Bob Dylan - Together Through Life

Bob Dylan
Together Through Life
2009 Columbia

A lot has been made of Bob Dylan’s already gravelly voice and its continuing degeneration. Despite Dylan’s recent rejuvenation, beginning with 1997’s Time Out Of Mind and continuing through this record, the one thing I keep hearing about from friends and colleagues who have heard Dylan’s recent work on tape or in concert is how awful his voice sounds. I can’t fully disagree with their sentiments, but I think a bigger transformation is occurring in Dylan’s music, and his 50-years-of-cigarettes addled voice fits perfectly with his new sound.

Together Through Life is a blues-oriented record, one that works very well because Dylan is very believable playing the old blues man who has seen it all. Dylan has dabbled in nearly every genre of music, from rock to country to folk to gospel, and there’s no doubt he’s had some practice playing the blues. But these songs work because of Dylan’s aura; Dylan truly has seen it all, and since this is a Bob Dylan record, we have no reason not to listen intently to what he has to say. His voice may be hobbled, but it’s perfect for sorrowful, regretful blues songs, and Together Through Life benefits greatly because of it.

Dylan is very reflective and contemplative on the record. On the second track, “Life is Hard”, Dylan sings; “I’m always on my guard / Admitting life is hard / Without you near me”. The lyrics are bittersweet, because where once Bob Dylan was the quintessential never look back, ever-changing person, these tracks find him longing for lost loves and lost memories. It’s not entirely new from Dylan (we’ve been seeing it more and more from him as he ages), but it’s pleasant and oddly affirming to know someone as forward-thinking as Bob Dylan looks back on things from time to time. It provides a human touch that, oddly enough, is sometimes lacking from his classic albums.

The bluesy, boozy tracks continue with “My Wife’s Home Town” and dominate much of the record. The songs are very simple and straightforward, yet strong and direct. Notes and sounds aren’t wasted; nooks and crannies aren’t delved into. There’s not a lot happening under the surface of Together Through Life, but I don’t think that’s the point of the record, either. It’s very stripped down, but very honest, and Dylan shines as the aging, wise storyteller sharing these tales.

At points, things sag a bit. “Forgetful Heart” doesn’t do much to distinguish itself from what came before it, and though songs like “Jolene” and “If You Ever Go to Houston” are nice toe-tappers, they’re not very memorable either. The album never strays too far from its blues center, but occasionally provides a surprise, like on “This Dream of You”, which would sound more at home being sung by a portly crooner at an Italian restaurant. “Shake Shake Mama” follows, which nicely comes out of left field and provides a little tempo for the back side of the record.

Something Dylan has learned to do nicely in his later years is the sunny love song, done wonderfully with “Spirit on the Water” on Modern Times (2006) and done well again here with “I Feel a Change Comin’ On”. These songs are a nice by-product of a more reflective Bob Dylan, and their creation is a direct result of years of experience and heartache with the fairer sex. This provides one of the albums few standouts and is possibly the best song on the record.

Together Through Life is traditional, and there are few standouts, but taken as a whole it is another solid effort from a man who continues to build on his unparalleled resume. There’s a lot of vitality here; Dylan may be older and he may think about the past a little more than he used to, but there’s nothing even resembling finality. Thank God, because I don’t think that a world without Bob Dylan is one that I want to be a part of.

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John Lacey