Back to the topic--I've been with Bob since Freewheelin', and have defended him from time to time, only to shake my head at his flippance and density at other times. But I'm not so fanatical as to validate Self-Portrait. It has some of history's worst performances, and ranks near the bottom of his career, alongside Street Legal. For ex: the atrocious "Like a Rolling Stone," with his throaty Nashville Skyline voice; the inferior version of "She Belongs to Me"; even more rampant lyrical screw-ups than usual ("Belle Isle," "Little Sadie,"); throw-away first takes of "Alberta," "The Boxer" and "Wigwam"; and the grating, pathetic "In Search of Little Sadie." Except for a few decent cuts, the album strikes me now, and struck me then, as rather sarcastic. Just one person's opinion, but if this had been a debut album, Dylan wouldn't even be allowed to sing karaoke.