Bob Dylan

Item: Love and Theft
Author: Steve Stockman

Love and Theft

(2001)

Reviewed by Steve Stockman

Discogs Apple Music TIDAL Amazon Music Spotify YouTube Music

Label Sony MusicThe Phantom Tollbooth2001

blues rock folk rock

What will he do next? It is always the question, and--in the past fifteen years, at least--always the fear. Dylan fans have gotten used to inconsistency in his output, after Oh Mercy, 1989's great return to form, was followed by the pathetic Under the Red Sky.

So there was trepidation that Love and Theft, the follow-up to the great return to form of the nineties, Time Out of Mind, would be a similar anticlimax and disappointment. Hearing that the first track was called "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum" did not settle the nerves, but it is official--Bob Dylan can make two good albums in a row!

Indeed, this might be as good, if not better than, its predecessor. The critics will no doubt disagree, favoring the arty and less commercial, but this album could see the sixty year-old Dylan begin to challenge his son Jakob's (The Wallflowers) chart positions. It is as accessible as Dylan might ever get. It's loose, uncluttered and melodic with a range of musical genres covering everything from crooners(!) to rockabilly to the blues. In some ways, it is a look back across the horizon of the styles of the last century, with echoes of the twenties, the forties and on towards his own entry into the scene and beyond. The aforementioned "Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum" is a rolling blues number; "Summer Days" is pure rockabilly and "Bye and Bye" could be sung by Sinatra. "Mississippi" and "Sugar Baby," meanwhile, are trademark Dylan, the latter revealing how his distinctive howl has shifted from the nasal to the raspy. His voice, after years on the seemingly Never Ending Tour, has never sounded so good or distinctive. Twists and twirls are the dish of the day, lyrically, with introspective insight and intriguing storytelling leaving many a pleasing surprise in the final rhyme, both humorous and profound.

If one life can have two legends, then, just maybe, Dylan's on his way to creating his second one. Now for a hat trick!