Over the years Dylan has gained a raspy quality to his voice which is hard not to love, but other than that the album is lacking musically in terms of something new. Tempest seems to simply alternate between upbeat county and western songs, such as “Narrow Way,” and more melancholy blues sounds like “Soon After Midnight.” Despite how these are not unpleasant to listen to, it really is the same old Dylan chords and rhymes we’ve heard before. Lyrically, Tempest is actually quite gripping and emotional at points, exploring themes of love, struggle and death that Dylan has time and again so brilliantly portrayed. Songs such as “Pay In Blood” express much rage with lines such as “Another politician pumping out the piss” and this is only emphasized by his new gruff vocal technique.
Though deep lyrical lines might sound great at certain moments, many are sadly buried by the sheer length of some songs, such as “Tempest” which drags on for 14 minutes about the sinking of the Titanic – it’s a tough one to hang through. Another let down is the final song of the album, “Roll on John,” about the death of John Lennon. While being sentimental and lyrically clever at times, Dylan has set the bar so high as a lyricist that one may come away a bit disappointed in its outcome. There are unfortunately only a couple of songs on this album that stand out for Dylan. As the Shakespearean album title may portend, as a whole work this might just be where it ends for the harmonica legend.
Commendations
Tempest is actually a great sounding record and does display the typical Dylan qualities that we all love and appreciate. What can happen to artists so often is that they try and go too complicated when churning out new material, but it’s great that Dylan can still entertain with such simple melodies and arrangements that do stick in your mind. Songs like “Duquesne Whistle” and “Scarlet Town” are probably the gems of the album – one very pleasantly upbeat, the other beautifully dark. As for sound quality, Tempest is one of his best produced modern Dylan albums with everything well-balanced and each individual sound cutting through very clearly.Next Steps
If Dylan were to miraculously write another album, first thing would be to think about adding more build to the tracks. There’s nothing wrong with writing 14 minute tracks, but it needs to go somewhere and reach a climatic point. In all honesty, this record will be adored by many simply because of the artist – the rock and roll legend, Bob Dylan. That’s how he should be remembered. If this was his Tempest, so be it with much gratitude.First published by www.puluche.com
