Bob Dylan
Modern Times

THE REVIEW

2006, in our Vulgar Era, dominated by groups mimicking the mythical sixties and seventies and by unbearable singers, a star that has brightened the musical firmament for 44 years awakens from a 5-year slumber... and the results will live up to expectations...

Bob Dylan, one of the greatest legends of the second half of the '900, at 66 decides to challenge himself again... anyone who thinks that after a career full of successes and recognitions, he has decided to rest on his laurels, will have to think again after listening to this album. To appreciate this new album by the minstrel, one needs to take some time, accompany it with a good glass of wine, and let it mature in our hearts. Imagine the aristocratic salons of the '50s, nobles and ladies dancing, and you will have the atmosphere of "Modern Times." From the days when Bob wandered through the Cafés of Greenwich Village and played in various clubs, including the famous Gaslight of Van Ronk, many springs have passed, but also many autumns and long winters... yet it seems that since 1997, spring has returned to illuminate the minstrel's path.

The album begins with "Thunder On The Mountain", a blues that could have been released in 1950, perhaps from an album by the late Muddy Waters. The song is well constructed around a predominantly blues guitar riff. The rhythm is compelling, although the listener may remain indifferent to the more roots-oriented tracks like the aforementioned and various "Rollin and Tumblin" (great vocal interpretation in the most driven track of the album, on the edge between blues and hard rock), or "Someday Baby", or "The Levee's Gonna Break", a great blues built on a simple and essential melodic base... At regular intervals, among the more blues-oriented songs, ballads of unaltered sweetness and depth emerge from the now hoarse vocal timbre of Ours, but instead made even deeper by his voice, torn and ravaged by the years and vices. Bob first transports us to a festive and joyful atmosphere, but then brings us back to the harsh reality of life, strewn with misfortunes and fears, with his mournful ballads. However, hope, which must guide man's life, resurfaces at various points and allows us to dream... The atmosphere in the ballads is dark, but not claustrophobic. The light is visible, even if it is intermittent and discontinuous... like our lives, after all.

Tracks like "Workingman Blues#2" or "Nettie Moore" dig a deep furrow in our hearts and with their simplicity manage to warm it. These two tracks can be counted among Bob's classics and would not look out of place, believe me, even next to "Just Like A Woman". The last track, "Ain't Talkin", serves as a farewell to this album and delivers Bob Dylan and his rhythmic poetry to eternity. I leave the rest of the songs for you to discover... hoping that the hour spent together with Bob may also illuminate your path...

As Bob's aunt said in "Chronicles vol.1"... "Happiness isn’t on the road to anything.... happiness is the road".... but she hadn't reckoned with a nephew who opened the doors of Paradise for many...