I am nothing short of disturbed about the way that Rolling Stone shells out five stars for Bruce’s and U2’s new explorations in post-excellence and manage to only be generous enough to give Bob Dylan’s innovative adventure in being pissed off four stars. Oh, did you decide that you were giving out too many five star reviews? Did you decide that you needed to cut that down with Dylan? Really, the review you wrote is a five star review, so I’m having trouble understanding why there are four stars there. I admire Rolling Stone’s review, but its ratings are complete and utter horseshit. They’re inconsistent, unchecked, and hasty. You were the only people who thought that Working On A Dream and No Line On The Horizon were marvelous albums. Now watch as you are wrong again and Bob Dylan takes the Pazz And Jop Critics’ Poll for the fourth time in a row.

No question the U2 review was beyond redunk. The lyrics sounded like they’d been written by a 15 year old boy (cept maybe for Cedars of Lebanon). Can’t speak about the Dylan album yet. Still workign my way through it.

Chill, StrummerJones. No one cares about how many stars they put up there. Hero worship is no different from fan boys to RS, just the amount of ink-screenspace they can give. What really sucks is that the Clash never had a chance to be grizzled old post-excellence farts. Better to burn out than to fade away, blah blah.

Together Through Life is a disappointment in my opinion.

Why do so many of you folks get upset about the number of stars RS gives a recording. It’s not like you wrote the music. I’m pretty sure Bob’s a big boy and can handle the critique of others no matter what it is.

great album bob

great album bob

Are you kidding with Robert Hunter and Bob Dylan teaming up together, I’ll bet Jerry is smiling from heaven (Hey that would be a cool name for a song)

Together Through life is, in my opinion, definitely worth 5 stars but then so is Working On a Dream. My opinion of U2 is far to low so even bring myself to award them a star so let’s skip on that one. RS is probably the only music publication I respect with it’s reviews, barring Uncut.

“Why do so many of you folks get upset about the number of stars RS gives a recording. It’s not like you wrote the music. I’m pretty sure Bob’s a big boy and can handle the critique of others no matter what it is.”

It’s about sales. I’d love for this album to be appreciated and believe it or not, the gold stars coming out of a page of Rolling Stone do matter.

This record really deserves one star. As opposed to how many stars some “industry critics” are arbitrarily giving the record. I trust David under normal circumstances but not four this one.

I saw Dylan on his last tour and it was without question one of the worst shows I’ve ever been to. He sounds terrible, incomprehensible and growling, his band is tight but all he did was stand behind the keyboards. It didn’t help that he was playing at a basketball arena, but I had great seats and it was still horrible. An utter bore and a massive disappointment. His never ending tour really needs to end.

Its an amazing record. Beautiful. Dylan is doing some of the best work he’s ever done. I also love that several of his older albums finally got the remastered treatment this past month including the live After The Flood Album, Basement Tapes and one of my all times faves: New Morning which people usually pass on.

This is a great album and four starts is perfect. Look Highway 61, Blonde on Blonde, Blond on the Tracks and Modern Times are 5 star albums. I thing 4 is appropriate for this one. Time will tell.

i don’t get all the fuss about how many stars the album gets. it’s good, not amazing, but worth a listen. that’s all.

I would be fine with four if it weren’t for them handing five to far less deserving albums.

I agree with StrummerJones that the new U2 and Springsteen albums were disappointing (No Line On the Horizon runs out of gas halfway through, and Working On a Dream has about 3 good songs on the whole album – 2 1/2 stars each, IMHO). But honestly, the Dylan isn’t a whole lot better. Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft were both amazing, but Modern Times was average, and Together Through Life is pretty slight. My only gripe with RS is that they give four and five star reviews to inferior albums by established artists, but typically give a chickenshit 3 1/2 star review to any album by an unproven band, no matter how great it is.

I heavily disagree with that remark about Modern Times. Listen to the final three tracks of it again. Superb.

I’m sure Dylan is real concerned about U2’s mediocre output and Springsteen’s political bandwagonning, and RS’ opinion. Gosh, even I might lose sleep tonight over an opinion like Dak, damn I’ve been wrong all my life, this guy is just a joke. This joke has forgotten more than the rest will ever know, I am grateful to hear him one more time.

Once we establish the truism
that hardly ANYBODY creatively
TRANSFORMS as seamlessly as Dylan
does, then, we begin to grasp
“Together Through Life”.

With its this-side-or-that-side of
Houston vibe, most of all, its
Bob Dylan con carino (with feeling). Lots, of carino.
FIVE STARS.

A truly fine effort by Dylan and Hunter. I love the way they took the line from Huddie Ledbetters “midnight Special”, “If you’re ever in Houston” and wrote a song from it.
“It’s All Good” is a scathing look @ the apathetic attidude of society.
A triumph that stars don’t touch or matter.
I doubt Bobs loosing any sleep over a star on a review.

MARKUS–Agree with you totally. They need to actually review the album and not the musician. They love giving 3 stars to everyone except the established stars who get 4 to 5. All new upcoming rap artists also get 4 stars. Need some unbiased reviewers.

Modern Times is a masterpiece. Rolling Stone gives good reviews to albums they want to sell, period. The reviewers also give good reviews to artists that will kiss the smoking section’s ass and will give stupid interviews about “Bruce’s dream”. Give me a break. Fricke reviews these albums as if he is guessing what the public’s opinion of them will be and lately he’s been quite wrong. Also, what’s the deal with having to compare EVERY new album by an artist to something else? RS has this habit of picking apart every new song and trying to decide how many parts “early costello” and how many parts “late talking heads” it is. These reviews suck….that being said, “Together Through Life” deserves five stars just like “Modern Times” got. Other than that I don’t really think any album in a while deserves that much praise, but in reality we are just talking about stars and the bloated opinions of an overused reviewer and music fan.

I just love the comment that Fricke made about Bob’s voice, seriously, we all are aware of the “gravel” sound to his voice. What do you expect from someone who’s smoked like, 80% of their life? Rolling Stone magazine writers couldn’t find their ass with both hands when it comes to reviewing Bob. Four stars for Bob and five for U2? What the fuck ever. Rolling Stone has lost a shitload of cool points in my book.

I’d be delighted to assist the uninitiated regarding Bob Dylan’s albums in the past, with a relatively simple “5 to Zero” sliding review scale – I’ve bought all of Dylan’s albums (at least the studio-recorded stuff), so I think I’m as qualified as any…
Everything gets five stars – except -
“Bob Dylan – Unplugged” – 1 Star – cause it kinda blows – but it still has a tune or two that’s worthwhile.
“Under the Red Sky” – 2 1/2 Stars – It’s two, really, but what a tour he followed with!
“World Gone Wrong” 2 Stars – The “sangin’” is awful – but the lyrics are substantial – glorious, even – and the linear notes are sheer poetry – you know Bobby!
“Knocked Out Loaded” and “Down in the Groove” – 3 1/2 Stars – GREAT stuff – iffy filler.
“Self Portrait” – Um, you tell me… I’ll say 3 Stars for the sake of argument.
Take my word for it – everything else, including the often abused “Street Legal” and, in my opinion, the somewhat overly-praised “Basement Tapes” is still 5 Star material, because, well… Bob is America’s finest poet, a modern day prophet, and an honest-to-God saint, to those in the know – but, he’d still tell you – “First of all – I’m a man…”
That plays really well in a record collection – trust me.

HISTORY LESSON: In 1978, this mag gave Some Girls a less than stellar review. Jagger allegedly complained, denying the magazine access to the Stones US tour. Yawn Weiner personally re-reviewed the album, praising it as the best since…..
All was forgiven. Lesson learned.

Best advice ever when it comes to music: Be the reviewer.

How do i love you babycakes? Infinate ways. xxx

I find Together Through Life much much better than the last two.
The lyrics still sound formulaic and predictable but not so monotonous. And his voice is better.
It’s still no Time Out Of Mind but what a relief he got out of the rut of Modern Times and Love & Theft.

Yeah as an avid…AVID…Springsteen fan…WOAD is a huge disappointment and I was shocked by RS’ review.
Maybe if critics were more honest in their reviews, the artists might push themselves a little harder the next time…and deliver what we’ve come to expect from them…greatness!

artists shouldn’t care about what reviewers think…make what you want.

Dylan’s Together Through Life stands out there with Slow Train Coming! My iPod has a Saved & Unsaved Dylan channel and Bobby’s music will always be better than ANYTHING Bruce Springsteen could ever put out 5 *****’s on this one.

Yeah but when they’re given a pass, they get lazy….

Maybe if they were called on their crap, and people didnt buy the crap, they’d work a little harder to move us like they did in the first place

Dylan is a national treasure.

Together Thru Life will be the first cd I put in my new camaro (when I get it) sorry bruce the river was the last record I heard by you and sorry bono you guys only made one (boy)

Its weird that they only gave it 4 stars. To be fair RS is usually a Dylanophillic mag.

the record is getting panned by international and college press.

I could give this album 1 star, and it would be right for me, you could give it 5 and it’s right for you. We all have our own tastes and our own opinions, and as long as we speak only for ourselves, it shouldn’t be a problem. The problem comes in when you try and speak for somebody else, or tell others how they should feel…

It’s a great album for a man in the twilight of his life. You can knock it or praise it and I’m sure Bob Dylan doesn’t really care. He’s been changing the face of rock and roll for over 40 years by ignoring all the precepts and rules.

I love how all these people sit here and say it’s not worth this and it’s not worth that and have no reasoning behind it. Most of the people bashing seem like they could careless about it anyway and have nothing better to do than talk about how it’s a bad record. Stop comparing it to other things and take it for what it is a New Album

I’ve seen Dylan live twice this week in the UK and he’s a genius. The new Dylan album (of which he’s yet to play any of the songs on this tour) is a gem. He’s one of our last links to the old soul, blues, folk music traditions of the USA. God bless him!

Regardless of how many stars RS gave the album, these songs get into your head and stay there. When your brain keeps singing the lines of a song to you an hour after you heard it, that usually means it’s pretty good music.

The question raised by the flaccidity of this disc is whether or not Dylan’s mind is out of time? There is such a thing as being too old-fashioned.

Dylan’s a lesson. Let’s pretend he’s not.

Mike Stipe and Bonehead–I mean Bono–are at the intersection of art and commerce; I don’t think so. However, Dylan and his cronies–some of them dead–are.

OK, Bono is brave. And moral

Indeed, Bono, Bruce, Bob, Neil, Van,Paul, Prince: All true artists, whose work begins at their core(s).
Whether you (we) dig it or don’t dig it, is not the point-of-focus.
That’s, the brave part.

On first play I was unconvinced, but like the majority of Dylan albums subsequent plays stored these tracks in my head. Their familiarity makes them, as Jung would say, “archetypes of the collective unconcious”.

The album cover for some reason draws me to it……Will buy it no matter ’bout the content.

There are a few people-Dylan, Neil Young, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell-who have built up enough reserve of good will that they can do whatever they want whenever they want. I don’t think this new Dylan is anywhere near Love And Theft, Time Out Of Mind, or Modern Times, but it’s his statement of the moment and it’s certainly worth attention. As for the number of stars anything gets, who gives a fuck. It’s one persons opinion, nothing more, nothing less.

Simon Cowell’s a Genius

The talented don’t make it.
But Dylan has.
Neil Young’s pretty good,
But he knows
He’s not in Dylan’s class.

Like a lot of people, I
Like Neil Young’s independence, His hick attitude.
What about
The Marsalis bros?

Chuck Berry Eternity

Simon Cowell loves Bob Dylan.
Neil Young’s pretty good.
Gloria and Blue Money

PEOPLE!! It’s fucking Dylan!! Take it or leave it!! Now go to bed – be good boys and girls…………

Whoa. “Simon Cowell” is
to Van, Bob, and Neil, what
Mr. Blackwell was to Elizabeth, Audrey, and Natalie.

I thought time out of mind was 5 star, modern times a 4.

robert hunter is a geinus.

sorry, genius.

Wow Rollingstone fawning over Bob Dylan’s latest music? Wow I am so surprised and bewildered. No for real while Dylan is no doubt a legend, Rollingstone should restraint from orgasming every time he releases an album.

The Dylan nuthuggers are salivating over at the review section rating this very ordinary album 5 stars while Bob is laughing at them ripping off songs and getting away with it..again. This time it’s ‘I just wanna make love to you’ I don’t know why he bothers.

While Dylan is certainly a legend…he needs to realize that what he said in the article about Elvis and Johnny Cash ending up without the same fire and passion they had is happening to him….He said they both need to be remembered by their early stuff…..the same goes for Bob…..stack anything he’s done in the past 20 years up to anything in the 60s and its no comparison…

The songs are still good and the lyrics are still great but Dylan’s voice is shot. He sounded 50 when he was 20 and that was charming and gave him character. He’s now 67 years old and sounds 100. He literally sounds like he’s on his death bed. You can’t even tell it’s Dylan anymore. I’d actually love to see what his songs would sound like with somebody else singing them. I just feel sad when I think of how good he would have sounded singing them thirty years ago. Same with Joni Mitchell.

Ironically, Dylan is a very conservative artist. He hasn’t taken a musical or lyrical risk in years, c’mon Bob think outside the (squeeze)box. A Dylan\Slayer collaboration is where I am going with this…

dylan is god

Uh oh, Bob! You’re regressing back to the Bob Dylan of the 1980s.

You should have passed on releasing this one, especially after the past four successes.

LEAVE, the incomparable Joni Mitchell, out of THIS.

Bottom Line? Bob Dylan 1969.
Bob Dylan 1979. Bob Dylan 2009.
A rollin’ stone, gathers no moss.
!Viva Bob Dylan!

I’m stunned and incredulous as I read some comments here accusing Bob Dylan of ‘ripping off’ others–in addition to being an unoriginal and a mediocre performer–after 4 decades of entertaining the world with the greatest minstrel genius we’ve seen in the past 50 years. If they told me I could listen to only one final show tomorrow before my plug was pulled, it would be a Dylan show–even if it were one of his worst.

If we were to place a complete list of internationally recognized musicians here who continually note how inspired they are by Bob Dylan, and how their own lyrical efforts remain both humbled as well as a far distant second, we would break the RS server.

Why not start throwing God under the bus for his creative efforts? I weep for these pundits. Seriously. Is there in truth no beauty? WTF….

for the record:

Bob Dylan has gone on record with his lyrics and as with many great others, he has won the Pulitzer. Yes, there have been many great writers who have not won the Pulitzer – so that point is well-taken before you make it.

The point I will make for it is the most logical here is that for those of you who point how and took the time to write your name and say how Bob Dylan and this new album

Together Through Life

is “not worth your (my) (anyone else’s) time” and it “is a five star album (at best)” or that it is “no surprise” that Rolling Stone gives it a “good review” because, of course, we all *know* that unlike Simon Cowell who is so uniquely original and really truly trying to find something new and absolutely not capitalize or profit in any way from finding new talent or exploit anyone (who by the way, some of whom have openly said were influenced by Bob Dylan – Cowell attacked Dylan – In my view, this was no more than a lame publicity stunt.) But of course, it is, Rolling Stone and Bob Dylan who are not uniquely original.

That makes perfect sense to me now. After a studying logic, it’s all becoming so very clear.

See, and I thought I was taking the time to write all of this out because I really do care and believe that Bob Dylan’s place in history – not simply as a songwriter and singer – but as a Writer as any writer (and I include many great writers here, and I am thinking specifically of Rimbaud) – I feel that Dylan’s place has yet to be determined.

This can be said of so many writers – that’s just a fact. I believe it true of Dylan. Could be wrong. Could be right. We won’t know. History will tell.

The fact remains – for those of you who wonder about the Why of Dylan and took the time to write at all, your answer is right there: because he is different somehow from other musicians, and that is not “better” or “worse” (don’t be so judgmental, etc), but he’s different – and as such, you respond to that –

that’s important – like it or not, like the music or not, Dylan has been for a long time now, and continues to be, a part of our cultural loop and has crossed generations.

- 30 -

The people that are making negative comments about Dylan will, more than likely, never make any mark on the world at all. While that is unfortunate they may wish to consider growing up or go out(whichever comes first).

Like him or not, accept that Bob Dylan has changed the structure of American songwriting. His new album stands up to some of his best. If you don’t like Bob, don’t listen. I am sure that he will survive. My only suggestion to some of the people that disparage Bob is to go watch American idol. Perhaps that is more your speed.

The people who don’t question Dylan are anti-intellectual philistines! He’s a contrarian so as fans we can give the shit right back to him. The record is WEAK, especially the lyrics.

Simon Cowell is a nobody, an opportunist who somehow had a lot of money to invest in American Banality, a TV show. You can say whatever you want about Dick Clark, but at least (like Ed Sullivan) he would step out of the way, let the performers and the audience do the talking. What makes American Banality so orignal is it’s like Chuck Barris’s Gong Show, right?

Actually, unlike American (Idle)Banality, many of the performers on the Gong Show performed their own–like Bob Dylan, etc.–material.

Rimbaud died (and lived) penniless. I guess that makes him a moron

Joni Mitchell WAS incomparable. If angels had a voice it would sound like Joni Mitchell’s in the 60s and 70s when she was a fresh faced Canadian girl with something to say. She sounds like a man now. As for Dylan, he sounds like he’s hacking and coughing when he sings. Seriously, it sounds like mucous than melody. Neil Young still sounds like the good ol Canadian boy he always was and Paul McCartney is the ONLY person from that era who can still sing all of his songs in the same key as they were on record. I love Dylan but I’ve lost faith that he’ll put anything out that I’ll want to listen to because it’s good and not just because it’s Dylan.

It is amazing that people fall for this deceptive, disingenuous, mean-spirited individual. Here is one of his recent jewels:

“the only person you have to think twice about lying to is either yourself or to God.”

Willie Nelson is twice the musician Dylan is, and has proved he has the longevity to go with it. Dylan is a legend, but more so in his own mind. One can only go on reputation and name for so long.

have not heard the new one yet..I’m too busy listening to the AMAZING “Tell Tale Signs”, one of the very best of the bootleg series. Dylan, is a genius.

One of Dylans greatest guitar influences died 27 years ago today.

Listen to him in our ‘Retro-phile’ section

http://www.riphertoshreds. co.uk/the-beat-goes-on/retro-p hile/

Dylan covers Dixie well, in the Masked and Anonymous film

I bought the new album the day of its release. I really like “This Dream of You” and “I Feel a Change Comin” On”. I think he should concentrate on the power of the love song. I don’t know if Hunter had a part of those or not. I read he wrote “I’m in Love with the Ugliest Girl in the World” and “Silvio”.

But when I put the album on, I skip these because I want to have some kind of meaningful moment when I listen to music. He does it in almost every song he writes and “Simple Twist of Fate” is one of the many superb love songs that he has written and sung.

I know his voice is shot from smoking millions of cigarettes and drinking gallons of alcohol but he still can deliver a great love song and “This Dream of You” is another one.

I hope he keeps on writing and recording and I hope he will do it by himself. He’s all he needs.

I think many of the negative reviews are missing the point on this record. Clearly, this is not supposed to be the heavy minded Modern Times, or the desolation of Time out of Mind, or the person witnessing the apocalypse of Love and Theft – this is one of his chill out New Morning Pat garret albums. If you go through his catalogue you’ll notice how he throws these curveballs between records. I don’t think it was written to compete or fit into the triology of the late ninetines – 2000s. Ofcourse it is not as good mentally as the last three albums – but damn this is a fun blusey light hearted record. In many ways it’s more fun to listen to then the three before becuase the Dylan listener can take a break and not be so engaged. You can tell by the lyrics this is a record not as serious or twisting in the stories. Ofcourse his voice is rough. Why are poeple comparing his sixties and seventies stuff to this , this is a blues album from 2009. It’s really not anything else and it’s cool as can be. I’m just glad he is still making great music and he is having a blast doing it.

Just bought this latest issue of Rolling Stone and just finished reading the article. Man, I would have given my left,,,, you know what to have been Mr.Brinkley doing this interview. Dylan seems like his just the coolest guy on the planet and a great interview subject. His story telling makes this article a great read. For all those idiots hating on Bob, go back and listen to NSYNC.

Ya’ll seem to have such pretentions about Dylan the man, that they seam to sink into the opinions of the music. If it’s posible, try to not do that. Dylan’s roots music gives us point of reference, the integrity of struggle and life’s vicissitudes put to full musical accompaniment. He doesn’t want to be an oracle. He just wants to entertain, and that he does very well.

A real piece of work & so very good albeit not the great voice nor as melodious as the past gems yet most entertaining. Dylan still rules as one of the best ever and “Together Through Life” shows his versatility and brilliance. After the 4th listen to, this clearly should be considered a masterpiece.

I am not a hard core Dylan fan but I do buy his stuff. I only started buying his stuff about 5 years ago after I heard the Rolling Thunder Review, and I thought that album, production of songs, and Dylans voice, was pretty darned great!
So, I started buying other albums. To be honest, his early work for me all but sucks…especially his voice, and the production / arrangement.
For me the live Dylan beats the pants off the studio Dylan; this is why I enjoy ”most” of the official bootlegs releases. But…Together Through Life is for me, a disappointment…in many ways.
On all but maybe three songs, the vocals leave a lot to be desired. On all but two songs, the quality of songwriting etc, is average or below. On most songs the production / arrangement is fine…professional. However, the whole thing seems literally ”thrown together”. Further, it seems that Dylan has ”copped” an attitude with this release of, ”I am Dylan, I am hot at present, and anything I release will be hailed.”
I bought it, I will listen to it, but it will be considered (except for production value) by me in the same vein as his ”wanker” first couple of albums, i.e., ”…a precursor of better things to come (I hope)…”.
Am I missing something?

I love it! This Dream of You and Forgetful Heart are my 2 favorites. There ias nothing this man can do that I won’t buy.
He is masterful and doesn’t really give a damn whether you like his music or not he is living his dream and if you don’t like him don’t go to see him. Me I can’t wait for July 23rd for I shall be there honored and happy to see my Bob Dylan!!! There will never be another like him. He is his own “Masterpiece” Love u Bob and love RS for keeping him right up front where he belongs. Thanx!

Together Through Life is a serious disappointment. Without the herald of Tell Tale Signs to fall back on, if TTL was the next release after Modern Times, Dylan would be back in the tank of his wilderness years (the time between the fabulous Christian output and Time out of Mind), i.e., wandering aimlessly, and totally resting on his laurels / mystique.
Honestly, I will borrow or burn next time before I plunk down dollars for such sub-standard stuff as Together Through Life.

this all reminds me of a rh show i have where you can hardly hear him over the crowd, who were apparently expecting a gd show, and were half cocked. At one point someone yells “play some rock and roll.” you can hear about a half dozen, more aware, gd princesses gasp, and one even yells “shut up.” hunter finishes the song and then explains to those who’d only heard his music played electrified and amplified, “apparently you weren’t aware, i’m a ballad singer.” A heddier-than-thou warmth still fills my heart when i remember that. I expected nothing but some music to clean my kitchen and miss a long-lost love to. i was ecstatic to hear my 2 favorite writers collaborate so much. do you honestly think these men who’ve had so much a global influence care what we think of their latest tryste?