Tuesday • October 7, 1997
The Battalion
USIC
:tober l ‘
he Dylan’s latest effort proves
he has not been forgotten
en openal
al depres:
i.and the
iitliMenr;,
Testing,!!:
; track, “li
'UgAlexal
.ithimsett
ink youi;
song’s en:
inkyouati
tkes you
immune
litythatm
ir occasic
o.
irvivethei
: us that w
64,000 qur
rclearhas
/ m
Musi
sar
eanutstoM
itonefilmr
■ers Boofcl
riff,Jon\'f: r jfe
merican
Time Out of Mind
Bob Dylan
Columbia Records
★★★★ 1/2 (out of five)
By Michael Schaub
Staff writer
B ob Dylan wore the mantle of flower-
child hero like an albatross or a cross.
Like Kurt Cobain would 30 years later,
Dylan spent much of his career avoiding the
dubious title of “poet of his generation.”
But it never seemed to work. He alienated
| hard-core folk fans by going electric at Wood-
stock, went on to record some brilliant
' straight-ahead country albums (John Wesley
Harding and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid),
and shocked the nation with his conversion
I to Christianity in the early ’80s — the result of
which was a stunning gospel album, Infidels.
Pop culture, however, followed him, and
I continued to embrace his persona. He be
came an icon of America itself, not just a hip
pie relic.
Time Out of Mind, Dylan’s first original album
in seven years and his best in 20 years, proves
the singer-songwriter is in no danger of being
forgotten by the musical world he created.
Musically, Dylan has never been better. He
plays with the best group of musicians since
The Band in the ’60s. Called “the Austin al
bum” by critics in the state’s capital, Time Out
of Mind showcases Texas musicians like key
boardist Augie Meyers (The Texas Tornadoes),
guitarist Duke Robillard (Roomful of Blues)
and slide guitarist Cindy Cashdollar (Asleep
at the Wheel).
The instrumentation is all blues, with Dy
lan’s harmonica adding a touch of folk to the
songs. The album is more than a little similar
to Blood on the Tracks, his dark, troubled,
mid-’70s masterpiece.
Straight blues numbers like “Love Sick”
and “Cold Irons Bound” contrast with folk
songs like “Not Dark Yet” and “Standing in the
Doorway” — some of the most accomplished
songs to ever enter the Dylan catalog.
“When you think that you’ve lost every
thing,” Dylan sings in “Tryin’ to Get to Heaven,”
“You find out you can always lose a little more.”
Such hopelessness is the theme of the al
bum, which sounds incredibly dark both mu
sically and lyrically.
Dylan touches on familiar ground with his
lyrics. “Standing in the Doorway” and “Love
Sick” are lovelorn laments, while “Not Dark
Yet” and “Dirt Road Blues” explore self-doubt
and anomie.
Even when Dylan sings lines like, “Don’t
know if I saw you, if I’d kiss you or kill you /
Probably wouldn’t matter to you anyhow,” the
tone of Time Out of Mind does not seem precise
ly dar k or cynical. Rather, Dylan’s rugged voice
suggests disillusionment and subdued anger.
All of which becomes understandable, and
even beautiful, after “Highlands,” the album’s
17-minute closing track. The song, like all of
Dylan’s music, is a sad, confused paean to
America — or, more precisely, the American
Dylan
road, the American subconscience.
Bob Dylan has lived 56 years, the last of
which saw his near-fatal battle with heart dis
ease, and the rise of his son Jakob (The Wall
flowers) to alternative rock deity.
It is this world-weariness, this confusion,
that makes Time Out of Mind such a revela
tion. Dylan sees himself in America, and vice
versa.
His new album, as dark and weary as it
may seem, is a perfect collection of love songs
to the country and culture he helped define.
Dylan, as usual, sums it up best:
“My sense of humanity has gone down the
drain / Behind every beautiful thing, there’s
some kind of pain ... /1 just don’t know why I
should even care / It’s not dark yet, but it’s
getting there.”
despite fc-
Dlind
ilsoiffl/fe
; to various
oughoutth:
i similar^
k he rife,
Killers.
lusesti
ihytospi
sever tries
e Arizona;
, signature
ilm.andb
? disappes
c/o/( £ Acw-e- Co wa/C fongc/*-/
otKjofe-tc; tf Oas*- ccfac-aC/o/f
Oisooi’-e,/' offle/'-CctK/t/og at s;
.Am
u.
u’a/C/stjf' fa/*'
'si'jk'i ■ . ..... uT'
to coffee^ //r/^ . y
MY
Vet. 9, /%<?<?
Mai* //aM
70:00
0:00
'S'lTnJS
..T/’t.
fit*** adnXLtf t p/’lyriUrr £* Ar C&*
70:00 - 0:00.
f 70 7 //«/<? lYceet f^S■70 06'‘7‘?)
PITT-DES MOINES, INC.
Pitt-Des Moines, Inc., a world leader in engineering, fabrication and
construction of storage tank and related systems will be on-campus
on October 28,1997 to interview December '97 and May '98 Civil and
Mechanical Engineering graduates for General Management Trainee
positions for its domestic and international operations.
Successful candidates will spend two years in the GMT program to
become familiar with various career opportunities at PDM in
Engineering, Fabrication, Construction, Project Management and
Sales.
To learn more about PDM and how it can provide a rewarding career
for you, plan to attend the group presentation on Monday, October 27
at 6:00PM at 410 Rudder.
Contact the TAMU Career Center to submit a resume and schedule
and interview with PDM.
Come see over 100 grown men & women
lupe St
ricai
f
at a LIVE concert featuring brilliant young Maestro Daniele Gatti and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra! Highlighting the
evening will be the World Premiere of “Living Waters,” a composition by Texas A&M’s Composer-in-Residence, Peter Lieuwen.
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
with Daniele Gatti
Sunday, October 19th, 8:00 PM
Call 845-1234 for tickets.
Accepting Aggie Bucks™
http ://opas. tamu. edu
my other offer, 1
eluded. Coopc*<*r|
Opera & Performing Arts Society
(fret you* Z9% off coupon m Tue$day V tfattatiou!
Call
I - 800-878-3872
www.att.com/college/np.html
AT&T
It’s all within your reach
© 1997 AT&T