Bob Dylan - Tempest
- By Sam Herbert -
- Sep 13, 2012
In some ways writing a Bob Dylan album review is a thankless task; there are the fans who will unerringly proclaim that every Dylan album is a triumph, the equally staunch groups of doubters who feel he’s past it and never recovered from his dip into holy waters, then there are the newcomers who will most likely become fans by listening to 'Highway 61', 'Blonde on Blonde' or 'Blood on the Tracks' before hearing the rasping squawks of Dylan’s voice on his more recent LPs. He also probably doesn’t give two cents to what an obscure writer across the pond thinks of 'Tempest', his 35th album, but then he never did really care what anyone thought.
But 50 years on from his first Dylan shows that his fire still burns bright, even if his voice doesn’t. As he growls on 'Early Roman Kings', "I ain’t dead yet, my bell still rings."
Musically Tempest has the same blend of expertly constructed blues, folk, rockabilly and western as all of his albums have had since 2001’s 'Love & Theft'. Dylan’s voice has been shot for a while now, as anyone who’s seen him live recently can attest, where guessing the song over his gravelly rasp is becoming increasingly difficult. Yet his old snarl suits the blues. None more so than on 'Tin Angel', a track with a shuffling, sinister backing which has Dylan at his raging best as a tale of murder and revenge unfolds; "it would take more than needle and thread, bleeding from the mouth he’s as good as dead."
'Duquesne Whistle' breezes in with a country swoon before it launches into a bluesy number with a bit more swing and a bit more punch. It seems that something has angered Bob considering the video has him stalking the streets of an American suburb, mob in tow, as some poor chap is dealt a thrashing. And an angry Dylan can only be a good thing. Fuelled by this, his lyrics, and let’s face it they’re the primary reason for listening to Dylan, are bold, fun and vitriolic, something which was missing on his last studio album, 'Together Through Life'.
The driving rocky blues of 'Pay In Blood' has Dylan enjoying himself with his sneering snarl taking on a mobster-like menace that would put Tony Soprano to shame; ‘the more I take, the more I give, the more I die, the more I live,’ and ‘I pay in blood but not my own.’ It’s a devilish ditty that shows that Dylan hasn’t lost any of the venomous contempt that made Mr Jones quake in his boots. But to compare Tempest to anything from the time of 'Ballad of a Thin Man' would be foolish – it wouldn’t do justice to either era – and would detract from what is largely a brilliant return to form.
On 'Modern Times' Dylan was ‘thinking ‘bout Alicia Keys,’ this time round he’s name checking Leonardo DiCaprio on the title track, a 14-minute ode to the Titanic in the guise of an Irish-tinged country waltz. It’s hard to imagine someone else taking on such a task, particularly once you realise that the song spans 45 verses. But after all these years that’s why Dylan’s still in a league of his own when it comes to writing verse.
It’s a shame that, sentiment aside, the one song that doesn’t quite hit the heights is 'Roll On, John' – a late tribute to his friend, John Lennon - with lines like ‘I heard the news today, oh boy’ and ‘come together right now over me’ it’s a tender lyrical tribute, but musically it drifts and lacks resonance.
At 71 Dylan’s voice might sound more like a bark but with Tempest he shows the bite’s still as strong as ever.
8/10
By Sam Herbert. Tweets at @herbert_sam
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