Discussion Forums
Subject: Bob Dylan 'Modern Times'
Prev Next
You are not authorized to post a reply.
AuthorMessages
GarUser is Offline
CLUAS Forum Junkie
CLUAS Forum Junkie
Posts:1676

29 Aug 2006 3:07 PM  
Just wanted to start a thread about Dylan's latest album. I reckon it's his best album in years. Anybody like or dislike his new album?
UnicronUser is Offline
CLUAS Forum Junkie
CLUAS Forum Junkie
Posts:1679

29 Aug 2006 4:21 PM  
Read a thing on NME.com yesterday where he was bemoaning the quality of records in the past 20 years. He certainly hasn't come out with a really great one in about 3 decades.
GarUser is Offline
CLUAS Forum Junkie
CLUAS Forum Junkie
Posts:1676

29 Aug 2006 4:33 PM  
He has now with this new one.
Vandal_with_HandleUser is Offline
Getting Into It Member
Getting Into It Member
Posts:23

29 Aug 2006 5:38 PM  
Love and Theft is a brilliant album and he released that 5 years ago. Time Out of Mind (1997) is a great record too. He has been in creative resurgence for the last 10 years. His live performances are gone to hell, but the man can still write great songs.
GarUser is Offline
CLUAS Forum Junkie
CLUAS Forum Junkie
Posts:1676

29 Aug 2006 5:47 PM  
Yeah, his last two albums were really good. This new album has a more immediate feel to it that the previous two didn't. Really recommend anyone picking it up.
stephenUser is Offline
Busy Member
Busy Member
Posts:190

30 Aug 2006 12:29 AM  
I bought this and listened to it last night. To me, a first impression of an album is just as worthy and interesting as a long term appraisal. So here goes... in a nutshell, I did not find the tunes and melodies interesting enough to sustain the sheer volume of verse / length of lyric. Now I know this is Dylan's oeuvre, but I did find my finger hovering over the Fwd button on my remote on a few occasions. To me, at least 6 of these songs did not cope with extension up to and past the 6 minute mark. There is a notable exclusion - Workingman's Blues #2 should weave its way into Dylan's canon of classics. It clearly is an album that requires digestion and cogitation and I will be giving it more love and attention over the coming weeks.
blacksheepUser is Offline
Getting Into It Member
Getting Into It Member
Posts:50

30 Aug 2006 3:26 AM  
My first impressions are that this is an album worthy of Dylans canon but not a masterpiece.The problem for me is the band.They're ....meek!Maybe I'll get used to them but they're nowhere near Dylans Love & Theft band who were absolutely smokin'. Anyhows Bob is on form vocally & lyrically with early standouts being Nettie Moore,When the Deal Goes Down,Workingmans blues #2 & Ain't Talkin'. Musical & Cultural touchstones would be Chuck Berry,Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker,Judy Garland,Frank Sinatra,Merle Haggard,Charlie Chaplin,New Orleans,Travel,Lust,Violence & Alicia Keys. Modern Times indeed!
PolUser is Offline
Busy Member
Busy Member
Posts:114

30 Aug 2006 9:10 AM  
Easy now !!His live performances are amazing ,saw him last year .i was nearly in tears of joy

''I had black coffee and apple pie with a slice of melted yellow cheese. I think that was a good selection. ''
MullyUser is Offline
Insanely Busy Member
Insanely Busy Member
Posts:846

08 Sep 2006 8:41 AM  
Bob Dylan has hit the top of the US album charts for the first time in 30 years. Modern Times is Dylan's third consecutive top 10 album, but his first chart-topper since 1976's Desire.
miwadiUser is Offline
Getting Into It Member
Getting Into It Member
Posts:48

08 Sep 2006 1:44 PM  
I have to agree that the music rather than the lyrics is/are the weak link. I think the tunes themselves are there or there abouts and with a good band and "Oh Mercy" type atmosphere or production it would be a great album. L. Cohens last few albums are great examples of making the best of somewhat ordinary melodies, so that the album holds your interest and copes with sustained listening.
bonzoUser is Offline
Very Busy Member
Very Busy Member
Posts:385

08 Sep 2006 5:10 PM  
Like the shame and social repulsion caused by a person claiming not to be a lover of Johnny Cash, I'm weary of saying this but I must: I hate Bob Dylan's music. Never saw the appeal.
alioUser is Offline
Starting Member
Starting Member
Posts:9

10 Sep 2006 1:13 PM  
i think the albums great... some parts a bloody marvellous. but i agree that some songs struggle to hold my complete attention. The band playing with him are dead solid but sometime seem to be playing auto pilot blues.. lyrically the songs are some of his best ever. Ive listened to the album regularily since its release and i havnt got weary of anything on it yet... oh and does anyone else think that the melody at the very beginning of working mans blues smacks a bit of the total eclipse of the heart... maybe my ears are playin tricks on me... bloody brillaint song though
PeejayUser is Offline
Very Busy Member
Very Busy Member
Posts:339

11 Sep 2006 3:43 PM  
quote:
Originally posted by aliosometime seem to be playing auto pilot blues..
Well put, and unfortunately there's too much dull blues on the album. I think the whole things a bit of a let down, just like the Dylan show I saw a few months back in the Point. The band he had a few years ago featuring the guitar duo of Charlie Sexton and Larry Campbell were capable, original, and more importantly, subtle musicians. The guitarists he has at the moment remind of those boring recycled blues riffs I hear from pub-blues bands. Workingmans Blues #2 is a beaut, but on the whole its a disappointment. He's needs a change, I think. This rockin-blues/Bing Crosby crooner shtick is getting old.
GarUser is Offline
CLUAS Forum Junkie
CLUAS Forum Junkie
Posts:1676

11 Sep 2006 4:29 PM  
Bing Crosby? Think you've been listening to the wrong album mate.
ctrlaltdeleteUser is Offline
Busy Member
Busy Member
Posts:269

11 Sep 2006 4:46 PM  
In fairness the record does sound like a 40s radio show. Rockabilly, 12 bar blues, watlzes, ballads, are all in there. I enjoy it, but it definately sounds like a period piece.
PeejayUser is Offline
Very Busy Member
Very Busy Member
Posts:339

11 Sep 2006 4:57 PM  
quote:
Originally posted by Gar
Bing Crosby? Think you've been listening to the wrong album mate.
Thats the general feeling I get from songs like Bye and Bye, Po' Boy, Workingmans Blues etc - Light-jazz crooners. And who's the king of light-jazz crooners? Bing.
You are not authorized to post a reply.
Forums >Discussion & Debate >The Soap Box > Bob Dylan 'Modern Times'