Bob Dylan - Love And Theft

"…Stick with me baby/ Stick with me anyhow/ Things should start to get interesting right about now…" And right he is. Bob Dylan, the most notable lonesome cowboy of the 60's, is back, gravelly voice and all, with his newest effort Love and Theft. And under the pencil-thin moustache his mouth is curling into a sly smile, because Mr. Dylan can now smirk, he can now gloat: He has made one damn fine album. Not that Bob Dylan is one to boast: Love and Theft is a charming, head-bobbing album, shaken and stirred. The melodies are finely tuned, the words are as flawless as ever, and Dylan's newest incarnation as a Delta blues man fits him like a deerskin glove, because only the weathered and the weary can caw out the blues, and Dylan is one weathered fellow… But not weary: He still encourages women to toss their panties out of flying convertible Mustangs, he's still picking on antiquated notions and making wise observations, but he's a bit more laid back about it these days. His storytelling is more bittersweet than his previous Time Out of Mind, and his voice, more rocky yet less nasal than his earlier years, proves a silky blue croon on tracks like "Sugar Baby" and "Mississippi." Dylan works a voodoo that even the darkest Trent Reznor can never tap into, and he provides a simply gorgeous album that none but a handful of today's bands can even come close to… And I use this sentence to challenge current artists to study the book of Bob and to use it as a level of which to coin their own music on, because this man, and his entire body of work, is a masterpiece, a free-standing work of art, and how many Apex Theories, Nelly Furtados, or Linkin Parks can say this? None. Zero. Zilch. Nil. Nada. Zip. (And don't chalk it up to experience: Comparing Highway 61 Revisited to Is This It? is pure sacrilege.) Mr. Oscar-Winner is definitely enjoying the over 50 lifestyle. He croons sweetly in "Moonlight", churning his poetic lyrics into a fine, silken and frolicking melody. Dylan borrows musical stylings of the 40's and 50's, rearing the album in as suddenly more American than any "Tribute to America" record yet to be marketed. Yet the songs aren't so defiantly American as they are dovetailed with the pepper and spice that makes America comfortable and recognizable. "Highwater (For Charley Patton)" chugs forward, Dylan's voice as smooth as barbwire yet still illustrating through sound the likeness of a rainy day, and the superb blues-y chords do Patton justice, (even with the low baritone voices echoing in the background.) "Honest with Me" and "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum" are rockier, with slide guitars and excellent craftsmanship: They don't so much make you want to twist and shout as they do encourage your hair to blow in the wind. "Bye and Bye" is bittersweet, with a romping 40's ballroom twist, while "Summer Days" is pure on the wrap-around porch with the pitcher of lemonade enjoyment. "Po' Boy" is a bit dragging, with some of the easiest couplets Dylan has yet to coin, but it still hearkens visions of sawmills and the realism of impoverished people that Dylan is so good at bringing to life. "Cry a While" is a dulcet melody that truly tugs at the heartstrings, but the final song of the album, "Sugar Baby", simply breaks your heart into pieces with each firm strum of the guitar and each break in Dylan's voice. Dylan's guitar has never been sweeter, his voice has never been more sugary and mild, and the whole album, thanks also in part to the virtuoso studio band Dylan hired, is magnificent and warm. As I said before, it's a treat to have Mr. Robert Zimmerman still cranking out some songs for us, but on this record, he taps into a jukebox full of Americana, and tells the story of the proletariat with more experience and a more battered suitcase than many of our greatest storytellers… Which I guess is what makes him the best, and also makes this album such an endearment. While Bob Dylan is not for everyone, this album is sure to win over a few more listeners, a few more admirers and, if the album would have its ideal way, a few more believers in the human story. [www.bobdylan.com]