Expecting Rain

Are "tweets" worthy of reporting here?

Just saw this one:
Will Hermes‏@WilliamHermes
Spent last couple days w/ new Dylan LP. Dark stuff, & dude slingin' lyric quotes like an MC: Hank Wms, E Tubbs, Beatles, Satchmo, on+on

And this from a guy who I quoted upthread aways, in response to a question about whether the above comment was "an endorsement":
‏@jodyrosen 3h @annkpowers @WilliamHermes #newdylan
I *love* it.

Also Robert Hilburn is still singing its praises:
BOB DYLAN'S must-have new TEMPEST album only 3 weeks away...release date is Sept 11

Tweets are very welcome in my book, particularly at this still early stage.

must have is putting it mildly.
-big stars dont like to put themselves on the line for a cause they dont understand
*so, what do you want do with jack fate
-nothing; jack fate dont understand anything, just ask any big star.

Ok, I'll add tweets if I see interesting ones. Don't really understand how that site works, just joined...

Btw, I came across this post from the woman who authored the hotpress review. Thought it would be of interest:
I can promise you I left that first hearing sweating and with my mind entirely somewhere else -- glad to have the time to walk through town, without the necessity of making conversation with anyone, for a long time after. The language of the record is very rich, and makes one's own talk seem by comparison cheap: those rhymes, and the way Dylan in a very 18th-century way combines high and low diction, ancient and modern words, are really remarkable. Jonathan Swift would love this record.

I also came across a tweet from her. Someone asked her if the new album was a sequel to L&T/MT/TTL and "does it manage to sound fresh at all?" Her response was: "fresh as can be, and earthy & sublime"

mrjinks, you're killing me.
thanks for the tweets.

Yes, thank you for the tweets!

ahhhhhhhh........


I wish it was September 11th already

Just to say the latest print edition of Hotpress is out today. It contains a review of Tempest but is simply a drastically reduced version of the 8 page Anne Daniels piece we already have online. The only addition is a formal rating and you won't be surprised to learn given the content of the original piece that Tempest received a maximum rating of 5 stars...

Another tweet, from the guy who said Bob was "slinging lyric quotes like an MC" in response to the other guy who said "I love it". Both of these guys write for Rolling Stone (and one also writes for Slate):

it's a stunner. And his delivery makes Tom Waits sound like Bing Crosby

One question, what is the meaning of 'like an MC"?

Might be this:
Short for master of ceremonies or mic controller. Essentially a word for a rapper but the term is not limited to hip hop. (Urban Dictionary)

Maybe he meant it like a "rapper", because they often "sample" music and he then implies that Bob cribs from "Hank Wms, E Tubbs, Beatles, Satchmo, on+on".

Just a guess, tho.

^ Thank you

Yes, I googled it and found 'master of ceremonies' but I wasn't sure if that was appropriate here.

Same guy who called it a stunner responded to a tweet of mine and volunteered a new lyric we haven't yet heard from Long and Wasted Years- another doff of the cap to the Beatles- "Shake it up baby, twist and shout". He also acknowledges that ERK is not the best track but may be the funniest.

Robert Hilburn responds to my query as to how it compares to other Mod Bob albums as follows "Highlights of Bob Dylan's new Tempest may top anything from his great post-Time Out of Mind work"

Q magazine only gave it 3 stars. To be fair Q is a crap magazine (used to quite good years ago). Only read the review in WH Smith's so I don't have a copy but the major complaint seems to be the repetitiveness of a number of songs. The title track being one of them.

Apparently, "he compliments a few of the songs, and praises Dylan's voice, but says the long songs - 'Tin Angel' and 'Tempest' specifically - are too boring and will be hard for any but the hardcore bobsessives to sit through. The biggest drawback, says Pete, is the repetitive nature of those epic songs, with no choruses for variety. Tin Angel is apparently based on an 8 note repeated melody that tests the patience and then some over 9 minutes. On the other hand, he reckons 'Scarlet Town' is the albums one transcendent track, and compares it to other 'classics' 'Man In Long Black Coat' and 'Life Is Hard'. So reach for the sack of salt accordingly."

Other classics such as Life is Hard? I don't mind the song, but it kind of makes the rest of his review kind of pointless.

Could anyone scan and post the Q review? Would like to read it in full and they don't sell it where I currently am. Many thanks to anyone who can help.


PS When can we expect the US Rolling Stone review and interview to be released?

And am I rightin thinking Q only gave TTS a paltry 2 stars? Daft...

Haven't read the review, but it can't be bad to have something to balance the general fanboy fawning of the ageing Bobhead 'critics.'

In metacritic, transformed into a 1-100 qualification:

Tell Tale Signs
Q Magazine
[40]
Nothing here is essential, but there will always be enough completeist to warrent airing of Dylan's old laundry

By the way, Q magazine gave TTL 60, MT 80, L&T 80

Don't know how many stars Q gave it but the magazine has been a joke for a number of years-seem to rermember one cover story a few years ago on Noel Gallagher who was described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time

"Red River shore" IS essential.

As is Someday Baby, Mississippi, Can't Wait... In fact just about all of disc 1 is essential as are a few cuts on discs 2 & 3.

But back on topic, I've been in tweet contact with Anne Margaret Daniels, who wrote the Hotpress piece, and she has a couple of interesting comments to make on the criticisms levelled in the Q review. Worth checking out.