There is much that surprises on Dylan's new album, "Love and Theft." But perhaps what is most noticeable is how strikingly different the tone is from his last effort, 1997's much-lauded "Time Out of Mind." The latter, written, ironically, before his heart problems and subsequent hospitalization, was a gloomy reflection on aging (case in point, the quintessential line: "It's not dark yet ... but it's getting there.").
"Time Out of Mind" was haunting and intricate, but it emitted a vague scent of finality, as though Dylan were starting down the homestretch of his long road.
It catches you by surprise, then, when the opening track of "Love and Theft," named "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum," opens with energetic, jesting chords, the kind that induce foot-tapping and shoulder-shaking.
The song itself is a wry narrative that recalls the lengthy, convoluted scenarios of chestnuts like "Tangled Up in Blue" and "Bob Dylan's 115th Dream" The difference is that this song, like all the tracks on the album, is more musically complex, or at least more musically focused, than much of his previous work has been. Not since his days of touring with The Band has Dylan produced songs with such a vibrant and palpable connection between music and lyrics, and the result is surreally and unusually bewitching.
Adding to the surprises offered by this album is the fact that "Love and Theft," unlike so many previous works, cannot really be said to have a single unifying theme, musically or lyrically. The musical vocabulary incorporates blues, ragtime, country and lounge-style ballads. "High Water (for Charley Patton)" is a swinging country song with apocalyptic lyrics. Dylan sings "Moonlight" in a near-schmaltzy croon, while "Summer Days" is a jaunty, frenetic blues extravaganza. Each of these songs are thematically and musically different, but they share a general friskiness. Dylan's voice, for the most part, is the same guttural rasp he first displayed in "Time Out of Mind," and it produces very different effects on each album. On "Time Out of Mind," it served to emphasize a certain weariness, demonstrated in the music. In "Love and Theft," its dry grate only adds to the wry tone of the album.
The old Dylan motifs of abuse at the hands of women and the world are here, but overall, he sounds energized, if amused, by the world. His tales veer from tongue-in-cheek to romantic to woefully poignant. In the gorgeous closer, "Sugar Baby," the narrator cannot stand facing the sun to serenade the woman he loves for "the light is too intense," paralleling the fact that she refuses to allow the light of his love in. Where "Time Out of Mind" was earnest in its melancholy, "Love and Theft" is infused, even in the sadder moments, with a warm appreciation of life.
Another conspicuous difference between "Love and Theft" and many of Dylan's past albums is how much more impersonal this one is. In keeping with the liveliness of the music, the lyrics, though sometimes somber, never show the painfully personal strain that made "Blood on the Tracks" such an exquisitely tortured experience, or provided an edge to the youthful highjinks displayed in "Bob Dylan" (1962) and "Blonde on Blonde" (1966). The songs are filled with incidents and detailed anecdotes, yet, particularly by comparison to "Time Out of Mind," this album does not sound like Dylan's diary. Though the latter is perhaps a more complex and accomplished work, the new album is a more lively, entertaining listen.
"Love and Theft" is by no means a perfect album-some of the tunes, such as "Moonlight" and "Bye and Bye," are somewhat slight and uninspired-but it continues the creative rejuvenation that began with "Time Out of Mind." However, the question arises of how this album will be received by Dylan fans. There is no question that "Time Out of Mind" and "Love and Theft" mark a significant change in sound for Dylan: rarely in his previous work did the musical accompaniment stand out as much as the songs.
It's Dylan, all right, but it's not the old Dylan by any means. The rawness of his previous works is missing in "Love and Theft"-this album is somehow more polished but less cutting. While Dylan's oeuvre is punctuated by reinvention, he loses a few fans each time, justly or not. "Love and Theft" should prove to be no exception.