174) Desire

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Soon after completing Blood on the Tracks [see No. 16], Dylan started work on Desire, with lyrical input from collaborator Jacques Levy. In typical Dylan style, the recording was mostly bashed out in one all-night New York session, fueled in part by tequila. Guest singer Emmylou Harris didn't even get to rehearse her harmony vocals. The most intense moment came at the end, when Dylan struck up a new song he hadn't sung for the band before. As his wife, Sara, sat listening in the studio, Dylan sang "Sara," his heartbroken account of their crumbling marriage. It was the first time she heard the song -- and that take ended up on the album.

total album sales: 2 million

Peak chart position: 1

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