Bob Dylan, Modern Times

This album rocks from the first track with "Thunder On the Mountain" with it's smooth guitar licks and popping vocals and progresses to country boogie. He's back with his crazy lyrics, "I could suck the milk out of a thousand cows."

These are "take your time" reflections of life songs. Every song but one is over five minutes long and one ( Ain't Talkin') even clocks in at eight minutes and forty eight seconds. Without credits on the CD jacket I don't know if that Dylan's piano playing at the beginning of "Working Man's Blues #2" but it probably is. My favorite is the jazzy vocal on "When The Deal Goes Down."

In my opinion the album is a mix of blues with a touch of a jazz beat a la Tom Waits - and throw in a country ballad with "Beyond the Horizon."How about "The Levee Is Gonna Break" has the voice of an old tradition blues number with a new arrangement. I was surprised to read that it was just written by Dylan for this album. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong.)

I probably first became a Dylan fan the first time I heard Peter Paul and Mary singing "Blowin' In the Wind." It was that lyric which I couldn't get out of my head: "how many roads must a man walk down before they call him a man." I was twelve years old the first time I heard the song. It never occurred to me it could be about civil rights, I just thought the image of a man walking down many roads was cool. What a dummy I was! But today I can interpret those lyrics in so many ways.

I believe Dylan is a icon of our generation - but he bridges generations. The spirit of Woody Guthrie rose into him at their meeting so many years ago in that hospital room. He became bigger and better than his mentor. His lyrics spoke beyond generations, but applied to every generation. "Masters of War" was not only relevant to the Vietnam generation, but can be applied just as well to the current Iraq War. His words are timeless.

Anyway, Check it out. Peace, PHIL