Something was happening, but we're not sure what it was

bobdylan.com — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:54:45 -0600

From the McAlester News-Capital (Oklahoma)

Something was happening, but we're not sure what it was.
James Beaty has some insight into Dylan's Tulsa show
By James Beaty
Senior Editor

"I'm just a song and dance man."
Bob Dylan -- 1965

Beneath a waxing moon on a crisp autumn night, Bob Dylan strode onto the stage at the Brady Theater in Tulsa and used his masterful musical mojo to reinvent himself once again.

For much of the performance, Dylan stepped from behind the keyboards where he's spent most of his of time performing in recent years, and stood, sans guitar, behind a lone microphone on center stage.

Dressed in shiny black boots, black trousers with white piping, a round-rimmed black Goucho hat, a white shirt and -- of course -- a long, black coat, Dylan resembled a hipster Zorro, or maybe a more congenial phantom of the Brady, who might have swung down from one of the ropes backstage at the majestic old theater.

At times extolling the audience, pointing at them, holding his hand over his heart, or making sweeping grand gestures, Dylan continued his exploration of American music. He exuded a new stage presence, holding a microphone center stage and belting out tunes in the style of -- yep -- a song and dance man.

It's fitting that he did it in a classic theater, such as the Brady. From where I sat, in the second row at stage right, I could see catwalks and ropes looming high behind him.

It seems as if two types of people go to see Dylan in concert these days -- those who are seeing him for the first time and are hoping to hear "Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits," and those who have seen him many times before and are hoping to hear a set filled with rarities and his remarkable newer songs.

I'm sure plenty of those who were jammed into the 2,800-seat capacity Brady Theater on the night of Oct. 24 were hard-core admirers of Dylan and were pumped because guitarist extraordinaire Charlie Sexton had rejoined the band just a few weeks earlier in Seattle, Washington -- adding another dimension to an already outstanding ensemble.

And some were no doubt praying that Dylan would open the Brady concert with "Gonna Change My Way of Thinking," a little-performed gem from his 1979 Christian music album "Slow Train Coming" -- something he'd already done several times since the current tour started on Oct. 4.

Following an introduction which ended with "Ladies and gentlemen, Columbia recording artist Bob Dylan," the stage lights arose and the band tore into a thunderous opening riff.

"As Dylan sang "Gonna change my way of thinkin," a man to my right shot from his seat like he'd been jolted with electricity, with both fists extended high in the air -- making it fairly obvious which song he'd hoped would open the concert.

Dylan does something few major recording artists do. He shuffles his set list every night. I once read a post from a guy who'd gone to see Dylan three nights in a row and heard 40 different songs.

Dylan also rearranges his songs in concert and sometimes changes the lyrics. In the recorded version of "Gonna Change My Way of Thinking," Dylan, full of fire and brimstone, had sang "Jesus said 'Be ready, for you know not the hour in which I come."'

At the Brady though, Dylan revised it to "Jesus is coming, coming to gather His jewels."

Dylan whipped up another rarity on the concert's second song, "The Man in Me," from 1970s "New Morning." He dispensed with singing the opening "la-la-las" which had been on the original recording and instead, on the new version, steel guitar player Donnie Herron blew a trumpet while Dylan wailed away on a harmonica.

Dylan gave his raspiest vocal performance of the night on the song, but the pipes had cleared by the time he and the band ripped into "Beyond Here Lies Nothing" -- a minor-keyed journey "through boulevards of broken cars" from Dylan's recent number one album "Together Through Life."

With Dylan constantly rearranging his songs, it's often difficult to guess what's coming next from the instrumental introductions alone.

While Dylan and the band played what sounded like the opening to a lilting, winsome country waltz, he suddenly leaned forward and sang about poor Hattie Carroll, murdered by a wealthy man "with a cane that he twirled 'round his diamond ring finger."

With Dylan's performance of "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll," his 1963 indictment of injustice in America following the revved up "Beyond Here Lies Nothing," it began to sound like this might be a special concert indeed.

Dylan has what many of his admirers consider one of the best rhythm sections in music: His longtime bass guitarist Tony Garnier and drummer George Recile. As they started playing with a pounding, driving beat, Dylan sang the opening lines to "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum," a morality tale from his 2001 masterwork, "Love and Theft."

Dylan stood behind his keyboards, bumping and grinding like some early-day Elvis, as Sexton stalked the stage like a panther, shooting stinging riffs right and left, up and down. The newly unleashed Stu Kimball, who'd been restricted to mostly playing rhythm guitar at some previous concerts I'd seen, released some lightning volleys himself, holding his own while going head-to-head with the great Sexton.

Although Dylan had made a brief trip to center stage earlier for "The Man in Me," the maestro next decided to fully introduce the new Dylan to the Brady

With steel guitarist Herron picking a mandolin, Sexton playing a Dobro and Garnier now plucking a stand-up acoustic bass, the sounds of a Mexican cantina band emanated from the stage as Dylan used two microphones -- one for his voice and another for harmonica -- to give a poignant vocal and harp performance on the beguiling, Latin-tinged, "This Dream of You" -- another new song from this year's "Together Through Life."

Following the gentle sounds of "This Dream," Dylan and the boys now unfurled the fury of "Cold Irons Bound" from his 1997 Grammy-winning album "Time Out of Mind."

With a cacophony of blues-grunge licks erupting from Sexton's and Kimball's guitars, and with Garnier and Recile beating out their own rhythmic dins, Dylan spat out his words in a soul-shaking rasp about aloneness and isolation, about being 20 miles out of town and "cold irons bound."

Dylan stood stage-center and bent double, blowing a harmonica solo powerful enough to shake the bones of Howlin' Wolf. Sexton crouched to the floor, carefully caressing notes from his guitar before catapulting them into the ether with timing so sharp that it seemed to split seconds.

While the crowd thundered its enthusiasm, Dylan started to calm things down once more.

Dylan doesn't utilize a light show, per se, but instead uses more theatrical style of lighting, perfectly suited for the Brady. As the stage lights resembled hundreds of twinkling stars on the huge dark curtain behind him, Dylan returned to the keyboard for "Po' Boy," a song from "Love & Theft" with lyrics both poignant and humorous, about a "poor boy 'neath the stars that shine, washin' them dishes, feedin' them swine."

Dylan and the band were ready to roar, with Dylan staying behind the keyboard for powerful, dynamic-punched versions of "Honest With Me" and "Highway 61 Revisited." The two blues-rockers bookended the lazy soul-romp of the 2009 song "I Feel a Change Comin' On."

"Some people they tell me, I've got the blood of the land in my voice," Dylan sang -- and a couple of songs later, he proved it.

Again standing center stage, holding just a microphone and a harmonica, Dylan gave one of the most heartfelt vocals I've ever heard -- "Workingman's Blues # 2," a prophetic song from his 2006 masterpiece "Modern Times."

Now, with Dylan looking like a world-weary circuit-riding preacher who's just emgerged from the haunted woods, his voice floated through the Brady, filled with empathy for everyone with the ''workingman's blues."

With every word ringing clear, Dylan sang "The buyin' power of the proletariat's gone down, money's getting shallow and weak," followed a few lines later by "They say low wages are a reality, if we want to compete abroad."

A lot of working men and women must have been seated in the Brady, because spontaneous cheers of agreement arose when Dylan sang "Some people never worked a day in their life, don't know what work even means."

When Dylan served up a double shot of "Modern Times" songs by breaking into a rocking version of "Thunder on the Mountain" that had much of the crowd (including many in the balcony) literally dancing in the aisles, I figured that might be the end of the main set.

Fortunately, I was wrong.

Dylan strode once more to center stage and proceeded to show the Brady why he's the stuff of legend.

With the theatrical lighting shining an orange-yellowish glow on the performers and with lower lighting casting their dark, giant shadows on the curtain behind them like some group of rhythmically-inclined, bone-bending scarecrows, the band began the eerie, minor chord intro into 1965's "Ballad of a Thin Man."

Taking the stage with an evangelistic fervor, Dylan drew the listeners into a nightmare vision filled with geeks, freaks, sword swallowers and a bewildered protagonist who is unknowing and ignorant -- but oh so far from being filled with bliss.

"And you know something's happening, but you don't know what it is, do you... Mr. Jones?" Dylan sang in the shimmering oranage and yellow hues as the minor chords slammed together and the looming shadows kept up their frantic, ghostly dance.

As the song ended, the Brady sat filled with silence for a few seconds, as some people around me literally sank back in their seats, momentarily overwhelmed by the performance.

Then, the Brady erupted into a huge roar, as those who weren't already standing abruptly rose to their feet. Dylan and the band left the stage for several minutes before returning for a three-song encore of "Like a Rolling Stone," the new rockabilly-spiced "Jolene" and a revelatory "All Along the Watchtower."

As I left the Brady, I primarily saw two looks on many people's faces -- looks of either joy, or awe.

Not bad for a song and dance man.

Bob Dylan's "Must Be Santa" video

bobdylan.com — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:32:59 -0600

Watch Bob Dylan's new video for "Must Be Santa" from Christmas In The Heart

Rolling Stone's article about the video.

Order Christmas In The Heart

Bob Dylan, still rollin'

bobdylan.com — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:55:10 -0600

Bob Dylan, still rollin'

By Maxwell Webster | The News Record (University of Cincinnati)

Published: Thursday, November 5, 2009

The standing room only crowd was a mixed up bunch. Burnt out hipsters looking for that one last hit of nostalgia, glossy-eyed college students, mop-headed teenagers, clusters of oxford clad businessmen, haggard old groupies and the just plain curious. The delegates of three generations crammed together on the floor of Columbus' Lifestyle Communities Pavilion Tuesday, Nov. 3, waiting for Rock and Roll's poet laureate to step onto the stage.

When Dylan finally emerged dressed in a black suit with a pink shirt, tie and tuxedo stripe and a wide-brimmed black top hat, the crowd erupted and Dylan wasted no time diving straight into a 17- song tour de force.

It becomes obvious when he begins that this isn't the Bob Dylan of the '60s - alone on a stage strumming an acoustic guitar, whining out folk songs. For one thing, Dylan's voice has become so faint that it's impossible for him to hit the notes that trademarked his early sound. You can see right away that the band's hardline blues drive is meant to work with Dylan's vocal regression.

The days of Dylan playing guitar through an entire set are also gone. Only a few times did he venture out from behind his keyboard and only once did he pick up a guitar.

With that said, the performance was nothing short of spectacular. Dylan might be 68, but he plays like a man possessed: jerking, grimacing, stomping, twisting and grinning with every note he pounded on his keys. It isn't the unbelievable stage raving antics of Mick Jagger, but Dylan is still sharp enough to work the crowd with every move he makes.

And although Dylan's voice now is something like marbles rattling inside a tin can, he's done a fantastic job rearranging his songs so they'll work with his vocal range. Classics like "All Along the Watchtower" and "Like a Rolling Stone" may be altered, but in such a way that their power is not lost.

Like any good show, though, the performance was a reflection of the crowd and they couldn't have been better. It's a peculiar thing, but somewhere in the middle of the set you are forced to realize that the crowd is just full of love and appreciation for this man. Shouts of, "Bobby D we love you!" and "Anything for you Bob!" seem to fall on deaf ears during the performance, with Dylan hardly lifting an eye in the crowds direction. But by the time the encore rolled around he couldn't help but smile back and the crowd's clamoring was finally answered when he said, "Thank You friends."

And let's not forget about the band, on their own they would be a show worth going to. Lead guitarist Johnny Sexton's fingers danced over the fret board and he squeezed every last drop out of his solos.

With the last round of "How does it feel," as Dylan took a bow and blew a kiss to his adoring fans, I was forced to wonder what has made this man the preeminent voice of American music for 50 years. The answer has to be that in every song the listener can see themselves: their own reality and their own dreams reflected and immortalized in a way that they could never communicate before.

An A+ to Dylan and to us, the fans, together through it all.

Dylan's Christmas CD 'charms and dazzles'

bobdylan.com — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 06:58:47 -0600

From Daily Gleaner

by Wilfred Langmaid

There will surely be people who hear the news that Bob Dylan's 47th and latest album is a Christmas offering and be filled with amusement and disbelief.

These people will then listen to Christmas In the Heart - a blend of 15 secular and sacred pieces done up in a pre-rock-era style and featuring Dylan's gnarly bleat of a voice front and centre in the mix - and be even more turned off.

These people just don't get it.

At its core, Christmas In the Heart is simply the latest of Bob Dylan's albums of the last dozen years which strip off all the veneer of being current and timely, harkening back instead to the very roots of music of the pre-war era. That his lived-in voice really is a perfect fit for the loose, limber, spare, and ably executed spin on roots music, which is Dylan of the last many years, is a bonus.

In the process, Christmas In the Heart is a perfect time capsule for the Christmas album/holiday season song phenomenon of the last 60 years - at least for my time capsule.

The central premise is that Dylan is the single-most significant musical figure of his lifetime. He revolutionized and popularized two musical idioms - first folk and then rock - in the first decade of his career.

If anything, this last decade of a 50-year career has been his most consistent decade since those halcyon days.

By its very nature, lacking the self-penned lyrics which are the diamonds among Dylan's jewelry, this album must be seen for what it is. It is certainly not the masterwork of his trilogy of comeback albums - 1997's Time Out Of Mind, 2001's Love And Theft, and 2006's Modern Times - or even the great collaboration with lyricist Robert Hunter, Together Through Life, from earlier this year.

At its very core, this album displays Dylan's sense of whimsy. However, it is anything but a contrived kick at the commercial can for a late-in-his-career nostalgia act. In fact, royalties from the sales of Christmas In The Heart will be donated to Feeding America in perpetuity.

So, yes, Christmas In The Heart is in substance and structure one of many yuletide albums by a veteran artist that will be coming out in these next few weeks. However, it is most accurately and tellingly understood as a cover album in the same seminal vein of fusing the roots of pop, rock, folk, blues, and related idioms of North American popular music of Dylan since Time Out Of Mind.

Granted, some of the moments work better than others; the actual carols are the most wobbly entries.

However, the best moments - rollicking treatments of songs like Here Comes Santa Claus and Must Be Santa, spare crooners like Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas and I'll Be Home For Christmas, and the cover most akin to his originals of the last dozen years The Christmas Blues - are wonderful.

All in all, this is a fun experiment that always charms and often dazzles.

Fredericton-based freelance writer Wilfred Langmaid has reviewed albums in The Daily Gleaner since 1981, and is a past judge for both the Junos and the East Coast Music Awards. His column appears each Saturday.

Bob Dylan at the Aragon in Chicago

bobdylan.com — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 05:19:26 -0500

From the Chicago Tribune

Review: Bob Dylan at Aragon
Bob Gendron
Special to the Tribune
October 30, 2009

Bob Dylan didn't play any Christmas tunes from his new holiday album Thursday in front of a fair-sized crowd at Aragon. Performing the first show of a three-night stand, the feisty singer instead had disaster on his mind, rage in his heart and "the blood of the land" in his voice. And in virtuosic guitarist Charlie Sexton, who just rejoined the bard's group after an extended hiatus, the 68-year-old icon had a worthy foil to challenge him. In contrast to recent appearances that witnessed him hiding in the shadows, Dylan seemed reinvigorated, stepping out from behind the keyboard and moving to center stage on multiple occasions. He also took several turns on guitar.

Dressed in cowboy-style outfits, Dylan and his backing band looked as if they rode into town on horseback from a distant Texas ranch. South-of-the-border accents and chiaroscuro lighting added to the Old West atmosphere. So did Dylan's coarse singing. His raspy timbre often sounded like the cough of a soot-clogged furnace pipe--craggy, gritty, polluted. Yet it served as a natural complement to the sextet's street-tough rockabilly and jump blues, which seldom took a direct route to their destinations.

With each instrumentalist's eyes fixated on Dylan, who conducted by way of subtle gestures, songs loped and shuffled. Sexton's smooth, economical fills counterbalanced his leader's sustained organ runs and throaty harmonica solos. Loose arrangements encouraged impromptu tempo changes and accommodated Dylan's elastic phrasing. The group's two-step grooves caused all but a handful of drifter ballads and sleepy meditations to swing.

Reacting to the music's roll and tumble, Dylan and Sexton squatted and swayed, as if ducking out of the way of the sharp notes, snapping chords and fierce sentiments. Vicious currents blew through a majority of the material. Violence cast a pall over "Ain't Talkin'," while a re-imagined "Just Like a Woman" threw sarcastic daggers. Better still, the scampering "Highway 61 Revisited" and scathing "Ballad of a Thin Man" evoked sinister desires. Drummer George Recile even launched "Like a Rolling Stone" with a forceful, pistol-shot snare hit that recalled famously confrontational performances of the song in the mid-60s. Not missing the cue, Dylan answered with a nasal sneer true to the 110-minute set's outlaw vibe.

It's A Bob Christmas For Halloween

bobdylan.com — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:39:00 -0500

It's a Bob Christmas for Halloween

By PETER STONE BROWN

There are many ways to view or react Bob Dylan's decision to record a Christmas album, and probably all of them make sense. I always figured he'd do one eventually and when the album was announced several weeks ago, my initial reaction was, why now? I would've expected it about 28 years ago, but after 46 years of following Dylan, I learned long ago that predicting anything he's going to do is futile.

Shortly after the announcement of the album, it was also announced the album, Christmas In The Heart, would be a benefit, Dylan would be donating all royalties present and future to three organizations that combat world hunger, Feeding America in the United States; Crisis, in Great Britain; and the United Nations' World Hunger Program.

It's important to remember that just about every artist with a recording contract, and of many musical genres has recorded a Christmas album at some point, and if they haven't done a Christmas album, they've done a Christmas song of some kind, and this includes musicians as diverse as Joan Baez, John Fahey and Asleep At The Wheel. It's certainly a grand American (if not worldwide) pop music tradition. And Bob Dylan, despite whatever mantels have been hung on him, has increasingly demonstrated he's an artist in the great American tradition. Singing Christmas songs can be fun. I learned that a long time ago, when I attended a progressive private school in the Philly suburbs, and we had to learn a bunch of Christmas songs for a school show. Singing those rather intricate harmonies right beside me was one person who would go onto to found and lead America's great Western Swing revival band, and another who would write and produce a major TV show and some movies as well. None of us were Christians, though other kids in the class were. But my memory of it, after getting past the initial groans and grumbling, was that is was fun. (For the same presentation, I was also picked to play Santa Claus for all the kids in nursery school and kindergarten, even though I was one of the shortest and skinniest kids in the class, but that's another story.) A couple of weeks ago, Amazon's UK site - probably wrongly, since they were quickly removed - posted sound clips of the album. The reaction in the online Dylan community, which consists of innumerable discussion forums was pretty much a collective Yikes!

My own response to the clips was Self Portrait Revisited. Another friend suggested that perhaps Dylan was getting too comfortable with a decade of good reviews and hit, often number one albums, and had to do something to shake things up. However before the clips appeared, another friend, author, CP Lee, who has written two books on Dylan wrote me that he considered it "Dylan's greatest master stroke. As he gets older you can see little lumps of the 1950s chrystalising/forming around him."

Some of the Amazon clips, especially the ones with total white bread sounding backup vocals suggested schlock of the highest order, and generic instrumental backing. However, those clips, for whatever reason were ultimately deceptive. On the album, Dylan is backed by three members of his regular touring band, bassist, Tony Garnier, drummer George Recili, Donnie Herron, on steel, trumpet, mandolin, violin and trumpet, and David Hidalgo returning on guitar, accordion, mandolin, and violin, as well as Patrick Warren on keyboards and celeste, and a crew of background singers, including the duo, The Ditty Bops. Dylan as usual, is guitar, electric piano and harp.

The arrangements are perhaps the most carefully crafted of any album Dylan has released. Everything is deliberate. The backup vocal parts, complete with rounds, were absolutely thought out. The playing is uniformly excellent, with not a misplaced note, with Donnie Herron, again showing why he is one of the most valuable members of Dylan's band, something that isn't necessarily apparent at Dylan's live performances, where his work is often buried in the sound mix. For the song selection Dylan chose the route (for the most part) right down the middle of the road, mixing classic carols with pop music Christmas songs. There are of course Christmas songs in every genre, traditional folk, bluegrass, blues and rock and roll. Dylan may have had Minnesota in mind, but it doesn't matter. In keeping with his last two albums, and in keeping with an onstage exploration of American music that's been happening at his concerts in various forms and at various times, during the past 15 years, if not his entire career, that he chose this route makes total sense. That said, (not that I'm ever going to tell Bob Dylan what to do), there's a couple of songs I would have liked to hear him sing. Leadbelly has a cool song called, "Christmas Is Coming," and I think he could have done a great job on "Go Tell It On The Mountain," and I can also imagine a fairly rocking, "Children, Go Where I Send Thee."

What makes Christmas In The Heart perhaps the most unique Christmas album ever is that Dylan's voice has been shot for a while now. He's not quite in Tom Waits territory, but close, perhaps with as another friend suggested, a touch of Jimmy Durante. I once wrote he was a young man with an old man's voice. He is now that older man, and the years of going after the sound of the great old blues and country singers, the years of singing with a different voice on every album, not to mention probably a million or more cigarettes have take their toll. But like all great singers - and Dylan is a great singer - he's found ways to work within his limitations. So against this very smooth, often exquisite backing, you have this singer with this extremely rough voice. There are times, when you think he's never sounded more tender, or more gentle. There are times you can imagine him playing with his grandkids, and there are times where he's never sounded more sincere. In other words, he's really singing, and some of these melodies are the most demanding and challenging he's ever done. The tension, and there's never been a Bob Dylan album without some sort of tension, especially on the first couple of listens is whether he's going to hit what he's going for, and he usually does. It may be some of the roughest note hitting you've ever heard, but he does get there.

This is an album where mentioning standouts doesn't matter. Dylan sounds most at home for obvious reasons on "The Christmas Blues." The most fun track is a dead on cover of Brave Combo's polka rendition of, "Must Be Santa." Yes, that's right, polka! Complete with accordion, and it's a riot. Everyone sounds like they're on the verge of cracking up singing it too. This of course brought a worldwide collective WHAAAT!!!!!??? among Dylan fans when the sound clip emerged. There's also the Hawaiian, "Christmas Island," where you half expect Leon Redbone to drop in for a guest verse at any moment. Dylan is at his most gentle on "Little Drummer Boy," a song I always knew that if he ever did a Christmas album, he would do. Both "Winter Wonderland" and "The Christmas Song," have touches of western swing in the arrangements. Unfortunately, they don't have original song credits, so I don't know if Herron is doubling on fiddle and steel, or if the fiddle is David Hidalgo.

The traditional carols are the ones I keep going back to. "O' Come All Ye Faithful" has an arrangement that is close to baroque music with trumpet and bowed string bass, and incredibly enough, Dylan sings the first verse in Latin, which is something I never thought possible.

So yeah, Bob Dylan made a Christmas album, a real one. And because it's Bob Dylan, is all the baggage that goes with Bob Dylan, the absurdity of it, and also the realness of it. And one could make a good case for it being another exploration of American music, 'cause it is that. And there's a bit of sly humor it as well. It may be the craziest thing he's ever done in a long list of fairly crazy things, or it could be as CP Lee said, "His greatest master stroke." And yep, it will have its detractors. But there's some great playing, and a lot of genuine real feeling. So while the rest of the world may be going to hell, be of good cheer.

Peter Stone Brown is a musician, songwriter, and writer. He can be reached at: psb51@verizon.net

"Bob Dylan Redeems Las Vegas"

bobdylan.com — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 16:26:34 -0500

Bob Dylan Redeems Las Vegas
by Sergio Zurita

To the great George Receli, who gave me an autograph that morning.

It was a thing of beauty listening to Bob Dylan sing about "trying to get to heaven" right in the middle of Sin City, officially known as Las Vegas, Nevada, this past Sunday.

The concert took place at The Joint, a venue for 2,000 people located inside the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, one of the most compelling arguments about rock & roll being nothing but a money machine.

Well, it was in that cultural desert, built upon an actual desert, that Bob Dylan decided to give the best concert I've seen of him since November 2001, when I started to go to every show that my time and money allow (this was my 47th, if I'm not mistaken.)

The night before, Bob took center-stage -as he has been doing since guitarist Charlie Sexton rejoined the band a few weeks ago. Without the protection of the guitar across his chest nor the safety net of his keboard trenches, Dylan had only one resource at hand: his singing voice. And, by God, does he know how to use it.

This is going to sound crazy for people who only like the sound of pristine vocal chords, but Bob Dylan is one of the greatest singers in the world. His voice is incredibly expressive and evocative, and he can really interpret a song and transmit images and emotions through it.

The night before Vegas, at the Arizona State Fair in Phoenix, he sang Workingman's Blues with all his might, making it the perfect song to describe these hard times. The lines "Some people never worked a day in their life/ Don't know what work even means" had a very deep resonance with that evening's audience of farmers and agricultors whose governments tell them that "low wages are a reality if we want to compete abroad".

But it wasn't just the right time and place that made the song so powerful. It was the way Dylan sang it, with great feeling and masterful technique, modulating his voice from notes of deep melancholy to dry indignation.

His very expressive hands added the right amount of drama to the song, making the singer look like the working man of the title and also, at times, like a scarecrow in an abandoned farm, telling the whole story to no one but the wind.

But I digress. We are again Las Vegas this past Sunday, at THE concert. It began with business as usual, with an ass-kicking "Leopard -Skin Pill-Box Hat". The extremely good looking and extremely talented Charlie Sexton is the frontman. Bob is on the right of the stage, playing keyboards.

Half of the jewelry-incrusted collar of his shirt is inside his jacket, the other half is not. (I mention this because in every single concert, in between songs, Dylan is constantly tucking his curly hair inside his hat and/or straightening his clothes.)

But this time he doesn't seem to mind the asimetry of his look. In fact, I don't think he could care less.

For the second song, he takes center-stage again. But instead of the sadness of Workingman's Blues, he sings "The Man In Me", one of his sexiest creations. What happens then is hard to describe without superlative phrases: Dylan swings and croons the song, he smiles at the audience in complicity, he moves his hands with masculine gracefulness. He sounds like a Dust Bowl Sinatra, like Dean Martin's smoother brother, like a pale Sammy Davis, Jr.

In other concerts, Dylan in Vegas was an oximoron. But on Sunday, he was as in place there as Bugsy Siegel at the Flamingo.

In "Forgetful Heart", the haunting ballad of Together Through Life, Dylan became Sinatra again. The darkest Sinatra, the Wee-Small-Hours-Of-The-Morning Frank. At that moment, you knew that behind the tinsel, we were in the middle of nowhere, rolling around like tumbleweeds.

In "Spirit on the Water", Dylan sang that he "can't go back to paradise no more" 'cause he "killed a man back there". And later on the show, he tried "to get to heaven before they close the door".

The truth is this: in Las Vegas, the city closest to hell, everyone who went to see and hear Bob Dylan on Sunday was accepted back in paradise and got into heaven, at least for a little while.

Christmas Time, It Is A-Changin', Babe

bobdylan.com — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:50:51 -0500

From the Martinez (CA) News-Gazette

Christmas Time, It Is A-Changin', Babe
TAKE NOTE, MARTINEZ

By Jim Caroompas
Contributing Writer
October 18, 2009

Let me get right to it: these are words I never, ever thought I'd be writing in my brief time on this planet - Bob Dylan has released a Christmas album. Here are some even more surprising words - it is for my money the very best Christmas album I have ever heard. It has liberated me from the confines of the Bing Crosby/Nat King Cole Christmas album prison I have endured my whole life. Those records have defined the season's songs for me, and kept me from having anything to do with them. I don't have the artistic wherewithal to recreate the power of that music. But Bob Dylan does. And now he has.

Sure, that's Bob's voice coming through on "Hark The Herald Angels Sing," no mistaking it for Dean Martin or Bing Crosby. It's a long ride down a very rough road. But like someone once told Leonard Cohen, "if I want to hear great singing, I'll buy a ticket to the Metropolitan Opera." No, you won't hear dulcet tones on "Christmas In The Heart." If lack of vibrato and vocal exactitude is what you're after, then by all means avoid this album at all costs. But if you want the most authentic Christmas album put out in the past 35 or so years, full of Americana and spirit, then you should buy it.

Bob Dylan? Christmas album? Why not? Nobody believed it when he strapped on a Fender Stratocaster and started playing electric songs, either. Or when he stepped into Nashville in 1968, at the height of the electronic frontier then being explored by Jimi Hendrix, the Doors and Cream, and released "Nashville Skyline." Dylan fans gasped with disbelief and derision, and the album became Bob's first million seller, finding an entirely new audience. Of course, the Christian period (two whole albums' worth) drove the late 1970s me-crowd (including me) away in droves, and many never returned.

So now there's a Bob Dylan Christmas album. Before you snarkily suggest that he's in it for the money, please note that the proceeds of this recording go to various food charities. So even if you don't like the record, buy it to help feed hungry children.

Right out of the gate you get "Here Comes Santa Claus." This record comes with standard Christmas instrumentation, and the syrupy background chorus, so it sounds like a typical Christmas record that someone like, say, Ray Coniff would have released. But then Bob comes stepping up to the mike, and you know there's something going on, and you don't know what it is, do you, Mr. Jones? This song is almost enough to make it sound like the entire project is a joke, Bob deciding to have a laugh at our holiday expense. But listen more closely. This is one of the most mercurial, intellectual and sentimental writers we've ever produced on our shores. Don't dismiss a guy of this enormous talent so capriciously.

"Do You Hear What I Hear?" is next, and here you start to get the sense that this is a very serious project. This could almost be a song he wrote. I've never heard a reading of this song render the story so vividly.

"Winter Wonderland" is not a Christmas song, but it is a seasonal song. And the sauntering, strutting attitude comes through loud and clear. How? Because Bob's voice may have years of wear and tear, but no one, and I mean no one, can phrase like he can. He knows how to construct phrases like no one short of Billy Holiday.

"I'll Be Home For Christmas" is a whimsical, melancholy reading. He captures the spirit of the Bing Crosby version - the longing, the sense of danger and impending sorrow that lives just under the surface of the tune, which was popular during WWII, but he infuses it with a Bob Dylan sensibility that lifts it into our time.

"The Christmas Song" is an experience no one can explain in words, you just have to hear it for yourself.

This is my Christmas album, the one I'll play this season and from now on. I'm grateful to still have a little one around the house to grow up on this record. I hope he takes these memories into this adulthood, the way I have brought Bing and Nat with me.

"Maggie's Farm" at Newport 1965: video now available from iTunes

bobdylan.com — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 01:21:18 -0500

The video of Bob Dylan's performance of "Maggie's Farm" at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival is now available as a download on iTunes

BOB DYLAN PARTNERS WITH INTERNATIONAL CHARITIES TO HELP FEED HUNDREDS-OF-THOUSANDS DURING HOLIDAY SEASON

bobdylan.com — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 01:14:24 -0500

BOB DYLAN PARTNERS WITH INTERNATIONAL CHARITIES TO HELP FEED HUNDREDS-OF-THOUSANDS DURING HOLIDAY SEASON

CRISIS UK AND WORLD FOOD PROGRAMME TO RECEIVE ARTIST'S ROYALTIES FROM CHRISTMAS IN THE HEART CD IN PERPETUITY

LONDON (23/09/2009) All of Bob Dylan's international royalties from his forthcoming album of holiday songs, Christmas In The Heart—which is being released on Monday, October 12—will be donated to The World Food Programme and Crisis UK in perpetuity, it was announced today by Columbia Records. Dylan's immediate donations will provide 500,000 meals to school children in the developing world during the holidays through the WFP and 15,000 meals to homeless people in the United Kingdom during the eight days of Christmas (December 23—December 30) through Crisis.

The WFP is the world's largest humanitarian organization fighting hunger worldwide, aiming to feed 108 million people in 74 countries in 2009. Crisis is the United Kingdom's national charity for single homeless people, dedicated to ending homelessness by delivering life-changing services and campaigning for change.

Today's news follows the recent announcement of Bob Dylan's partnership with Feeding America in the United States in which he is donating all of his U.S. royalties from Christmas In The Heart to that organization in perpetuity.

"Bob Dylan's generosity to help WFP feed the world's hungry couldn't come at a better time. Starting this Christmas, we can give a meal to thousands of hungry school children all over the world ,a gift of a lifetime" said Josette Sheeran, Executive Director of WFP. "The number of hungry in the world—many of them children—has hit a historic high while food assistance has reached a historic low. For 80 percent of the world, a government safety net is little more than a dream. Bob Dylan's new album will help change that."

Leslie Morphy, Chief Executive, Crisis, said, "At Christmas, Crisis provides companionship and support to alleviate loneliness and isolation together with vital services, such as housing and job advice, to help people take their first steps out of homelessness. We are very grateful to Bob Dylan for his generous donation from the proceeds of his latest album. The money will help us provide thousands of hot meals to our guests including a traditional Christmas dinner."

Bob Dylan commented, "That the problem of hunger is ultimately solvable means we must each do what we can to help feed those who are suffering and support efforts to find long-term solutions. I'm honored to partner with The World Food Programme and Crisis in their fight against hunger and homelessness."

Christmas In The Heart will be the 47th album from Bob Dylan, and follows his worldwide chart-topping Together Through Life, released earlier this year. Songs performed by Dylan on this new album include, "Here Comes Santa Claus," "Winter Wonderland," "Little Drummer Boy" and "Must Be Santa."

"Christmas In The Heart" Now Available Everywhere

bobdylan.com — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 20:55:52 -0500

ALL ARTIST’S ROYALTIES TO BENEFIT MILLIONS IN NEED THROUGH FEEDING AMERICA AND INTERNATIONAL CHARITIES

About World Food Programme
About Crisis

Order
Christmas In The Heart

MORE THAN 4 MILLION MEALS TO BE PROVIDED DURING HOLIDAYS

Bob Dylan has released a brand new album of holiday songs, Christmas In The Heart. All of the artist's U.S. royalties from sales of these recordings will be donated to Feeding America, guaranteeing that more than four million meals will be provided to more than 1.4 million people in need in this country during this year's holiday season. Bob Dylan is also donating all of his future U.S. royalties from this album to Feeding America in perpetuity.

Additionally, the artist is partnering with two international charities to provide meals during the holidays for millions in need in the United Kingdom and the developing world, and will be donating all of his future international royalties from Christmas In The Heart to those organizations in perpetuity.

"Christmas in the Heart is an acknowledgment of an underappreciated musical tradition from one of the most important innovators and interpreters of American popular song."
Paul Snyder - Huffington Post

“When we reached out to Bob Dylan about becoming involved with our organization, we could never have anticipated that he would so generously donate all royalties from his forthcoming album to our cause,” said Vicki Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America. “This major initiative from such a world renowned artist and cultural icon will directly benefit so many people and have a major impact on spreading awareness of the epidemic of hunger in this country and around the world.”

Bob Dylan commented, “It’s a tragedy that more than 35 million people in this country alone -- 12 million of those children – often go to bed hungry and wake up each morning unsure of where their next meal is coming from. I join the good people of Feeding America in the hope that our efforts can bring some food security to people in need during this holiday season.”

Christmas In The Heart is the 47th album from Bob Dylan, and follows his worldwide chart-topping Together Through Life, released earlier this year. Songs performed by Dylan on this new album include, “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “Winter Wonderland,” “Little Drummer Boy” and “Must Be Santa.”

Feeding America provides low-income individuals and families with the fuel to survive and even thrive. As the nation’s largest domestic hunger-relief charity, our network members supply food to more than 25 million Americans each year, including 9 million children and 3 million seniors. Serving the entire United States, more than 200 member food banks supports 63,000 agencies that address hunger in all of its forms. For more information how you can fight hunger in your community and across the country, visit feedingamerica.org.

Order Christmas In The Heart

Fall Tour Tickets On Sale Now

bobdylan.com — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 11:05:37 -0500

Bob Dylan and his Band are on tour right now!. See our Tour page for details.

Dates have been announced for Seattle, Portland, Eugene, Berkeley, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Salt Lake City, Denver, Salina, Tulsa, Springfield, Rockford, Chicago, Bloomington, Columbus, Canton, Detroit, Kitchener, Philadelphia, Fairfax, Boston and New York City.

twitter bobdylan

bobdylan.com — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:05:44 -0500

If you are so inclined, feel free to get updates from bobdylan.com's Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/bobdylan or subscribe to our RSS news feed

Early news on ticket pre-sales, nightly set lists, the best of Bob Dylan coverage on the Web, and a deep sense of belonging: all available to bobdylan.com's Twitter followers.

Bob Dylan Electrifies Audiences Across the U.S.

bobdylan.com — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:07:26 -0500

The Bob Dylan Show has been enthusiastically received on its tour so far. We'll post the occasional great review from the press and please feel free to post your own reviews by following the dates on our tour page.

Steve Israel, Times Herald-Record: Dylan Electrifies Bethel Woods concertgoers

Greg Moses, Counterpunch: The Geometries of Bob Dylan

The Bob Dylan Show Opens in Milwaukee

bobdylan.com — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 23:20:18 -0500

Bob Dylan and his band played Milwaukee's Summerfest on July 1, the opening concert in this summer's tour of The Bob Dylan Show.

The set featured the first-ever live performances of two songs from Bob Dylan's new album Together Through Life.. "Forgetful Heart" and "Jolene" were played, as well as audience favorites like "Blind Willie McTell" and "Desolation Row." See the complete set list.

Listen to an informal live recording of "Forgetful Heart".

Stay tuned to bobdylan.com for more tour news, and if you have a hankering, check the tour schedule and set lists on our Live page and see if The Bob Dylan Show is coming to your town.

NEW: Subscribe to the bobdylan.com RSS feed.

Follow the bobdylan.com Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/bobdylan.

The Never Ending Pool is closed for the 2009 U.S. summer tour. Follow the leaders!

bobdylan.com — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 06:03:24 -0500

The Never Ending Pool is no longer accepting entries for Bob Dylan's summer tour. Follow America's favorite parlor game and see the best predictors of Bob Dylan's sets at The Never Ending Pool

Watch the official short film for "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'"

bobdylan.com — Tue, 12 May 2009 15:51:06 -0500

IFC and IFC.com are proud to present the first look at a short film for Bob Dylan's new song "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'", directed by Nash Edgerton and featuring Amanda Aardsma and Joel Stoffer. Visit IFC.com for an exclusive look at the film. It will air on IFC tonight at 10:15 p.m.

Thanks to you, "Together Through Life" Debuts at #1 in U.S. and U.K.

bobdylan.com — Wed, 06 May 2009 12:13:31 -0500

Thanks to Bob Dylan fans around the world!

Bob Dylan's new album, Together Through Life, has entered both the U.S. and UK album charts at #1, marking the artist’s second consecutive U.S. #1 debut and his first chart-topping release in the UK since New Morning in 1970. Together Through Life is a true international hit, as well, achieving #1 debuts in Austria and Denmark, Top 5 entries in Australia, Germany, Ireland, Holland, Norway, Switzerland, Sweden and New Zealand, and Top 10 rankings in Italy, France and Belgium.

"Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" on HBO

bobdylan.com — Tue, 05 May 2009 13:08:08 -0500

"Beyond Here Lies Nothin'", from Together Through Life, is featured in the trailer for the upcoming season of HBO's hit series True Blood The season premieres in June.

Here's the trailer:

Rolling Stone's Bob Dylan Coverage

bobdylan.com — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 09:08:42 -0500

Rolling Stone has over the years published some of the best interviews with Bob Dylan, and in its new issue features an extensive discussion with historian and author Douglas Brinkley.

Here are some of the highlights available on-line. For the rest, pick up your copy at your local newsstand.

A gallery of all of his Rolling Stone cover appearances.

A gallery of his paintings.

Still to come this week, a look back at Rolling Stone's best Bob Dylan interview moments, a playlist inspired by Together Through Life, and Bob Dylan's thoughts on his upcoming ballpark tour.

Together Through Life sheet music folio book now available

bobdylan.com — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:28:17 -0500

If you enjoy Together Through Life, you may wish to sing and play the tunes in the privacy of your parlour or on a busy street corner.

The Together Through Life sheet music folio, published this week, may aid the musically inclined. It is available now from Amazon.com or your local supplier.

Paste Presents: The Dylan Takeover

bobdylan.com — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:16:17 -0500

Paste Magazine has devoted its current issue to all things Bob Dylan.

Start here and enjoy Paste's deep coverage.

The Bob Dylan Show Announces All-Star Roster For The 2009 Ballpark Tour

bobdylan.com — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 15:16:19 -0500

The Bob Dylan Show, with Willie Nelson and John Mellencamp, will tour the United States this summer.

Tickets are now on sale for shows across the land.

Visit bobdylan.com's Tour page for a complete itinerary and details about pre-sale tickets for bobdylan.com visitors.

Early admission for bobdylan.com pre-sale ticket holders! (for ballpark shows)

Children 14 and under get in free with each adult ticket holder. (for ballpark shows)

Sean Wilentz on "Together Through Life"

bobdylan.com — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 07:00:44 -0500

Sean Wilentz, this site's historian-in-residence, has filed this report on "Together Through Life" at The Daily Beast:

"...turning the old into the new and then back again, with fresh myth-laden music that achieves the amazing feat ... of making you think and feel at the same time. This time out, though, maybe more than ever, he also rouses you to dance and dance, and then dance some more, before heading for the exits, and then, well… then seeing what more might develop."

Follow bobdylan.com with Twitter

bobdylan.com — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 11:41:09 -0500

If you are so inclined, feel free to get updates from bobdylan.com's Twitter feed: http://twitter.com/bobdylan

Mojo's Four-Star Review of "Together Through Life"

bobdylan.com — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 09:46:46 -0500

Danny Eccleston's four-star review of Together Through Life:

Like life - that other great imponderable - Bob Dylan is full of surprises. He surprised us in the mid-'60s by resigning his portfolio as ordained prophet of the nascent counterculture. He surprised us (an understatement, perhaps) with his mid-'70s conversion to born again Christianity and the hellfire records that followed. And he's surprising us now, with this purple patch of renewed vigour, consistency and a new record seemingly out of the blue.

More so than Modern Times - a good record, but (can it now be said?) one which lacked a 24-carat humdinger, a Mississippi or a Love Sick - Together Through Life is an album that gets its hooks in early and refuses to let go. It's dark yet comforting, with a big tough sound, booming slightly like a band grooving at a soundcheck in an empty theatre. And at its heart there is a haunting refrain. Because above everything this is a record about love, its absence and its remembrance.

It's there, amid the heavy rumble of opener Beyond Here Lies Nothin', as the humid bass of Tony Garnier and the stinging lead guitar of The Heartbreakers' Mike Campbell goad a Dylan cursed to navigate "boulevards of broken cars", haunted too by David Hidalgo's ever-present accordion, an uncanny echo of Al Kooper's organ underpinning of yore.

Dylan pursues his ancient love through this landscape, full of apocalyptic landmarks only half-glimpsed, until he smacks straight into Life Is Hard, the lachrymose country-jazz ballad which, once commissioned for Olivier Dahan's soon-come movie, My Own Love Song, set his writerly juices flowing a year ago. "Since we've been out of touch/I haven't felt that much," he growls, a gloomy bullfrog with emphysema. "From day to barren day/My heart stays locked away."

Life Is Hard is paradigmatic of all that's great about Together Through Life. On a record with a high melody count it has one of the best, requiring a high register leap in the chorus that Dylan really has to haul himself into. More typically still, it's excruciatingly crepuscular and sad, not the only farewell wave on a record full of narrators who are hanging on the best they can, their grip failing by the day: "The sun is sinking low/I guess it's time to go/I feel a chilly breeze/In place of memories." Memory was Modern Times' preoccupation too, but there's something crueller about the tricks it plays in Together Through Life. In Forgetful Heart the past harboured love; now our narrator lies awake and listens to "the sound of pain". But it's unclear if it's her faithlessness being castigated, or his. Life is meaningless, Dylan seems to say; only love makes it bearable, and even that hightails it in the end. It's almost Beckettian.

Is this Dylan? Is this how he feels? Hard to say. These songs have shifting perspectives - tragic, comic, satirical. Some of them sound like a scrapbook of pensées, grouped by theme - not stories as such. Surely that's Dylan, "listening to Billy Joe Shaver and reading James Joyce" in I Feel A Change Comin' On - how could it be anyone else? Maybe that's some other fellow, lost in the barrooms of Austin, Fort Worth and San Anton' in the hard-swinging, gun-toting If You Ever Go To Houston, although Dylan has spent so long imagining himself into the North American Southwest it's as if he's left a splinter of himself there.

This Dream Of You is the record's most Tex-Mex moment, driven on by a lyrical meld of violin and accordion, while Dylan's narrator is tormented by thoughts of a long-gone señorita that stalk the night and haunt the day. "There's a moment when all things become new again," he muses. "But that moment might have come and gone." The missed opportunity hangs there, agonisingly, and yet it's still "this dream of you that keeps me living on."

This is transfixing stuff, but it's not even the record's best track. That's the already-previewed I Feel A Change Comin' On, which pivots on another of this record's twilight reflections - "The last part of the day is already gone" - but it's a gorgeous little melodic sting in a song that's full of warmth. "Life is for love/And they say that
love is blind," sings Dylan, gaily. "If you wanna live easy/Baby, pack your clothes with mine." One of his best easygoing romances, file it with If Not For You and I'll Be Your Baby Tonight.

So Together Through Life is not without levity, and there's a twinkle in Dylan's bloodshot eye. Shake Shake Mama is a rockin' picaresque in a classic Dylan vein, full of salty-tongued women and ludicrous judges, soundtracked by great niggles of just-distorting valve amp guitar. And in the Chess blues lope of My Wife's Home Town there's even a variant on the mother-in-law joke. Dylan enjoys it so much he imparts two hearty, malicious cackles in the outro, but we're not meant to take it seriously. "There are reasons for that/There are reasons for this," its narrator shrugs. "I can't think of any right now/But I know they exist."

Chuckles aside, Together Through Life ends as it begins, with a glimpse of the end of days. The sarcasm-rich It's All Good is gleefully, relentlessly rendered - imagine Subterranean Homesick Blues delivered by the incensed moralist of Slow Train Coming's Gotta Serve Somebody (the latter is back in favour, by the way, having opened at least two recent Dylan shows, in Copenhagen on March 29 and Saarbrücken on April 5). Mendacious politicos, starving farmers, widows and orphans swirl in a fever-dream of the world financial crisis, although according errant wives equal billing in this menu of Gomorrah's ills lends an edge of farce. Where does Dylan stand, exactly, on the topic du jour? If he knows, he's not saying - at least not quite.

If we're used to anything, we're used to Dylan's riddle-me-rees, but the 67-year-old model appears more than ever to delight in the impression of knowing more than he's letting on. It's the prerogative of the elderly, perhaps. It's not that they like to see younger folk make their own mistakes (although sometimes you wonder); it's that they know we're going to make those mistakes whatever they say. Truly, wisdom is wasted on the young.

Today's Dylan sounds like a man who's already delivered his valediction, as if long past the point where he's taken full stock. There is no statement to make, just tunes to write and life to live. And each new record finds him slightly amazed, slightly amused that he's still here, granted another curtain call.

These days, it seems, the old surpriser is even surprising himself.

Interact With "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'"

bobdylan.com — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:32:50 -0500

Interact with Bob Dylan's new song "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'" at www.beyondhereliesnothin.com.

Mash your own message and lyrics along with Bob's to create a unique lyrical portrait video. You can then upload your video message to the community gallery and share it with others. This is the first time the lyrics from a Bob Dylan song have been released prior to the record, so make sure to check out and see them in action along with the music, only at www.beyondhereliesnothin.com.

The Gaslight

bobdylan.com — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 19:18:36 -0500

Back in 2005, Columbia Records issued a limited-edition CD, "Live at the Gaslight 1962", recorded at the legendary Greenwich Village nightclub. In the liner notes, we incorrectly attributed ownership of the club to Sam Hood, who was, in fact, its manager. The Gaslight was owned and operated by Harry Fry and John Moyant. We apologize for the error.

Bob Dylan Opens Spring Tour in Stockholm

bobdylan.com — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 21:39:12 -0500

Bob Dylan and his Band played the Berns Club tonight in Stockholm and played a set rich with old favorites and rarities...but the rarest was deep in the set when the band broke out "Billy", a never-before-played song from the 1973 "Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid" soundtrack.

The next night at Stockholm's Globe Arena, he pulled out another ultra-rare gem, "One More Cup of Coffee (Valley Below)", from Desire.

Check out the set list and follow the tour on our tour page.

TOGETHER THROUGH LIFE in the news (updated 5/1/09)

bobdylan.com — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:41:33 -0500

Bob Dylan's new album Together Through Life is now available! Here's what the critics are saying. Please write your own comments on this page:

USA Today's Edna Gunderson: "a raffish riff on romance...yarns, wry and real, of ordinary folks in the grip of lust, longing and heartache...Dylan has captured the vibrant, visceral, ramshackle sound of music made on the fly." Four Stars.

JamsBio's JBev: "What Bob Dylan is accomplishing these days is unprecedented to the point of being supernatural."

Spectrum Culture's David Harris: "While Dylan's voice has opened up to become not only an intrinsic part of musical history, he has also adapted the role of living curator of a time and place almost erased by those who care more about the trappings of stardom than the roots of music. He is not trying to prove anything. But, as our world slides towards the brink of chaos, maybe Dylan does have the answer." 4.5 Near Classic

Washington Post's Joe Heim: "And yet if the aptly titled "Together Through Life" turns out to be the last album that America's most important song poet records, its mix of inscrutability, flashed teeth, existential angst, deep sorrow, deadpan humor and dead-on takedowns would make it a perfectly satisfactory coda to a remarkable half-century of musicmaking. "

Newsday's Glenn Gamboa: "Timely masterpiece...the perfect soundtrack for down-but-not-out America, a clear-eyed, often elegant-sounding, road map that notes the struggles, but keeps its focus on making it through - with your sense of humor intact, no less."

Huffington Post's Mike Ragogna: "As the world reinvents itself in these re-orienting times, Together Through Life's neighborhood cappuccino club warmth instead offers shelter from the storm. It's a tonic whose pace is moderate, music is organic, lyrics are intelligent, and feel is refreshingly human."

Uncut's Allan Jones: "The album’s a gas, a riot, a hoot." Five stars

San Francisco Chronicle's Joel Selvin: "The offhand, crudely informal atmosphere of the new Bob Dylan album, "Together Through Life," is a deceit. Beneath the apparently tossed off blues tracks and carelessly drawled vocals lies a master of details and pungent, piquant observations, couched as old blues songs. The music feels fresh, organic, and Dylan imbues each song with a powerful sense of storytelling... All of the songs are sung by this ragged, weary, impossibly gravelly voice perfectly suited to the sensibilities of the pieces. Latter period Dylan is turning out to be some of his deepest, richest work. "Together Through Life" is another brilliant, sure-handed outing by one of the few certified greats still living up to his legend."

Blender's Rob Sheffield: "he’s going off the cliff along with everyone else, yet he’s laughing all the way down." Five stars.

Rolling Stone's David Fricke: "Dylan...has never sounded as ravaged, pissed off and lusty, all at once, as he does on Together Through Life." Four stars.

The Telegraph's Neil McCormick: "Together Through Life is a beautifully played collection of antique blues pop." Four stars.

The Hawk's Richard Hughes: "Relaxed and sage, Dylan does not need a feigning culmination to his career on record as he nears his 68th birthday. Originality and 'being constantly in the state of becoming' are far more important to Dylan. He really has been together with his listeners through life. He takes you "from the cradle to the grave" as Bono once put it. Together Through Life is another impressive outing in an unprecedented career with songs serving as little snapshots into an unfiltered and romantic view of life."

The Ithacan's Julian Williams: "Together Through Life presents the 67-year-old on top of his game and completely aware of it. Throughout the album, the swagger and style present testifies to a life without regret and a voice more alive than ever."

The Times's Pete Paphides: "his warmest, most unforced, set of songs in recent memory." Four stars.

Los Angeles Times's Ann Powers

The New Yorker's Alex Ross

Mojo's Michael Simmons: "It's a powerful personal work by a man who still thinks for himself in an era of fear, conformity, and dehumanization. That it rocks mightily makes the message even more compelling. Whatever the hell it gets called, it'll be in the running for Best Album Of 2009."

Bob Dylan to Perform at Rothbury in July

bobdylan.com — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 14:48:06 -0500

Bob Dylan will perform at Rothbury in Michigan in July. This four-day festival, from July 2-5, will feature dozens of artists, including The Dead, Willie Nelson, and Broken Social Scene.

Tickets go on sale this Friday, March 20, at noon at RothburyFestival.com.

Bob Dylan's spring tour of Europe begins next Sunday, March 22, at the Berns Club in Stockholm. Visit bobdylan.com's tour page for nightly set list updates.

Theme Time Radio Hour To Expand

bobdylan.com — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 19:19:01 -0600

Sirius XM Radio Inc. are expanding Bob Dylan's award-winning Theme Time Radio Hour show to open up multiple hours of uninterrupted listening on The Spectrum channel.

Starting on Sunday, February 8th, Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour will air on The Spectrum (Sirius channel 18 and XM channel 45) for four uninterrupted hours from 4-8pm ET.

The weekly four-hour additional programming will kick off with an encore of the new show that debuted on Deep Tracks (Sirius channel 16 and XM channel 40) that prior Wednesday.

The marathon will continue with two shows from the Theme Time Radio Hour vault as well as an additional encore of Wednesday's show.

The Wall Street Journal's Terry Teachout said it best about the show:
"To listen to 'Theme Time Radio Hour' is to rediscover the sense of musical adventure that old-fashioned disc jockeys with strongly individual personalities offered in the days before big-money stations pinned their fiscal hopes to the rigid Top 40-style playlists that took the fun out of radio."

Bob Dylan's Theme Time Radio Hour will still air at its regularly schedule timeslot, every Wednesday at 11am ET on Deep Tracks.

Album Of The Year: Tell Tale Signs

bobdylan.com — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 16:22:46 -0600

Bob Dylan's "Tell Tale Signs" has been named to the Albums Of The Year lists of the following publications...visit this news item as the list is updated:

Rolling Stone Online

Paste

European Tour Announced: Spring 2009

bobdylan.com — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 20:37:25 -0600

Bob Dylan and his band will embark on a European Tour in Spring 2009.

Visit our Live and In Person! page for the itinerary, with more dates to be announced.

Forever Young

bobdylan.com — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 12:41:43 -0600

Illustrator Paul Rogers has created a book inspired by Bob Dylan's lyrics to "Forever Young", with gorgeous art that evokes Greenwich Village in the sixties.

Here's how Publishers Weekly describes Forever Young:

In the book, Rogers shows a boy in a baseball cap listening to a folksinger playing guitar in front of the legendary Gerde's Folk City--a mecca in NYC during the early 1960s. The singer gives his guitar to the boy, as if passing a torch to a younger generation. As the boy practices to Woody Guthrie records and performs free in the park, he also becomes involved in music-related activities such as a "Stop The War" rally in Washington D.C. The book ends with the now-grown young man passing his guitar on to a girl and, in effect, keeping the folk music ideals "forever young."

Although Dylan's influence was far-reaching, the boy's tale is obviously set in New York City, "As a fan of Dylan," Rogers says, "I always thought his early years in NYC were part of his most glamorous times, and I was influenced by what he wrote about those times in Chronicles, his memoir," says Rogers. "As I was working, I wanted the style I was working in to evoke that time in Dylan's life, but I also wanted each spread to look like a stage set, with scratchy lines and flat colors, against which all sorts of images could be set."

Scattered throughout his "sets" are numerous references to other Dylan songs, from the "big brass bed" of "Lay Lady Lay" seen in a window on MacDougal Street, to a sign behind a bus stop reading "The circus is in town," a line from "Desolation Row." "My interest was also to see how much Dylan I could work into the text without being obnoxious," says Rogers. "I definitely wanted to keep the story simpler for younger and general readers, but I also wanted to attract and interest Dylan fans, too--perhaps the parents who would be reading the book to their children. I realized that I could present a crowd that would work as a crowd and also as a group of interesting people from the era, like the "Stop The War" march that features Martin Luther King Jr. as well as Hank Williams and John Lennon--all of whom influenced Dylan."

"Forever Young" (Simon & Schuster) is available at bookstores everywhere. Purchase at amazon.com

Paul Rogers' blog, with many illustrations from the book.

Christian Science Monitor feature

Publisher's Weekly interview

Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric: The Lost Manuscript

bobdylan.com — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:33:34 -0600

The New York Times enjoyed the newly published Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric: The Lost Manuscript, with photographs by Barry Feinstein and text by Bob Dylan:

Another book with a strange, scarred, resonating old soul is Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric: The Lost Manuscript { Amazon.com } (Simon & Schuster, $30), with text by Bob Dylan and photographs by Barry Feinstein. This book is made up of 23 of Mr. Dylan's cosmic prose poems, written in the 1960s, inspired by a series of Mr. Feinstein's moody black-and-white photographs of movie stars, casting couches and back lots. As Luc Sante writes in his introduction, "Although the photographs were made for a variety of assignments and in a number of different contexts, they have a remarkable consistency and a clearly identifiable theme: the passing of old Hollywood." Mr. Feinstein's pictures, reminiscent of both Robert Frank's and Diane Arbus's, are impossible to turn away from. And Mr. Dylan's poems? Well, they aren't totally unreadable. But they will not send you rushing back for a critical reconsideration of "Tarantula."

Read a fascinating review from the International Herald-Tribune by Charles McGrath.

Jesse Jarnow's interesting review in the Forward.

Theme Time Radio Hour: New Season Begins!

bobdylan.com — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 16:53:03 -0500

Theme Time Radio Hour with Bob Dylan begins its third season on Wednesday, October 8, on XM Radio.

Visit the Theme Time Radio Hour site for the broadcast schedule.

Tell Tale Signs: Out Now!

bobdylan.com — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 06:18:02 -0500

Columbia Records is happy to announce today's release of Bob Dylan's "Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8".

Los Angeles Times: "'Tell Tale Signs' is not just "extra" Dylan. It's essential Dylan."

San Francisco Chronicle: "For Bob Dylan, these are outtakes. Most musicians would call them their greatest hits."

The BBC: "Beautiful, brave and beguiling."

Boston Globe: "a feast for casual fans and Dylanologists alike."

Tell Tale Signs: The First Reviews are In

bobdylan.com — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:13:58 -0500

Tell Tale Signs seems to be hitting the right notes with some of rock's most distinguished journalists:

Rolling Stone's Mikal Gilmore {complete review}:

...Tell Tale Signs is less an anthology than an album in its own right. It seems designed to tell a story that sharpens and expands the vista of mortal and cultural disintegration that has been the chief theme of 1997's Time Out of Mind, 2001's Love and Theft, and 2006's Modern Times - perhaps the most daring music he's ever made. Tell Tale Signs makes plain that Dylan knows the caprices of the world he lives in, now more than ever.

Los Angeles Times' Robert Hilburn {complete review}

Bob Dylan's latest collection of material from his musical back pages, "Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8," is a rich, revealing look at how this master songwriter put together one of the most dramatic creative renaissances in pop history...."Tell Tale Signs" is not just "extra" Dylan. It's essential Dylan.

Entertainment Weekly's Chris Willman {complete review}

Only one set of archival releases can compare to Bob Dylan's ''Bootleg Series'' in the annals of popular music, and that would be the Beatles' Anthology collections, which similarly gave the world a window onto a great recording act's studio outtakes. But with the Fab Four, you always get the feeling that there was only one possible perfect version of each song; the fascination lies in hearing how certain numbers become classics due to some final, transcendent tweak. Listening to Dylan's discards, though, there's little sense of honing or averted near misses; his cuttingroom-floor takes are usually completely viable alternatives to the official renditions....The last two ''Bootleg'' releases focused on Dylan's mid-'60s heyday...but true fans already had a lot of it. (Shhh, don’t tell the feds.) Excitingly, Tell Tale Signs jumps decades ahead to offer an alternate history of a less leaky period: the creative renaissance that started at the end of the 1980s and has been bearing fruit ever since. A

The Independent's Andy Gill {complete review}:

The eighth instalment of Dylan's Bootleg Series covers the years spanning his 1989 return to form with Oh Mercy up to the present day, a period in which he managed to conquer a long-standing blight of writer's block, establish himself as the pre-eminent repository of American roots-music forms, and ultimately find the route to the Indian summer of Time Out of Mind, "Love and Theft" and Modern Times....It's a remarkable collection...

The Telegraph's David Cheal {complete review}:

There's stuff here that leaves the listener wondering: why have we never heard this before? What possessed him, for instance, to excise Red River Shore from his Time Out of Mind album? It's a haunting classic. Ditto the wistful Born in Time (from the Oh Mercy sessions)...what's captured here is the restless, questing creative spirit of the man. He never stops.

The BBC's Chris Jones {complete review}:

If you love the trilogy of Time Out Of Mind, Love And Theft and Modern Times you're going to adore this. It lays bare the process that led Dylan to not only revisit the work that got him fired up in the first place but remake them in his own image: the Carter Family (Tell Ol' Bill) amongst many others...As a companion to his best work from the period this is essential. It even stands as a fine album on its own—the work of a man obviously in love with his muse once more, and totally unafraid of fessin' up to his roots. Beautiful, brave and beguiling.

The Guardian's Dave Simpson {complete review}:

The eighth treasure trove in Dylan's Bootleg Series of unreleased material and alternate takes further illustrates that there is no such thing as a definitive recording of a Dylan song, just a snapshot of the great man's prevailing mood...reaffirms Dylan's return to classic form. The extraordinary Red River Shore—already prompting feverish excitement among Bobcats—sounds like the produce of a broken heart, and has mystifyingly remained in the vaults for 11 years...Four Stars.

Associated Press's David Bauder { complete review }

There had never been anything quite like Bob Dylan in the 1960s, and there's nothing quite like him today...Once he burned with revolutionary fervor, songs spilling out of a man in a hurry. Now, at age 67, he's a walking history book of the United States, keeping alive stories and musical styles that might otherwise be forgotten. His work has grace and majesty, and the breadth of his late-career resurgence is better illustrated in this collection than on any of his individual albums....For Bob Dylan, these are outtakes. Most musicians would call them their greatest hits.

LONDON TIMES: "...five stars out of 5"

THE INDEPENDENT, LONDON: "... it's a remarkable collection, as racked with doubt and disillusion as one might expect, yet defiantly exposing the vulnerabilities and irritations that provoke pearls such as 'High Water' and 'Ain't Talkin'."

VARIETY: " ... like its predecessors, the new bootleg series release is a collection of distinction -- as essential to his canon as any release that preceded it."

USA TODAY: "...less a time capsule of vault remnants than a fresh summation of Bob Dylan's modern times, Tell Tale Signs reveals the 67-year-old legend at the peak of his powers, ruminating on lost love, pondering mortality and trying to make sense of a broken society...this is no museum archive. It's another side of a master songwriter and spellbinding performer."

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE: "...there had never been anything quite like Bob Dylan in the 1960s, and there's nothing quite like him today."

LOS ANGELES TIMES: "Tell Tale Signs: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 is a rich, revealing look at how this master songwriter put together one of the most dramatic creative renaissances in pop history. Tell Tale Signs is not just 'extra' Dylan. It's essential Dylan."

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: "Excitingly, Tell Tale Signs jumps decades ahead to offer an alternate history of ... the creative renaissance that started at the end of the 1980s and has been bearing fruit ever since...the generally superb Tell Tale Signs repurposes known material in simple, languid, semi-acoustic settings that hark back to '70s classics like Blood on the Tracks."

BLENDER: "Genius..."

ROLLING STONE: "...Tell Tale Signs is less an anthology than an album in its own right. It seems designed to tell a story that sharpens and expands the vista of mortal and cultural disintegration that has been the chief theme of 1997's Time Out of Mind, 2001's 'Love and Theft', and 2006's Modern Times - perhaps the most daring music he's ever made. Tell Tale Signs makes plain that Dylan knows the caprices of the world he lives in, now more than ever."

ASSOCIATED PRESS: "There had never been anything quite like Bob Dylan in the 1960s, and there's nothing quite like him today. Once he burned with revolutionary fervor, songs spilling out of a man in a hurry. Now, he's a walking history book of the United States, keeping alive stories and musical styles that might otherwise be forgotten. His work has grace and majesty, and the breadth of his late-career resurgence is better illustrated in this collection than on any of his individual albums. Tell Tale Signs is a two-disc set spanning the years 1989 to 2006, part of the ongoing official 'bootleg' series of alternate takes, unreleased tracks, random live recordings and overlooked soundtrack material. Songs are never quite done with Dylan. They're living organisms, subject to rewriting and recasting. The 'Time Out of Mind' rocker 'Mississippi' is here in two versions, each dramatically different than the one eventually released -- a solo acoustic take and one where the band sounds adrift on a Southern summer afternoon. Dylan also leaves you shaking your head at songs somehow left on the cutting room floor, like the gorgeous 'Red River Shore' or adventurous 'Dreamin' of You.' The set closes with the stately beauty of 'Cross the Green Mountain,' a mostly-forgotten song written for the soundtrack of a Civil War movie. It sends shivers, both for the music and precisely written lyrics true to the times. For Bob Dylan, these are outtakes. Most musicians would call them their greatest hits."

More Fall Tour Dates -- Pre-Sale Info

bobdylan.com — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 16:49:04 -0500

We are happy to announce Bob Dylan's Fall 2008 tour of Canada and the U.S.

The concert dates have been published on the bobdylan.com Live and In Person! page.

New show just announced for Oneonta, New York on November 19. Pre-sale tickets will go on sale on Wednesday, October 22.

Be sure to take advantage of bobdylan.com's exclusive pre-sale offer for the very best seats in the house! Don't you dare miss it!

Bob Dylan's Poetry Featured in The New Yorker

bobdylan.com — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 10:45:40 -0500

The September 22 issue of The New Yorker features two poems by Bob Dylan:

17 and 22.

These poems will be published in November in a new book, Hollywood Foto-Rhetoric:The Lost Manuscript, with text by Bob Dylan and photographs by Barry Feinstein.

Dreamin' Of You video -- watch now!

bobdylan.com — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 11:26:42 -0500

Visit Amazon.com to watch the new video for Bob Dylan's "Dreamin' Of You", featuring the legendary Harry Dean Stanton.

Novelty

bobdylan.com — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 10:26:11 -0500

Bob Dylan and his band have been mixing up the set lists quite a bit on their U.S. tour.

In Snowmass tonight, the exquisite Simple Twist of Fate. A few nights ago in Tulsa, the always devastating Positively 4th Street. In Little Rock, they played Shooting Star and This Wheel's On Fire, and this tour's powerful pair, John Brown and Masters of War. A couple of nights earlier in Evansville, Not Dark Yet and It's All Over Now, Baby Blue were performed.

At this point, it's hard to predict what will happen when the band hits the stage!

Follow the tour's set lists on the bobdylan.com Tour page and click on the set list links to see the set lists and to read comments on the shows by genuine eyewitnesses.

Were you at the show? Please write a review and click the "I WAS THERE" button.

Midwest Sojourn

bobdylan.com — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 21:39:46 -0500

Bob Dylan and his band played Cincinnati Friday, Elizabeth Saturday, and Sunday in Evansville, Indiana.

Cincinnati was treated to old favorites like The Times They Are A-Changin' and Just Like A Woman and some modern classics from "Time Out of Mind" and "Love and Theft": Love Sick, High Water, and Honest With Me.

Elizabeth's Caesars hit the jackpot with Visions of Johanna and The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, always highlights for dedicated listeners.

Marty Rosen's Elizabeth review from the Courier-Journal.

Evansville fans have already submitted some very favorable comments. Here's what fpontin had to say:

"It was an outstanding concert, in a great venue. The band was in top-form, the live versions of Stuck Inside a Mobile, I believe in you, Thunder on the mountain and Not Dark Yet were highlights of the concert, and the encore with a very loud version of All Along the Watchtower was something else.
It was totally worth it to travel some 400 miles to watch Dylan, and though his voice is really low in this tour, I don't think it compromised the quality of the show at all - actually, I believe it added a more bluesy feeling to most of the songs; at times it reminded me of John Lee Hooker or Wolf."

Bob Dylan and Hohner Announce Historic Collaboration

bobdylan.com — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 14:55:39 -0500

The Hohner company and Bob Dylan are proud to announce the Bob Dylan Collection of hand-signed harmonicas, celebrating the accomplishments and legacy of both Bob Dylan and Hohner. Hohner has manufactured and distributed musical instruments since 1857, making it one of the world’s oldest musical instrument makers.

See the Hohner site for more information.

Along the Border: Canandaigua to Hamilton

bobdylan.com — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:09:23 -0500

Bob Dylan and his band played in Canandaigua, New York, tonight... a regular stop over the past decade, just a hundred miles from Niagara Falls. Lots of unusual choices tonight including "Under The Red Sky," "This Wheel's On Fire," and "Shooting Star", and the sadly resonant pair of songs from the early 1960's, "Masters of War" and "John Brown".

Next stop: Hamilton, Ontario, on Wednesday night...this tour's only stop across the border.

Foxwoods to Atlantic City

bobdylan.com — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 06:31:45 -0500

Bob Dylan's tour hit the felt at Foxwoods last night and brought out some low-odds rarities: Chimes of Freedom and I Believe In You.

The following night in Atlantic City brought more rare choices, including Lenny Bruce and Visions of Johanna.

A report from the field at Foxwoods, from a longtime correspondent and rather discriminating fan:
"The show was at a very high level and stayed there. Bob's voice was very good, the sound in the venue was superior, and the crowd surprisingly was very excited and into it for a casino crowd... Chimes of Freedom was tremendous. I Believe In You was a real great surprise as well. Right after Til' I Fell In Love With You, Tony, Bob, and Stu huddled together at the keyboard. Nettie Moore followed and was very passionately sung. Whatever they decided probably pertained to the next song which was Thunder On The Mountain to close the main set...Bob was not laughing or being playful like in Philadelphia or Asbury Park but was in a good mood. ... It was a really wonderful show which was one where you didn't know what song was coming next and the ones that came featured some great songs."

Another great Foxwoods report from Blues Booze Books and Bobs.

The Atlantic City Weekly covers the Borgata show.

Bob Dylan in Asbury Park

bobdylan.com — Wed, 13 Aug 2008 22:10:45 -0500

Another night, another first: Bob Dylan and his band played last night in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

No, he did not sing "Tweeter and the Monkey Man", but the set list was a fine mixture of old favorites and tunes from his most recent albums.

Patti Smith was in attendance, as were Bruce Springsteen and Patti Scialfa, just before the E Street Band resumed their epic tour in Jacksonville, Florida.

Brooklyn Like Never Before

bobdylan.com — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 22:34:47 -0500

Bob Dylan and his band played Brooklyn's Prospect Park last night, his first concert ever in what may be New York City's greatest borough. He's certainly never played so close to Montague Street.

A couple of reviews:
Nate Chinen in the New York Times
Jesse Jarnow in the Village Voice

TELL TALE SIGNS: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8.

kevin — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 02:20:48 -0500

Preorder 'TELL TALE SIGNS: The Bootleg Series Vol. 8.' Learn more about the album and see a track listing at the same link.

The two-CD, 27-song set, out Oct. 7, contains previously unreleased studio recordings, demos, alternate takes, live tracks and rarities spanning 1989 to 2006, a rich period that generated the lauded Time Out of Mind, Love and Theft, Modern Times and Oh Mercy. A third 12-track disc is part of a limited-edition deluxe set in a hard slipcase with a hardcover book with photos of all of Dylan's singles. The 27-song version also will be issued in a limited-edition four-LP set.

Read USA Today's article about Tell Tale Signs and see a video of Bob Dylan's 1993 performance of "Ring Them Bells" at the Supper Club in New York City.