I have to admit--I'm entirely too fond of Bob Dylan to write an unbiased review. And come on--even if you don't like his work, even if you think it's unbearably cheesy and quaint to a fault, you have to have some respect for the man. He's written and recorded over 500 songs on thirty-three albums. That commands respect, if you ask me.

On to the work at hand. I picked up Together Through Life at an honest-to-goodness physical CD shop. It's not my usual custom, but for my troubles I received a popart-laden set of two bonus discs--the first is an interview with Bob, conducted by Ron Silver. The second is a real gem, in my opinion--a session from Dylan's XM Radio show. He's got great radio stage presence and introduces even people like me, who like really obscure shit, to new stuff. Get the hardcopy of this if you really enjoy Dylan.

The music on this album definitely recalls Modern Times--there are a lot of minor-key songs and the whole thing is bursting with juicy, rugged, hardcore blues. It features subdued instruments and deliberately exaggerated vocal strain. A favorite track of mine is "My Wife's Home Town," which is at once a rockin' blues ballad and a witty satire, recalling "Talkin' World War III Blues" or some of John Prine's early work. There are few songs on this album which I would not classify as blues-folk-rock fusion. "Life Is Hard" invokes a ukulele, and "If You Ever Go To Houston" is something else altogether. It truly recalls mellow Prine ("New Train" comes to mind) or even Paul Simon's Graceland (with Ladysmith Black Mambazo replaced by The Band). The entire album is, unquestionably, classic Dylan, which is to say that he has done something completely unpredictable--predictably well. My rating: A