Greatest Living Poet

"I'm so hard-pressed / My mind tied up in knots / I keep on recyclin' the same old thoughts." The 3 Dylan records I could find with 5 star reviews upon their release were BLOOD ON THE TRACKS [check], LOVE & THEFT [hunh?] and his latest [no]. The significant musical and lyrical difference between MODERN TIMES and UNDER THE RED SKY [2 stars] is lost on me. I do not like this late cowboy pencil moustache warbler phase. It's doing nothing for me (much like the late Johnny Cash let's-get-him-to-sing-anything phase). His band has all the twangy charm of studio mercenaries. We're supposed to be thrilled that he knows who Alicia Keyes is. "I roll & I tumble / I ride the whole night long." I couldn't even listen to the whole thing straight through for free. Those weren't the first five tracks of a five star effort. If tedious 7 minute songs with indecipherable, insignificant and interchangeable lyrics and melodies is what you're looking for, head directly to your closest retail outlet. But critics are playing some kind of funny on you, or they decided that they're finished holding Bob up to any kind of standard anymore. We expect nothing of Bob, he delivers nothing. These tracks seem as forgettable as the cabs that pass you that *don't* give you a ride home. There must be some charm in becoming an artist a younger version of himself wouldn't have been able to stand. This is not a great age, an age of great music. As we sit and wait for something great to come along, we wish Dylan would do *something*. If this is "the voice of God" then it's a C+ World. I like my 5 star cds urgent & risky, not innocous and elevatory. Coming soon to a grocery store rotation near you.

I wrote to myself "When the fire is almost out any spark seems bright."