Revisiting the Grammys: The 1998 Album of the Year

The Album of the Year battle at the 1998 Grammys delivered a donnybrook for the ages. Two of music’s most prestigious veterans made their bids. But they went up against one of the most buzzed-about bands of that era. And don’t forget a fierce new singer-songwriter and an ultra-smooth R&B star.

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In the end, Bob Dylan came out on top with Time Out Of Mind. But did he deserve it? Let’s look again at the Grammy candidates and render our retrospective judgment.

‘The Day’ by Babyface

Kenneth Edmonds never sat still for very long in the 90s. When he wasn’t writing and producing records for a wide variety of artists, he’d pop up with a solo album. The Day found him in his comfort zone. He mostly coos over a succession of lush love ballads. And he proves that his Quiet Storm approach, when thoughtfully rendered, never goes out of style. Whether keeping it PG (“Every Time I Close My Eyes”) or turning up the heat (“All Day Thinkin’”), he’s on top of his game. New parents ate up “The Day (That You Gave Me A Son)”. And Stevie Wonder’s appearance on “How Come, How Long” freed Babyface to expertly display his socially conscious side.

‘This Fire’ by Paula Cole

Her second studio album found Cole working with a major label for the first time. It’s little surprise then that the sound was beefed up by studio aces like Tony Levin and Greg Leisz. Peter Gabriel even adds his huffing vocals to “Hush. Hush, Hush.” But Cole’s writing does the heavy lifting, along with her ability to pitch her vocals perfectly to the tone of each song. Most people remember the hits, including the soaring “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?” and the lush “I Don’t Want To Wait”. But a deeper dive into the album reveals Cole’s admirably fearless lack of abandon on tracks like “Throwing Stones” and “Nietzsche’s Eyes”. A fine contender for the Grammy Album of the Year.

‘Time Out Of Mind’ by Bob Dylan

Dylan was coming off not only a fallow artistic period (it was his first album of original material in seven years), but also a major illness (which took place after the recording but before the release of the album). Needless to say, people wanted to hear a comeback. And he provided it for them with his best set of songs in almost a decade. Daniel Lanois’ production plays up the increased croak in Dylan’s vocal. He sounds positively ghostly on songs like “Love Sick” and “Cold Irons Bound”. Leave it to Dylan to include his most despairing song (“Not Dark Yet”) on the same record as his most sentimental (“Make You Feel My Love”}.

‘Flaming Pie’ by Paul McCartney

Like Dylan, Macca was fighting through a bit of a slump when he put this record together. Having worked with Jeff Lynne on The Beatles Anthology project, McCartney enlisted the ELO frontman to cast his special glow on tracks ranging from the moody “The World Tonight” to the touching “Little Willow”. Given the extra time afforded him by the CD era, Paul threw just everything at the wall in terms of his stylistic interests. That means there’s room for the rocking and comical (the title track), the folky and personal (“Calico Skies”), and the bluesy and off-the-cuff (“Used To Be Bad”, a duet with Steve Miller). A crowd-pleasing set where McCartney makes it all sound effortless. It’s certainly worthy of a Grammy.

‘OK Computer’ by Radiohead

Over the course of their first two albums, Radiohead had transformed from potential one-hit wonders (with “Creep”) to convincingly brooding rockers. But OK Computer represented a leap that not even their most loyal admirers could have anticipated. Building soundscapes with their producer Nigel Godrich, the band created a song cycle that touched on the heightening dread of the digital age. They then ironically used the most modern recording techniques to bring it all to bear. Radiohead, like the best sci-fi auteurs, emphasizes the personal damage within the overarching dystopia done on masterful songs like “Let Down” and “No Surprises”.

The Verdict

This was handicapped as a two-horse race at the time. And it’s fair to say that Babyface, McCartney, and Cole, admirable as their efforts were, just weren’t quite playing on the same field in terms of the ambition and import of Dylan and Radiohead’s LPs.

Time Out Of Mind is great. But Dylan topped it the next time out on Love And Theft. OK Computer, an album as invigorating as it is terrifying, deserved the honors.

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