BOB DYLAN "BIOGRAPH" COLUMBIA 1985 5LP BOX SET STILL SEALED

$

54

• To celebrate Bob Dylan's twenty-fourth year on record, Columbia has released Biograph, a five-record set that is not only a major retrospective but also a reassuring, sometimes startling, overview of Dylan's contributions to our culture. With its fifty-three recordings (nine officially unreleased songs, three unreleased studio versions, six unreleased live tracks and four hard-to-find singles), Biograph is a scratch on the surface of the tip of the iceberg, a tantalizing iTo nvitation to explore anew the rest of the Dylan catalog.

  The album's title suggests a life's history under examination, and Biograph provides as comprehensive, revealing and fulfilling a text as a mere ten sides of Dylan will allow. It tells the story of a man's complex and inexhaustible romance with his mentors, influences and heroes: rustic minstrels (Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams); haunted blues singers (Robert Johnson, Bessie Smith); romantic, visionary and hipster poets (John Keats, William Blake, Dylan Thomas, Allen Ginsberg); roots rock cats and media superstars (the Reverend Richard Penniman, Elvis Presley).

  Despite this plethora of sources -- acknowledged or interpreted -- the songs on this set give incontrovertible evidence of a continuing explosion of genius. He blew away all restrictions on content in popular songwriting. Even in the wake of the New Wave, any songwriter who veers into abstract, surrealistic or associative imagery owes a debt to Bob Dylan. In the lavish booklet that accompanies Biograph, Dylan makes a simple claim: "Tin Pan Alley is gone. I put an end to it." (Which isn't to say Bob's not capable of some old-school songwriting himself, as the "moon" --"spoon" rhymes in "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight" demonstrate.) Though his association with the protest movement of the Sixties produced the enduring anthems "Blowin' in the Wind" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'," the songs from this period skirted the obsolescence of topicality. Even the mournful outrage of "Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll" stands up more than twenty years later. Dylan's most important political act was to liberate radical perception and consciousness and put it into jukeboxes.

  The assemblers of Biograph obviously knew Dylan's catalog extremely well, enjoyed access to the complete work and cared enough about the project to worry about its cumulative impact. Biograph -- with its intelligent and sensitive mix of greatest hits, best songs and fine rarities -- serves both hard-core Dylanphiles and neophytes. The album is thematically, albeit loosely, structured. The setting of the greatest hits -- "Lay Lady Lay," "Like a Rolling Stone," "Blowin' in the Wind," "The Times They Are A-Changin'" -- alongside less familiar songs creates a feeling of rediscovery. Since the album avoids chronological ordering, the listener is made less aware of Dylan's "reinventions" and is drawn instead to the incredible consistency of his vision and themes.
  

• STILL SEALED ORIGINAL!!!! Don't miss out!

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Buy from me and you will never get burned! I promise that my records are accurately described and conservatively graded according to commonly accepted industry standards such as Goldmine (see full description below). I ONLY sell records from my personal collection and NOT thrift shop/flea market junk!You will never get a record from me described as NM that is glossy but the grooves are gray and played out (collectors know what I mean)! I grade my records by playing them and under BOTH incandescent and fluorescent lights!

Records are shipped in industry standard containers with new inner and outer protective sleeves (along with the original inner sleeve or trade paper if noted).

Payment is expected within 3 days of sale.

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My Grading Scale:

• All LPs are graded visually. LP's are carefully inspected by ME personally, a collector with 40 years of experience at grading and evaluating LP's, 45's and 78's and the quality of vinyl. I have owned more than 20,000 LP's and keep at least 5000 in my personal collection at all times. I often play grade records because they come straight from my collection and if the LP has been play-graded I will state that in the listing. LP's are carefully, conservatively and accurately described to the best of my abilities. I realize, of course, that a visual examination can be mistaken. In such a case, I plead humanity and offer apologies. In that hopefully-rare instance where this occurs, feel free to arrange to send the record back within 14 days in the same condition in which it was sent to you for a full refund minus shipping costs!

Near Mint (NM or M-) A nearly perfect record. Many dealers won't give a grade higher than this implying (perhaps correctly) that no record is ever truly perfect. The record should show no obvious signs of wear. A 45 RPM or EP sleeve should have no more than the most minor defects, such as almost invisible ring wear or other signs of slight handling. An LP cover should have no creases, folds, seam splits or other noticeable similar defects. No cut-out holes, either. And of course, the same should be true of any other inserts, such as posters, lyric sleeves and the like. Basically, an LP in near mint condition looks almost as if you just got it home from a new record store and removed the shrink wrap.

Excellent (EX) Somewhere in the hinterland of vinyl Nirvana between NM and VG+. Close to NM but not quite VG+. A collector copy!

Very Good Plus (VG+) A Very Good Plus record will show some signs that it was played and otherwise handled by a previous owner who took good care of it. It is NOT a NM record! Record surfaces may show some signs of wear and may have slight scuffs or very light scratches that don't affect a reasonable person's listening experiences. Slight warps that do not affect the sound are "OK". The label may have some ring wear or discoloration, but it should be barely noticeable. The center hole will not have been misshapen by repeated play. Picture sleeves and LP inner sleeves will have some slight wear, lightly turned up corners, or a slight seam split. An LP cover may have slight signs of wear also and may be marred by a cut-out hole, indentation or corner indicating it was taken out of print and sold at a discount. All but the most mint-crazy collectors will find a Very Good Plus record highly acceptable.

Very Good (VG) Many of the defects found in a VG+ record will be more pronounced in a VG disc. Surface noise will be evident upon playing, especially in soft passages and during a song's intro and fade, but will not overpower the music otherwise. Groove wear will start to be noticeable, as with light scratches (deep enough to feel with a fingernail) that will affect the sound. Labels may be marred by writing, or have tape or stickers (or their residue) attached. The same will be true of picture sleeves or LP covers. However, it will not have all of these problems at the same time, only two or three of them.

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