A pause for thought

So there we have it. Until Tempest is released in a little over a month's time, my journey is complete. You could argue that missing Dylan and The Basement Tapes means I failed at my task of considering all of Dylan's studio albums  - and you might be right - but them's the breaks and I'm not going back now.

So what have I learnt?

1. Dylan is one talented cat. 

For all the gripes and groans I had along the way, this is an extraordinary catalogue. For over 40 years he has been turning out some of the most remarkable recordings. Certainly there have been missteps, but each time his form dipped, there was one hell of a rebound coming round the bend. For almost any other artist any one of The Freewheelin', Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61, Blonde On Blonde, Blood On The Tracks, Oh Mercy or "Love and Theft" would be a career defining work and he's got them all, not to mention Desire, Nashville Skyline, John Wesley Harding,  Modern Times, Together Through Life and so on and so forth. It is a remarkable body of work. In fact, from very early in in this blog, I've been plagued with a nagging feeling of guilt when I've picked holes in the recordings. Here I am, some numbskull from the UK listening to the work of one of the greatest recording artists of all time, sucking my teeth and saying "oooh... it's not as good as the last thing he did." I hope, dear readers, that you could see my complaints within the context of someone who adores the man's work.

2. It took longer than I thought.

The more eagle eyed among you will have spotted that at the outset I had pledged to listen to one LP a week and then move on to the next. It should have taken me 32 weeks. It took one month shy of two years. Sometimes the delay was because I was busy, sometimes I couldn't be bothered to summon up the energy to sit down and write, sometimes I didn't know what I should say; but I was always listening to the same LP over and over until I felt the urge to put finger to keyboard. Not to mind, the time was well spent. Many of LPs needed the space to grow. Albums such as Saved or Together Through Life, which I'd previously dismissed, became whole new things to me and I'm incredibly grateful for that. For others, the movement was the other way: the parts of Desire or Empire Burlesque that had annoyed me before really started to irritate after the twentieth consecutive listen. On the whole, though, spending this time immersed in these records was rewarding and allowed me to appreciate so many tracks, nuances, lyrics, parts, whatever, that I hadn't fully before.

3. Self Portrait is not a good LP.

There has been a lot of revisionist stuff written about Self Portrait; that it is a misunderstood classic, too challenging for the music media of the time and unfairly dismissed. I know that the appreciation of any music is a subjective affair but, really, it's not good. It's better than Down In The Groove, certainly, but Self Portrait is still a bit rubbish. So there.

4. Until the twenty-first century Dylan needed a producer.

If you've read any of this blog, you're probably sick of me banging on about the merits of the production on each of LPs so I'll keep this brief. Until 2001 and "Love and Theft" Dylan was his own worst enemy when let loose as a producer. It didn't mean that the hired hands always did a great job - Street Legal is a bit of an aural mess and Mark Knopfler sucks much of the life out of Infidels - but by far his best work is with someone to reign him in.

5. I can't wait for Tempest.

The beauty of having listened to the whole catalogue in order is it brings into focus the arc of Dylan's progression as a writing and recording artist. The one thing that becomes clear is that is not an arc. Just when you've got a handle on where he is and where he seems to be heading - boom - he's off somewhere completely unexpected and that is great. You might not always like where he's gone or think it is an improvement on what came before but it will be new. I love it when an artist keeps you on your toes like that. So, I can't wait for Tempest; if it carries on from Together Through Life, I'll be a happy bunny, if it takes a turn down a different street that'll please me too. And if it sucks? Well, that probably just means another masterpiece is around the corner.

So, until Tempest, that's it. It's been a blast. Thanks Bob.

Christmas In The Heart (2009)

This is madness. Glorious madness. An album of traditional Christmas songs from Here Comes Santa Claus to O' Little Town of Bethlehem via Winter Wonderland, O Come All Ye Faithful and the rest. The whole Christmas kit and caboodle. Who'd have thought it?

More to the point, who would have thought it would work? Hearing Dylan croak his way through Hark The Herald Angels Sing is bizarre to say the least. It could have been terrible but he manages to pull it off mostly because he plays it straight. This is no tongue-in-cheek effort; no knowing nods and winks as he ploughs through hymns and other Christmas favourites. The reason it works is mostly because of the sincerity with which it is delivered. Dylan singing traditional Christmas tunes is daft enough in itself, it didn't need any smirks or swanny whistles and you don't get any. The production is sincere also, coming from another age with the feel - particularly due to the classic backing singer sound - of a 1950s holiday special. A real throwback.

The only concession to modernity comes with Dylan's (wonderful) version of the Moore and Frederick's classic Must Be Santa. Bob delivers a rip-roaring toe-tapping performance that would stand up on any LP. And a great video too.

Let's talk about the voice again. I love Dylan's voice and think it has aged like a good whisky but there are places on this record where it sounds, frankly, ropey. It is all down to context. Within a hymn like O Little Town Of Bethlehem where the melody is so familiar and usually delivered with a choirboy's clarity, Dylan's cracks and rasps and missed notes stand out clearly, especially when accompanied by sweet sounding backing vocals. For anyone other that your Bobcat it could be too uncomfortable a listen. However, give him something like The Christmas Blues or Must Be Santa and it all fits again; the cracks and the rasps adding character to the songs and making them his own.

Of course, this is never going to be your favourite Dylan LP or sit alongside the classics but I doubt it was meant to be. It is a gem, though, just in some odd universe of its own. A delightful curio.

And all for charity.

Out of five?

Tricky.... Four

Favourite track?

Must Be Santa

Up Next?

Tempest [yet to be released]

Together Through Life (2009)

See, this is what I wanted when I began this little blog-based venture. That moment when I realise what a complete doofus I've been and my forehead gets a good old-fashioned slapping from the palm of my hand. It finally happened with Together Through Life, the very last LP of Dylan originals out there (as I write Tempest has been announced but not yet released).

When my pre-ordered copy arrived on the day of release I was full of expectations given what a delightful album its predecessor, Modern Times, had been. I was hugely underwhelmed. My first impression was that it was a mostly dull, laboured affair and after only a couple or three listens it was slipped back into the cardboard outer case and consigned to the CD cabinet until just three weeks ago.

Doofus.

What was I thinking back in 2009? I have absolutely no idea. This is brilliant.

It's different as well. Any idea of this being the third part of a "Love and Theft" - Modern Times trilogy should be truly knocked on the head. The pace is much slower and - even though its the Never Ending Tour regulars once again plus David Hidalgo from Los Lobos and The Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell - the sound is fattened out with the inclusion of  accordion, steel guitar, mandolin and trumpet. There is certainly a more bluesy edge to the LP and, on the opening track Beyond Here Lies Nothin', a lovely New Orleans type thing going on.

There is also the return of collaboration. This time sharing the credit with the Grateful Dead's lyricist Robert Hunter. It works OK. All the songs, lyrically, move along enjoyably with some nice turn of phrase, even if it never hits the poetic heights of some of Dylan's previous work.

Talking of credit sharing, there is also a credit for Willie Dixon on My Wife's Home Town, acknowledging the fact that the melody was taken straight out of his I Just Want To Make Love To You. You have to assume this has more than a little to do with the fuss over the borrowing of melodies that was obvious yet formally unacknowledged on Modern Times. This makes it even more frustrating that he didn't just tinker with the credits on that LP and avoid all the resulting hoo-ha. Oh well, never mind.

Anyway, back to this LP and it is the music which makes this such an absorbing listen. There is a real edge to the songs, which is perhaps why it took me the best part of four years for the genius of the record to finally click. Often repetitive, often slow, the effect is hypnotic with tracks like This Dream of You or Forgetful Heart in danger of carrying you away in reverie. Life Is Hard, in particular, is audaciously slow, skillfully avoiding falling into becoming plodding, which would have been very easy to do.It is a enchanting track. We get a change of pace in Shake Shake Mama and It's All Good but the blues heart of the songs remain. The top of the tree, though, is I Feel A Change Comin' On. a beautiful piece of work with a gentle swing. Something about it reminds me of Baby, Stop Crying from Street Legal. Something about it, anyway.

The voice, though. The voice for the first time is really showing some signs of cracking. The rasp has always been there but here, on this LP, it gets pushed over the edge in one or two places. This is in no way a problem though, the downbeat, blues based songs are the perfect vehicles for a voice that sounds like it has seen the ages. It adds here, certainly. There is a question at the back of my mind as to how it would fair with other styles, but that's a topic for another time.

Overall, it isn't an obvious album. This is a really nicely crafted record with songs well worth burrowing into to get them. It does need a bit of work to get there but the reward is well worth it. This is a cracking album. So glad I finally managed to see it.

Out of five?

Five

Favourite track?

I Feel A Change Comin' On

Up next?

Christmas In The Heart