I've always been a big Dylan fan, even though his output overwhelms me at times, and entire studio releases slip past my radar on a regular basis, leading me to discover them years later...

But when I first heard Time Out Of Mind ten years ago, I heard an artist not only creating music as compelling as ever in relation to his career, but in relation to the current culture as a whole. In a world homogenizing itself at an alarming rate, Dylan didn't bother to simply reflect an outside reality through the mirrors of his eyes. Instead, he stopped time to reshape it with a depth he felt was being abandoned, and restarted it only under his demanding and wise gaze.

To find myself in studios being told my ideas about sound are all wrong, when I am vindicated by the approach of probably the most legendary person alive today, is more frustrating than anything - what is the matter with people that familiarity and comfort zones so easily supersede their willingness to creatively explore and above all speak truths of the heart that it was once the obligation of our artists to express in the most honest and unforgiving of ways?

Oh, and btw - starving a dog to death doesn't count (as alleged artist Guillermo “Habacuc” Vargas is doing for fun and profit...). Just thought I'd throw that in there, in case anyone needed a counterpoint in the 'art/not art' debate.

Since Time Out Of Mind hit my brain, Dylan hasn't let up, delivering
an endless flurry of knockout punches to the soul. By putting words to the utter isolation existence ultimately is, he has ironically made me feel far less alone in this world.

In the excellent books that came with the box set of "Tell Tale Signs", Dylan talks of making his latest music for a 'new audience'. I think that having listened to almost nothing else but Dylan's output the past ten years, qualifies me as a part of that group that not only appreciates but WANTS someone to step up to the plate and tell life like it is.

And after a summer listening to and learning 'Shot Of Love' a few years back, and then moving through Time Out Of Mind, Love and Theft, and finally getting a foothold on Modern Times, I'd be willing to say that Dylan is the only person anywhere shining a real light on the inherent - and inherently spiritual - natures of this world.

We are lucky to be blessed by a man of this much character and intent in our lives - in fact, Dylan lights a path to not only the harshest of truths, but the truest of meanings to the mystery of our purpose here.

So, when's the next record coming out?

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