Published on Jun 12, 1999
Knowing the wide range of readership we have out there in
cyberspace, there has to be someone out there who knows Bob Dylan.
If you’re that person, do me a favor: tell him to log on and check
out this review, or print it out and send it to him. There’s
something I’ve gotta say to him. Trust me; you’ll understand soon
enough.
I don’t think there is any artist out there – with the exception
of Vanilla Ice – who takes so much abuse from music fans as Dylan
has. People for years have ridiculed Dylan’s singing style as so
much mumbling. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone who doesn’t have
their own Bob Dylan impersonation, each one usually more cruel than
the other one. Even I’ve done this, though I’ll be the first to
admit I’ve not listened to a good portion of his catalog. After
seeing Dylan’s appearance on the 1998 Grammies – complete with that
“Soy Bomb” asshole – my opinion of his performances didn’t change
all that much.
But my way of thinking has changed thanks to Huston Combs, who
was auctioning a set of five Dylan tapes on eBay that I happened to
win. Out of curiosity, I grabbed one of the tapes the other day –
Dylan’s 1997 release (and 1998 Grammy winner for “Album Of The
Year”)
Time Out Of Mind – and decided to let the music speak for
itself.
And, Bob, if you’re reading, allow me to state publicly… I
take back any negative thing I’ve ever said about your vocal
abilities and apologize to you, and I won’t do any more bad
imitations of you singing anymore.
Time Out Of Mind proves that your vocal clarity is
incredible, and that you rightfully deserved the Grammy for what
could be the best album of your career.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that Dylan is not the most
polished vocalist out there, and that as the years have passed,
there has been a rougher edge to his singing. But I think that
could be said for anyone who sings as a living; even as much as I
loved Jerry Garcia’s work, his vocal style just before his death in
1995 wasn’t the same as it was in 1970. Besides, a more gruff sound
to Dylan’s vocals occasionally seems to be the best touch for the
songs.
But Dylan proves early on – as well as throughout
Time Out Of Mind – that the reputation of being a mumbling
singer might not be warranted. Each word, from the opening lines of
“Love Sick” to the fades of “Highlands”, rings out strongly and
clearly, punctuating the sad reserve that Dylan puts forth as the
protagonist of this group of songs.
Easily the most beautiful moment on this album is the track
“Make You Feel My Love,” a song that I am honestly surprised wasn’t
released as a single. Who knows, maybe someone in charge of
creating soundtracks for movies has fallen in love with this and
wants to put it in the next Tom Hanks-Meg Ryan smoochfest – though
this track deserves a slightly better fate. Something inside me
says that I’ve heard this song before, but Dylan does such a
beautiful job on this, that it doesn’t really matter.
Dylan seems to be fascinated with certain portions of life on
Time Out Of Mind, namely falling in and out of love (“Love
Sick,” “Standing In The Doorway,” “‘Til I Fell In Love With You”)
and religion (“Tryin’ To Get To Heaven”), which seems to suggest
that Dylan has put into practice – without getting into outright
preaching – the lessons he learned as a family man and in his
born-again Christian phase. (We’ll get to those albums in his
discography soon enough.)
The only criticism I could level against
Time Out Of Mind is that there are one or two times where it
feels like Dylan drags the song past its logical conclusion.
“Standing In The Doorway” is one such song that could have
benefitted from dropping a verse or three; by the time it wraps up,
I found that I had lost some interest in what had started out to be
a great track. The same thing could be said for “Highlands,” though
it’s not as strong of a track as “Standing In The Doorway”.
When Dylan won the “Album Of The Year” for
Time Out Of Mind, I found myself shouting at the television,
“What were you people
thinking?” At least I now know what motivated their decision
– and I know they chose well.
Time Out Of Mind is an album that restores my belief that
Dylan is still an influential artist in today’s music scene, and is
a must-own addition to anyone’s collection.
Update: I
knew I heard that song somewhere before! “Make You Feel My
Love” was featured in the movie
Hope Floats, sung by Garth Brooks. Well, maybe someone can
feature Dylan’s version in a better movie. Thanks to the official
Bob Dylan Web site for being my guide to this information.