Hard Times In New York City

A compilation of tracks dating back to Dylan's arrival in New York. Recording quality is as good as it gets throughout - and there're a few pieces here that are new to CD's release, all excellency and sympathetically mastered. Somehow though, as a compilation, it doesn't quite do the period it's full justice. There are some tracks that lend themselves to compilations, others that seems to sit better as complete recordings, and I'd sooner have these in the altter format. In particular some of the tracks have rambling intro's - these are valid in context with the recording as a whole since they build up the atmosphere and create ambience, but in a compilation they just use up space that would be better employed with another song. Still if all that is on offer are the crumbs that others deign to drop from their table I guess we can't complain too much. When you're living below the salt you have to accept what scraps are thrown to you and at least these scraps are off the leaner portions.

RZ - 73:43
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