So Sir Paul says he can see himself going into his eighties. Dylan once said that if he's still around at 80, he'd still be doing what he's always done. (This was about 20 years ago.) I'd be curious to hear what anybody thinks about Bob. In his most recent shows, his voice was usually painfully shot, but somehow he still delivered with a passion that made many of his performances "great" despite the ravaged vocals. Personally, I love the "new" aged Dylan that debuted on Time Out of Mind and has continued through Together Through Life. It's like he's a different person than the "classic" Dylan but he still writes compelling songs with a lot of very good lyrics. To me, his aged, croaking voice perfectly suits the songs he's been writing although in concert it seems hard for him to pull off some of the older "classics." I love hearing him do his more recent material. I've heard the older stuff a million times, so I'm not one of those who walks away pissed off that he doesn't do a "Greatest Hits" show. I wonder how long he can do it. If his voice gets any rougher, I wonder if he'll be able to even talk, although I wish he would figure out a way to preserve what's left of his voice and keep going as long as he feels like doing it. Maybe he should stop smoking?

I heard Dylan last June, his voice suffered a lot over the years, but his stage presence and charisma are fantastic. His band is very good. I hope to see him again, when I think of his voice I assume that he may go on for maybe five or seven years, but I can only speculate. I would love to hear a new album from him. Leonard Cohen showed that of even old men with old voices can do decent records.

I think there's a new album coming soon: David Hidalgo of Los Lobos has been recording with him.

ASPEN — David Hidalgo recently finished recording sessions for a new Bob Dylan album, at Jackson Browne's Los Angeles studio. Hidalgo, who has played on two previous Dylan albums, wasn't expecting to add his Mexican instruments to the new project. But there were Mexican instruments around the studio, and Hidalgo, who grew up in a Mexican-American environment in East L.A., was as attracted to the accordion, and the tres — a guitar-like instrument whose six strings are separated into three groups of two — as he was to the electric guitar when he was a kid. Dylan heard those sounds, and welcomed them into his music.

“He'd say, ‘Wow, what's that?'” Hidalgo said from a tour stop in Fort Collins. “He liked the sound. So we'd get it in there.”

Hidalgo appreciated Dylan's embrace of the Mexican sounds. But he has an even bigger appreciation of Dylan's outlook on music generally. The recording session, he said, was nothing like the earlier ones he had done with Dylan.

“It was a great experience. And different. Each one has been different, all completely different approaches. It's an amazing thing, how he keeps creativity. I don't see how he does it.”

Hidalgo may not understand it exactly. But that hasn't stopped him from embodying that same sort of constant reinvention. In the main gig he has had for nearly 50 years, as a member of Los Lobos, Hidalgo and his mates — Louis Pérez, Cesar Rosas and Conrad Lozano, all founding members of the band, and Steve Berlin, a Jewish Philadelphian who joined the group in the mid-'80s — have remained creatively restless and ambitious, refusing to fall into well-worn grooves.

“That's always been the philosophy of this band — it's still alive, I guess, the band, the attitude,” the 57-year-old Hidalgo said. “We don't move as fast as we used to, but trying to do something that we haven't done before — that's something we pay attention to. That's important to us.”

When Los Lobos play the Wheeler Opera House on Saturday, March 10 at 8 p.m., they will, indeed, be doing something new. Their current tour is an all acoustic show — unlike their last Aspen appearance, in 2009 at Belly Up, which was billed as acoustic, but found the band switching to full electric mode before the halfway point. And while Los Lobos has done acoustic tours before, this one has a twist. In the past, going acoustic meant that the setlist would be devoted to old Mexican songs. But beginning with some shows in the Midwest last week, Los Lobos have tried playing their English-language rock ‘n' roll on acoustic guitars, stand-up bass and a smattering of Mexican folk instruments.

This doesn't quite compare in magnitude to some of the moves Los Lobos tried early on in their careers. The band members started out like any American kids who grew up in the '60s — anxious to separate themselves from the music of their parents, dying to plug in electric guitars and get loud. Hidalgo worshipped Hendrix and Cream; he and his friends had little interest in the Spanish-language norteño and cumbias their parents played on the radio.

But at a certain point something snapped, and Los Lobos found themselves challenged by the Mexican styles. They traded in their Fender six-strings for bajo sextos and requintos, and for nine years did their best impersonation of a Mexican folk band. When they released the 1978 album “Just Another Band From East L.A.,” under the name Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles, the songs were “El Pescador Nadador” and “La Iguana.”

Then came another monumental change: for the 1983 album “... and a Time to Dance,” they emerged as a plugged-in band, singing American-style rock.

Since then, Los Lobos — with the same lineup of musicians — have settled more or less into a certain style that mixes English and Spanish lyrics, American rock with South of the Border rhythms and themes. But they haven't stopped experimenting. The 1988 album “La Pistola y El Corazón” was devoted to tejano and mariachi styles. The highly praised 1992 album “Kiko” found them discovering the wonders of the recording studio; “Colossal Head,” from 1996, moved closer toward the avant-garde. “The Ride,” from 2004, was heavy with guest singers: Elvis Costello, Mavis Staples, Tom Waits, the Mexican band Café Tacuba; “Los Lobos Goes Disney,” from 2009, was a set of recordings of songs from classic Disney movies. (That one can be explained by the fact that Los Lobos were signed to the Disney-owned Hollywood Records.)

The most recent album, 2010's “Tin Can Trust,” was, at last, a throwback.

“We played straightforward, like we used to — just capture the performance. Like we did before we learned how to use the studio. It's like ‘How Will the Wolf Survive' [their 1984 breakthrough album] — really pure, simple,” Hidalgo said. “I guess we're recycling our old stuff, in a way.”

How have Los Lobos avoided making a habit of falling into old patterns? Hidalgo isn't sure. Answering that is as difficult as saying how Bob Dylan has reinvented himself as a country singer, as a fire-and-brimstone gospel singer, as an old-style folkie, as a crooner.

“It's a mystery sometimes,” Hidalgo said of Los Lobos. “Bottom line is, we still believe in what this band means to us. So we're still here to keep it alive.”

stewart@aspentimes.com

Tomcasagranada, you gave me some very good news, thankyou, rock on. I loved the accordeon on Together Through Life, especially on It's all good, a great groovy track.

Great news. I'm going to see Dylan here in Brazil, next month. It would be great if David Hidalgo could play with him at his gigs, I loved the accordion on the last Dylan records, too.

No. He's not "going" now. His singing is so atrocious and painful that I stopped going to his shows. I saw him in the 70's and the 90's, when his voice, while limited, was powerful. Now you can't hear the lyrics -- ever. I don't mind his changing his songs, or his idiosyncracies. It's just that he can't sing -- at all. The band is good, but you're paying to be in the presence of a legend. Not to actually hear him.

Dylan can't be too old since he has been old all the time. That's part of being a poet.

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windmelody
I heard Dylan last June, his voice suffered a lot over the years, but his stage presence and charisma are fantastic. His band is very good. I hope to see him again, when I think of his voice I assume that he may go on for maybe five or seven years, but I can only speculate. I would love to hear a new album from him. Leonard Cohen showed that of even old men with old voices can do decent records.

Yes - He has continued to show tremendous passion and charisma in his shows, although it's always a gamble with Bob. Some nights can be way better than others. Great band he's been touring with, too. I love the way he continues to radically change the arrangements of his songs, even within the same tour. probably one thing that keeps him interested.

- there isnt really matter of age in music, - this i not sport - it depends on what musicians are aiming for. I would like to remind you people of Johnny Cash - I think Cash did his finest recordings at very old age - in fact his last recordings were his greatest - Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits have done great recordings recently, so It´s not an question of age - I´m sure Dylan can write great songs, his voice is already gone, but I wish he would focus on songwriting and recording, and stop playing golden oldies at gigs...you cant really be a oldies hit jukebox, when you cant sing those old songs anymore..but I´m sure he could make good recordings and write good songs for others.

I hope he will do another studio-album so It's fully clear that he's done albums for 50 years...Sinatra recorded between 1935 - 1993 and that's 58 years...Dylan has some way to go...

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seitan
- there isnt really matter of age in music, - this i not sport - it depends on what musicians are aiming for. I would like to remind you people of Johnny Cash - I think Cash did his finest recordings at very old age - in fact his last recordings were his greatest - Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits have done great recordings recently, so It´s not an question of age - I´m sure Dylan can write great songs, his voice is already gone, but I wish he would focus on songwriting and recording, and stop playing golden oldies at gigs...you cant really be a oldies hit jukebox, when you cant sing those old songs anymore..but I´m sure he could make good recordings and write good songs for others.

Yes, it's not just about age. Agree with you on Johnny Cash, etc. With Bob it's a question of is there any chance or hope of saving his voice or has the damage been done. Like I said, would quitting smoking help or is it too late?

I saw Bob in Glasgow last october... sounding better than he had in a long time
video: [www.dylanvideo.com]

As far as I can tell, he already is...

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stonesdan60

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seitan
- there isnt really matter of age in music, - this i not sport - it depends on what musicians are aiming for. I would like to remind you people of Johnny Cash - I think Cash did his finest recordings at very old age - in fact his last recordings were his greatest - Leonard Cohen and Tom Waits have done great recordings recently, so It´s not an question of age - I´m sure Dylan can write great songs, his voice is already gone, but I wish he would focus on songwriting and recording, and stop playing golden oldies at gigs...you cant really be a oldies hit jukebox, when you cant sing those old songs anymore..but I´m sure he could make good recordings and write good songs for others.

Yes, it's not just about age. Agree with you on Johnny Cash, etc. With Bob it's a question of is there any chance or hope of saving his voice or has the damage been done. Like I said, would quitting smoking help or is it too late?

I love Bob. Greatest songwriter ever. But his voice is gone. Same with Springsteen. Both still have great stage presence but it is painful to hear them sing anymore. At least for me. They should both quit.

erm, Bob Dylans' voice is "gone"? Isn't that like an oxymoronic, or something??

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johnh
I saw Bob in Glasgow last october... sounding better than he had in a long time
video: [www.dylanvideo.com]

Cool.

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dewlover
erm, Bob Dylans' voice is "gone"? Isn't that like an oxymoronic, or something??

Very true...did he ever have a decent voice?

Wasn't he so much older then, he's younger than that now?

Guess I win smartarse poster of the day !!

He's been around the world and back again: something in the moonlight still hounds him.

The above is from Handy Dandy.

Does that make me the smartarse poster of the day !

"erm, Bob Dylans' voice is "gone"? Isn't that like an oxymoronic, or something??"

No, Dylan had a voice. It wasn't a classic voice, but it was powerful, unique, and effective. His voice was more limited in the 90's, but it still existed, and could get the message of a song across. Now he can't even croak out the lyrics or the melody in a way that gets the message of the song across. It's just gone.

Springsteen, by the way, still can. His range may not be what it used to be, and he's a bit hoarse in concert at times (though he usually gets stronger during the show), but to compare him to Dylan in this regard is totally unfair. Bruce's voice has (at least) four things Dylan doesn't have -- you can hear the words, you can hear the melody, control over dynamics, and lungs. Plus, he can still play guitar.

It depends on the song. His voice has gone very weak, melodic songs suffer from that, but rough songs like Can't Wait or Highway 61 workout brilliantly!

March 12, 2012

New Dylan Album In The Works (Update)

ISIS heard a little while back that Bob Dylan had been working on a new studio album but I decided to keep this under wraps until I could positively confirm the report(s). In any event, on Friday March 9 The Aspen Times published an interview with multi-instrumentalist David Hidalgo who revealed that he had recently finished recording sessions for a new Bob Dylan album.

The sessions took place at Groove Masters, a semi-private studio facility owned by Jackson Browne. The studio, on Colorado Avenue, Santa Monica, is where Dylan recorded both “Christmas In The Heart” and “Together Through Life”, not too far from his home.

Hidalgo, who was brought in primarily to play accordion and guitar, ended up adding Mexican instruments to the album. The instruments, including tres (a guitar like instrument), were around the studio and Hidalgo says “He [Dylan] liked the sound. So we’d get it in there.” Hidalgo said the recording sessions were nothing like the earlier ones he had done with Dylan.

Sources have indicated that Dylan went into the studio with members of his tour band in January and may have spent up to two months working on the album, though whether this refers to recording or recording and mixing is not clear. It has been rumoured that Dylan might have used an outside producer on the sessions! It has also been rumoured that Mark Knopfler may have joined Dylan in the studio. However, it is my understanding that Knopfler was mixing his own album in Britain at around this time. Make of all of this what you will; only time will tell.

In Marianne Faithfull's book Memories, Dreams and Reflections she writes how the poets she knew—including Allen Ginsburg—absolutely worshipped Bob Dylan. It made me think all poets are probably secretly failed singer/songwriters.

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bam
"erm, Bob Dylans' voice is "gone"? Isn't that like an oxymoronic, or something??"

No, Dylan had a voice. It wasn't a classic voice, but it was powerful, unique, and effective. His voice was more limited in the 90's, but it still existed, and could get the message of a song across. Now he can't even croak out the lyrics or the melody in a way that gets the message of the song across. It's just gone.

Springsteen, by the way, still can. His range may not be what it used to be, and he's a bit hoarse in concert at times (though he usually gets stronger during the show), but to compare him to Dylan in this regard is totally unfair. Bruce's voice has (at least) four things Dylan doesn't have -- you can hear the words, you can hear the melody, control over dynamics, and lungs. Plus, he can still play guitar.

Excellent comments, but watching Bruce these days straining to get the words out just makes me flat out uncomfortable. He is still a great performer and I love his passion.