Thursday, 17 January 2008
Having downloaded Dylan's new album, Modern Times, and listened to it a few times now I'm still unsure about it. It's a slow-burner for sure, but some of the tracks are starting to go round and round my head. I find that with a lot of Dylan's work it takes a while to get into it. You start off thinking that it's OK, then you think that it's great and then you realise that it's actually a work of sublime genius and you find it hard to imagine how he managed to achieve it (I remember going through that process with Blood On The Tracks). The whole album gradually seeps into your mind.
There are several tracks that are perfect for cover versions - Working Man Blues #2, for instance, could become a standard for Country bands up and down the land.
Of note is Dylan's use of what I would call, for want of a better term, a "Western Foxtrot" on tracks such as "Beyond The Horizon". It's a style he used a little on "Love And Theft" and he seems to be using it more now. It's a little sleezy, a little lounge bar lizardy... Mr Bobbie Dylan, your mad old uncle - have him over for dinner and listen to his stories about the war, just don't let him near the drinks cabinet or your daughter..