After Bob Dylan and Robbie Robertson found themselves in the same Malibu neighborhood in 1973, the decision was made to reconvene their camps for a new album and tour. Dylan was more at home with The Band than any other group he ever played with and their synergy brings a rollicking vigor to “On A Night Like This” and “Tough Mama”, a tragic majesty to the suicidal lament “Going, Going, Gone”, and unbridled lust to “Hazel”. It’s impossible to imagine Dylan achieving the sly sweetness of “You Angel You” or the anthemic dram of “Never Say Goodbye” if he didn’t have The Band’s backing. While nothing on here has the ramshackle sense of mischief that made The Basement Tapes a legend, two versions of Dylan’s timeless ballad “Forever Young” show The Band’s limitless imagination when it came to reinterpreting material. Planet Waves is the album that marks Dylan’s transition from young adulthood to middle age, and the presence of The Band only gives this milestone an air of nostalgic grace.