Modern Times (2006)
1. Thunder on the Mountain
2. Spirit on the Water
3. Rollin' and Tumblin'
4. When the Deal Goes Down
5. Someday Baby
6. Workingman's Blues #2
7. Beyond the Horizon
8. Nettie More
9. The Levee's Gonna Break
10.Ain't Talkin'
 
Somehow, some way, Dylan manages to
again top himself on this latter day release. Following in the footsteps of the
enormously successful Love and Theft,
which, consequently, followed another latter day masterpiece Time Out of Mind, he keeps finding new
ways to enthrall his fans, the critics and maybe even newer audiences
not quite familiar with his work. After all, it seemed a bit ironic,
yet justified, when the first track Thunder on the Mountain was
used by Apple as an Ipod commercial. The further irony is there isn't
anything "modern" at all about this record. Viewing the CD cover, this
looks like a snap from an album cover circa early 1960's or so, and
whereas the music doesn't sound like early Dylan, it does sound like
he's copying the big band influences that were popular at the time.
And that's what this mainly is - a big bandish, very loose jazz album. The
music is impeccable, the singing is definitely Dylan, and the style is
immediately embraceable. With its rollicking big jazz band sound, some
naysayers may argue that this just isn't their style of music, yet since
the quality is so overwhelmingly good, it's hard to imagine how anyone
couldn't immediately fall in love with this record. The mood is
joyous, the feel so happy and the sound was just made for dancing - the
kind of dancing your grandparents would enjoy. It's almost as if
you could go back to the early day's of Dylan in the sixties and try to
guess what he and his music would sound like had you known he
would still be pushing on some forty odd years later. Again, though,
he's not really going back to his roots, he's just letting loose in a
brand new, yet very user-friendly way.
Lyrically, this album is a hoot as well. Long gone are the harsh
political messages, in their place is just a regular old guy close to
the age where he's able to collect social security - and he's singing
about the everyman - at least the everyman who plays music for a living.
Not the multi mega rich star, you understand, but the beaten down guy
that sounds as though he may be homeless, yet finds paradise every time
he picks up an acoustic guitar. This is the persona here. He does
change things up quite a bit on each song. You always feel as though
you're listening to something fresh, something exuberant, and you never
tire of the spontaneity of the album - even with some of the tracks
running over six minutes in length.
There have been several Dylan albums throughout his career (most of them
actually) that probably will always be just for his select, yet large,
fan base. Every now and then, though, Dylan manages to put out a
release that would be immediately accessible to anyone who happened to
give it a listen. This is definitely such an album. And more people
were listening, too. After all, it went all the way to the top of
the charts.
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