The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...

 

The Rage in Bob Dylan's "Tempest"
by David Yaffe
Sexy Beast
September 3, 2012

All over this album, Dylan splatters enough blood to make Quentin Tarantino wince. “I pay in blood, but not my own,” he growls. Call it Bob Dylan Undead. “Scarlet Town,” a dark and hypnotic ballad, depicts a red-light district of the soul, with a hushed and craggy croon. Good and evil exist side by side; guess who prevails in the end? In this moral ferment, Dylan’s radar is certainly up: “You’ve got legs that can drive men mad/ A lot of things we didn’t do that I wish we had.” Regrets, he’s had a few. Still, the penitent intervenes: “I’m stayin’ up late and I’m makin’ amends/ While the smile of heaven descends.” The smile doesn’t last long on Tempest. He ends with “Roll On John,” a dark tribute to John Lennon. He could have paid homage more than 30 years ago, so why now? Dylan, who, in 1972, wrote a supportive letter to the INS when Lennon was having immigration troubles, quotes from “A Day in the Life” and “Come Together,” but in the tradition of pastoral elegy, Dylan is really mourning himself. The verses get weirder and weirder. Lennon lines give way to William Blake and the lord’s prayer: “Tyger tyger burning bright/ I pray the lord my soul to keep/ In the fortress of the night/ Cover him over and let him sleep.” Rest, rest perturbed spirit. Dylan still walks among us, a long way from peace...

This album certainly shows lots of red matter, even on the cover, with Carl Kundmann’s sculpture of the Moldau’s goddess bathed in ruby red. There are many guts strewn throughout this record; with torn and frayed vocal cords, they are all too human...