It may not feature Your trickster Host intoning his hand of tall tales (most of which are true), but unlike another such compilation of tracks broadcast on Dylan's idiosyncratic and enormously popular satellite radio show, this new ACE collection comes fully licensed and approved by its producers. With liners by a crack team of writers that are nearly as entertaining and authoritative as the tangents dispensed on Dylan's Hour itself (and that's no mean feat), any fan of American music is going to find many a mind-blowing piece of the past here.

Started in 2006 and running for 50 episodes, the first season of Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour confirmed a few things: he has a great affinity for the early country/blues/folk/jazz artists that shaped him as a youth; and he is a keen observer of modern culture, as evidenced by the occasional LL Cool J, Blur or Streets tune tossed into the mix. This 2CD, 52 song release takes at least one song from each of the programs, covering themes like Hair, Coffee, Weather, and The Devil. As a collection of the roots of American Music, it's dead-on and nicely balanced between the well-known and the obscure.