A lot of people were raving about 'Time Out Of Mind' as a major return to form, however it didn't really do it for me. His voice sounded totally shot to pieces and the whole thing seemed to lack energy. (Though quite liked 'Not Dark Yet').
I wonder if the old boy has anything left in him? Although there is still the odd flash of genius such as this from 'Oh Mercy':
'There are no mistakes in life some people say
It is true sometimes you can see it that way.
But people don't live or die, poeple just float
She went with the man in the long black coat.'
(Man in the Long Black Coat)
Cam
Is Dylan all washed up?
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Bombadil
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Blasphemer! (Just kidding)
It's a suitable and unfortunately relevant question...is the greatest songwriter of the last century finally out of ink?
Perhaps, perhaps not. He just released Chronicles Vol. 1 which is supposed to be masterfully done, and I saw him in concert last October and, though haggard and raspy, the message and passion was still very clear and powerful.
You can never tell with Dylan. He shows up in different form every time he appears. You certainly can't rely on critics, since they like anything that confuses them eloquently, an art Dylan mastered 35 plus years ago. Who can tell? He's back on tour, appropriately enough, with Merle Haggard this spring and is supposed to be recording some new stuff early this summer. We shall see?
I imagine it would be quite a daunting prospect though: Being Bob Dylan. Sort of like being The Rolling Stones or Metallica. The definers of genres must be hard-pressed to keep defining. Perhaps Dylan is just tired of inventing.
It's a suitable and unfortunately relevant question...is the greatest songwriter of the last century finally out of ink?
Perhaps, perhaps not. He just released Chronicles Vol. 1 which is supposed to be masterfully done, and I saw him in concert last October and, though haggard and raspy, the message and passion was still very clear and powerful.
You can never tell with Dylan. He shows up in different form every time he appears. You certainly can't rely on critics, since they like anything that confuses them eloquently, an art Dylan mastered 35 plus years ago. Who can tell? He's back on tour, appropriately enough, with Merle Haggard this spring and is supposed to be recording some new stuff early this summer. We shall see?
I imagine it would be quite a daunting prospect though: Being Bob Dylan. Sort of like being The Rolling Stones or Metallica. The definers of genres must be hard-pressed to keep defining. Perhaps Dylan is just tired of inventing.
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morningstar
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- Location: Northern Ireland
sorry i cant ignore this i know it's an old topic but what they hey. how can you say Time out of Mind lacked energy?? ok i know it's a matter of opinion but that album is exceptional! well i think so anyway. as was its follow up in 2001, Love and Theft. and Modern Times just proves he's still got. Dylan is not washed up.
as for his voice on Time out of Mind, i love it! i thought it had a real gritty, sexy sound to it that he didn't have in his youth. especially on tracks like Love Sick and Cold Irons Bound. Dylan's voice has aged with him and i think he sounds great.
i saw him in concert in Kilkenny back in June, and i think he's been working on his singing cus he sounded amazing! sadly he wasn't playing guitar, arthritis is getting the better of him. vocally he was outstanding and he did a lot of the old classics. Masters of War was a huge surprise to me i wasn't expecting to hear that.
i have been neglecting the new album as of late. haven't had much time to just sit and listen to music recently. so cant really give a proper critique on it. but it still sounds great.
as for his voice on Time out of Mind, i love it! i thought it had a real gritty, sexy sound to it that he didn't have in his youth. especially on tracks like Love Sick and Cold Irons Bound. Dylan's voice has aged with him and i think he sounds great.
i saw him in concert in Kilkenny back in June, and i think he's been working on his singing cus he sounded amazing! sadly he wasn't playing guitar, arthritis is getting the better of him. vocally he was outstanding and he did a lot of the old classics. Masters of War was a huge surprise to me i wasn't expecting to hear that.
i have been neglecting the new album as of late. haven't had much time to just sit and listen to music recently. so cant really give a proper critique on it. but it still sounds great.
Time Out Of Mind still sounds like a lot of dreary blues-chugging to me. As for Highlands, in the time it takes to wind its weary way to its end, I can go to the pub, have a swift half, and get back home again. And that seems like a preferable alternative.
And I am, or have been, a fan. I love Love And Theft, although I’m still coming to terms with Modern Times - all the songs are so long! This is the downside of the CD revolution - they don’t have to stop after 40 minutes.
I've just reread the opening section of Chronicles, which is clearly excellent. Some wonderful writing, e.g. "Nelson had never been a bold innovator like the early singers who sang like they were navigating burning ships." He has an authority, making pronouncements like that, that must be almost unparalleled.
But … it’s all his story, isn’t it, and I don’t see a lot of self-questioning or even self-knowledge in there. It reads almost like Great Expectations would, if it were really written by Pip. Imagine what Dickens or Flaubert would have made of this character. Or Proust.
Actually, I'm not sure he isn't in Proust, as Morel, the unreliable and equivocal musician and chancer.
So, what do we get about the famous episode of his - what shall we say - appropriation (or misappropriation) of Dave van Ronk’s arrangement of House of the Rising Sun? To be honest, I can’t remember now, not having read that far again yet, but I don’t seem to recall a great deal of remorse.
And it looks as though he’s at it again. Here’s an excellent post about that … http://steelbrassnwood.livejournal.com/89932.html
There’s lots more to be said about Bob. Pro and con. I think in this, if in nothing else, I may just be a neo-con.
David
And I am, or have been, a fan. I love Love And Theft, although I’m still coming to terms with Modern Times - all the songs are so long! This is the downside of the CD revolution - they don’t have to stop after 40 minutes.
I've just reread the opening section of Chronicles, which is clearly excellent. Some wonderful writing, e.g. "Nelson had never been a bold innovator like the early singers who sang like they were navigating burning ships." He has an authority, making pronouncements like that, that must be almost unparalleled.
But … it’s all his story, isn’t it, and I don’t see a lot of self-questioning or even self-knowledge in there. It reads almost like Great Expectations would, if it were really written by Pip. Imagine what Dickens or Flaubert would have made of this character. Or Proust.
Actually, I'm not sure he isn't in Proust, as Morel, the unreliable and equivocal musician and chancer.
So, what do we get about the famous episode of his - what shall we say - appropriation (or misappropriation) of Dave van Ronk’s arrangement of House of the Rising Sun? To be honest, I can’t remember now, not having read that far again yet, but I don’t seem to recall a great deal of remorse.
And it looks as though he’s at it again. Here’s an excellent post about that … http://steelbrassnwood.livejournal.com/89932.html
There’s lots more to be said about Bob. Pro and con. I think in this, if in nothing else, I may just be a neo-con.
David
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morningstar
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hey i'm not pissed off! sorry if i sounded that way 
obviously everyone's entitled to their own opinion.
obviously everyone's entitled to their own opinion.