Empire Burlesque LP

Empire Burlesque stacks an unusually loaded cast around Dylan: Heartbreakers Mike Campbell, Benmont Tench and Howie Epstein, Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood, the reggae rhythm section Sly and Robbie, and Mick Taylor, who plays guitar on "Tight Connection to My Heart." Dylan produced it himself, then handed the sessions to Arthur Baker for a glossy, mid-'80s mix that still divides people. It only reached No. 33 on the Billboard 200, but Robert Christgau called it Dylan's best album since Blood on the Tracks, which says plenty about how uneven his output had gotten by then.