Bob Dylan -
Time Out of Mind

New Psalms from a Pilgrim's Progress:
Bob Dylan's "Time Out of Mind"

by Jeffrey Overstreet

Copyright (c) 1997 by Jeffrey Overstreet.
Reproduction is forbidden without permission of the author. Contact Jeffrey Overstreet at joverstreet@gmail.com.

This much-anticipated reunion of Bob Dylan with "Oh Mercy"'s producer Daniel Lanois was well worth the wait. "Time Out of Mind" is an album for fans and new listeners, for writers and musicians, but most of all, for those who know something about the blues. And in the same subtle way that the Psalms can comfort, Dylan's struggles, unanswered questions, and faith are inspiring and reassuring. The belief in God's closeness through the valley of death is prevalent through these dark ponderings, another assurance that he didn't leave all faith behind as so many religious critics have claimed (But any close listening to "Oh Mercy" should put those questions to rest anyway.)

It's been seven years since Dylan's last album of original compositions, the disappointing "Under a Red Sky". This is not only a return to form for Dylan the poet and the vocalist; it's a re-invention of sorts, as well as a gathering of strengths. There are no self-conscious appeals to a younger audience here ("Red Sky" employed the guitarist from Guns'n'Roses!) Fortunately for any audience, he sticks with what he knows; unapologetic blues/folk roots. Perhaps his last two releases "Good As I Been to You" and "World Gone Wrong", on which he covered his personal favorite blues treasures, helped him rediscover what he loves about songwriting, giving him a fresh start.

Dylan's voice has never sounded better, and Lanois knows it. Bob can growl, croon, mutter and hiss more evocatively than ever; he's finding a deep, rough quality more emotional than Tom Waits, more expressive than Leonard Cohen. Lanois recognizes what's going on; he holds back the effects, muffles the music, giving the songs a lot of open space, with moody, echoing guitars, sparse skillful rhythms (thanks to the masterful Jim Keltner), and a spooky, sad undertone reminiscent of Angelo Badalemetti's "Twin Peaks" soundtracks.

Dylan is writing with the edge and humor that made "Oh Mercy" and "Blood On the Tracks" such bittersweet classics. Many monuments of his repertoire echo through these rooms — you may recognize ghosts of "Tangled Up in Blue", "Most of the Time", "Born in Time", and "Desolation Row", to name a few.

While "Time Out of Mind" is not as strong song-for-song as "Oh Mercy", the high points are every bit as good as the best of that album. Three songs stand out as comparable with Dylan's finest—"Standing In the Doorway", "Not Dark Yet", and the 15-minute long storytelling masterpiece "Highlands". He sidesteps his signature symbolism-heavy, often-abstract poetry and writes with surprising simplicity. While "Oh Mercy" was an ominous death knell for beauty, a declaration that "everything is broken" within and without, "Time" is an exploration of the interior damage, the scars of lost loves, injured faith, shame, and painful memories. More often than not, these are the stories of a world-weary traveler that finds only increasing confusion rather than wisdom. His heart is not hardened, but broken — "My sense of humanity has gone down the drain..." "It's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there."

Without hope, this would be a bleak landscape. Somehow, the singer finds the strength for a simple song of love and devotion in the heartbreaking "To Make You Feel My Love". Isolated, this song might seem trite, a throwaway, or, in marketing terms "the best single on the record!" In this context, it becomes a heartwarming testament to hope, to the belief that true love, faithfulness, and peace are out there to be found. The singer remains assured that "the mercy of God must be near." His only consolation as he walks these lonely roads is that he has set his heart on "the highlands", like the scriptural exhortation to "set your mind on things above".

With "Time Out of Mind", Dylan has given us a beautiful work of art. We can only hope he remains with us long enough to continue. This kind of soul-searching, the earnestness of the "How long, oh Lord?" underlying these journals, makes for songwriting that can be understood and felt by anyone who has ever sinned, or ever had a broken heart. He has walked a long road, he believes in the kingdom come, and he still hasn't found what he's looking for. He's a King David in the wilderness, broken, angry, ashamed, essentially human. God bless him.