Description
Vinyl LP pressing. 2009 release from the Rock legend. Together Through Life was recorded late last year and features 10 new songs including ‘Life Is Hard’, ‘Beyond Here Lies Nothin” and ‘It’s All Good.’ This album is the 46th release from Dylan, and follows 2006’s platinum-selling album Modern…
James M Kearns –
Well, at least a good record. It’s also the only version of the album that doesn’t have the famously squashed dynamics of the digital version, which makes them sound flat, un-nuanced, and universally loud. It’s Bob Dylan, for god’s sake, not Lady Gaga! No one who listens to him wants crushed dynamics. It doesn’t fit the music in any way.Sides A, B, and D sound good. For some reason, on all three copies I tried, before simply taking the “which one sucks least” approach to settling on a crap pressing of a beloved album, side C sounds like you’re getting a swirly in a bowl of Rice Krispies. The snap, crackle, pop is so loud and distracting as to make that quarter of the album almost unlistenable.Dylan deserves far better quality releases of his music, even on the less-than-classic albums.
Classics Collector –
Well, at least a good record. It’s also the only version of the album that doesn’t have the famously squashed dynamics of the digital version, which makes them sound flat, un-nuanced, and universally loud. It’s Bob Dylan, for god’s sake, not Lady Gaga! No one who listens to him wants crushed dynamics. It doesn’t fit the music in any way.Sides A, B, and D sound good. For some reason, on all three copies I tried, before simply taking the “which one sucks least” approach to settling on a crap pressing of a beloved album, side C sounds like you’re getting a swirly in a bowl of Rice Krispies. The snap, crackle, pop is so loud and distracting as to make that quarter of the album almost unlistenable.Dylan deserves far better quality releases of his music, even on the less-than-classic albums.
Bill R. Moore –
The songs, sound, and production are as strong as the rest of Bob Dylan’s 21st century output (Time Out Of Mind-Tempest) and this is an essential volume in this period of masterpiece records in my opinion. My only reservation, comparing Dylan only to Dylan, is that this one lacks the uber biting guitar work of the others. Here he opts for a slightly softer backdrop, David Hidalgo’s accordion being the most featured instrument on most of the selections. It’s a curious choice but, consistent throughout, it is its own musical statement and perhaps his lyric and vocal offerings within the more reduced decibel (comparted to Love & Theft for example) are even more evident.Personal preference aside, the 10 songs herein continue to reflect his modern take on roots song forms that he has so succesfully explored throughout his career, the ethos of a few Chess Records artists of the 50s are much in evidence here….And I’ll be damned if Together Through Life doesn’t sound better with repeated listenings.