The CD: “Modern Times” (Columbia)
Performer: Bob Dylan

Late in an artist’s career, when most would be content to rest on their laurels and coast on nostalgia, it’s rare for a musician to still be cutting loose with fresh material that shows they can still turn out vital, important work. Of course, Bob Dylan is not just any artist. He’s BOB FREAKING DYLAN!–the mad rock prophet, the poet laureate of folk music, the tunesmith messiah, author of more than a handful of the greatest songs ever written. He’s the guy who introduced the Beatles to pot, for Christ’s sake! The man could retire on any one of those accomplishments, yet he chooses to keep plugging away. And now, well into his AARP years, he has unleashed a CD that shows he’s still near the top of his game.

“Modern Times” is a collection of some of the most intelligent honky-tonk songs and ballads ever recorded. From the opening track, “Thunder On The Mountain,” which name-checks Alicia Keys, to “Spirit On The Water,” a sweet ballad that avoids turning sappy due to clever wordplay, “Modern Times” finds Dylan in a playful mood–one that he’s been hinting at more heavily since his days with the Traveling Wilburys. Many of the songs are Dylan’s takes on earlier works. “Nettie Moore” borrows from a nineteenth-century ballad. “Rollin’ And Tumblin” is a reworking of an old Muddy Waters tune. Other songs have less-obvious links to other artists, but it’s clear that Dylan is not afraid, at this point in his career, to wear his influences on his sleeve.

“The Levee’s Gonna Break” obviously reflects the Katrina debacle, but rather than preach or jerk tears, Dylan just gives us a first-person character study set during the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 with words of wisdom and a dash of apocalyptic prophesy. And it’s a bouncy little tune, too.

This album was recorded over the course of a month with Dylan’s touring band. The sound is polished and professional without being overly slick. There’s just the right amount of raggedness for the material. Dylan is in fine voice. He even drags out his “Lay Lady Lay” croon for “Spirit On The Water.” The tempo varies from driving blues shuffles, to near waltzes, to slow ponderous ballads, but never bogs down. There’s a lot of old-time Western music creeping into Dylan’s music these days. That cross-pollination works a lot better here than it does when Nashville strip mines classic rock for their hit factories.

With age, Dylan seems to be having real fun making music. “Modern Times” is a sweet, engaging work, with Dylan’s sense of humor subtly present but still very much in evidence. There are more than a few lines that will make you laugh out loud, but not until you hear them a second time.

– By Rudy Panucci

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