Expecting Rain

Oh Mercy - you know what to do.

That one is tough.

That is quite easy for me, side 2. First of all, there is "Shooting Star", which is such a sweet song. Then there's "What Good Am I", which I had the pleasure to hear live in concert in Linz 2010 (God, that was so awesome!). Oh, and of course, my favourite track of this album is "Most of the Time".

However, I'd miss "Man in the Long Black Coat" from side 1. Such a haunting song! The intro gives me goosebumps everytime I hear it.

lol, when i am in doubt and cannot choose, i think i can safely go on autopilot and just pick what Raylroad does. i want with cohesion on this one. man in a long black coat is so powerful that it is singular. thus, side two flows smoother. a sublime intro with most of the time and a touching closer...

I always forget how good Oh Mercy is - both sides equally strong in my view. Time to listen to it again!

Good plan Stuart, these polls are good for something right? a nice way to reflect on Dylan's 50 years as a recording artist, and a fine way to kill time before the next tour and album ensues...

Like most of them, this was hard to choose. Side A has arguably the two best songs, or at least my two favorite in "man in the long black coat" and "ring them bells"..but it also has the two weakest in "political world" and "where teardrops fall"...and "everything is broken" being somewhere in the middle. Side B has three great songs in "most of the time", "shooting star", and "most of the time"..and two somewhat weak ones in "disease of conceit" and "what good am i?", but not as weak as the two on Side A. Tough one but I went with Side B. I'd rather listen to those songs all the way through then the ones on side A. Maybe "weak" was the wrong word for those two on side B, i guess average would be more accurate.

I find almost all of these polls almost impossibly hard. I went for side B on this one, because I find it so atmospheric. The overall listening experience might be slightly better on side B. That being said, side A has "Ring Them Bells", one of my absolute favourite Dylan songs. It all goes to show that "Oh Mercy!" is a really brilliant album.

For me it's Side 1 and it's not close. Political World, Everything's Broken, Ring Them Bells and Man In The Long Black Coat are all cool. Shooting Star is my favorite from Side 2, the rest honestly I could take 'em or leave 'em.

Tough one - toughest so far, but the combo Ring Them Bells and Man in the Long Black Coat wins. Wasn't that tough, really, coming to think of it.

Side 2...

This one depends on the mood I'm in. There have been a couple of times in my life when I played What Was It You Wanted? on repeat for over an hour... and Shooting Star is wonderful.

Yet side one has Ring Them Bells and Man In the Long Black Coat...

Not a clunker on the album and every song has its place... has found ts groove as though its written in the soul. I'd love to hear these dusted off and played again. They certainly deserve it.

....so, which did you pick?? curious because i feel exactly the same way. I think What was it you wanted is a favourite of Patti Smith's.

something about ring them bells here takes me out of the album's character...i like it better on greatest hits volume III i think.

I've always loved this album; one of my favorites. It's definately side one for me but I have to admit to being a total sucker for Shooting Star on side 2.

Yep, I like these threads, too.

a nice feature i picked up on the last listen is that the album ends on a harmonica fade...perfect exit after a perfect entrance.

first one of these i did. i don't want to do another one. too hard.

don't worry there are several others that are more clear and soothing.

check out: any other of the eighties albums, another side, basement tapes, modern times, dylan, and PG&BTK for starters.

in psychology, this is called the forced choice scenario.

"Ring them Bells" is the only song that strikes me on the first side. The second side has a couple ringers ("Most of the Time", "What was it You Wanted") on it which makes it twice as nice. I think it's a relatively dull record. I'll give Dylan credit for taking care with the lyrics and for beating his writer's block.

I'll admit that Dylan brought life to a couple other songs playing them live: "What Good am I" is an entirely different song live and so is "Long Black Coat."