Has this album really only been preceded by one other Dylan 'Best Of'? Strange. However, the late arrival of the release gives the compilers the chance to pick and chose from an incredibly broad spectrum of music, spanning the great man's career.
From 'A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall' to 'Things Have Changed', it's all here yet there aren't too many weak moments and maybe even a few surprises for those who still believe that 'Blood On The Tracks' was the only decent album that Dylan put out after 'Blonde On Blonde'. That said, undisputedly classic albums like the latter are poorly-represented with obvious offerings like 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' and 'Highway 61 Revisited' neither of which are the greatest cuts from two of Dylan's greatest albums, 'Bringing It All Back Home' and 'Highway 61 Revisited' respectively. Both of which have already featured on too numerous a-compilation to mention.
And why, oh why 'Rainy Day Women #12 and #35'….again? Always a novelty song that is little more than irritating in the face such painfully beautiful compositions as 'Visions Of Johanna', 'Queen Jane Approximately' and 'Love Minus Zero/No Limit' - we didn't need another copy.
What is nice to see here is the inclusion of 'Changing Of The Guards' from 78's 'Street Legal' and 'Licence To Kill' from 83's 'Infidels', a couple of the man's later highlights - slightly dubious in their original recordings with a couple of ill-chosen eighties elements but proven in live performance. Both of the former, of course, were albums released before Dylan began to sound like Janis Joplin on helium, after this point it begins to disintegrate.
In conclusion, this is not the greatest ever collection of Dylan tracks and certainly not only the second-ever. Newcomers should seek out the 'Masterpieces' compilation first released in '78. This is best considered an introduction to the later years for those who never bothered to check them out in the first place.
