Sunday, October 12, 2008

Tell Tale Signs



A new Bob Dylan album is a blessed and anxious event inside my head. On one hand, IT'S A NEW BOB DYLAN ALBUM! On the other, Dylan isn't always the most accessible creature. Even with his newfound mainstream-iness and approachability, the man's works remain deep, nigh-imprenetrable. It has taken me years to appreciate some of Dylan's songs. There are many others I just to this day don't get.


So, a new Bob Dylan album. A collection of so-called bootlegs. And it is divine.


Marchin' to the City is worth the price of admission. From the moment it starts, spare piano and a weary singer "lookin' for nothin' in anyone's eyes" you know this will be a treat. There's a pretty girl, she'd done the man wrong, the lost hopes of "drinking from life's clear streams" and "dreaming life's sweet dreams." All big, powerful, and yet tender and small and, like so much of Dylan's great works, so human.


Add in The Lonesome River and Red River Shore, this album is over the top. Get it!