Planet Waves
| Planet Waves | |||||
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| Studio album by Bob Dylan with The Band | |||||
| Released | January 17, 1974 | ||||
| Recorded | November 2, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 14, 1973 | ||||
| Studio | Village Recorder, West Los Angeles, California | ||||
| Genre | Folk rock, roots rock | ||||
| Length | 42:12 | ||||
| Label | Asylum | ||||
| Producer | Rob Fraboni | ||||
| Bob Dylan chronology | |||||
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| The Band chronology | |||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |    |
| Robert Christgau | A– |
| Entertainment Weekly | C+ |
| MusicHound | 3.5/5 |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
Planet Waves is the fourteenth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on January 17, 1974 by Asylum Records in the United States and Island Records in the United Kingdom.
Dylan is supported on the album by longtime collaborators the Band, with whom he embarked on a major reunion tour (documented on the live album Before the Flood) following its release (the tour started a couple weeks before release—though Asylum had wanted the album out first). With a successful tour and a host of publicity, Planet Waves was a hit, enjoying a brief stay at #1 on the US Billboard charts—a first for the artist—and #7 in the UK. Critics were not as negative as they had been with some then-recent Bob Dylan albums (namely Self Portrait and Dylan), but still not enthusiastic for the album's brand of laid-back roots rock.
The album was originally set to be titled Ceremonies of the Horsemen, a reference to the song "Love Minus Zero/No Limit", from the 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home; the release was delayed two weeks when Dylan decided to change the title at the last minute. Another, earlier working title was Wedding Song.
The cover art is drawn by Dylan himself. Written on the right side of the cover image is the phrase, "Cast-iron songs & torch ballads," apparently signaling Dylan's own conception of the album. On the left side is written "Moonglow", which is sometimes interpreted as a subtitle. The original back artwork for the album is hand written, with a long, rambling essay on the left hand side. In the center, the performers' names are listed, though Richard Manuel's surname is misspelled "Manual". The initial release also included an insert which reportedly set out excerpts from Dylan's personal journals.
In the summer of 1973, Robbie Robertson, lead guitarist of the Band, relocated to Malibu, California, not far from Dylan's residence. According to Robertson, the idea of collaborating with Dylan evolved from a conversation that took place sometime after July 28, when the Band played to hundreds of thousands of people at Summer Jam at Watkins Glen in upstate New York. After much discussion about that experience, the idea of touring again "seemed to really make sense," says Robertson. "It was a good idea, a kind of step into the past...The other guys in the Band came out [to Malibu] and we went right to work."
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