yours" and "Dark Eyes" -- proving that his powers are still there. The rest of the album may not be as graceful, but it's still well-crafted songwriting that never fails to be interesting. The record's biggest flaw is its state-of-the-art production; this is every bit as slick as Street Legal, but now sounds more focused and more of its time -- thanks to a reliance on synthesizers and mildly sequenced beats -- than it did upon its original release. All this makes Empire Burlesque seem more transient than it actually is, since -- discounting the production -- this is as good as Dylan gets in his latter days. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Product Details

Release Date:	02/01/2008
Label:	Columbia
UPC:	0886972422121
Rank:	6551

Tracks

1. Tight Connection to My Heart (Has Anyone Seen My Love?)
2. Seeing the Real You at Last
3. I'll Remember You
4. Clean Cut Kid
5. Never Gonna Be the Same Again
6. Trust Yourself
7. Emotionally Yours
8. When the Night Comes Falling from the Sky
9. Something's Burning, Baby
10. Dark Eyes

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Bob Dylan   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Harmonica,Keyboards
Benmont Tench   Guest Artist,Piano,Keyboards
Ron Wood   Guest Artist,Guitar
Mick Taylor   Guest Artist,Guitar
Sly & Robbie   Guest Artist
Al Kooper   Guest Artist,Horn,Guitar,Keyboards,Guitar (Rhythm)
Ted Perlman   Guitar
Sly Dunbar   Drums,Percussion
Bob Glaub   Bass
Ira Ingber   Guitar
Chops   Horn
Bashiri Johnson   Percussion
Don Heffington   Drums
Vince Melamed   Synthesizer
Robbie Shakespeare   Bass
Peggi Blu   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
David Watson   Saxophone
John Paris   Bass
Alan Clark   Keyboards,Synthesizer
Stuart Kimball   Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Jim Keltner   Drums,Vocals
Anton Fig   Drums
Syd McGuiness   Guitar
Carolyn Dennis   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Richard Scher   Synthesizer
Madelyn Quebec   Vocals
Urban Blight Horns   Horn
Sid McGinnis   Guitar
Debra Byrd   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Mike Campbell   Vocals,Guitar
Queen Esther Marrow   Vocals (Background),Vocals
Howie Epstein   Vocals,Bass

Technical Credits

Judy Feltus   Engineer
George Tutko   Engineer
Bob Dylan   Composer
Josh Abbey   Engineer