By all accounts, Together Through Life arrived quickly, cut swiftly by Bob Dylan and his touring band in the fall of 2008, surprising the label upon its delivery a couple months later, then rushed into stores in April 2009, just half a year after the release of the monumental archive project Tell Tale Signs. Given the speed of its creation, it fits that the album has a spontaneous, kinetic kick, feeling so alive that it's a little messy, teeming with contradictions, crossed signals, and frayed ends. That liveliness turns Together Through Life into a much lighter affair than its weighty predecessor, Modern Times, which was tinged with doom and had thematic unity, two things missing from this comparatively breezy affair. If Together Through Life is about any one thing, it is -- as its title and cover photo elliptically suggest -- the enduring power of romance, how it provides sustenance and how its absence can make life hard. But all this suggests that Dylan has turned in a meditation on the meaning of life and love here, when its core charm is its very modesty. It's an old-fashioned ten tracks, clocking in at 45 minutes, a simple set of songs co-written with Robert Hunter -- Jerry Garcia's lyricist and previous Dylan collaborator, co-writing the irresistibly jaunty "Silvio" in 1988 -- and delivered without adornment, its clean yet earthy production slyly emphasizing the musical variety here. Sonically, this is right in line with Dylan's 2000s albums, the sound of a well-lubricated traveling band easing into the same chords it plays every night, but this isn't strictly roadhouse rock & roll: Dylan remains fixated on pre-rock & roll American music, emphasizing the blues but eager to croon love-struck ballads. In this context, David Hidalgo's accordion -- which appears so often it soon ceases to be noteworthy -- can suggest a romantic stroll down Parisian streets or a steamy sojourn with Doug Sahm in a Tex-Mex border town, but everything here is recognizably, thoroughly Dylan's mythic picturesque America that stretches from the hazy past to the barbed present. While the music is proudly, almost defiantly, rooted in the past, with Dylan borrowing Willie Dixon's "I Just Want to Make Love to You" wholesale for the riotous "My Wife's Home Town," there's no avoidance of the present here, with Bob even going so far as to turn the omnipresent catch phrase "It's All Good" into a mordantly funny rocker. Dylan's not just aware of the modern-day vernacular, he's wound up with an album that fits the spirit of 2009: it's troubled but hopeful, firmly in favor of love and romance, but if that fails there are always romantic dreams and sardonic jokes to get you through life.
Bob Dylanby Angela Zimmerman • May 15, 2009 Bob DylanTogether Through Life(Columbia, 2009)At the time of writing this review, a few weeks after Together Through Life, Bob Dylan's 33rd studio album, hit the digital and physical distribution shelves, it has already gone to #1 on the US and UK charts. No big surprise there; his albums have usually done well, and his last, 2006's Modern Times, w.
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For his thirty-third album, Dylan teams up with Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and goes though the motions with a competent band.
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Now I know why "Beyond Here Lies Nothing" was the first track released off Dylan's latest album, Together Through Life. It's the best song here, with a spirited arrangement, some tough blues guitar and a decent vocal performance. Paired with the black and white still photos of the video, it becomes nearly a keeper, that is if you don't go back and give "Highway 61 Revisited" a revisit.I've only...
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Depending on who's doing the counting Together Through Life is somewhere between the 33rd and 46th studio album of Bob Dylan's long and illustrious career. Pitching in on this one are members of The Heartbreakers as well as Los Lobos.That diverse input is reflected in the music. Even with all of these inputs and influences, the album has an overwhelming sense of been there/done that. Some o
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There are people, influential people, that say Bob Dylan’s entered somewhat of a renaissance. On paper, it’d be hard to disagree. His last two albums have sold as many copies as his entire ‘80s and ‘90s output combined- and this in the midst of a collapsing industry, while old-school rock…
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..........won't jostle his top ten releases any. This is not a masterpiece.......But it doesn't have to be & that's the point. Together Thru Life continues Dylan's sepia toned exploration of rustic roots song styles as he and his revolving band of brigands rifle through the Songbook. But this cd lacks the smoking amp spark of Love & Theft's best moments. No...This is not the mad-mystic-comi...
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Now I know why "Beyond Here Lies Nothing" was the first track released off Dylan's latest album, Together Through Life. It's the best song here, with a spirited arrangement, some tough blues guitar and a decent vocal performance. Paired with the black and white still photos of the video, it becomes nearly a keeper, that is if you don't go back and give "Highway 61 Revisited" a revisit.I've only...
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A sadomasochistic romance and/or a study on domestic abuse? Doesn't feel like Dylan, but it's certainly a gripping storyline for a music video. More like a mini-movie. Sidenote: New MOG is pretty nifty.
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Bob Dylanby Angela Zimmerman • May 15, 2009 Bob DylanTogether Through Life(Columbia, 2009)At the time of writing this review, a few weeks after Together Through Life, Bob Dylan's 33rd studio album, hit the digital and physical distribution shelves, it has already gone to #1 on the US and UK charts. No big surprise there; his albums have usually done well, and his last, 2006's Modern Times, w.
More >
There are people, influential people, that say Bob Dylan’s entered somewhat of a renaissance. On paper, it’d be hard to disagree. His last two albums have sold as many copies as his entire ‘80s and ‘90s output combined- and this in the midst of a collapsing industry, while old-school rock…
More >
Interact with Bob Dylan's song Beyond Here Lies Nothin' by typing your own thoughts and messages as you listen ot the song to create a unique, colorful, Lyrical Portrait Video. The new album, Together Through Life, comes out this Tuesday!http://beyondhereliesnothin.com/
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Depending on who's doing the counting Together Through Life is somewhere between the 33rd and 46th studio album of Bob Dylan's long and illustrious career. Pitching in on this one are members of The Heartbreakers as well as Los Lobos.That diverse input is reflected in the music. Even with all of these inputs and influences, the album has an overwhelming sense of been there/done that. Some o
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Bob Dylan on Barack Obama, Ulysses Grant and American Civil War ghostsListen to an exclusive track from Bob Dylan's new album, and read his views on US politics and history, exclusively on Times OnlineBill Flanagan: In that song Chicago After Dark were you thinking about the new President? Bob Dylan: Not really. It's more about State Street and the wind off Lake Michigan and how sometimes we kn...
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For his thirty-third album, Dylan teams up with Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and goes though the motions with a competent band.
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"This Dream of You" is just a beautiful, beautiful song and I listen to it all the time.
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Reviews of new albums by Tyvek, Pink Mountaintops, Bob Dylan, Tara Jane O'Neil, Depeche Mode, Fischerspooner, Mika Miko, and Magik Markers
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Shit just got real. AFI and the Sundance Film Festival, with director Nash Edgerton, have filmed the first music video for Dylan's "Beyond Here Lies Nothin,'" the single off his latest album, Together Through Life. The video, starring Amanda Aardsma Joel Stoffer, is this year's most bizarre display of sadistic love. It may even be a dramatic recreation of the Chris Brown/Rihanna romp earlier th...
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Bob Dylan will top this weeks Billboard Album chart with Together Through Life. In his long career, it is only the fifth time he has reached the peak and only the second time in the last 33 years.While being one of the most influential artists of the rock era, Dylan's albums have not always been chartbusters. During the 60's, John Wesley Harding charted the best, peaking at number two with Hi...
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Bob Dylan is releasing his 46th (yes, forty-sixth) release on April 28th, titled Together Through Life.Dylan recently sat down with Bill Flanagan to discuss the album. The dialogue can currently be read on Bob’s website.Together Through Life will be available digitally, on CD, a CD/DVD edition featuring “Roy Silver – The Lost Interview” and vinyl. [...]
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Not that it's any indication of the quality of his work, but Bob Dylan has found himself on the top of the charts four times before: for Planet Waves (1974), Blood on the Tracks (1975), Desire (1976), and Modern Times...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Beyond Here Lies Nothin' |
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| 2 Life Is Hard |
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| 3 My Wife's Home Town |
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| 4 If You Ever Go to Houston |
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| 5 Forgetful Heart |
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| 6 Jolene |
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| 7 This Dream of You |
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| 8 Shake Shake Mama |
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| 9 I Feel a Change Comin' On |
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| 10 It's All Good |
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 "Together Through Life")
