Dylan, Bob - Love And Theft

Dylan silenced his critics and thrilled his fans and Grammy voters in 1997 with Time Out Of Mind, showing that not only did he still “have it,” but that he still had more rock and roll in his pinky than all his would be successors had combined. Four years older, four more years of being foolishly dismissed as arcaic, and Dylan brought another album to show the kids how it’s done.
With deft, masterful, warmly produced songs like “Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum,” “Cry A While” (which he performed at this year’s Grammy Awards, banging out those frantic tempo shifts with steel eyes and the most ambiguous scowl ever seen), and “High Water,” Love And Theft can, at times, even surpass the cathartic glory of Time Out Of Mind’s shivering tones.

One has to wonder whether Dylan’s onetime collaborator and spiritual mentor Keith Green would have ever reached this level of songwriting, story-telling, and performance. It is speculated that Green had it in him, and would have released it as he matured. But that’s neither here nor there. Thank God that He left one of them behind. [Sony / Jason Dodd]

This album review was originally printed in ISSUE 95 of HM Magazine. Order the Print Version of HM for tons more reviews of new albums.

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Comments

By ryan

can i say anything bad about bob? no, I think not.