Home > Austin Music Source > Archives > 2009 > April > 27 > Entry
CD Review: Bob Dylan, “Together Through Life”
Bob Dylan
“Together Through Life”
(Columbia)
B+
The Old Man is in one of his moods again. This time, he’s brought an old pal in from the coast.
Bob Dylan and Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter last collaborated on “Down in the Groove,” a fairly terrible record with two decent songs, “Silvio” and “The Ugliest Girl in the World,” both of which were Dylan/Hunter joints.
He’s brought back Hunter to co-write nine of the 10 songs on “Together Through Life,” a Tex-Mexie affair (thanks to Los Lobos David Hidalgo’s omnipresent accordion) that sounds like his most tossed-off album since 1976’s hazy “Desire.” This is a marked contrast to his last two albums, “‘Love and Theft’” (2001), where he made a brilliantly well-plotted survey of American songcraft seem like no big thing, and “Modern Times” (2004), which made it sound like hard work.
This is the sound of two old men in a Texas border town motel room, knocking out 10 songs while killing bottles of something brown, complaining about women they’ve annoyed (If you see her sister Lucy, say I’m sorry I’m not there/ Tell her other sister Nancy to pray the sinner’s prayer”) and women who have annoyed them (“I just wanna say that Hell’s my wife’s hometown.” Belch).
Dylan’s 21st century voice, a rough beast to begin with, is at maximum crag here. On “Beyond Here Lies Nothin’” and “Shake Shake Mama,” Dylan sounds like he’s seen (or had) a million swine flus and will see a million more. None of the lyrics here sound revised even a little bit. “I’m listening to Billy Joe Shaver and I’m reading James Joyce,” he croaks in “I Feel A Change Coming On. “Some people they tell me I’ve got the blood of the land in my voice.” You can practically hear him hitting “save,” then turning on the ball game while Hunter gets some more ice.
The melodies, powered mostly by Heartbreak guitarist Mike Campbell, are sprightly and bluesy or slow and bluesy, played with the professional pep (or slow burn) of a 1950s session band, which is clearly what producer Jack Frost (Dylan) was aiming for.
Yet, it hangs together shockingly well, it’s tossed-offed-ness part of its strange charm. “Life is Hard” mourns a lost love like the balladeer Dylan wishes he could be. And the closer “It’s All Good” is a brilliantly cranky kiss-off to (or snickering endorsement of) modern apathy: “Building are crumbling/ in the neighborhood/ but it’s nothing to worry about cuz it’s all good.” It’s certainly not bad.
Follow Austin Music Source on Facebook and Twitter.
Permalink | Comments (1) | Categories: Reviews
Comments
When commenting, we ask that you keep things civil and abide by our Visitor Agreement. To report comment abuse, click here.
By Ted
April 27, 2009 4:00 PM | Link to this
Joe, get a dictionary or cut back on the four syllable words. You must have meant apathy, not antipathy.