So the verdict is in. I love the new Bob Dylan record. The cover tried to dissuade me, shake my confidence - but in the end, as always, the music won out.
It's short and swingin', clocking in at just over 45 minutes. It's songs are straight-forward, almost jovial, and sound like the soundtrack to a dusty southwestern highway. And I love it. Where Time Out Of Mind was fresh and brilliant, and Modern Times was brooding and introspective, Together Through Life is just plain old romantic. While lighthearted is definitely not the right word, there is a liveliness to these songs that hasn't been as apparent in Dylan's latest work - and I can't help thinking that this is the perfect addendum to the weighty trilogy of albums that opened this phase of his career.
The songs are smart, striking, often funny, and still as relevant as ever. His band is solid, and not unlike Scarlet Rivera's violin that peppered Dylan's 1976 album Desire, David Hidalgo's accordian winds in and out of every song, filling the nooks and crannies between Dylan's husky singing voice. Add to that some blues guitar, barroom piano, and a chugging rhythm section, and you've got yourself a great record. Favorites include: "Beyond Here Lies Nothin", "If You Ever Go To Houston", "I Feel A Change Comin' On", and "It's All Good".
Bob Dylan - I Feel A Change Comin' On
from the album Together Through Life (Amazon/iTunes)
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
ALBUM: Together Through Life by Bob Dylan
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1 comment:
You're right on. It'll be a good summertime album. Can't believe the guy's still smokin cigs in his mid-sixties but it makes his voice the best thing about his last few.
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