Reviews (page 3 of 9)
Dylan never really hit a chord with me. I know it's a classic. My energy I should give more attention to the lyrics.
Bien, pero el Dylan no es muy de mi agrado, nada personal.
Didn’t listen super carefully but this is just okay as far as Dylan goes. Good vibe though.
I was always a Dylan fan but this record brought me back into it at a high level. The original Lanois mix was muddy but it fit the songs. I listened to the 2022 remix which is much cleaner and my preference. Either way it's an all timer. The incredibly long "Highlands" may be the most "Dylan" track of all
How nice of him to try and cover Adele.
Had never been much of a Dylan fan but this speaks to me and gives me more of a depth of understanding of how he is a voice and songwriter of a generation.
I liked this album a lot more than I was expected. I like his gravelly, older voice. And the original of Make You Feel My Love was fantastic! I’m ashamed to say I didn’t realised that was a Dylan song.
Please stop making me listen to Bob Dylan. Is good stuff is great but else is a big bowl of ok
I'm pretty surprised at how much I actually liked this album. The song style and the overall sound really worked for me. I find it funny that Dylan actually didn't like the sound of the album after it was released; not surprised. 3/5
Good album. Perhaps my favorite of his actually. It's overlong but I might actually like his singing for once. The songs are all a good vibe. 3.5/5
i already passed the moment of caring about dylan’s voice. like it or not, it’s whatever. the man can write. he’s in that group of musicians who pull off only their tracks, and this album? goddamn. from this i only knew track 9, “make you feel my love.” simply one of the best things i’ve heard lyrically. but listening to the whole thing now, i see how it fits. it’s still a beautiful track, but it’s not alone up there, it belongs to the body of work. this album is hauntingly effortless cool. slightly dirty like a desert, but very contemplative, like driving at 2 am. “standing in the doorway” is pure chill, that contemplative vibe i’m talking about, almost 8 minutes of yarning and sadness. and i don’t believe i’m saying this, but it’s very cowboy outlaw type of album. funny enough, the whole album embodies that persona: the dusty atmosphere, the lyrical imagery, an old man who’s seen too much but still standing. dylan knows his limits. he’s perfect for his genre, for his lyrics, for his music, but in a very objective way he couldn’t pull more challenging vocal songs. he knows it, so he rests doing his thing. that honesty? i respect it. his pronunciation too is fucking cool, “my eeeeeyes begin to bleeeed.” he works with what he has and makes it hit. and the lyrics… goddamn, man. as a non‑english native i pay a lot of attention to it; this dude almost made me cry a couple of times. it’s not just clever, it cuts. like: “Well, I don’t dare close my eyes and I don’t dare wink / Maybe in the next life I’ll be able to hear myself think” only problem is that 16‑minute track at the end. didn’t get why. but fine. also lyrically the dude carries a cynical vibe, not a huge fan of that usually, but here it works with the whole dusty, 2am thing.
Make you feel my love is the best of the bunch, and the shortest, which I don't think is a coincidence. It also finishes with a fade-out, because Bob had run out of ideas, or had too many and didn't want to stop and finish one before jumping onto the next. And that's the album; unfinished, unrefined. Had this shortly after Rain Dogs and really hits that this is just a watered-down rush-job parody of Waits.
Didn’t think I’d like this but I did
Dylan is overrated, significantly. He's not a good singer, and his songs amble. Has a decent cover here and there, but I don't care for his original stuff, ESPECIALLY this late in his career. Pass.
Bit of a back and forth album. Some songs are engaging and some are meandering. I liked this, but it could have been better. 3.5/5 Might listen again
Cool tracks from the legend
I bought this cd around the time it came out, though I haven't listened to it in over 25 years most of it was familiar and brought some memories and nostalgia of times past and friends long gone. It really is a testament to how strong the tunes are. It did bring some melancholy, longing and thoughts on my own mortality. I was a young man when this came out and while I'm not old now, my trip is more than half over at best. Albums like this bring that to the forefront. But anyways, it's solid throughout and unfolds with multiple listens. The last track is a skip for me. In the immortal words of Robin the Boy Wonder, 'holy fucking rambling crap Batman.' Highlands is over 16 minutes, no chorus, no bridge, no changes in chords or tempo, with meandering stream of consciousness lyrics, but I guess after 30 albums you gotta push the envelope somehow. Now my review is beginning to resemble the last track. Time out of mind for sure.
Sir, a second Dylan impression has hit the album challenge.
Just because a legendary artist like Bob Dylan releases an album doesn't make it essential listening. For me, this album really hurts the credibility of this list
3.5⭐️/5 02.27.2026
Please stop sending me Bob Dylan albums
Alright, Bob, you like the blues, don't ya? Of all the great songs Bob Dylan has ever written, only one or two of these sound like the real deal rather than some ideas he wanted to play around with. And the performances of those one or two feel a bit like he'd rather be playing the other ideas.
Interesting bag. I'll listen again.
I assumed that Bob Dylan would appear on this list sooner or later, and having only really heard the biggest hits, I was looking forward to exploring his discography. Unfortunately, the law and randomness started me here on this mid-90s snooze fest. This felt like mundane, old rocker style rock, and left me disappointed when I really wanted to explore the folk and early electric guitar years. I'm sure that will come up at some point, but for now it's left me wanting.
It's a different feel for a Dylan album, I enjoyed it but I felt it dragged in the end. It's not for me, but I understand the appeal, the new more pop sounds feel good, but I can't with his vocals.
Sensación muy casera y original, relajante, sencillo de procesar, sólo es cuestión de dejarse guiar por el ritmo y contemplar los detalles de las melodías. Sería si no es que es un excelente LP, las canciones no hacen un brusco contraste entre sí, siendo más llevadera su escucha y por lo que es complicado resaltar alguna canción que destaque agresivamente sobre el resto.
Nope
For his 41st album...this is pretty impressive
Classic Bob
I went into this album not really thinking much of it, but to be honest it kinda blew me away. All these songs feel like I should be listening around the campfire in Michigan with family. Standouts to me include Standing in the Doorway and Tryin' to Get to Heaven.
Didn’t mind this. Echoes of Leonard Cohen surprisingly in the first song
Definitely prefer earlier Dylan to this. If people thought his voice was rough in the 60s, it was worse here. Lyrically he’s still great but yeah, he doesn’t sound amazing here
A funny man with a funny voice
I appreciate that as a Bob Dylan album, this is kind of interesting. It's a return to form after a long slump. The recording is clean with an open atmosphere. Dylan, turn to form, has poetic lyrics. But, being honest here, how much would we care about this album if it was recorded by someone else? It's good, sure, and the fans will undoubtedly love it, but I don't know that there's much that's particularly memorable or exciting to the casual Bob Dylan fan (let alone the critics). It's hardly at the level of his earlier work. But sure, it's a decent one. I could have done without the 16 minute stream of consciousness jam session at the end though.
Didn't get to fully listen to it, but I like it.
Bob's "comeback" album was certainly a return to form (though who am I to bag on his 80s output - I like a lot of it). It's been said that there's a Dylan album for every phase of a man's life. The older I get, the truer this is. I'm not saying that I can relate to every song and theme from Time Out Of Mind, it's not like I'm 56 years old (physically, at least) but I can feel myself starting to grasp and wrestle with some of the themes he's laid out in albums like this. By this point, I've listened to every Dylan album at least once. Some, right off the bat, I've loved and others have gone over my head. Time Out Of Mind was one of those albums I first listened to at like 22 and was bored. But the more I live and experience, the more I get it (I think). It's a fun exercise for guys like me. Every 5-7 years I return to a couple Dylan albums I overlooked. And every 5-7 years, I'm impressed.
I said that I had to eventually rate a Bob Dylan album lower than five stars but...which one....draws the short straw....is it Time Out of Mind??? It shouldn't...it's so good...it's the transition piece to the back half of Dylan's career, his awesome twelve-bar blues phase. Every time I listen to it, I appreciate it more and more. It's so smoky and ruminative, an entire album of Brownsville Girls. I really love it. It took me a little bit to come around on it. When I was first hitting the big Dylan albums about a decade ago, this one did fall sort of flat for me. It's not going to make any converts I don't think but I wanted to listen to it again right after finishing it. Split the difference and relistened to Tempest instead which is like if he had fifteen more years to chew on Time Out of Mind. Damn, Bob's so awesome.
A great album. Very vibrant!
I mean, it's a good album. But as I've said, Bob Dylan is not my favorite.
Not as punchie or iconic as 60s Dylan, but still has its strengths
I love you bobby
I feel like I just got punched in the dick
This is hard because as a bob dylan album it’s a 4 but as a blues album it’s a 3 I will be nice today
Loved this, which I didn't expect to. I've never listened to Dylan because of his voice, but this was really good. Blues and Rock and ballads, and his voice actually didn't bother me, but fit with the music. I'll probably listen to this again.
The writing never reaches Bob's Nobel standard and the melodies all seem a bit familiar, but it's Dylan and like his 30th album. Far be it from me to give it less than a 4.
Sehr sehr gut, da haut Dylan in den späten 90ern in Zusammenarbeit mit dem talentierten Daniel Lanois noch ein Karrierehighlight raus. Die Atmosphäre des Albums ist so stark, es ist sehr stimmig produziert und am Ende des Tages passt Dylans zerschossene Stimme eigentlich ganz gut dazu. Auf Apple Music steht bei der Beschreibung des Albums unter anderem: As the decade entered its second half, Dylan found himself holed up in his native Minnesota, writing reams of heartsick lyrics as the winter pounded outside. Months later, he rendezvoused in a New York City hotel with Daniel Lanois, the imaginative producer who had helmed the sessions for 1989’s strong Oh Mercy. Dylan read him lyrics, handed him a stack of old blues records he loved, and told him that he loved Beck, too. Might they do something with all of that? Yes, Lanois said, and set off to work. Schön!
First Bob Dylan album I was hoping for an older album of his as they might be a better introduction but oh well. I can definitely respect the long career in music that’s very impressive. It was a pretty decent listen some quality instrumentals and a good vibe from the songs. This album coming towards the later years of Dylans career I felt like the vocals just didn’t hold the same as earlier stuff, I found it quite nasally sounding which I didn’t overly enjoy unfortunately. Some standout songs for me were ‘Dirt Road blues’ and ‘Cold irons bound’, I felt like the vocals matched the vibe of these songs best. I look forward to hearing his earlier work, but this album just felt good but not great, I also feel like a 16-minute song is just unnecessary.
Way too long not captivating at all
Reader, I listened to Bob Dylan. I loved Bob Dylan. Bob Dylan was a friend of mine. Time Out of Mind, you're not (good) Bob Dylan. Greatly prefer modern times for late era Dylan but all of this pales so so so much to his peak.
Bob Dylan is my least favourite repeat offender on the 1001. This album actually is sonically OK - he's voice is for once decent and I like the production. Pity the songs are so boring. Can't beleive this won album of the year in 1998 - a year that had In the Aeroplane Over the Sea, Mezzanine, The Boy with the Arab Strap, XO etc
i've only heard bob dylan's most famous songs before, this is my first album of his that i've listen to. every song on the album is 7 minutes of the most sickly and unenergetic singing on top of the most basic, boring and monotonous muddy guitar riffs. the 'lyrical genius' that so many people claim dylan to be is also nowhere to be seen in this album. i know dylan has like 7 or 8 albums on this list. my only hope is that it gets better from here. i really hope his other albums redeem this disappointing experience.
I'm not a big Dylan fan, but this album was WAY better than I expected. While a lot sounds the same, the vibe through the whole album is just amazing. An hour and 12 that flew by. Good album
Some decent songs but I think I prefer older Dylan.
“The ghost of electricity howls in the bones of her face.”
Not my favorite Dylan album
surprisingly good for later dylan
Previously rated: #72 - Highway 61 Revisited (4/5) #105 - Blood On The Tracks (4/5) #515 - Live 1966 (The Royal Albert Hall Concert) (4/5) #529 - The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (4/5) #835 - Blonde On Blonde (4/5) #956 - Bringing It All Back Home (4/5) *********************************************************** Album #1,041 The time between Blood on the Tracks and this album hasn't been kind to his vocal cords, but the man still has a way with words and music. There's nothing approaching the greatness of some of his best work from the '60s and '70s, but it's still worth a listen. But let's be honest, Dylan sounds like a tired, haggard, old man here, and that affected my enjoyment of it. I'm sure all the 1 ratings I have yet to look at will agree.
Dylan's last 20th century album, a soft and quiet blues rock and folk that is definitely mellow. I enjoyed it and definitely enjoyed the longer tracks on here.
I’d always heard bad things about later Dylan, but this was rather relaxing to listen to
just gimme real Tom Waits Will I listen to again: 1%
90’s Folk ⭐️Love Sick
OMFG IS THIS BOB DYLAN AGAIN? HOW THE FUCK DID ALL OF HIS ALBUMS GET ON THIS LIST? ALL OF THEM??? HOW?? (I feel like I'm in a diner and John Mulaney is slowly driving me mad with 'What's Up Pussycat?')
1.5
Buen disco. Digo, es Bob Dylan, como no lo iba a disfrutar. Sin embargo, si se me hizo como una canción de 1 hora. Muy repetitivo, el mismo sonido en todo el disco. Los más rescatable, obviamente, fueron las letras. Muy intimas y emocionales. Un disco que en lugar de escucharse se debería leer.
Not for me
Diría Toño, estaba bien nalga. Y Dylan tiene obras maestras
Time was when Dylan was a prophet, writing songs that immediately became part of the language. By the time this album came about it was 20 years since Desire - the last gasp of greatness. Then came a long string of mediocre albums that were notable more for how divisive they were. But from the first notes of this you know you're back in the hands of a master. Is it another Blonde on Blonde or Highway 61 Revisited? Well, no. But albums like that are few and far between Here, a crack band slithers through blues riffs while Dylan sings about lost love. Highlights are Love Sick, Standing in the Doorway and Cold Irons Bound, but everything is good. The last track - Highlands - is 16 minutes of certified Dylan oddness, but it's kind of magnificent. It would be another 20 years until he produced an album anywhere near this good - Rough and Rowdy Ways.
Not a fan
I don't know man... Some gravely bob d here. I'll give the next dylan album a better shot
Alles, was Bob Dylan anfasst, klingt maximal okay und meistens sehr langweilig.
Das Album catcht mich deutlich weniger als "Blood On The Tracks" am vorherigen Tag. Reicht aber noch für 3 Sterne.
Kommt nicht an "Blood on the Tracks" ran, da er hier vor allem Eingängigkeit vermissen lässt und sich zu oft auf bekanntes Blues-Songwriting verlässt. Beim Opener hatte ich mal kurz die Hoffnung, hier einen deutlich düsteren Dylan zu hören und dachte schon, hier geht es in Richtung Nick Cave/später Leonard Cohen. Hat sich leider nicht bewahrheitet. Das Teil ist auch einfach viel zu lang. Wer braucht nach 1h Dylan noch einen 16-Minuten-Abschlusstrack? Die Hälfte der Songs konnte mich hier dennoch überzeugen. Auch cool, dass einer davon später von Adele auf ihrem Debüt gecovert wurde. Reicht gerade noch für 3 Sterne.
Hat mir schon besser gefallen, aber die Offenbarung war es am Ende nicht.
Besser als Blood On The Tracks, aber immer noch: Schnarch. Besonders Highlands...
Lieratur Nobelpreisträger Bob Dylan zeigt hier, dass er den Literaturnobelpreis verdient hat. Und damit meine ich in erster Linie, dass er das Album besser als Gedichtband herausgebracht hätte und auf die hier immer gleiche sich schnell abnutzende Musik verzichtet hätte.
Oh no I have already been “Bobbed” in the last week and a 1997 album by his? Was not best pleased. But what on earth! This was amazing, loved his voice, the instrumentation, the production, the fact that it sounds like blues standards but are new songs written by him. I take it all back Bob.
His voice on this album certainly isn't what it was.
I think this is my favorite Dylan album?
So-called comeback album Standing in the doorway Not dark yet Highlands
I came to Dylan in the 80s, but didn't really get around to what he was actually doing in the 80s until Oh Mercy. I was 16 and thought this was probably it for him and was glad he lived to do one more great record. Yes, I was a moronic child. But the next decade gave us Red Sky and covers records. There was no sign of a revival. TOOM arrived and the buzz was deafening, but I figured it was PR. Until I heard it. At 24, I thought it was gorgeous and appreciated the lyrics as much as a child could. Now I sit listening to this record in 2026 and I'm essentially the same age BD was when he wrote and recorded it and I don't know if I'll ever be able to express how thoroughly and brilliantly he documented what it's like to be alive at this age. As another Midwestern songwriter noted, long after the thrill of living is gone. I don't need to tell any of you how good this is. For me, the songwriting is up there with his BOTT broken hearted best. But this time the heartbreak is from life, not a romantic partner. Trying to Get To Heaven, Not Dark Yet, Cold Irons Bound, and Highlands all nail it from differing perspectives. Which is not to underestimate the remainder, because every track is perfect and perfectly placed, which I rarely say about a 72 minute record. This was not a late career peak, it was the peak, in a sense. It's a lock for his top 5, which is amazing enough considering his catalog, but to produce it 35 years into his career is staggering
I really really like the instrumentals just not the guys voice
No thank you
not for me
Dylan is best when he's just creepy talking. Favorite track: Love Sick
3.5 rounded down, didn’t appreciate the 15 min song at the end
Ohhhh Bobby D. I nearly gave you stars, three, but the album dragged on and the last song is 15 fucking minutes of just rambling. I never was a fan of yours, but I did find this more tolerable than the other Dylan album I got 2 days ago.
Boring
Someone wake up Bob
2/5
atmosphere
Haven't finished the last song cause it's 16 minutes long. I liked the sound but got tired at the end
No song should be 16 min. An okay listen but not for me.
3/5
A new side to Bobby
It’s no wonder this man was awarded a Nobel Prize for Literature. His songs are poetry and he also happens to be a great musician.
Still annoying, still respectable
Ok Dylan. Raspy and rusty
Aus album, aga mitte midagi erilist. Kuulaks pikalt, aga miskit ei jää kõrvu. 3.3/5
ok background music
Earlier stuff was much better!
No es mi tipo de música pero no me desagrado. Lo volvería a escuchar? Si, pero no en un futuro cercano.
This was not what I was expecting to hear. It sounded incredibly dated, like it was something released in the 60s. Might as well have been.
Boring and don't like his voice here
Highlight: Dirt Road Blues In a nutshell: don’t call it a comeback. More blues focused than anticipated, which is refreshing for a Dylan album. I tend to identify him as that folk poet with a guitar. Great guitar and atmospheric use of Hammond organ… AND I DO NOT HEAR A HARMONICA ON ALL THE TRACKS! SWEET HALLELUJAH! It’s fine as a blues/country album. Just not the masterpiece critics and the Grammy academy claim it to be. Overall: 3/10
- Litt melankolsk, litt behagelig og litt leit - Bob Dylan har en egen stemme
Buen disco. Me gustó y lo disfrute. Es Bob Dylan, como no lo iba a disfrutar. Sin embargo, la segunda vez que lo escuche se me hizo como una canción de 1 hora. Muy repetitivo, el mismo sonido en todo el disco. Los más rescatable, obviamente, fueron las letras. Muy intimas y emocionales. Un disco que en lugar de escucharse se debería leer.
Grammy Award winning blues and rockabilly album, last one produced by Canadian Daniel Lanois.
p816. 1997. 3 stars Sounds like a Dire Straits tribute band working on their own material. There are some decent songs here, and lyrically he's still sharp, but most of the tracks outstay their welcome. No-one needs multiple 6+ minute tracks, or the 16 minute abomination he ends with. And the general rule that other artists do better versions of Dylan songs still holds true.
A good middle Dylan album that more or less defined his sound for the rest of time. At least you can still half understand him on this album. Pretty good although he never does reach those high highs of his early career. ¨Not Dark Yet¨ is amazing.
Every song sounds the same, it’s too long, and his voice is even worse than when he was younger.
Suorastaan Tom Waitsmaista menoa! Tykkään kyllä.
Sounds a bit run down and dull, not awful, but nothing special. I don't think I would ever want to hear any material from this album again. Three stars.
Bob Dylan is old and sad. 2 stars because Not Dark Yet was alright.
It was hard being a Dylan fan in the 80s and early 90s. Everyone made fun of him. He gave a disastrous performance to most eyes on the Grammys, to me, I realized he was singing "Master of War" punk style right at the beginning of the first Gulf War. Dana Carvey would imitate him on Saturday Night Live as an incomprehensible man. David Spade as Tom Petty would have to interpret. Seeing him in concert was a slog. It was a really hard time. It was hard being me in the mid-90s - out of a job, out of school, with no idea what to do next. My serious girlfriend broke up with me, I was working nights, sleeping during the day, and completely nuts. Nervous when I heard Bob Dylan released a new album, while the past two folk cover albums showed someone who was trying to get back on track. I had been burnt by Zimmerman before. Those opening chords, though, that opening track will be etched in my brain. My headphones lying in bed, half-awake and half-asleep. Working nights, those streets were dead. This is one of the greatest albums.
Hootin n hollerin
When I got this album in 1997, I thought to myself "Bob Dylan is old, his prime was 30 years ago". Talk about takes that aged like milk. I guess that's exactly the kind of thing a teenager would think... Anyway, was I wrong. First of all, Dylan was only in his fifties at the time of this release. Not old. Second of all, this happens to be one of my favorite Dylan albums that I've heard. It's introspective, has great story telling, creates amazing imagery... all the things that Dylan is so beloved for. The songwriting is on point, the music is classic Dylan with a touch modernity; without overdoing it. This was a great experience.
Ok'ish
This list feels like a broken algorithm that keeps on suggesting that I might like Bob Dylan, although I've already told it multiple times that I didn't. Oh well, let's give it another try... Fortunately it's a bit more tolerable that his early works. This time Dylan doesn't feel the need to throw a tsunami of disjointed harmonica tunes at us. However, he does sound like a discount Tow Waits, and it's really hard to think of this music as relevant in any way in 1997 - to be honest, it even feels downright anachronic. But I could at least listen to the full album in one sitting without cringing. The distinct blues vibe probably helped a lot ; songs like Cold Irons Bound were reasonably enjoyable. Too bad they're sitting next to unsufferable tunes like Make You Feel My Love. I still think Dylan has a terrible voice, and that his lyrics are wildly overrated. After so many tries, I'm pretty sure I'm never gonna be a fan ; at best I won't run out of the room if someone plays his music. 4/10
Theoretically, this is a comeback album from Bob Dylan. At 56, he croaks like an old man through melancholic, sometimes bitter lyrics that can still land. Without the voice, the music is dull. With it, it’s still not pretty.
Good lyricism, I just wish it didn't sound like that.
Didn't love this one. Couldn't even get through the first couple songs
Some good tunes at the start made me wonder if I liked Dylan after all but several absolute dirges later and a loss of the will to love during the final track soon ended that
Better than blonde on blonde
ehhhhh
A nice album, that's all. I don't personally like this genre, too slow, but this is a nice album
Nn ho ascoltato tutto...
Bland, boring, uninspired. Never got the appeal of this album, when there are so many better ones by Bob Dylan. Shouldn't be on this list.
More electric Dylan. It was fine but other albums stood out more on this list.
Sorry Bob, but this was not it. A lot of times it sounded like he was doing a Bob Dylan impression. If this was put together by some random 50 year old instead of Bob Dylan, I don’t think it gets included.
That was unexpectedly awesome. Don't get me wrong I enjoy me some Dylan, but putting this on as I lay down in bed to read was just perfect.
Very Bob Dylan-y, but none of the classics
I've said this on the other Dylan albums from this list: his songs are amazing, but mostly when they are sung by other people. As for this album, if it was by anyone else it probably wouldn't have made this list. An album from a great artist 25-30 past his prime doesn't really qualify as a must listen album typically. Dylan's voice was especially raspy and rough sounding by this time. That said, the melodies and tunes are ok. I just don't have it in me to digest the lyrics this listen. Maybe another time if I ever revisit this.
Impressive to release an album like this 30 years past your peak. Older, slower, and probably wiser. Very understated instrumentation that I feel is quite complex the more you focus on it One of these days I'll go through his discography front to back like I did the beatles. He's only released 40 albums so shouldn't take too long
gooooodddddd
Not sure how quick I will be to listen to this again, not that it’s boring I’m just not sure I get Bob Dylan. Didn’t realise “Make you feel my love” was originally a Dylan song and I did enjoy that, and “Standing in the doorway”. 3
Slow rock, and I did kinda enjoy the album.
Decent listen.
Bob Dylan's "Time Out Of Mind" is an album I approached with mixed expectations. I generally don't enjoy Dylan's music- his voice in particular has never worked for me- despite fully acknowledging his status as a great songwriter. In fact, I often enjoy hearing his songs performed by other artists, as evidenced by the many great covers of his work. The album itself is very slow throughout, and while some tracks almost drift by, a few moments did manage to pull me in, especially "Standing In The Doorway". Would I listen to it again? Maybe, possibly, probably... but yet unlikely. I frankly don't know.
Քենթ րիլեյթ
I'm not a fan of Dylan. I tried several times, but it's not for me, especially the early stuff. This is not a bad album, but it bores me a lot. I liked Not Dark Yet, but the rest I didn't care for.
The late period come back album is staggering. 60 something artists never kick ass like this. And the path through his 90's albums to get here is fascinating. But it's too long of a listen for me. All the respect to Bob. We aren't worthy, but I don't see myself listening top to bottom again. Maybe when I'm in my 60's? Later this year. Fuck me.
I generally don't care for Bob Dylan but I enjoyed this album.
-i had kind of written off Bob Dylan and accepted that his music would never be for me. still not his biggest fan but this album may have changed things… definitely my favorite i’ve heard from him so far. very haunting and beautiful -it did feel very very long. perhaps too long. but even then i think it kinda worked. solid 3.5 -Favorites: Love Sick, Not Dark Yet, Highlands
2/5. Im singing. Here i am. Walking. Oh look a mangy dog. I want a leather trenchcoat. Ugh id rather listen to buddy the elf sing a christmas gram for an hour
Listens: 2.5 Standout Tracks: Dirt Road Blues, Make You Feel My Love Wow. Over a quarter of the way through the List and I am only now just hearing my first Bob Dylan album. I think he has something like 9 albums on the List (along with the Beatles and Bowie)? And similarly to David Bowie, where I heard his last studio album he produced before dying, I am hearing an album produced by Dylan in 1997 for my first official experience. It was fine. He sounds like Tom Waits, or maybe Tom Waits sounds like old Bob Dylan. Either way, dig the vocals, dig the music and dig the genre. Unsurprisingly not his best work though.
Just sounds like an old guy doing his thing. It is better on headphones
This project has such a hard-on for Bob Dylan.
Not his best, I do love not dark yet though
Standard Dylan
2 out of 5 I really like a few Bob dylan songs but the majority are no for me.
This was a little downbeat for me. Still a great lyricist but it was quite long and I felt like I got the point after 40 minutes. Probably need to spend more time with it. High 3.
Bob Dylan does “light” blues. Very good album. His gravelly, non-melodic delivery really works with these songs.
Having heard love and theft which comes right after this I’m wondering if this is the final Dylan album where his voice is listenable. The production and the band sounded phenomenal and I do think they excited his vision of modern sounding old timely blues. “Highlands” sounds like it could have been stream of consciousness lyrics but I love the way the guitarists interweave with each other.
OK, so a bluesier Dylan album. I can definitely see where people get the "Bob Dylan sucks at singing" from with this album, but again, he's always sounded like an 80 year old singing, only this time he was older when this album was made (55ish), so it still makes sense. But yeah, bluesier stuff I'm burnt out on unless it's more alternative (See: The White Stripes). So I'm not super enamored with this one. But it's still solid.
Really love a lot of the later career Bob Dylan, not spent heaps of time with this one before but what great album, will definitely be seeking a physical copy ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
What could you possibly be singing about for 16 minutes
I rated this a three without realizing the last song would drag on for sixteen fucking minutes.
Ahh Bob, I'm sorry, I don't think I was in the right headspace for this. Some songs I enjoyed - nice vibe, melancholy - but others really dragged for me. I think I prefer Dylan when he's a bit more energetic.
3.5
I somehow missed rating this. Surprisingly good late career Dylan.
I sure do like the idea of Bob Dylan.
Love Dylan s songs always!
It's a bit of a slog because of the length and his very old sounding vocals.
Icon. But, not my fave album of his.
Sorry, this just wasn't for me
Listening to this era of Dylan back-to-back with Highway 61 Revisited really demonstrates his change in style, emotion, and (particularly) vocal quality. Seriously – that's a reedy gravelly husk if I've ever heard one. Not that it's a bad thing. Dylan sounds pretty nifty here. I would almost wager his voice sounds better than on his older albums, but a lot of that is because he's less front-and-centre here. Ample time is given for instruments to shine, and Dylan's voice acts as its own instrument more than the youthful gruffness that distracts from the instrumentation on other albums. Not Dark Yet is a great example of this. Standing in the Doorway is a mildly worse What A Wonderful World (Armstrong, 1967), but the latter is such a fantastic song that the former still gets a cheery thumbs up. I loved Cold Irons Bound, despite expecting its 7-minute runtime to cause it to drag. Plus, it's mostly one chord, with a couple of extras thrown in for a sick bluesy cadence. But it's groovy as heck. Dirt Road Blues is also highlight, not only because it absolutely nails the genre it's trying to portray, but also because it's one of two tracks that's under 5 minutes. The other sub-5-er is Make You Feel My Love, which is a fantastic little ballad that features piano (a rare feat for Bob). And the elephant in the room, the 16-minute Highlands, is passable but also horrific for relistening, considering it's the same sluggish 12-bar blues repeated the entire time. 'Til I Fell in Love with You is also too repetitive to put anywhere other than the "naughty" list. 3/5 Key tracks: Dirt Road Blues, Cold Irons Bound, Make You Feel My Love
a classic and a must hear, even if Bob isn't your fav.
Favorite Songs: Not Dark Yet, Love Sick Least Favorite Song: Dirt Road Blues Hey Timothee Chalamet, why is the average track length over 6 minutes?
I wasn't feeling this one, despite the Lanlois production. I had no idea Dylan wrote Make You Feel My Love. That's a good tune!
Heck of a blues album. Bob hasn’t ever been able to sing, but his music writing and poetry are unmatched. His prowess on the guitar shines through each track. That all said, there w not a ton of variance from one song to the next, which I find causes albums to feel bland, which is why I’m knocking of a point.
Yeh
bob dylan time out of my mind this album has nice instrumentals that you can learn from. the vocals aren't particularly my style, but they're beautiful in a few songs. stand outs track 3: standing in the doorway - it feels like rereading (or proofreading) a sad letter you're about to send to an old lover who broke you, and its beautiful. track 9: make you feel my love - cool melody and easy to get stuck in you head.
made me wanna tap my foot and snap my finger 🥇make you feel my love 🥈till i fell in love withyou 🥉cant wait
I love Bob Dylan. Admittedly, I haven’t listened to much of his stuff—just Highway 61 Revisited and The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan—but those two albums were fantastic and I go back to listen to them fairly regularly. This one immediately felt entirely different from those two. It sounded like Leonard Cohen’s You Want It Darker—the vocals are raspier and more mature—it was produced to sound less like a guy with a harmonica and guitar and more like something ambient you can lose yourself in. The lyricism is the only thing that really stays the same. The storytelling and descriptions of daily interactions are still there—and some clever lines, too, such as using “lovesick” to mean “sick of being in love.” The changes weren’t bad at first. The opening seconds of Love Sick made me think this would be one of the best albums I’d ever heard. But then it just…didn’t live up to expectations. It’s thoroughly heartbroken and regretful. It sounds like a goodbye. And the first few songs are excellent. They do dip in quality at times, but they remain emotional. The highs of this album are certainly quite high, and much of it felt like something that could just absorb me. The vocals are swamped with anger and sadness. But, gradually, they just start to drown in production. It becomes repetitive towards the latter half of the album. Listen, I’m a huge fan of long songs. I love experimental, no-wave, prog, jazz, ballads in general—everything from Green Day’s Jesus of Suburbia to Rush to Sonic Youth to Coltrane. But god, Highlands was too long. It was reaching for the heights of Desolation Row and fell incredibly short. The lyrics, once more, were excellent, but the instrumentals became repetitive. I was just waiting for it to end. Overall, the album was quite good, but it wasn’t impressive, and some of it was actively unpleasant. Recap: Favorite songs: Love Sick, Not Dark Yet Least favorite song: Highlands Comparisons: You Want it Darker Rating: 3/5
Is dit Bob zn blues album? Waarom deed Bob dit niet eerder? Million Miles klinkt goed! Ik ben geen grote fan van Bob zijn stem, maar holy shit, als blues werkt het best wel goed eigenlijk! Pfoe, nee ik neem het terug. Ik denk dat een half uurtje prima had gewerkt, maar jezus wat een lang album is dit! En MIJN GOD, wat is Make You Feel My love een verschrikkelijk origineel van de Adele versie. NIET TE DOEN. Bob heeft heel veel talent, maar zn stem, dat is het gewoon nog steeds niet... Wat een taai album is dit toch weer, ondanks dat ik aan het begin best een beetje aan het viben was... Nope, nee, nein. Weer een Bob Dylan album en weer is het gewoon echtn niet mijn smaak. Duurt te lang en ik was vooral Bored out of mind. FAVO: Million Miles, Till i fell in love with you
Really good
Good blues rock just not what I go to Bob Dylan for
It was fine, no takeaways but didn't dislike it
Vocally not very strong but that is made up by excellent songwriting. 4/5
It’s odd that this album seems to be influenced by people like Tom Waits and Nick Cave, who were themselves almost certainly influenced by Dylan. I like the darker, moody ballads here, but less so the noisy blues stompers.
This isn't Dylan in his prime but it was still a fine listen and I enjoyed it. I could come back to this. 3.75/5
Folk music GOAT. Sound of the 60’s and 70’s.
You hit play and think, man, Uncle Bobby’s about done here. After 431* albums, 17,665* songs and 31 million* cough drops, what more can he do? Then you hit a song like “Make You Feel My Love” and realize: goddamn, Uncle Bobby’s gonna outlast us all. And that was 28 YEARS AGO. *numbers are estimates
I can see how people would have been excited at this reemergence of Bob Dylan and praised this in the hopes that it was a harbinger of truly good Dylan yet to come. But it didn't come. This is just okay and way over-appreciated.
This was a surprise for me. Bob Dylan isn’t always my favorite and I thought anything from him in the 90’s would suck. This was a nice bluesy kind of album. His voice is shot but it works in the context
Dylan's version of paint-by-numbers. Perfectly okay, but a far cry from his classic material.
Good album; nice, chill listen
tasteful harmonica for once in my freaking life. pretty dull as i always find bob dylan to be. sorry music people, i'm more of a movie guy; this is just an extra little project
Remember when my brother bought this when it can out, I dismissed it being only Dylan up to Desire kinda guy. Then a few years older I revisited all his work and you know what this older, weary
Bob Dylan is undoubtedly one of the greatest songwriters of all time. However, at the risk of repeating a sentiment all too common, I just wish someone else was singing his songs.
I've just never done much with latter-day Dylan and this convinces me why. It's just not that good.
Bob is back with a really killer album. It oozes a very moody and introspective viewpoint that is centuries ahead of the music in 1997. These songs are soooo deep and making the listener wake up and realize there's more to life than the average run of the mill music that was around when this came out. Love Sick Dirt Road Blues Standing in the Doorway Million Miles Tryin' to Get to Heaven 'Til I Fell in Love with You Not Dark Yet Cold Irons Bound Make You Feel My Love Can't Wait Highlands
This album is at least 16 minutes too long, and I have a suggestion of which 16 minutes could have been cut... I can't decide how I feel about Dylan. This is the third album of his I've hit within my first 100, and I feel I've had very mixed responses to them. This one was dreary, all blended together and felt like it'd never end. I'm glad it eventually did.
Dylan does Leonard Cohen, he's just ok at it
Bob from 1997 - this is an interesting change from the usual Highway 61 Revisited era I'm going to be listening to this one again - not something I have often in this 1001 Album challange :-) But Bob, that last rack is wayyy to long!
not biggest fan o bob dylan
I remember the excitement around Time Out of Mind when it came out in 1997. The consensus was that it was a return to form for Dylan. Listening to it almost thirty years later, that could be true. I'm just not familiar enough with Dylan's output in the '80s and '90s to know. What I can say is that this record is dark and warm. The writing is fantastic. The songs lean more into a singer-songwriter vein than straight folk music here. They are personal and emotional. Dylan still has his signature nasal whine, but his voice is more inviting here. The one complaint I have about this record is that, at an hour and fifteen minutes, it is far too long. The last track, Highlands, is a sixteen-minute lyrical vamp. Bob Dylan is probably the greatest American songwriter, and he pulls it off. But no matter how impressed I was with the song, I don't have much desire to listen to it again. Time Out of Mind might be easy to ignore because it is low-key and somber, but it is ultimately a collection of excellent songs. Four stars.
With at least 40 albums under his belt, I can say I’m not familiar with all of them and this falls into this category. Gave it the obligatory listen this exercise requires and I like it. No one can write lyrics like Mr. Zimmerman.
I liked the bluesy ones
Later-era Dylan eh? He hasn't quite become completely unintelligible yet, but the signs of the "old man grunts tonelessly into microphone for 2 hours" are certainly there. I'll stick with the early stuff thanks.
Good but not my vibe I think, would listen again tho x
i can only imagine how exciting it would have been to be a huge Bob Dylan fan and be suddenly treated to a good album in 1997, but as a casual Dylan fan who was 3 years old when it came out, it's just fine
Excellent! And—by far—the best album Dylan had recorded in 20 years (and unmatched since). His vocal delivery is gravelly and interesting. His vocals pair incredibly well with Daniel Lanois’ production. It’s a shame that Dylan himself didn’t realize just how the sound on Time Out of Mind suited him at this point…. Anyway, “Love Sick” is a helluva song, one of Dylan’s all-time best. If I could, I’d give the album 4.5 stars.
I like this album a lot. It's definitely too long - I admit - but the style of it is perfect. Proper seedy old man in a basement bar growling about the past sound. It also disproves the idea that late Dylan doesn't belong with the early stuff. 'Not Dark Yet' and 'Make you Feel My Love' should be in the conversation for every best of collection.
low 3 I've noticed 1997 as one of the best years for music. Not sure how this managed to win 3 grammys in the year OK computer, Homogenic and Either / Or and many others were released. I suppose we've all got a soft spot for bob.
alright, give that man a strepsil
What’s this, a Bob Dylan album that doesn’t feature harmonica and is actually decent? I didn’t think this existed. 4/5
I'm wasn't the biggest fan of Dylan before today and this album didn't change that. Its not a bad album in it self but its music and hos voice doesn't appeal to me.
Eh. Nah. Don't get me wrong. There's music here. It's just generally not what I want to be listening to.
Damn, Punished Dylan
5/10 A sleepy man from a sleepy time "singing" 12-02-2025
I just can't take his voice seriously, I've heard it parodied too much. Did enjoy "Cold Irons Bound"
Ugh, i am not really a Dylan fan. this album was painful. I know that "Make you feel my love" is such a beautifully written song, but him singing it is the worst.
It was okay.
really calm old man vibes. love it
A weak comeback album from Bob. The songs were all about 2× longer than they needed to be, the content was pretty homogeneous, and really there were no standout moments. Sometimes more or less pleasant, but not enought to average up. 2.4/5 -> 2/5
"Make You Feel My Love" doesn't work with Dylan's 1997 voice. This was hailed as a return to form for Dylan, but I didn't find it nearly as interesting as his earlier stuff.
Kind of good kind of blah
Nope. Talented song writer, bad voice. Nasaly
9/10
Not my favourite Dylan record. Some very good tracka on this all the same.
It’s perfect.
Was growing a bit weary of his music, especially since I feel he's disproportionately represented on this list (too much). However, this album's great!
A lot of Bob Dylan. Last track is 15 mins long!
... Overrated artist
You could make the argument that latter-day Bob Dylan kind of runs together, and that's fair. But this is one of those albums that earns its "best since Blood on the Tracks" accolades that always follow Dylan these years. The production by Daniel Lanois is both atmospheric and lean, with lots of shifting moods and texture as a backdrop to Dylan's caterwauling. (I mean it in a nice way.) It's got a couple of genuine classic songs, in "Not Dark Yet" and "Make You Feel My Love," but the other tracks also feed into the mood of the whole thing. This is not going to change music like Dylan's genuine classics did, but I'm not sure that's a fair expectation anyway. It's still very good.
I like this more electric, bluesy side of Dylan. A groovy album, if a bit long.
Bob really has to include at least one cheesy folk-blues song 😭. This to me is very much a sunrise/sundown record. The last track reminds me of Desolation Row based on its length (2.5-3)
Sigh. Wilco is on this list aren't they.
I recall thinking that Bob Dylan was very old when this album came out. That was 28 years ago and he seems like he was young when Time Out of Mind came out. I can usually go without Dylan's 10+ minute compositions. It's not that I think they are bad but my attention span isn't long enough to consistently hear one of the longer songs. Overall, this isn't an album on par with Dylan's 60's and 70's output (though what is on par with that?) but it's a great "comeback" album and the songs are really strong. I normally disapprove of too many albums by a single artist being in this book, but Time Out of Mind is an important album because it is the beginning of Dylan's late period, and the music doesn't replicate a sound already represented from Dylan in this book. Some of my favorite songs were: Love Sick Standing in the Doorway Tryin' to Get to Heaven 'Til I Fell in Love with You Not Dark Yet To Make You Feel My Love Can't Wait
For a while there I thought someone had finally confiscated his f****** harmonica.
I feel like I write the same review every time of Bob Dylan, which is that I'm glad I'm old and wise enough to not feel like I have to pretend to be into Bob Dylan all that much. Like when I owned this CD 25 years ago. Make You Feel My Love and It's Not Dark Yet are good. The rest is snoozy.
Esse é o disco que mais gostei do Dylan. Acho que é seu auge como vocalista. A parte instrumental e de letras segue genial. Esse é um álbum 5 estrelas sem dúvidas. CVJ Aria.
This is another example of an artist's obvious genius on display. I even could appreciate the songs that skewed country and were out of my personal wheelhouse. I expect big things from this Dylan fellow.
Enjoyed this one more than I expected for a late career Dylan album. First time around I didn't think much of it, but second time I listened in the car at dusk, and it went down very nicely
Every time Dylan comes up I am scared and every time I actually do it I am pleasantly surprised. Maybe he is just good. A few edits needed but this is mostly a good time
It was fine, just not really my thing. Also way too long.
Pretty good - just kind of sunk into the background for me.
Something about the vibe of this one appealed to me. The sound style and bluesy folk feel gave it an intriguing comfort quality that I enjoyed. I think it distracted from it being Bob Dylan, which was good for me since I don't normally love his performance. In fact, I usually dislike his songs unless someone else is singing them. I didn't really feel that way here, but instead liked the character he brought to the tracks. That said, I wasn't particularly impressed with the album. It was somewhat bland and dragged on, causing me to lose interest a number of times as it went. The last track ran over 16 minutes, taking the album itself to 72+ minutes. I actually liked that last song, so I don't think that one alone was the problem. I guess this is an example of something I like sonically, but don't love the substance of. Kind of like Springsteen's Nebraska (though I think I liked this one better). I'm not sure I'll listen to it again even though I found it mostly fine. Overall: 2.8/5
There was a huge buzz around this album when it first was released, and I played it a fair amount back then. It's been a while since I revisited it, and while it still holds up, there’s something about it that keeps me from returning to it often. I think people were hoping for classic Dylan—then and now—but that particular magic just isn’t there anymore, sadly.
I find this record lifeless and a little boring.
Just wasn't feeling it. Nothing really grabbed me.
I didn't dislike this as much as the terrible live recording, but I didn't like a ton about this one, either. Older Dylan is better.
Good album.
I know that Dylan is worshipped by millions - millions of strange little cave dwellers - but for a dude who was big in the 60s, do we really need yet another album by him from 30 years later? We should have another Alice Cooper album - vastly more influential, better singer, better songwriter, better lyricist. Haven't said that, maybe this is good. Maybe this doesn't sound like the dying mewls of a cow with a spud trapped in its nose. Here he sounds more like Macy Gray. That's not a complement. That's like saying 'you look like Hitler', or 'You smell like Macy Gray '. And yet, it isn't terrible. As silly as the vocals are, once you get a taste for them and can look beyond that distraction, the songs aren't bad. Not great either and they mostly fall into the usual folk blues shtick, but there's some good stuff here. The problem with the food stuff is that, there's no progress, no pay off. Every song just sits and stagnates. On the plus side, that means the chill vibe of the album isn't broken. Down side? It feels aimless, meandering, void. It's like the worst techno music you can think of - have a single good piece, copy and paste until the end of the song. That final sixteen minutes track? Skip and pause at any moment of the song and it's the same as any other. So no, it's not terrible. I don't even mind his vocals here as much, now that he's shouting less. Lyrics good, band good. Just a bunch of songs that do little for me.
75
I wasn’t expecting to like this as much as I did. Maybe I am embracing my middle age. Some great lyrics nice grooves. I will probably listen again.
Never listened to this album all the way through. Blew my mind!
Of all the Bob Dylan I've been forced to listed to through this project, this is the least bad.
He is an icon, zero idea why but here is is.
Late 90s Dylan is interesting. Certainly has a much more polished and refined sound from an engineering perspective. This one is very bluesy, and the songwriting is decent, but not quite the revolutionary sound that Dylan embodied at his start. Not sure I’d revisit this one, but it was an interesting experience nonetheless.
Good Sunday afternoon album, very folky rather than rock, with some borderline blues. If I came across this as a cheap vinyl, I would definitely grab it
Como lo he dicho varias veces por aquí, suelo no conectar con Bob Dylan. Pero cuando uno escucha álbumes como Time Out Of Mind, no hay cómo no reconocerle su genialidad. Puro blues sufridor para ir caminando por una carretera desierta mientras se recuerda que una vez el amor de nuestra vida estuvo junto a nosotros, pero un día decidió partir. Carajo, Dylan.
After a mostly forgettable 80s and 90s, Dylan comes back with a respectable outing. Admittedly, I've never bothered with the intervening albums between Desire and this one but their reputation tells me not to bother. Maybe one day.
I love Bob Dylan, glad for this one to fall over the weeknd
Boring asf
That version of make you feel my love is genuinely terrible. Rest is cool. Grammy still feels more like a lifetime achievement award.
2.5
It’s the 90s. The word on the street is Bob’s washed. His poetry is sloppy, his heart’s weary, and soul nonexistent. Is he going to be able to put out a good album in his twilight years? Hell yeah he can. Bob “got ice water in my veins” Dylan 🥶
Ahead of me there are two men named Bob. I approach the older one. ~~{*}~~ If I've said it once, I've said it a million times: I don't get Bob Dylan lyrics. And chances are, frankly, that I never will. It's sure not for lack of trying on my part, believe me; I've put in the effort to try and understand just what he's going on about. Well, effort short of going and getting a literary degree. But there are times, and plenty of them at that, where it feels like that's the only way I'm going to understand just what in the hell he's blabbering about. I'm AuDHD. Like other people as lucky as me, I have a hard time understanding poetry. I'm the kind of person who needs shit explained to me. Now, I'm not dumb, of course; I **can** get meaning. Just not as easily as other people can. I mean, if I can pull just as much meaning from any random Bob Dylan song as I can the parodies by Weird Al and from the movie 'Walk Hard' ... y'know? It's such a weird little spot to find myself in. Because despite my failure to understand Dylan's lyrics, I **have** bought into the history, myth and legacy that've been built up around him. It just comes with the territory of being the kind of person who treats the 2012 Rolling Stone 500 as a definitive list. I mean, if I can buy the hype around The Beatles — and believe me, I do ... I understand, completely, what he meant to the 60's. I understand why his "finger pointin'" songs were so important. I understand how he influenced so many other artists of his generation. I understand why his turn to electric was so controversial. I get how **that** influenced a bunch of people, too. And I understand why an artist like him would have **seven album** on this list. (By pure solo albums he's tied with Neil Young and only surpassed by David Bowie, who has two more.) Whether or not you like his music, as a songwriter, he is **incredibly** important to the history of Western music. I understand all of that. I just can't make heads or tails of his actual **words**. And if you can't understand his words ... well, like with a lot of other 60's folk singer-songwriters, if you can't parse, you may as well give up and go listen to The Monkees. And I've enjoyed a lot of Monkees songs. The way I understand Bob Dylan's career is that it didn't immediately keel over once the 60's ended. Oh, sure, he seemingly tried to kill it off himself with 'Self Portrait', though it 'twas not be. I doubt he was as big in the 70's as he was in the 60's, but he managed to hang in there. Hell, he put out one of his acclaimed albums come 1975, 'Blood On The Tracks'. He couldn't have been doing **too** badly. Not until the 80's came, anyway. And I don't think I'd have look too deeply into how his 80's went to figure it probably wasn't a very good decade for him. Bob Dylan, in the MTV era? No way. And it seemed like he was done for good once 1990 rolled around and he released what could have been his final album of original material, 'Under The Red Sky'. I've never heard it, but just knowing that it starts off with a song called "Wiggle Wiggle" is not a good sign. After that, it seems he didn't put out much. Two albums of folk covers, a live album culled from 'MTV Unplugged' ... this could have been it for Dylan. He'd been the voice of a generation back in the 60's and had somehow managed to ride that out for nearly three decades. Maybe it was time for this voice to take a rest. And he did. Until 1997. And, suddenly, he's back on top. It was the biggest comeback he'd ever had and exactly the one he needed. It earned him swathes of critical acclaim, and he even beat out Radiohead and 'OK Computer' for Album Of The Year. And 28 years later, he's still going. Dylan owes his latter day career to this album. So I suppose this deep into this review it's about time I finally actually bring up my thoughts about this album. And I'll tell you, from the onset I wasn't looking forward to it. "A 71 minute Dylan album? Oh, no thank you! That's 71 minutes of poetry I can't understand! I would rather not take that long a chunk out of my life just to be confused by ol' Bobby D." Ah, but unless I wanna give up on this project over 600 albums, there was nothing I could do but rip the bandage off and actually give it a shot. So ... how 'bout it, then? What do I think of 'Time Out Of Mind'? Y'know what my favorite part about this album is? Honestly? The words. This is, bar none, the most I've ever loved the words on a Bob Dylan. And **of course** it's when they're at their simplest. This ain't no "Desolation Row" shit, where you need a bachelor's degree in the studies of Dylan to even begin to come up with a thesis, no. These are remarkably straight forward lyrics. And as a result, I am able to get **way** more into these stories he's telling. Maybe it means I'm dumb because I get these and not the songs with big words — but who cares, honestly? Let me have this. It just feels so nice to understand the **emotion** of what he's saying. It's more like I'm reading a novel than trying to decipher poetry, and I **like** that. Shout out to "Not Dark Yet" as a particular highlight. Besides that, the actual music supporting these songs is very good, too. Very bluesy, very melancholy ... it's stuff I would have enjoyed even if I hadn't understood the words, but, surprise, because I do, they both get elevated. The music supports the words, the words support the music ... is this what I've been missing this whole time? Would the endless guitar plonking on those old 60's albums actually sound better if I could parse the lyrics? Though I'd probably still heavily prefer the stuff on here. Seriously, some **good** electric blues stuff. I should bring up Dylan's voice as well. A fellow member of my group compared it to Tom Waits and his raspy growl, and I can see where it's coming from. It's like if Dyan was trying to do a Tom Waits impersonation ... but obviously, he's not. It's just thirty years of age settling on his voice. And it's not the classic kind of nasal warble we know him for, but dang if it don't work for this material. With all of these songs about heartbreak, it's only fitting that Dylan sounds as worldweary as he does. This is a man who's seen some shit in his day, let 'em you. My fellow group member brought up Tom Waits in the context of his album 'Swordfishtrombone', and that's the vibe I get here — though while Waits is up on stage singing songs for and about the people, Dylan's at the bar, telling stories to anyone who'll listen. All in all, I hardly end up noticing the fact that this album is over 70 minutes long. Even the songs that exceed seven minutes, they're gripping enough stories that the time slips away. The only song that didn't really grab me as well as it could have was the closer, "Highlands". It is, in fact, 16 and a half minutes long. It was, additionally, the longest song of his career until "Murder Most Fowl" five years ago (and it only beat "Highlands" by seconds). And, y'know, it's not like there isn't something strangely captivating about this song. There's a lot of "useless conversation" in this thing, which I've always found strangely attracted to; it's one of my favorite things to write in my free time. But after everything else on this album, this song can't help but feel less like Dylan's telling you a story and more like he's going on about how he had to buy himself a new shoe heel one time, so he took a ferry to Morganville (which is what they called Shelbyville in those days). So he tied an onion to his belt, which was the style at the time ... I mean, y'get it. In close, I am actually kind of surprised I liked this album as much as I did. After how much I struggled with his earlier albums (looking back on them in retrospect), I thought a Dylan album would never truly strike a chord with me. Heck, with how much I struggle with fokies of his ilk in general ... and yet, it turns out all I really needed from Dylan was some age, some simpler words, and some time out of mind. And there I am, happily enjoying some Dylan. It's easily my favorite album from him yet. And while I can't tell you it's made me a Dylan superfan yet ... I'm getting there.
Good ol' blues + Dylan's writing = a damn fine album. 4.5 bumped up to 5.
I’m at a 5. Hell, I’m actually probably higher. Hell froze over a while ago; this is a full tundra at this point. When we got Tom Waits’ “Swordfishtrombones” in March of this year, I wrote down that “some of the lyrics on the tracks feel like a sort of contemporary, mildly buzzed Bob Dylan for the 1980s”. Bob Dylan, on this album, feels like the 1980s Tom Waits of the 1990s, which is basically to say that… well, he sounds a lot like Tom Waits here, telling some stories in the same little dirty dive bar that a group member imagined when they reviewed “Swordfishtrombones”. That imagery permeated into my head throughout the album, and I think it really makes the whole thing click that much more. For 1997, this is no longer the voice of a generation writing protest songs, asking people how they feel, or writing endless amounts of vaguely confusing purple prose that felt like a novel to decipher. This is, surprisingly, the most straightforward Bob Dylan album we’ve gotten so far, helped by the fact that a lot of these are just tracks about being an older, heartbroken man sort of lamenting his mortality, his shattered relationships, the futile chase to retain them & the feelings of lost time that come with it. It’s an extremely grounded album, enhanced by Bob Dylan’s more gravely 56-year-old voice. Yes, it’s still kinda goofy, but he’s aged into a sort of old gunslinger of an artist who’s allowed to express these regrets in a way that feels very genuine. In a weird way, this is the most control I’ve heard Bob Dylan have in his voice, which is more than passable on a majority of these tracks. I hesitate to say he finally became a good singer, especially given what Adele did for “Make You Feel My Love” a decade later, but there are moments here where Bob Dylan really does sound confidently strong, and it gives the tracks an added sense of conviction. Daniel Lanois’ production work is what truly, fully makes this album work. Bob Dylan provides a great foundation, but the moodier tones of the backing band, as well as the slight filtering on Dylan’s vocals throughout the album, add the contemporary touch that’s desperately needed to make this album feel like it’s from 1997 as opposed to 1967. In the same way that “Tanto Tempo” subtly infused its extra instrumentation into a bossa nova base, Daniel Lanois adds just the right amount of light grunge / trip-hop elements into Dylan’s style, where it adds to each track in a way that captures the same emotion & conviction that Bob Dylan put into writing & singing each of these tracks. It also helps that there’s a decent variety of genres explored here, perhaps most surprisingly the reggae / blues-inspired energy of “Can’t Wait”. If there’s any one singular all-timer highlight here, it’s “Not Dark Yet”, which is one of the best-written tracks I’ve heard from any artist, ever. The sunset-driven imagery, building with past regrets & eventually culminating in this character on his death bed, felt like a man preparing for a funeral, in a way that reminded me deeply of “You Want It Darker”, with the instrumentation growing more intense in a way that felt reminiscent of Johnny Cash’s cover of “Hurt”. Granted, Bob Dylan is still alive, 28 years later, so that same emotional impact of his actual death is not there yet (and I hope it’s not there for a while longer), but the fact that the track feels so viscerally indicative of death is impressive all the same. If there’s a lowlight here, well… yeah, it’s “Highlands”, but only because it’s 16 minutes. I actually didn’t mind it at all though; when I was listening, my brain went back to the old dive bar imagery that permeates the album – the stream of consciousness style, while sort of undermined by the repetition in the instrumental, slowly started to come around to work for me. In a way, I’m vaguely reminded of Weird Al’s “Trapped in the Drive-Thru”, where a lot of the dialogue is sort of uselessly conversational, and yet vaguely compelling, for seemingly no reason. (I refuse to give R. Kelly any credit.) Yeah, there’s a whole aside about some waitress in Boston that Bob Dylan barely indulged in drawing a picture of, but it serves to sell the bigger point of the track: Bob Dylan just wants to be a fucking hermit, but he’s in too deep at this point as an artist, and he just has to settle for mentally living in the highlands. Could’ve gotten to the point way faster than 16 minutes, but again, the dive bar imagery in my head made the track work more fruitfully. Overall, it’s a remarkably strong album, and one that I wouldn’t possibly have expected from Bob Dylan, especially 3 decades after his most relevant period. He basically disappeared for the vast majority of the 1990s, only to come out with something that still holds up really well 28 years later. The writing is on point, his vocals have finally caught up, the production meshes perfectly, and I think the slight Tony Bennett-esque career renaissance that emerged from it was probably well deserved. Granted, I’m not sure if it’s “win the Grammy for Album of the Year over OK Computer” levels of deserved, but I’m surprised at the fact that it’s even slightly justifiable in my head. This is a damn good one, and I think it’s the best Bob Dylan album we’ve gotten, and probably the best one we’ll get. We have 3 more of these damn things to go, all from the 1960s. I can only hope at least one of them matches the quality of this one (and hopefully, that’s “Blonde On Blonde”) – to my ears, this is a 5, if not a little higher. It’s that good. Hell of a job, Bob.
Boring. This man should have quit after his motorcycle accident.
Cool Record.
This is ok, mostly cool and better than I expected. The stripped down sound from his band is cool and his vocals work. The lyrics and atmosphere are genuine, very visual. Lots of good stuff but the closing track is about 10 minutes too long.
There wasn’t really a time when I wasn’t enjoying this album. I really like Dylan’s more aged voice and prefer it to his younger voice. An enjoyable listen. Was tempted to give four stars, but knocking down to three because it sounds the same the whole way through.
Imagine if they made a new Star Wars movie, but instead of weird-looking aliens, exciting space battles and well-choreographed lightsaber fights, the whole thing was just a bunch of scenes filled with rebel commanders and empire politicians filling out reports and doing daily chores. That's this album. It's like Dylan took the earlier version of himself as a songwriter and musician, fed that version a steady diet of porridge and prune juice, made him read nothing but Reader's Digests and watch Friends reruns, and then set him loose in a Men's Wearhouse to find inspiration for some new songs. If this album were anyone but Dylan it wouldn't have made more than a ripple in the musical and cultural world of 1997, and we certainly wouldn't be writing about it today. 2 stars, I guess. I save my single star ratings for albums I don't like. It's not even that I don't like this. It was boring in '97, and it's still boring almost three decades later.
Meh
A Dylan album I’m not familiar with at all. Not sure why it’s on the list because his more famous albums are on the list which in my view are much superior to this one. It’s all standard Dylan fayre throughout but none of these songs get the pulse racing and the album is without a great memorable classic Dylan is famous for. That said it is Dylan and anything by him must be taken note of. 3/5 3/11/25
THIRTIETH??? studio album?!??? I honestly think nobody should be allowed to make thirty studio albums. They ought to cut you off and take away the microphones after number twenty-five or so. THIRTY studio albums. Insanity. What can you possibly have left in you by that point in time? Well Bob Dylan had To Make You Feel My Love left in him I guess so maybe I ought to be eating my words here. But then the other problem with all thirty plus Bob Dylan albums is that they have Bob Dylan’s vocals on them. Though we’ll always have the Adele cover version etc. etc.
Everyone: Ughhhh. This list: more Bob Dylan.
Another album I enjoyed more than I expected to! Ironic, because from what I read, it sounded like Dylan did not like it very much himself! I have a lot of respect for Daniel Lanois work and wonder if it was his magic touch that got this one over the line for me :-)
WOW! I didn't hate this as much as the previous 10 trillion Bob Dylan albums we've suffered through! It was still shite though!
The late resurgent comeback began here!
I hate his voice
Think this may be my favorite Dylan album. Great sound, understandable and melodic. L
I never like the oldhead albums as much as I feel like other people do. This was pretty good but doesn’t really compare to older Dylan stuff
Perfection.
Really dull for Dylan
Good one
The master at work. Like all his best work, depths you can't fathom and breadth that disappears over the horizon. No need for extremes of novelty, Bob's undersell leaves you coming back for more. 4.8 only so as to leave room for some of his even more fine works.
First track was really cool
Great old Bob.
Some good stuff on here at times, but like a lot of Dylan records, it's just too long.
Ele é um gênio com as letras das músicas mas achei tudo muito parecido. Fora que as músicas ficam cansativas dps de um tempo
4.5
I did listen to this album twice once with the original mix and once with the new mix and I actually prefer the new mix in that I think it feels more truer to the Dylan sound than the original 97 mix. And with that it brings it up to five stars. The original mix for some reason always I felt a little arms length away from the feel of the album but I always recognize that it's some of Dylan's best material.If I used the original mix it would have been a high 4½ enough for it to be a five on the app anyways so I'm going to post it with the rating of the new mix 10 ★★★★★
Onr of the best albums in existence So dark, yet magnificent. 5 stars
4.5/5
This album is one of the best examples of a comeback album for an older artist I can think of. I think Dylan and Daniel Lanois do a really nice job of crafting an album that sounds modern, but doesn't fall into the trap of using a bunch of production elements that make it sound dated. Much like Tom Waits' stuff from this era, it has a timeless feeling to it that feels both fresh and old at the same time. I think the style of the album really plays to Dylan's strengths too. His voice isn't what it used to be, but in this context, it's perfect. Dylan also turns in some of his best songs too -- "Standing in the Doorway", "Cold Irons Bound", "Make You Feel My Love", "Love Sick", and "Not Dark Yet" being among the highlights. 5 stars.
3.5
Don’t want to say ‘bored out of my mind’ but this was pretty bad nonetheless. The one decent song Make You Feel My Love was done better by Adele anyway.
I liked this a lot in my younger years. Mostly holds up but too much slow blues drag. Standing in the doorway spoke a lot to my heartsore self in my twenties though, and the arrangements/production are nice and dark and mysterious. He was only in his 50s I think, which felt ancient at the time, but he's still doing it! Voice has perhaps even mildly improved?
I enjoyed it, but I don't think it really clicked with me.
It's 5/5, but not without its faults. I'm a big Bob Dylan fan, but I never quite *got* Time Out of Mind. It's a lot of people's favourite album of his, and I couldn't understand why. Then it finally clicked - this album demands to be listened to at either dusk or dawn, and no time else. This isn't a 10am listen, or a mid-day 2pm listen, or a late afternoon 5pm listen. This is a 9pm with a cup of whiskey surrounded by wooden cabinetry listen. This is a 5am studying for your final exam in two hours listen - times where ruminations and meditations on one's mortality are inevitable. This album singlehandedly saved Bob Dylan from irrelevant aging Boomer icon to modern Americana gatekeeper. And it's easy to see why. Not Dark Yet is one of his greatest songs ("There's not even room enough to be anywhere...It's not dark yet, but it's getting there"), with Love Sick, Tryin' to Get to Heaven, Standing in the Doorway, and Make You Feel My Love rounding out for a very strong tracklist. The palate cleanser blues numbers can be nice - Cold Irons Bound is good - but you can't tell me Million Miles needs to be 6 minutes long. As I said, it's not without its faults. The blues tracks are simply too long. Speaking of too long, Highlands is like 16 minutes long. And you know what, I don't mind it. It's nowhere near the strength of other Bob Dylan long songs like Desolation Row, but it's kinda dumb fun that he can pull off. Dylan has mentioned he doesn't like the Lanois production on it, but I think it serves the music well and creates a unique listen compared to all of his other records. All in all, that's all to say that it's a 5/5 album. It's either one of the best albums of all-time or an unremarkable slog - completely dependent on how, where, and when you listen.
Like if Dylan did Waits and Cash. Stark contrast to the 60s electric Dylan I listened to earlier this week, and not in a good way.
I definitely have a bias when it comes to Dylan, but it’s been about 10 years since I last listened to this and I think it holds up great. It’s no surprise that his songwriting is strong but it’s quite a feat to carve out a fresh sound when you are in about 40 years into your career. He even manages to not sound very sarcastic on “Make You Feel My Love.” And props to the producer who brought you the soundtrack to Red Dead Redemption 2.
I'm in Boston town, in some restaurant I got no idea what I want Well, maybe I do but I′m just really not sure Waitress comes over Nobody in the place but me and her Well, it must be a holiday, there's nobody around She studies me closely as I sit down She got a pretty face and long white shiny legs I say, ("Tell me what I want") She say, ("You probably want hard boiled eggs") I said, ("that′s right, bring me some") ~Bob Dylan, The Highlands, 1997 Bob Dylan…the voice of a generation…. Kidding aside, this is a nice mature Dylan album. It has everything I would expect from him over the last 30 years. Chill, relaxed and gritty with tales to be told and revelations to be had. My favorite lyric comes from “Trying To Get To Heaven” I’ve been walking through the middle of nowhere Trying to get to heaven before they close the door 1997 Dylan was so much older then….he’s younger than that now… (sorry) 4 stars for the stories that are told.
As a Dylan album, this is probably a 3 or 4. If I had to pick my favourite 20 or 30 Dylan songs, I don't think a single one of these would be on there. They are good songs, but they don't come close to some of his earlier works. A few of the songs (Standing in the Doorway, I'm looking at you) are just a little slow and tiresome to really be enjoyed. However. As an album, an album made in the wide open playing field of all the popular music ever made by humanity, this is absolutely phenomenally brilliant. Not Dark Yet, Make You Feel My Love, and Dirt Road Blues are all standout tracks. Highlands and Cold Irons Bound are also worth a mention. These are songs which are both beautifully written, performed and produced, but more importantly actually make you feel something deep inside you. So that's the trouble with this system. What do I rate this? How do I give nuance? Maybe this review will just have to be a written record of the dilemma I faced.
I can say I have seen Bob Dylan play live, one month before the release of Time Out Of Mind. Kansas City used to host a free concert festival called Spirit Fest which Dylan played in August, 1997. I went with my cousin Mary. We did not arrive in time to scope out a place to camp out. So we just wandered through the crowd for a few songs. Then we rode carnival rides. While I heard of Bob Dylan growing up, I never really heard Dylan until I got to college. This included The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan, Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde On Blonde, and Nashville Skyline. Blood On The Tracks was on heavy rotation in my CD player during an ill-advised summer in Tucson, Arizona. Needless to say, Dylan holds a special place in my favorite artist pantheon. However, the older Dylan got, the more uneven his output became. By the time he released Time Out of Mind, he was dead and buried multiple times. He was also 56 years old. I am sorry, but 56 year old artists do not release vital music. Time Out Of Mind may have been classified as a return to form. But I saw it as a work by an artist with a sure-handed command of the musical vernacular. I own this CD and listened to it a lot at the time. Though, I have not revisited it since. Time Out Of Mind is fine + 1 for nostalgia.