What kind of dog is that?

Slate's book/letter exchange deal, whatever you want to call it, last week it was on Dylan's Chronicles, Vol. 1. I particularly enjoyed this entry.

And the Slatearticle lead me to Alex Ross's previous piece on Bob from the New Yorker in '99, a piece that I've been trying to track down for five years (since reading the original). It's posted on Ross' blog.

Ross' '99 piece was the first article I saw that fully articulated the musical/touring significance of Dylan's work... most others are content to dwell in a 60's poet folk singer plugged in fell off a motorcycle went born again stereotype without realizing the depth of what Dylan's doing now. Time Out of Mind for me easily ranks as the best album for any artist from the 90's. It's a complete work, a masterpiece of organization. And Bob doesn't spend half his days on the road because he needs the money. Clearly, for him the actual performance is a vital part of the music.

On a personal note

I got a chance to see Bob play the other night. He was tight. The tracks I liked the most were "Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)", "Tell Me That It Isn't True," and "Cold Irons Bound." The set was relatively short, 16 songs. Dylan played keyboard the entire time, with his back toward half the audience. His voice was raspy as hell but on the mark. Stuart Kimball provided some strong anchor solo work on guitar...

This is the first Dylan show I caught post-Charlie Sexton. Sexton's guitar work on Lucinda Williams' Essence album was incredible. I think he's working on his own thing now down in Austin.