Recorded in July and October 1975 and released in January 1976, Desire is the final third of Dylan’s mid-1970s trilogy, whose other parts are Planet Waves (1974) and Blood on the Tracks (1975).

Two songs on Desire deserve special mention. “Hurricane” tells the true story of African-American middleweight boxer Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, framed for a triple murder in Paterson, New Jersey. Paced like a hard-boiled crime movie, “Hurricane” is both a compelling plea for Carter’s freedom and a condemnation of racial prejudice in the American judicial system, “where justice is a game.” The song publicized Carter’s plight and helped win him a new trial in the fall of 1976.

The jewel of this album is its last song, the inexpressibly poignant “Sara,” addressed