4.5/5 stars
While being interviewed for “60 Minutes” in December 2004, legendary songwriter Bob Dylan was asked a question that had probably been on the minds of fans and skeptics alike: “Why are you still touring and recording albums?” He simply replied, “It goes back to that destiny thing. I made a bargain with it a long time ago, and now I’m holding up my end.”
The 65-year-old Dylan recently released his 31st studio album, Modern Times, his first collection of original material in five years. With his quirky lyricism and unique vocal charm, the revolutionary wordsmith has proven once again that he still has a little of the magic he possessed so much of some 40-plus years ago.
Dylan appears to have garnered more appeal this go-around. Modern Times is his first record to hit No. 1 on the Billboard charts in 30 years.
Popular with the public or not, the new collection of songs has a mostly relaxing, enjoyable feel, but it also contains commentary on the United States’ endless political, social and financial woes. It is the common man’s Dylan album, complete with a healthy helping of writing both young and old can relate to and with ridiculously catchy melodies and gritty blues arrangements.
Dylan produced the album under the alias “Jack Frost” and recorded it with his touring band over the course of a month. Dylan’s band is more than seasoned from backing him on his infamous “Neverending Tour” and does a phenomenal job of providing the soulful accompaniment needed to support the framework of the songs.
While many of the tunes make subtle references to serious topics fresh in the minds of today’s society, they also contain some downright humorous content. In the album opener, “Thunder on the Mountain,” Dylan talks about trying to find pop star Alicia Keys, sucking the milk out of cows and raising an army.
In “Workingman’s Blues No. 2,” Dylan portrays a working-class citizen struggling to scrape through life while knowledgeable and bitter about those who do not have to work for their keep. He sings, “… some people haven’t worked a day in their life, they don’t know what work even means.”
Perhaps the most compelling and haunting moments come from the album’s closer, “Ain’t Talkin’.” In this epic, Dylan growls and gruffs his way through nine minutes of insight on the constant decline of honesty, trust and compassion toward others in today’s world.
Modern Times has been described as the final volume in a trilogy that began with his 1997 release Time out of Mind and continued with Love and Theft in 2001. The success of the trilogy’s finale speaks for itself, but if you need more convincing to believe that Bob is still Bob and that he’s here to stay, check out a song from the new album called “Someday Baby.” This tune has generated heavy radio play and solidifies Dylan’s status as an unparalleled songwriter who, whether he likes it or not, is a spokesman of multiple generations.