772 Bob Dylan - Love and Theft (2001)

 772 Bob Dylan - Love and Theft (2001)

Studio Album - Blues/Jazz




About the Act:

Bob Dylan is a singer/songwriter/artist who is one of the most influential and successful songwriters in the world ever. He has had an enormous cultural impact, especially in his native America. He started in 1961 as a folk singer coming out of the beat generation, and annoyed a lot of his fans when he embraced electric instruments in 1965/6. He toured and recorded with his band "The Band". He explored country music in the early 70s, became a Born-Again Christian in the late 70s and produced several Christian-related albums. His career has meandered a bit since then but he is still active.

About the Album:

This was his 31st studio album, and the first recorded with a new band, the Never Ending Road Tour Band.

My History with this Album:

None

Review:

This is Bob Dylan, so the defining characteristics are his voice, which at this stage in his career sounds like he hasn't cleared his throat in 20 years, and so is full of gargling phlegm, and somewhat gravelly. Hi is less nasal than I expected from his 60s stuff, and less sweeping around the notes, but still somewhat. The other defining characteristic is the words. He has always been regarded as one of those songwriters about whom the word "poet" could be applied, and I like the term "wordsmith". There is a diverse range of subject matter, and quite a few that could be regarded as story songs, or at least from points of view that are probably not actually his life. There is, as would be expected, a wry humour running through everything, as if it is being sung with a kind of crooked smile. There are some good turns of phrase.

So, the other major aspect to talk about is the musical style. If you only know of Bob Dylan's early folk output, then you might be surprised by this. Roughly half of the songs could be described as Blues, although there is significant variation within that, including proper 12-bar blues, and some Rock and Roll, and even Rockabilly, and one possibly Bluegrass. The other half are really vocal jazz, the kind of thing that would not be out of place sung by Frank Sinatra, or, well if I say they are like Winter Wonderland, maybe you'll get the idea.

 In general the arrangements are rich and full. The band are excellent, well-played and strong. Compared to some bands, very professional, rather than emotionally invested, which gives the album a laconic feel which suits the songs to be honest.

I liked it, I could listen to it again. The strongest feature is the song writing (no surprise there) and my favourite track was the first one, Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum.

7.3/10


Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/4BcfuxQ4EO07Y53yr6YhAJ

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLJa9tNjcs3vKaMOl-VHhLfl1sAXvcUbP2

Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Love_and_Theft_(Bob_Dylan_album)



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990)

Image
 840 Various Artists - The Best of Girl Groups Volumes 1 and 2 (1990) Compilation (double) - Girl Group (Soul/Bobby Soxer/Do-Wop) About the Album: This is a highly acclaimed compilation in 2CDs by Rhino Records. It's the sort of thing that in this country you might expect to see at 3.99 in a Garden Centre. My History with this Album: None Review: There are not many multi-artist compilations in this series for reviewing. There is not information about it on Wikipedia, but the reception seems to have been positive. It is choc-full of hits with a smattering of lesser-known songs, and it's hard not to imagine Grease or similar situations - girls with cardigans and white socks, listening to the juke box while sipping milkshakes in the drug store. On one level it's a fun collection of songs that you could use to feel nostalgic, or as the music for a themed party. On another level it's kind of like a cultural artefact. I feel honour-bound to describe it, even though if I drop
Read more

944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001)

Image
 944 Manu Chao - Próxima Estación Esperanza (2001) Studio Album - World Music About the Act: Manu Chao is a French-Spanish musician of Spanish descent who grew up on the outskirts of Paris. In the mid-80s he was in a Spanish/English rockabilly group called Hot Pants. In 1987, with his brother and cousin he founded the band Mano Negra, combining punk and world music influences and playing on the Paris Metro. This band took off and had 4 studio albums. In 1995 Manu "went solo", forming the band Radio Bemba Sound System to be his backing band. The punk elements were less prominent, but he started to make music that "replicates the sound of street music and bar scenes from a variety of cultures". He has been really popular in parts of Europe.  About the Album: This album was Manu Chao's second studio album as a "solo" artist. In Spanish, the name means "Next Station: Hope", after a real station on the Madrid Metro. The album reached top 10 slots
Read more

591 Harry Smith, Ed. - Anthology of American Folk Music (1952)

Image
 591 Harry Smith, Ed. - Anthology of American Folk Music (1952) Compilation Album - Americana About the Act: Harry Smith is not the performer here, he is the collector. He was a film-maker, occultist, and eccentric. About the Album: Harry Smith had a collection of early 78rpm records of various "folk" styles dated from 1927 when such things first started to be commercially available to 1932 when the Great Depression put a stop to the sales of folk records. In 1947 he approached a label, Folkway Records, about releasing a collection of them transferred onto LPs. This they did in 1952, without seeking copyright permission, making this technically a bootleg. It was released as three double-LP boxed sets, and sold very poorly. In the first year it sold 50 copies, 47 to libraries and colleges. It was reissued later, and gained traction and sold better. It now has a reputation for being one of the most influential compilations in the history of Americana, and is cited as being a ma
Read more