Bob Dylan
Together Through Life

He's back. Robert Allen Zimmerman has returned three years after "Modern Times" with a great album. The years can be felt, his voice is hoarse and rough, but Bob is aware of this and for a long time now, he has shaped his new sound around his vocal characteristics. Despite the terrible title (what is all this cliché, Bob?!?) that made me think a bit poorly of it, this work is really excellent. Dylan continues his project of rediscovering the roots of American music and with this album, he makes a significant leap forward, finding a sound even more "old-style" compared to "Modern Times".

The album starts with the lead single "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'", a nice track, built (like many, too many recent songs from the Duluth minstrel) on the classic blues progression I-IV-V. A beginning that gives hope, and after that, there are only confirmations, like "Life Is Hard", a ballad (the whole album is composed of "heart-wrenching love songs," Bob says) with lyrics perhaps a bit below the average of Our classics, but age is what it is and we can't demand, because it wouldn't be fair, for him to write us more masterpiece lyrics like "Desolation Row". The third track I consider one of the best on the album, "My Wife's Home Town" has a bluesy sound that you can't help but shake your hips when you hear it. Fantastic swing. The 4th track, "If You Ever Go To Houston", is somewhat conditioned by the accordion loop that repeats the same throughout the piece, which can be boring on the first listen, but is appreciated after many listens despite the monotony, or perhaps because of it. "Forgetful Heart" is a bit below average, it's still a good track, but it's certainly not one of the album's crown jewels. Among the most beautiful, on the other hand, is "Jolene", with a guitar theme that responds to the voice very, very beautifully, one of the happiest tracks on the album that puts a smile on your face that you can't wipe off. "This Dream Of You" (the only song written solely by Bob Dylan) is a "canonical" love song, nothing exceptional.

Excellence is found in the next track "Shake Shake Mama": the best on the album. When Bob sings that phrase that I still haven't figured out with all the words ending in -less (yes, okay, it's not very professional to say, but what can I do, I don't understand what he's saying) it's Oscar-worthy. Here too, the groove reigns supreme. Then there's "I Feel A Change Comin' On"; what are you doing, Bob, are you trying with a "The Times They're A Changin'" n.2?? I don't know if that was the goal, but the result is fantastic, a great ballad. Then there's another great track "It's All Good", which closes the album, with its style between the ballad and the swinging blues song, in the best possible way. Final trio to die for.

Despite the repetition of the usual compositional styles, blues progression above all, it's a very beautiful album, far superior to "Time Out Of Mind" (an overrated album) and with a more '20s sound, as the fantastic artwork also demonstrates. Buy it, it's worth it.