…We all wear the same thorny crown… Perhaps the most striking aspect of Modern Times is its lyrical and emotional clarity. The lyrics of 2001’s Love And Theft, like so many Dylan albums before it, featured often wildly allusive patterns of reference. But here the songs are carefully constructed to convey specific emotions and themes...
BOB DYLAN: Rollin’ And Tumblin’
..I’ve been conjuring up all these long dead souls from their crumblin’ tombs… And so the thoughts revolve around the poet’s mind. He’s been up all night. Sleep has been impossible. He sits on the edge of the bed, watching the young woman sleeping, her luxuriant dark hair tossed across her face. He...
BOB DYLAN: Spirit On The Water
After the apocalyptic thunder subsides, a soft, jazzy shuffle takes us back to the beginning of all things: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was on the surface of the deep. God’s Spirit was hovering over the surface of the waters. God said,...
BOB DYLAN: Thunder On The Mountain
…Everybody got to wonder What’s the matter with this cruel world today… MODERN TIMES begins, as it ends, in an apocalyptic landscape. The earth itself is in tumult. Volcanoes, hurricanes and whirlwinds scour the land. The power is cut. It’s like Hell’s Kitchen. Everything is broken. Hot stuff everywhere. For the singer, the writing is...