Bob Dylan – Together Through Life
by Jackson Connor (Journalism), published September 1st 2010
If 2006′s Modern Times is a representation of the world Bob Dylan helped create, then Together Through Life is a heartfelt lament for the music of the pre-Dylan era. Heavily influenced by the sounds of early 20th century America, the latest studio effort from rock and roll’s poet laureate features breaths of accordion on every track as well as a healthy dose of mandolin and fiddle. Produced by Dylan’s alter ego Jack Frost, the album is in a similar vein musically as both Modern Times and 2001′s Love and Theft, a set of albums he himself has described as a trilogy of sorts.
Featuring big name musicians such as Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo and Tom Petty’s veteran Heartbreaker Michael Campbell, Dylan has at the very least surrounded himself with first-class personnel, adding to the album’s polished yet vintage feel. Much of the buzz around the album has also resulted from Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter’s involvement in the project.
Over the course of Dylan’s 47 year career, the public has witnessed the once-rural Midwestern folk singer transfigure himself into a Greenwich Village hipster then mutate into a God-fearing Christian without rhyme or reason. It is unclear exactly what persona he has delved into now, and even more perplexing is whether it was the decades of touring or the countless packs of cigarettes that took the larger toll on his now growling voice. Either way, all 45 minutes of Together Through Life is delivered through grunts and groans by the now 67-year-old Dylan.
‘I love you, pretty baby/You’re the only love I’ve ever known/Just as long as you stay with me/The whole world is my throne,” he utters somewhere between speaking and singing on the album’s premier track, ‘Beyond Here Lies Nothin”. As one would expect, thematically much of Together Through Life centers itself around love, loss and longing as the band churns out a lustful brand of Chicago-style blues.
Dylan’s lyrics are as sardonic as ever yet lack much of the bizarre imagery and word play that marked his early work. ‘There aint no way that you can put me down/ I just wanna say that Hell’s my Wife’s hometown,’ sings Dylan without leaving much room for interpretation. The album jumps from ballad to blues tunes in an almost manic fashion and although the band sounds great in either style, Dylan’s vocals and lyrics come across more clearly on the slow numbers.
‘I Feel A Change Comin’ On’ is the most tuneful and hook-driven five minutes and 30 seconds on the album. Major pentatonic guitar riffs sweep in and out of what can only be described as Dylan’s best attempt at truly singing in years. ‘Everybody got all the money/ Everybody got all the beautiful clothes/Everybody got all the flowers/ I don’t have one single rose,’ sings Dylan with a deliberate laugh.
Only time will tell what the future holds for the chameleon-like entity we know as Bob Dylan. Given his genre-jumping history, perhaps the next decade of his career will yield a rap album or a death-metal side project; it is impossible to tell. For now we can stop holding our breath and just be happy with a pretty decent album, with a more than decent backing band.
Recommended Tracks: I Feel A Change Comin’ On, “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’
Rating: 3.4/5
Tracklist
About Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan (born Robert Allen Zimmerman on May 24, 1941 in Duluth, Minnesota, United States) is an American musician, poet and artist whose position in popular culture is unique. Although Dylan started his musical odyssey in 1959, much of Dylan's best known work is from the 1960s, when he became an informal documentarian and reluctant figurehead of American unrest. Some of his songs, such as "Blowin' In The Wind" and "The Times They Are A-Changin'", became anthems of the anti-war and civil rights movements.