Jack Frost hit his stride with the mystic mythmaking of this timeless swing blues masterpiece. 'Modern Times' borrows faithfully and generously from such divergent sources as Muddy Waters and Memphis Minnie, Roman poet Ovid and American Civil War poet Henry Timrod, Chuck Berry and Bing Crosby, Charlie Chaplin and Robert Johnson, the Museum of Modern Art and the Bible; and delivers an album that ranks with any in his catalogue. Recorded with his touring band in three weeks at Clinton Studios in Manhattan, the sound goes from loose and hot to sweet and slow, with every lick feeling like it belongs there and Zimmerman waxing lyrical like the prophet Jeremiah. Dylan plays guitar harmonica and piano, with Stu Kimball and Denny Freeman on guitar; multi instrumentalist Donnie Herron on steel guitar, violin, viola, and mandolin; Tony Garnier on bass and cello; and George Receli on drums and percussion. On the subject of his appropriation of old songs, Dylan explains: "Well, you have to understand that I'm not a melodist... My songs are either based on old Protestant hymns or Carter Family songs or variations of the blues form. What happens is, I'll take a song I know and simply start playing it in my head. That's the way I meditate. A lot of people will look at a crack on the wall and meditate, or count sheep or angels or money or something, and it's a proven fact that it'll help them relax. I don't meditate on any of that stuff. I meditate on a song. I'll be playing Bob Nolan's "Tumbling Tumbleweeds," for instance, in my head constantly – while I'm driving a car or talking to a person or sitting around or whatever. People will think they are talking to me and I'm talking back, but I'm not. I'm listening to a song in my head. At a certain point, some words will change and I'll start writing a song." 'Modern Times' became Dylan's first number one album in the US since 'Desire' and was his first to debut at the top of the album chart. It was also number one in Australia, Canada, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand, Norway and Switzerland; and sold more than four million copies worldwide in the first two months.
'Thunder On The Mountain' throws down the sign of the times with a rollocking jump blues inspired by Memphis Minnie and Chuck Berry.
"Feel like my soul is beginning to expand
Look into my heart and you will sort of understand
You brought me here, now you're trying to run me away
The writing on the wall, come read it, come see what it say "
The sweet meditations of 'Spirit On The Water' describes a love torn apart and evokes Bruce Channel's 'Hey Baby'.
"You think I'm over the hill
You think I'm past my prime
Let me see what you got
We can have a whoppin' good time "
'Rollin and Tumblin' borrows from the blues of Hambone Willie Newbern and Muddy Waters and adds a little somethin' new.
"I'm flat out spent, this woman she been drivin' me to tears
This woman so crazy, I swear I ain't gonna touch another one for years "
'Rollin and Tumblin' borrows from the blues of Hambone Willie Newbern and Muddy Waters and adds a little somethin' new.
"I'm flat out spent, this woman she been drivin' me to tears
This woman so crazy, I swear I ain't gonna touch another one for years "
The reflective 'When The Deal Goes Down' uses the melody of Bing Crosby's 'Where the Blue of the Night (Meets the Gold of the Day)'.
"Well, I picked up a rose and it poked through my clothes
I followed the winding stream
I heard the deafening noise, I felt transient joys
I know they're not what they seem
In this earthly domain, full of disappointment and pain
You'll never see me frown
I owe my heart to you, and that's sayin' it true
And I'll be with you when the deal goes down "
'Levee's Gonna Break' is an adaptation of the song by Kansas Joe McCoy and Memphis Minnie.
"If it keep on rainin', the levee gonna break
Everybody saying this is a day only the Lord could make"
'Modern Times'
full album:
All songs written and composed by Bob Dylan.
1. "Thunder on the Mountain" 5:55
2. "Spirit on the Water" 7:41
3. "Rollin' and Tumblin'" 6:02
4. "When the Deal Goes Down" 5:04
5. "Someday Baby" 4:56
6. "Workingman's Blues #2" 6:07
7. "Beyond the Horizon" 5:36
8. "Nettie Moore" 6:53
9. "The Levee's Gonna Break" 5:43
10. "Ain't Talkin'" 8:48
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