Death on Credit
Senior Member
I had the immense pleasure yesterday of being allowed to buy a copy of this magnificent album a day in advanced (although there have been perfectly legal free streams up for the last couple of weeks, I abstained)...And, so far, I can't get enough!
This album is unlikely to change anyone who isn't already converted's mind about Bob Dylan, and that's fine. For Dylan fans (especially those fond of his output over the last 15 years), however, this is likely to go down as one of his top tier records. Quite frankly, to repeat an old cliche, this may very well be his best album since 1975's Blood on the Tracks.
Dylan is in fine form here, delivering performances that are at once like nothing else in his back catalog, and harkening back to days where it actually seemed like he cared. He's got a fire in him that's fiercer than it has since he was a young protest singer. His voice, surely, is beaten down by years o chain smoking and non-stop touring...But, let's face it, Dylan has never been Frank Sinatra. Given his substantially limited range, the man has probably gotten more apt at knowing how to use his voice than he was even in the 1960's. This aged, world-weary vocal fits him well, and it's exactly what the younger Dylan was always striving for. Lyrically, he's as powerfully opaque as ever. His narrative abilities continue to grow a bit with every new release, and here the listen is treated to several storytelling songs (all of which end on pretty bleak terms).
Many of the songs are filled with blood, revenge, bitterness, agony, disgust, and all that sort of stuff...But all along the way, Dylan keeps his finger tight on the enduring spirit, hope, and courage of humanity in a twisted world. Redemption is always right around the corner.
Track by track breakdown:
1. Duquesne Whistle - A bouncy, Satchmo-esque opener, about all the feelings and memories that can be evoked by something as simple as a train whistle. It's a good song, even if it doesn't necessarily set the stage for what's to come. The calm before the storm, you could say.
2. Soon After Midnight - A wonderful ballad, utilizing a slightly different singing voice on every verse. This starts the best run of songs on the album.
3. Narrow Way - A very strong 7 minute blues rocker about fighting to be good enough for a lover with superiority issues. As one of several long songs on the album, it manages to be compelling enough to never drag too much.
4. Long And Wasted Years - A ballad of remorse that looks back at the singers life, include slight, passing references to several of his older songs.
5. Pay In Blood - As one of his most passionate performances, and best rockers, in decades, this is probably going to end up going down as the album's stand-out track. A vitriolic, vengeful tune about the limits people are pushed to by desperation and bad luck.
6. Scarlet Town - One word: Haunting. Probably my personal favorite.
7. Early Roman Kings - The weakest track on the album...Bob's token 12-bar blues song, recasting Roman Kings and Politicians as a gang of brutal mobsters.
8. Tin Angel - The albums picks right back up after a brief lull. Tin Angel is the story of a vicious love triangle, that no one gets out of alive. It's brutal.
9. Tempest - A 14-minute long Irish ditty that uses the sinking of the Titanic as a metaphor for a world gone wrong. You'd think that after a few minutes it would get dull, but it never does. People are panicking, and dying, and turning against each other...Some are taking to art to ease the pain (Leonardo DiCaprio is name-dropped here)...And a few noble souls are sacrificing themselves to save others.
10. Roll On John - Finally, the album closes with a moving tribute to Bob's old friend, John Lennon. If it seems about 32 years too late, the song eventually makes it clear that it's a celebration of John's life after death, and his well-deserved enduring legacy..."I heard the news today, oh boy/ They hauled your ship up on the shore/ Now the city gone dark, there is no more joy/ They tore the heart right out and cut him to the core/ Shine your light/ Movin' on/ You burned so bright/ Roll on, John"
After months of eager anticipation, this record has turned out to be everything I hoped it would be and more...A top 5 Dylan record, for sure.
10/10
This album is unlikely to change anyone who isn't already converted's mind about Bob Dylan, and that's fine. For Dylan fans (especially those fond of his output over the last 15 years), however, this is likely to go down as one of his top tier records. Quite frankly, to repeat an old cliche, this may very well be his best album since 1975's Blood on the Tracks.
Dylan is in fine form here, delivering performances that are at once like nothing else in his back catalog, and harkening back to days where it actually seemed like he cared. He's got a fire in him that's fiercer than it has since he was a young protest singer. His voice, surely, is beaten down by years o chain smoking and non-stop touring...But, let's face it, Dylan has never been Frank Sinatra. Given his substantially limited range, the man has probably gotten more apt at knowing how to use his voice than he was even in the 1960's. This aged, world-weary vocal fits him well, and it's exactly what the younger Dylan was always striving for. Lyrically, he's as powerfully opaque as ever. His narrative abilities continue to grow a bit with every new release, and here the listen is treated to several storytelling songs (all of which end on pretty bleak terms).
Many of the songs are filled with blood, revenge, bitterness, agony, disgust, and all that sort of stuff...But all along the way, Dylan keeps his finger tight on the enduring spirit, hope, and courage of humanity in a twisted world. Redemption is always right around the corner.
Track by track breakdown:
1. Duquesne Whistle - A bouncy, Satchmo-esque opener, about all the feelings and memories that can be evoked by something as simple as a train whistle. It's a good song, even if it doesn't necessarily set the stage for what's to come. The calm before the storm, you could say.
2. Soon After Midnight - A wonderful ballad, utilizing a slightly different singing voice on every verse. This starts the best run of songs on the album.
3. Narrow Way - A very strong 7 minute blues rocker about fighting to be good enough for a lover with superiority issues. As one of several long songs on the album, it manages to be compelling enough to never drag too much.
4. Long And Wasted Years - A ballad of remorse that looks back at the singers life, include slight, passing references to several of his older songs.
5. Pay In Blood - As one of his most passionate performances, and best rockers, in decades, this is probably going to end up going down as the album's stand-out track. A vitriolic, vengeful tune about the limits people are pushed to by desperation and bad luck.
6. Scarlet Town - One word: Haunting. Probably my personal favorite.
7. Early Roman Kings - The weakest track on the album...Bob's token 12-bar blues song, recasting Roman Kings and Politicians as a gang of brutal mobsters.
8. Tin Angel - The albums picks right back up after a brief lull. Tin Angel is the story of a vicious love triangle, that no one gets out of alive. It's brutal.
9. Tempest - A 14-minute long Irish ditty that uses the sinking of the Titanic as a metaphor for a world gone wrong. You'd think that after a few minutes it would get dull, but it never does. People are panicking, and dying, and turning against each other...Some are taking to art to ease the pain (Leonardo DiCaprio is name-dropped here)...And a few noble souls are sacrificing themselves to save others.
10. Roll On John - Finally, the album closes with a moving tribute to Bob's old friend, John Lennon. If it seems about 32 years too late, the song eventually makes it clear that it's a celebration of John's life after death, and his well-deserved enduring legacy..."I heard the news today, oh boy/ They hauled your ship up on the shore/ Now the city gone dark, there is no more joy/ They tore the heart right out and cut him to the core/ Shine your light/ Movin' on/ You burned so bright/ Roll on, John"
After months of eager anticipation, this record has turned out to be everything I hoped it would be and more...A top 5 Dylan record, for sure.
10/10
Haaa! I think 'dust' being the operative word!...mine has been gathering dust since I first (and the only time) I played it...though to be fair I picked it up for I think £2 (about $3) at a charity shop in England, but it still comes under the heading of 'only liked by people who would buy an album of 70 minutes of Dylan farting in the bath' 
