Following 18 months after Infidels, nothing about the making of this record - the recording process, the sound, the songs, or even the cover art - suggested that Dylan was on solid footing. The times were a-changin' again.

Yet the music did impress some: Rolling Stone asked: "Is Dylan “back”? Again? One is tempted to trumpet some such tidings. ...Empire Burlesque is nothing as straightforward as a simple return to rock & roll form for Dylan."

In this episode we look at the first proper release in our focus years of 1984-1988, talking with music writer Jim Beviglia about Empire Burlesque and each of the songs it contains.

** The Extended Version of this Episode is 55 Minutes long and available to FM+ Subscribers **

Jim writes about music for American Songwriter, Culture Sonar, and has written a series of books called Counting Down Their 100 Finest Songs with editions on Dylan, Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, and many others. A post on the website CountDown Kid led us to talk to Jim about this record.

For more background on the recording history of this album, as discussed in the episode, check out wikipedia or get Clinton Heylin's book: Bob Dylan Recording Sessions.

EXTENDED EDITIONS

To listen to the Extended and Bonus Episodes of our shows you can either:

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MORE LINKS

PLAYLIST: Empire Of The Loaded Groove - The Best of Bob Dylan's 1984-1988

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