#411 Bob Dylan, 'Love and Theft' (2001)

Previously #385

There’s not many artists that can deliver an album as good as ‘Love and Theft’ on their 31st full length release. 39 years since the release of his first record, Bob Dylan rebirthed his career with this record. Like when he went electric at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, Dylan emerges on this record with a new persona. His voice more gruff and gravelly than ever, Dylan releases a rootsy, bluesy album that could have come straight out of 1930s Southern America. He takes us on a journey from New Orleans to Mississippi across the South, chronicling its history along the way. ‘High Water (For Charley Patton),’ a banjo-fueled song with story-telling reminiscent of songs such as ‘Hurricane.’ On this record Dylan even tries his hand at being a Jazz crooner. It’s a diverse record so different to anything he’d done before but so classically Dylan.

The album was released on 11 September 2001, yes, the very day of the 9/11 attacks. Dylan always had a knack for timing. The 12 tracks were recorded over the length of 13 days. If the last list is anything to go by, this is the first of many Dylan albums to come (there were 10 featured in the last countdown). 

#rs500albums