I listened to it this morning and it was very nice. I forgot how charming and pleasant it is...sort of like Nashville Skyline, although it feels a bit less simple. I wasn't paying much attention to lyrics this time though so I'll make sure to give it another spin.

Went to the record store today. The 10 dollar copy of Self-Portrait had a deep scratch on one of the sides, so I passed up on it this time. I won't be getting that album quite yet.

"sign On the window" is one of the greatest displays of Dylan ability as an instrumentalist. The piano playing is really great in the song.

I only notice Dylan`s piano playing when it`s really thrown in my face; in Sign On the Window like you say, and, I presume, on Blind Willie McTell and It Takes A lot To Laugh. Nothing too fancy, but very effective playing on both those tracks too; as a non-musician, I would describe his style as "rhythmic plonking". I also read somewhere that he frequently employs the same technique; starts at the extremes of the keyboard and works his way in towards the middle !

Isn`t there also a great song on Another Side where the piano takes the lead ? Which track is it ?

there's a pretty good piano version of "The Times They Are A-Changing" on Bootleg Series 1

Black Crow Blues, perhaps? I think that's the piano one, anyway.

I'll check the piano playing in that song next time I play the album, Blastingas.

Bob Dylan actually puts a lot of effort into creating his music, which is always a plus.

Thanks ! That`s the one I was thinking of : " It`s funny, honey, but I`m out of touch and don`t feel much like a scarecrow today."

A real favourite of mine, this song really is another side of Bob Dylan; a guy free to enjoy his own songwriting facility, just before he was drowned in the floods of portentousness which greeted a lot of his work in the sixties.

Another Side is a great album, "black crowe blues" is a very fun song. I think the piano playing in "sign on the window" really stands out above all his other piano work, if you listen closely i think you'll agree. He actually goes off into a solo, which is kind of canceled out by the organ playing but you can still hear it. It's some really pretty playing.

Listened to Oh Mercy today during my lunch break. Much improvement over Down in the Groove and uh...whatever that album that comes before Down in the Groove is (I don't care enough to look it up). The production and Bob's voice are much better, which were the main things that got me excited. Listening through it reminded me a bit of Desire for some reason that I can't quite pin down.

I'm not convinced that it's one of Bob's masterpieces or anything, but I'd definitely listen to it again in the short term, which is more than I can say for most Dylan albums from the 80s!

Maybe not one of his masterpieces but possibly in my Dylan top 10. I'll have to work on that list