Oh Mercy
Oh Mercy is the 26th album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on September 12, 1989, by Columbia Records. Produced by Daniel Lanois, it was hailed by critics as a triumph for Dylan, after a string of poorly reviewed albums. Oh Mercy gave Dylan his best chart showing in years, reaching on the Billboard charts in the United States and in the UK. Background and recording The composition of the songs at Dylan's home in Malibu and the recording of the album in New Orleans are described by Dylan in detail in the "Oh Mercy" chapter of his memoir Chronicles: Volume One. Engineer Mark Howard noted that Dylan had previously attempted to record the songs with Ronnie Wood but was dissatisfied with the results: "There’s a whole version of Oh Mercy that was recorded with Ron Wood already. But I think Dylan had maybe decided he didn’t like what had happened". In the spring or summer of 1988, U2 singer Bono put Dylan in touch with producer Daniel Lanois, and the two agreed to work together although the recording sessions would not commence until early 1989. Dylan biographer Clinton Heylin notes that Dylan finished recording the basic tracks for the