I've been taking part (briefly) in a discussion (deranged slightly) about Down in the Groove and the songs on it ... good, bad, indifferent ... should we remember them or be bothered about them? ...
One person noted ... "The song "Death Is Not The End" is really a gem. Hats off Dylan..
This track should represent "Down In The Groove" on his Greatest Hits albums instead of the dull Silvio....""
Another person thought ... "The only reason for buying 'Down in the groove' is "Rank Strangers to me".
If you've already bought it, you might also want to listen to "Shenandoah", "Silvio" and "Ninety Miles And Hour"".
Another person with the wonderful Irish folk song non de plume Arthur McBride wrote ... "Bono agrees with you, one of Dylans best he says ...& I agree to a certain degree. No 'classic' though".
Someone called Tiny Montgomery offered ... "What's wrong with having ears?" Hmmm, hard-hitting, I thought ...

My contribution was:"Just to keep this alive another day ... I love Ninety Miles an Hour ... down a dead end street. Oh yes. Love that. Rank Strangers to Me is superb. Death Is Not the End, too. Ah, those days of listening and loathing ... have things changed that much? Not sure. "
And, really, that is the point I want to make now ... listening and loathing ... we are still doing it. I have read several hideous reviews of Bob Dylan's current tour ... he mumbled, he droned, he didn't speak, he sang off mike ... Then there are others who complain about the setlists ... Hold on, I keep thinking as I read ... the man is there, still singing, his songs - giving his songs new life. He could just as easily be sitting somewhere with one of his many hats on, enjoying a drink and reading some book. But, no ... he's out with us giving us a show that we pay to see and hear ... and enjoy.
I saw him in Dublin the last time he was my way in Ireland and, OK, I didn't get all the words, but I got the moment, I got the feeling being expressed, I understood what was being said ... and I liked the way I heard it. He got a *****star rating for me.
Down in the Groove ... I still give it an airing; so too, Knocked Out Loaded and even Dylan (which I'm glad to see is in the list of albums, though it's been deleted). Those were what some call the nadir years ... the times they have a-changed: Bob's back with a good new band, sounding great and giviing the songs a welcome shake. The tell-tale sounds are good to me ... cheers!