Last week on Dylan.FM we talked about Empire Burlesque with Jim Beviglia - but never posted it on Substack. Here it is. 25 Min for free version, 55 Min for Premium.
Our look at 1984-1988 continues with a deep dive into Empire Burlesque.
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.
Jim writes about music for American Songwriter, Culture Sonar, and has written a series of books called Counting Down Their 100 Finest Son…
