Tempest by Bob Dylan

Lisnaholic · 11-08-2012, 10:45 PM

Any opinions about this album, which won the most recent FAIR club poll ? Where would you place it among his 40-odd other albums; a high point or a low point ? Which tracks do like or dislike ? Is there any background info that we should know about ?

Quote:

Tempest by Bob Dylan (2012)

The latest album from a guy you may have heard of; Dylan once more uses folk-rock, Americana and blues to present his own unmistakable vision of things.
Officially released last month, this album includes Dylan`s take on a disaster that occurred in 1912, but refuses to be forgotten because of a movie: The Titanic.

blastingas10 · 11-09-2012, 05:35 AM

It's alright. He has much better albums. "Tin angel" is a pretty cool, though.

Lisnaholic · 11-10-2012, 07:25 PM

Although blastingas sounds a bit luke-warm about this album, I haven`t been as impressed by a Dylan album since "Love and Theft", or maybe even "Oh Mercy."
With the track you mention, Tin Angel, Dylan returns to a form of which he is surely the absolute master; the epic story song. And this story has all the best Dylan trademarks; the sense of mystery and drama and the little unnecessary details, which bring the characters to life. I love the way he slips in the line, He ran his hand through his greasy hair, the same way I loved the way he slipped, She was thinking about her father, whom she very rarely saw into Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts.
The 14-minute title track is another superb story song, which demonstrates how Dylan is able to jump around between different worlds. With Tin Angel he revisits the surreal gothic Americana landscape of Isis, while with Tempest ( and elsewhere on the album) he trawls through real events and popular culture; not just the Titanic disaster itself, but the protagonists of the famous movie too.
Without doing a track by track analysis, I`d say that "Tempest" has enough great lyrics and varied, lively music to make it an excellent return to form by one of the few people in modern music that I would label as a genius. Fifty years and thirty-five albums after the release of "Bob Dylan," and he can still come up with a batch of fresh, surprising, satisfying songs ... and that is quite an acheivement.

Stephen · 11-13-2012, 09:27 PM

I can't really say I've ever been much of a fan of Dylan and the fact that his voice is somewhat worse for wear on this outing didn't really help in my appreciation. The songwriting and production all sound pretty top notch but without feeling that connection to the artist at it's core it seems like I am probably missing the point. Sorry to say Lisnaholic that I am only rating this one ok.

blastingas10 · 11-13-2012, 09:42 PM

Well I would say its the best of his last few. As you said, the last Dylan album to really really impress me was Oh Mercy. That probably ranks in my Dylan top 10. Time out of Mind was probably his last solid album, in my opinion. Maybe Modern Times

jent · 11-16-2012, 05:07 PM

I thought the stencils around town were pretty cool. It had an app where you could hear some songs if you were close enough to a stencil.

Rock N' Roll Clown · 11-16-2012, 07:24 PM

Absolutely excellent album. I did't expect it to be that good. Definitely one of his best late-career works. Like it was said: after all these years and albums it's amazing that he still can impress us with his genius work. I love his voice very much. I like Tin Angel, Early Roman Kings and Soon After Midnight, but my favorite song of the album is Scarlet Town (right now it's even my favorite Dylan song of all time).
I read that there were rumors that this would be his last album, because it has the same name as Shakespeare's last work,but Dylan has denied the rumors.

Chives · 11-16-2012, 10:33 PM

It is weird to think, though, that any of Dylan's next albums could be his last for whatever reasons. So strange. I haven't heard Tempest yet because I have been going chronologically with Dylan although I've been tempted to grab it on impulse. Maybe I will once the price goes down on vinyl copies.

blastingas10 · 11-17-2012, 12:43 AM

So do you only buy vinyls, chives? I've noticed. I have a decent vinyl collection but I still buy CDs to listen to when I'm in the car.

Chives · 11-18-2012, 11:14 AM

Unless it's a really cheap cd, like a buck, yeah I buy stuff on vinyl then. I listen to a ton of CD rips and other digital versions of albums before I make big vinyl purchases but if I'm going to lay down actual money, it is always records. I've bought stuff on CD so many times and then later ended up regretting it and upgrading to vinyl copies. I just skip the middle man nowadays.

I don't have a car, so I don't have any drive to pick up CDs at all! I have some, mostly from before the time that I had a good record player set-up, but I'd say it's 60 albums on CD versus 150-200 playable albums on vinyl.

View Poll Results: Tempest by Bob Dylan
Excellent	8	61.54%
Good	2	15.38%
OK	3	23.08%
Disappointing	0	0%
Awful	0	0%
Voters: 13. You may not vote on this poll

11-10-2012, 07:25 PM	#3 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	Although blastingas sounds a bit luke-warm about this album, I haven`t been as impressed by a Dylan album since "Love and Theft", or maybe even "Oh Mercy." With the track you mention, Tin Angel, Dylan returns to a form of which he is surely the absolute master; the epic story song. And this story has all the best Dylan trademarks; the sense of mystery and drama and the little unnecessary details, which bring the characters to life. I love the way he slips in the line, He ran his hand through his greasy hair, the same way I loved the way he slipped, She was thinking about her father, whom she very rarely saw into Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts. The 14-minute title track is another superb story song, which demonstrates how Dylan is able to jump around between different worlds. With Tin Angel he revisits the surreal gothic Americana landscape of Isis, while with Tempest ( and elsewhere on the album) he trawls through real events and popular culture; not just the Titanic disaster itself, but the protagonists of the famous movie too. Without doing a track by track analysis, I`d say that "Tempest" has enough great lyrics and varied, lively music to make it an excellent return to form by one of the few people in modern music that I would label as a genius. Fifty years and thirty-five albums after the release of "Bob Dylan," and he can still come up with a batch of fresh, surprising, satisfying songs ... and that is quite an acheivement. __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

11-16-2012, 07:24 PM	#7 (permalink)
Rock N' Roll Clown Music Addict Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Bulgaria Posts: 169	Absolutely excellent album. I did't expect it to be that good. Definitely one of his best late-career works. Like it was said: after all these years and albums it's amazing that he still can impress us with his genius work. I love his voice very much. I like Tin Angel, Early Roman Kings and Soon After Midnight, but my favorite song of the album is Scarlet Town (right now it's even my favorite Dylan song of all time). I read that there were rumors that this would be his last album, because it has the same name as Shakespeare's last work,but Dylan has denied the rumors. __________________

11-16-2012, 10:33 PM	#8 (permalink)
Chives Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Tacoma, WA Posts: 299	It is weird to think, though, that any of Dylan's next albums could be his last for whatever reasons. So strange. I haven't heard Tempest yet because I have been going chronologically with Dylan although I've been tempted to grab it on impulse. Maybe I will once the price goes down on vinyl copies. __________________ [My last.fm] [My Tumblr]

11-18-2012, 11:14 AM	#10 (permalink)
Chives Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Tacoma, WA Posts: 299	Unless it's a really cheap cd, like a buck, yeah I buy stuff on vinyl then. I listen to a ton of CD rips and other digital versions of albums before I make big vinyl purchases but if I'm going to lay down actual money, it is always records. I've bought stuff on CD so many times and then later ended up regretting it and upgrading to vinyl copies. I just skip the middle man nowadays. I don't have a car, so I don't have any drive to pick up CDs at all! I have some, mostly from before the time that I had a good record player set-up, but I'd say it's 60 albums on CD versus 150-200 playable albums on vinyl. __________________ [My last.fm] [My Tumblr]

11-09-2012, 05:35 AM	#2 (permalink)
blastingas10 Music Addict Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 2,126	It's alright. He has much better albums. "Tin angel" is a pretty cool, though.

11-13-2012, 09:27 PM	#4 (permalink)
Stephen I sleep in your hat Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Melbourne, Vic. Aus. Posts: 1,847	I can't really say I've ever been much of a fan of Dylan and the fact that his voice is somewhat worse for wear on this outing didn't really help in my appreciation. The songwriting and production all sound pretty top notch but without feeling that connection to the artist at it's core it seems like I am probably missing the point. Sorry to say Lisnaholic that I am only rating this one ok.

11-13-2012, 09:42 PM	#5 (permalink)
blastingas10 Music Addict Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 2,126	Well I would say its the best of his last few. As you said, the last Dylan album to really really impress me was Oh Mercy. That probably ranks in my Dylan top 10. Time out of Mind was probably his last solid album, in my opinion. Maybe Modern Times

11-16-2012, 05:07 PM	#6 (permalink)
jent Groupie Join Date: Nov 2012 Posts: 49	I thought the stencils around town were pretty cool. It had an app where you could hear some songs if you were close enough to a stencil.

11-17-2012, 12:43 AM	#9 (permalink)
blastingas10 Music Addict Join Date: Aug 2011 Posts: 2,126	So do you only buy vinyls, chives? I've noticed. I have a decent vinyl collection but I still buy CDs to listen to when I'm in the car.