Ultimate Collection

The song by Bob Dylan, "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," selection number 4, was originally one verse longer. The first is done in the simple, unadorned style of a solo folksinger, desolate as hell, and after a drum introduction at the end of the first chorus, this song is suddenly rocking full blast on the third verse. If they tried to record a second verse that was a half and half-between sound, I can only assume is wasn't anything and they cut it.

"Wayoho" starts as a song about a dog in a pickup on the highway, not looking for a final destination. I bought the second Edie Brickell & New Bohemians album, "Ghost of a Dog," which didn't seem to make the charts with anything, and enjoyed the lighter solo numbers by Edie Brickell, "Ghost of a Dog" and "Me by the Sea," for being more distinctively hers than any of the songs that have been selected for the "Ultimate Collection" CD. Its selection 12, "Zillionaire" is another song about a dog, written by Edie Brickell, Rob Wasserman & Jerry Garcia, which has the same character, as a song about a dog.

What do I like? For one thing, the song "Carmelito" on the "Ghost of a Dog" CD is so up, like Paul Simon's "Me and Julio down by the Schoolyard," that I can see how Paul Simon, more than anyone else in the world, considered Edie Brickell the best woman in the world to be married to. Sometimes an affinity like that can last a long time. Songs on the "Ultimate Collection" CD produced by Paul Simon include "Good Times," "Lost In The Moment," and "Green." Like "Big Day, Little Boat" produced by Tony Berg, from the tribute album, "Nobody's Child," these songs seem slight but highly crafted. It has been so long since I first heard "Good Times," and the whole song embodies a style which I associate with a different genre, I really didn't think Edie wrote the song, but she gets the "All words and Music by Edie Brickell" credit on the "Picture Perfect Morning" CD, where Barry White gets credit for "Spoken Instrumental," though it is called "spoken interlude" in the list of musicians for the "Ultimate Collection" CD.

The big mistake in the CD liner notes: tracks 11 and 12 have been switched. Track 11 is now "Like I Do Now," which has the melodic trumpet solo by Chris Botti, while track 12, "Zillionaire" is far more likely to have Jerry Garcia on guitar.

I like the songs from The Slip, which makes me glad I bought the "Ultimate Collection," because these songs were previously unreleased. "Invisible Man" is an incredibly strong song. "1873 (Buffalo Diary)" is a great personification of "people shot at me," as well as "they shot my brothers in the back." The "Girl in the Magazine" is an incredible personification of a fantasy girl, "if I get into your bed, I can get into your head. Hear it from the lips of the girl in the magazine." It is a song with a tune that reverberates so well with what it is saying that you need to know that line before hearing the introduction becomes exciting. Once you know it, the way this song builds through its chorus is glorious, in its way. After that, "Vodka" is the song that makes the rest of this CD one that is worth listening to the whole CD all the way through every time.