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Rating:
THE REVIEW
'Modern Times' is an album sometimes boring, sometimes wonderful.
We are not facing a Dylan masterpiece of the level of 'Blood On The Tracks', 'Blonde On Blonde' or 'Highway 61'. The new work instead joins other good albums of the minstrel, for example, 'Infidels', 'Slow Train Coming', or 'Street Legal'. It starts with Thunder on the Mountain, a pleasant rockabilly prank that, however, never fully engages the listener. Rollin' and Tumblin', predictable and repetitive, is a country 'n' roll of a washed-up cowboy, far from the levels of our artist. The same fate for the tedious and soporific Someday Baby, a bit Lee Hooker, a bit Allman Brothers Band. A blend of memories not too sharp.
The Levee's Gonna Break stands out for its dry and apt lyrics, but as for music, we’re not there. The times of 'Maggie's Farm' or 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' are truly far, when our artist strummed marvelously. But when the wheels of the old Dylan start to slow down, then it's a whole different music. Spirit On The Water is a soft ballad embellished by a refined jazzy accompaniment that gives it a retro and "proper" touch. When the deal goes down rests on a sweet and melancholic melody that closely resembles the intimate but depressed atmospheres of Time Out of Mind (Standing in the Doorway).
But the heart of the album consists of three songs of great talent and depth, worthy of the character in question. The flat Workingman's Blues II, which pierces unerringly the heart of the listener if they have a heart for music. It rightfully enters among the classics of the singer-songwriter. Ain't Talkin', which crowns the end of the album like a cathedral in the arid desert of the music of our "modern times". It is difficult to listen to music like this today and Bob knows it well.
Finally, the best song of the album: Nettie Moore. A beautiful piece that soars thanks to one of the most beautiful melodic openings of the Dylanian repertoire.
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Summary by Bot
The review sees 'Modern Times' as a mixed album, not reaching Dylan's greatest classics but containing notable songs like 'Workingman’s Blues II', 'Ain’t Talkin’', and 'Nettie Moore'. While some tracks feel repetitive and less engaging, the album still reflects Dylan's enduring talent and touches of jazz and rockabilly. It offers a blend of nostalgia and fresh elements, appealing to fans familiar with his work.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Bob Dylan
American singer-songwriter Robert Allen Zimmerman, known as Bob Dylan, is a major figure in 20th-century popular music, noted for pioneering songwriting and continual reinvention across folk, rock, country and blues.127 Reviews
Other reviews
By Dune Buggy
We will always be there to love Dylan because he is Dylan, and that’s enough for us.
His voice is like a mud formed in the tradition, it slipped through the decades, has smeared a bit of everything, and we like to know that it still stains.
By jackpizzello
Undoubtedly a good album, very homogeneous that alternates more rock moments... with more relaxed and refined ones.
Dylan’s voice, always a bit nasal and croaky, but this time warmer, hoarse, and understandable.
By Viva Lì
"Modern Times is an album that exalts the spirit of the American working class and contains an impressive sequence of musical and cinematic references."
"Even today you are one of the few songwriters who strives to record music genuinely, without too many synthesizers or vocal modifiers."
By ibelluca91
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.
Tracks like 'Workingman Blues#2' or 'Nettie Moore' dig a deep furrow in our hearts and with their simplicity manage to warm it.
By Hungry
‘Ain’t talkin’… with a bleak tango rhythm accompanying the bitter reflections of a man who feels he has not reached the existential happiness he would have liked to achieve.
‘Thunder on the mountain’ is a surprising piece, only a genius can rewrite a modern Johnny B. Goode, without plagiarizing it.
