Love and Theft - Dylan, Bob (CD 2001)

Throughout his near-forty year career, Bob Dylan has gone through many peaks and valleys throughout his career. In the early 60s, he was a folk hero speaking about the problems of the world. In the mid-60s, he went electric by bringing electric rock n roll to folk music. In the late 60s, he dabbled in country music until the early 70s, he went through the first of many slumps until the mid-70s when he came back with his album Blood on the Tracks that revealed about his vulnerability on the disintegration of his marriage. In the late 70s, Dylan converted to Christianity, which baffled many of his fans. In the 80s and early 90s, Dylan released some overlooked recordings and went through some more slumps again both creatively and commercially. In 1997, Dylan made another big comeback with his Grammy-award winning album Time Out of Mind which was hailed by critics and fans as another essential masterpiece of his glorious career. Since then, Dylan has been on a roll playing to sellout crowds in his world tours and earning a Golden Globe and Oscar for the song Things Have Changed for the 2000 movie The Wonder Boys . On May 24, 2001, the man formerly known as Robert Allen Zimmerman turned sixty-years old that day and many wondered what Dylan had to say at age sixty. Dylan reveals what he had to say in his music and he reveals all in his new album Love & Theft .

Love & Theft is basically twelve songs of blues, pop, rockabilly, country, rock, folk, and early 20th Century music. Whereas Time Out of Mind explored Dylan s near-death experience in 1997, Love & Theft sounds like Dylan having fun with probably one of the best backing band around. Consisting of such talents as organist/multi-instrumentalist Augie Meyers, drummer David Kemper, bassist Tony Garnier, and guitarists Larry Campbell and Charlie Sexton, Dylan makes another masterpiece that is an essential collection to such albums as Time Out of Mind , Blood on the Tracks , Blonde on Blonde , Highway 61 Revisited , Bringing It All Back Home , The Basement Tapes , and many others. Love & Theft not only proves that the Master still got it but it is proof that Dylan is still having the time of his life.

The first song off of Love & Theft is the honky-tonk power of Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum that starts off with powerful lyrics from Dylan of Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee/They re throwing knives into the tree/Two big bags of dead men s bones/They ve got their noses to the grind stones/Living in the Land of Nod/Trusting their fate to the hands of God/They pass by so silently/Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee that features smooth country guitar licks from Charlie Sexton and Larry Campbell along with a powerful percussion rhythm from drummer David Kemper and Clay Meyers on bongos. Mississippi is a lovely slow-tempo blues track of Dylan singing about Mississippi backed by a full and solid band of pros who are given room to breathe while Dylan is being the great storyteller saying City s just a jungle, more games to play/Trapped in the heart of it, trying to get away/I was raised in the country, I been working in the town/I been in trouble ever since I set my suitcase down . Now ever wondered what Dylan would sound like if he made a dance song? No, he didn t go techno or hire BT into this next song. He made a dance song out of simple instruments. Summer Days is a lovely jazz-inspired honky-tonk tune led by smooth drumming from David Kemper along with cool bass licks from Tony Garnier along with big band jazz guitar riffs from Sexton and Campbell while Dylan is just being loose on this song while singing Well, I m drivin in the flats in a Cadillac car;/The girls all say You re a worn star! /My pockets are loaded and I m spendin every dime. Bye and Bye is a lovely and smooth blues song that features a cool and smooth organ track from Augie Meyers while Sexton and Campbell bring in jazz riffs with Dylan singing in his romantic way By and by/On you I m casting my eye/I m paintin the town/Swingin my partner around.

Lonesome Day Blues is a powerful mid-tempo blues-oriented track that features a nice and thumping rhythm section of Kemper and Garnier while Sexton and Campbell bring in smooth and mesmerizing blues riff with Dylan singing about loneliness in the world of Well, my pa he died and left me, my brother got killed in the war/(repeat)/My sister she ran off and got married, never was heard from again . Floater (Too Much To Ask) is a lovely country-folk/jazz romp that features a violin performance from Larry Campbell along with a country guitar riff from Charlie Sexton with Dylan singing in his cool form They say times are hard/If you don t believe it you can follow your nose/It don t bother me, times are hard everywhere/We ll just have to see how it goes . High Water (for Charley Patton) is an acoustic country-folk tune with Campbell on the banjo with a powerful rhythm section of Garnier and Kemper bringing a soft-power track while Dylan sings in his growling vocals of High water rising, raising night and day/All the gold and silver are being stolen away/Big Joe Turner looking east and west from the dark room of his mind/He made it to Kansas City, Twelfth Street and Vine/Nothing standing there/High water everywhere . Moonlight is a very inspired jazzy number that is an essential song for a cool nighttime. With lovely dreamy-like jazz guitars from Campbell and Sexton, Dylan sings in his smooth bravado about a lovely night on a full moon where he shines in his vocals, even though he s not one of the best singers in the world.

Honest With Me is a powerful up-tempo country-rock song that features powerful drum licks from David Kemper while Sexton comes in with a saucy country-guitar riff with Campbell bringing in a violin intro. Dylan again being loose sings as if he s having fun about being sixty or something. It s another inspiring dance song from Dylan who isn t known for making you dance or go loose at the same time. Po Boy is an acoustic-blues track where Dylan tells the story of a poor boy living in the South where Dylan shows his mastery as a storyteller and lyricist in this lovely song that isn t autobiographical, just a nice little story. Cry A While starts off as a slow and thumping blues tune until Dylan sings where the tempo changes into a more faster and thumping rhythm that is a little bit funky and a little bit of reggae that shows Dylan s diversity in this lovely blues track that is led by the smooth rhythm of bassist Tony Garnier and drummer David Kemper along with the bluesy guitar hooks of Campbell and Sexton. Sugar Baby is a lovely dream-like ballad that features dreamy blues guitars from Sexton and Campbell along with a soft accordion performance from Augie Meyers while Dylan sings at his most elegant with such lovely lyrics like Sugar baby, get down on the road, yeah, you ain t got no brains, nohow/ You went years without me, might as well keep going down which proved to the world that Dylan has still got it.

Love & Theft is another brilliant masterpiece from Bob Dylan. Proving that not only he can say something at age sixty but also he can still bring in another masterpiece under his belt. With an excellent backing band around him, Dylan can still make an exciting album even at his old age. If he can make another great record at this age, then maybe there s hope for other artists in their 40s or 50s who probably can make another classic album or two. Love & Theft is an essential collection of great albums from Dylan. Who knows what he ll have to say at age 70? Whatever he says, it ll probably be interesting too. Sure, the music isn t innovative but who cares. It s great music to begin with and Bob Dylan knows what great music is. Love & Theft is a great musical album.