Dylan: Down, not grooving

A couple of things are immediately apparent: First, Dylan could care less about selling record. Rumors had been circulating for months that CBS did not want to put this album out.

Bob Dylan has released his first album in two years, the appropriately titled Down in the Groove, which was delayed and changed innumerable times. Perhaps the shortest of his career, clocking in at a little over 31 minutes, it shows that Dylan is hell-bent on being rock’s greatest eccentric.

A couple of things are immediately apparent: First, Dylan could care less about selling record. Rumors had been circulating for months that CBS did not want to put this album out. Second, Dylan has apparently stopped writing. The album consists primarily of covers, and the few originals are basically throwaways compared with what he is capable of writing. This lull in creativity matches his dry spell of the early 70s, when he recorded such unremarkable albums as Self-Portrait. The main difference is that this time Dylan has continued to perform live.

Like his last album, Knocked out Loaded, this one lists no producer and is a hodgepodge of tracks from various sessions. For the first time ever (except for Biograph, the five-record retrospective), Dylan has included a track originally scheduled for an earlier album. "Death Is Not the End," definitely the best original on the record, was initially recorded for Infidels.

Probably at the behest of Columbia Records, the song was included, with the backing vocals of Full Force added to the original track. In the context of this record, it isn’t as strong as it could be. When hear in the contest of the other songs left off Infidels (which could easily have been a two-record set). It has more of an effect. Then again, I’ve been listening to it for over a year, so I’m used to it.

There is something perversely likeable about Down in the Groove. The music goes from rock to folk in that order, and the rock does rock in Dylan’s typical earthy blues influenced style.

The album starts off with Wilbert Harrison’s "Let’s Stick Together," with Dylan leading a tight four-piece band, including Danny Kortchmar on guitar, Steve Jordan on drums and Randy Jackson on bass.

"When Did You Leave Heaven?" is a nice – if somewhat drippy – ballad with just guitar, keyboards, and drums. "Sally Sue Brown’ gets back to an early R&B groove and is notable for the backup vocals of Bobby King and Willie Green who usually sing with Ry Cooder.

"Death is Not the End" is a beautiful song with a countryish melody and subtle backing by Mark Knopfler on guitar, Robbie Shakespeare on bass, Sly Dunbar on drums and Alan Clarke on keyboards. In all seriousness, it would be a great song to play for someone contemplating suicide.

"Had a Dream About You Baby," from the soundtrack of Dylan’s ill-fated movie, Hearts of Fire, brings the first side to a rocking conclusion. It’s not a great song, but it kicks ass and includes Eric Clapton on guitar, Ron Wood on bass and Mitchell Froom on keyboards.

Side two starts with two songs co-written with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter: "Ugliest Girl in the World," a stupid slightly funny rocker with great harp and the more interesting "Silvio," which has been getting some airplay.

"Silvio," which has a way of growing on you, is the most provocative song on the record, with an insistent beat and a great chorus. Along with "Death," it approaches the intensity one would hope to hear from Dylan.

"90 Miles an Hour Down a Dead-End Street" is an old Hank Snow hit. On the original version, Snow started in a slow blues groove that accelerated to a fairly rollicking pace. Dylan does it slow, almost like a hymn, carefully accentuating the words.

He moves back to folk music to close his weirdest record ever. On "Shenandoah," he gets an ’80s approximation of his Nashville Skyline voice. He sets up an acoustic Bo Diddley sort of rhythm, accented by a subtle electric guitar and a strumming mandolin punctuated by a typically whacky harmonica solo. Instead of stretching out the "look away" chorus he clips it short.

Saving the best for last, he ends with a great song by the bluegrass group the Stanley Brothers’ "Rank Strangers," one of the great eerie classics of American folk music. Dylan, does it playing a softly strumming halting rhythm on acoustic, with Larry Klein playing spooky sliding notes on the bass.

This track shows that Dylan can still really sing when he wants to. If the whole record had the power of this cut it would have been incredible. Dylan has a way of singing old folk songs in which his voice cuts right through, giving the song a feeling of mystery and timelessness.

Down in the Groove, however, will only appeal to the most hardcore Dylan fans. Much like the numerous covers he did when he toured with Tom Petty. It’s just an album of songs (I guess) he felt like singing, with nothing of startling insight or significance, just music – more or less.

Probably to the chagrin of Columbia executives Dylan is deliberately ignoring all current musical trends and recording production values, doing his best not to have a hit record. For that alone, it is laudable.

There are two other interesting things about this album. One is the sticker on the cover which says, "1988 Inductee Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.’ The other is an address on the inner sleeve to write away for information on Dylan tours and records. I guess he or his management feels that anyone who writes, after hearing this record, is a real fan.