“I don’t know anybody who’s made a record that sounds decent in the past 20 years, really.” – Bob Dylan

Commenting on modern recording technology, not necessarily the quality of actual music created over the past 20 years. Bob Dylan even speaks against the sound of his 30-second studio album Modern Times, stating that “these songs probably sounded ten times better in the studio when we recorded ’em. CDs are small,” he says, “There’s no stature to [them].”

Bob Dylan can get away with saying something like that – he’s Bob Dylan. For some reason when he releases a new album, there’s a certain excitement and praise that comes with it that other “older” artists from the same era just don’t receive. (Read: The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, Paul McCartney -)

Modern Times is supposed to be the third and final release in a trilogy of later aged Dylan, the first being 1997’s Time Out Of Mind. Modern Times follows Love and Theft, released in 2001, when Dylan turned 60. Now at 65, commonly known as the age of retirement, Dylan is back with another album of brand-new original material. Modern Times is more a throwback to an older time than a statement on our current world.

First things first: the biggest knock on Dylan has always been his voice. Even on his earlier, classic albums such as Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde, his voice was criticized. He sings with a nasal tone – that’s his style. I saw Dylan perform live in 2000, and the biggest memory I walked away with was how bad his voice sounded – like he was straining the whole time.

Same with this album. The biggest problem with Modern Times is Dylan’s voice. Maybe it is a personal thing, but it’s hard to say this album will be listened to over and over again because of the quality of his voice. It’s not that the songs are bad; they’re excellent and impressive, but age has not suited Dylan’s voice well, making it tough to fully enjoy the record.

Other than Dylan’s voice, there isn’t much bad about Modern Times. It’s everything one would expect from Bob Dylan. It’s bluesy, folksy and even jazzy at times. His lyrics are as cryptic as they’ve always been.

The album’s 10 songs stretch just past the 60-minute mark, with the shortest clocking in at just under five minutes. Dylan is credited with playing guitar, piano and harmonica with his band providing the rest of the instrumentation on the album.

Times opens with “Thunder on the Mountain,” a rockabilly number that doesn’t have much of a chorus. Dylan name-drops R&B singer Alicia Keys’ name in the first verse, claiming that’s he been “looking for her even clean through Tennessee.” It’s an upbeat tune that has Dylan taking on his “ass-kicking” role through both his tone and lyrics.

“Spirit on the Water” is a jazzy track that feels as if it came from the ’40s, but it also features Dylan’s worst vocals on the album. The song trucks along with Dylan crooning to a lady, his voice featuring that signature snarl.

“Rollin’ and Tumblin'” is a fast-placed bluesy song about Dylan rolling and tumbling through life. “Workingman’s Blues #2” is a tale about the common worker. It’s one of the more emotional songs on the album and Dylan’s voice works well on it.

“The Levee’s Gonna Break” is a reworking of an old song about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927, but it’s hard to believe he is recording this song for any other reason than Hurricane Katrina.

The album’s strongest song, the one that will instantly be added to Dylan’s huge and esteemed catalog is “Ain’t Talkin’. Dylan’s voice, which suits the song perfectly, and a subtle acoustic guitar guide along the eight-minute-and-forty-five-second epic album closer.

It’s a song about the world’s end for one man, possibly Dylan realizing his own mortality. The man seeks guidance from his mother and promises he will avenge his father’s death. It’s a somewhat depressing story, but it suits the album and Dylan perfectly.

His voice may be shot, he may hate the way modern recordings (even his own) sound, but a song like “Ain’t Talkin'” shows Dylan’s still got it.

Contact reporter Rudi Greenberg at greenbergdbk@gmail.com.