Bob Dylan Time Out Of Mind, and the Reinvention of Folk Legend to Bluesman

In 1997 Bob Dylan very nearly died. In late spring he was struck down with a serious heart infection, pericarditis, and spent some tense and unnerving time in hospital. Upon his eventual recovery he said that he was convinced he'd be seeing Elvis again before long. He remained among the living, in my opinion, because he still had so much more to give. His work on Earth was not complete. Now they say that, as an artist, it often takes something truly traumatic to happen to you in your life to be able to create a masterpiece. After 35 years of recording hit album after hit album that is only what could have inspired Dylan to present Time Out Of Mind, his finest achievement to date as far as I'm concerned, to the world. A cut above everything else he had done for years, and so different and on the edge, it is a timeless work of enormous magnitude. It won a Grammy Award for Best Album in 1998, countless 5-star reviews in all of the major magazines, and put Dylan well and truly back on the map as a relevant singer-songwriter once again. It shows the measure of the man that deep into his fifties, and on the release of his THIRTIETH studio album, that he could still cause such a stir.

I can't even begin to go into the full story of how I first discovered Bob Dylan. Anybody who steps out of their house in a morning will, at some point in their lives, come across the man. My discovery of this legend was normal in the scheme of things; I was at college, and had one particular mate at the time (who was also the drummer in my band) called Mike, who was Dylan mad. He put me onto some of his very early work - The Freewheelin' if I remember rightly - and I liked it very much, but that little something extra was missing for me. I found what I was looking for in Dylan's outstanding trio of Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited, and Blonde On Blonde - his first three electric albums released in the space of just over a year (1965-66). At the time many Dylan fans abandoned him for going electric - more fool them. For me, this was his best stuff. I dug into his back catalogue, and slowly but surely began to acquire record after record after record. I now own 90% of his releases, which amounts to over fifty albums, of which Time Out Of Mind is my ultimate treasure.

It is an album steeped in pain, fear, skepticism and disquiet. Dylan really lets the depths of his soul pour out into these songs, creating a dark but captivating atmosphere. It is a record that could only have been written by an artist who had realised his own mortality. Bob himself described the songs on Time Out Of Mind as "more concerned with the dread realities of life than the bright and rosy idealism of popular today." Love Sick, the album's haunting, candle-lit opening, is a thunderous beginning, and a head-turning re-introduction to the new Dylan. His voice is strained; the organ melancholy; the lyrics uncertain, but at all times endearing. "I spoke like a child/You destroyed me with a smile.....I'm sick of love/But I'm in the thick of it." This is a man who was blessed with a prophetic way with words.

Dirt Road Blues is a rambling ditty, which amply demonstrates the new direction that Dylan was looking to take. Standing In The Doorway is nothing short of heart-breaking. Brilliantly produced by Daniel Lanois, it is one of those songs that you can't help but just sit back and ride with. Million Miles and Tryin' To Get To Heaven are equally as potent. Dylan's heart bleeds all over the page in these ominous forebodings. Already, at this stage of the record, it is evident that this is a late night listen. It's an album for 4am, when the party is over, but the hardcore are sat left needing something to help them wind down over one for the road. The amount of times this album has seen in the dawn for me is unimaginable.

'Til I Fell In Love With You, the undoubted highlight of the album for me, is a stomping Wurlitzer-led exploration of Dylan's musings. Not Dark Yet, the critics choice as the record's masterpiece, is the lament of a man who has realised his brush with death. It is lonesome but somewhat comforting; yet again Dylan's lyrical genius protrudes. Cold Irons Bound is opaque and gloomy, but compelling. Make You Feel My Love is delicate and sincere. Can't Wait is a cool, smoke-choked, bar-room blues. That leaves Highlands; adequately named since it is like a never-ending saunter through the mountains of his mind. He name checks his fellow folk legend: "I'm listening to Neil Young/Gotta turn up the sound," before declaring with tongue-in-cheek that "I'm on anything but a role." Towards the conclusion of the record Dylan declares "My heart's in the highlands/Only place left to go." It is a fitting resolution to this fifteen minute monologue. My heart, it must be said, is in the words and the whims of this record; in the fabric of the earthy music; in the sentiment bestowed by an ageing master. I remain totally besotted by this album, and probably always will.

So, there I was, 18 years old playing bass guitar in Mike's granny flat as we rehearsed the songs that were destined to overtake the world. Then the call came through. Bob Dylan was playing the Liverpool Summer Pops Festival for a one-off date. Needless to say we dropped our instruments and got straight on the phone. Imagine our despair to find that it had sold out in minutes, then our joy to hear that there was still a way; £140-a-ticket VIP. Our yes' were impulsive, but later ludicrous. It put me in a financial dilemma for a while, but boy was it worth it. Champagne reception, three course meal, free bar, a giggle backstage with Elvis Costello, and third row tickets in a tiny tent. One of the nights of my life - I'm certain Mike, my mate who shared the experience, would definitely agree. Our destiny was fulfilled. We had seen the great man in the finest way possible and nobody could take it away from us. I was left gobsmacked for months. Bob even got his Grammy Award out on stage. A concert that simply was Time Out Of Mind.

Since that historic night back in 2001, I have seen Bob Dylan three times. 2004 in Newcastle Telewest Arena, 2006 in Manchester Arena, and 2009 in Liverpool Echo Arena. I'm sure that I'll get the opportunity once again. As for his new records, I love them. I love his sound, I love his disposition, and I love the fact that he is still so creative. Love & Theft (2001), Modern Times (2006) and Together Through Life (2009) have all got their moments. Dylan is an artist who has evolved; his sound is unrecognisable from his initial conception as an acoustic folk singer. That is not a negative thing though. This man's fifty year career will be every bit as influential as Shakespeare, or Mozart, or The Beatles, in times to come. Mark my words.