Changing Of The Guards/New Pony/No Time To Think/Baby Stop Crying/Is Your Love In Vain/Senor(Tales Of Yankee Power)/True Love Tends To Forget/We Better Talk This Over/Where Are You Tonight
Street Legal finds Bob Dylan in a more experimental mode than usual, with some questionable innovations such as horns and female backing vocals. Features the UK top 20 hit Baby Stop Crying. (US:11 UK:2)
“Dylan has a changed style with an emphasized commercial sound, but I find that he best knows what his music should sound like. This record is very good and holds lyrically impressive songs in the opener, the wonderfully crafted Changing Of The Guards as well as No Time To Think though with a slower tempo.”
“Changing Of The Guards perfectly sets the tone for this album, upbeat and joyful, with beautiful backing vocals that surprisingly compliment Dylan's voice very well. Unfortunately, apart from the opener few of the tracks do enough to stand out.”
“Street Legal sounds like no other Dylan album. Maybe an attempt at making a more commercial record, but it’s a definite break from his previous aesthetic, his first attempt at really creating a big sound. It’s more glossy and polished, yet the production frequently muddles all the instruments together so that his instrumental support just sounds like a giant mess of sound rather than an actual backing track.”
“On Street Legal, the sound is bombastic with horns and a girl backing choir. I can't say that I'm fond of this style, at least not when it's Dylan who is using it. I just don't think that it suits him. The songs are generally pretty good, with really nice lyrics. He experiments with his songwriting, and sometimes he succeeds.”
“This album is slicker than most of his work. He uses a battery of musicians plus some female backing singers that are definitely an acquired taste. The original mix of the album is muddled and really takes away from its overall enjoyment. I find that the best songs have an emotional depth and create a mood.”
“The lyrics are complex and highly symbolic, steeped in kabbalistic, tarot and astrological imagery. Behind the imagery is Dylan at his starkest and most desperate, grasping for love and meaning. Many people have criticized the album because of the fairly rough horn section and the pseudo-Motown backup vocals. To me, this type of backing is a fascinating counterpart to complex lyrics, creating an effect that is exotic but at the same time very soulful.”
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