Christmas In The Heart

by

Bob Dylan

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I really, really wanted to write this one off. Especially after TTL, which for a long time I thought was a total disaster - and still think is a triple bogey at best. But sure enough, I found myself at 9:03 P.M California time downloading CITH off iTunes within the first three minutes of its release.

My first impression? So warm, so comforting, so nostalgic. And not just in a "it's getting to be late Fall, so let's get in the mood for Christmas" way. No, in a pure Americana kind of way. This is a Rockwell painting come to life, it is not some kind of ironic commentary on the past... it is a memorial to the past. Dylan does this perfectly. It baffles me, but I really think this will turn out to be one of his most memorable records.

Let me venture to say that this is also a vocal masterpiece. Forget those low-quality clips on amazon.com.. when you hear this the way Bob Frost intended it, you will curse yourself for ever cursing it.

And surprisingly, there are no real low points. It is just raw and perfect from "Here Comes Santa Claus" to "Little Town of Bethlehem." It makes you think of a bright, white, hopeful day. Logs on the fire, ancestors passed on, old dusty pictures that were never digitized. This feels like something old that turned up in a cross-country move. A brilliant, sharp, autumn feeling like those old first days of school.

"Amen."

I've had this album one day and have listened to it more times than I have his last album Together Through Life, which I thought was okay but found to be a generic modern-day Dylan album (some minor key blues, some rewritten tunes from other artists, some attempted crooning). Christmas in the Heart is not perfect - Bob's "O Little Town of Bethle-Phlegm" voice occasionally struggles to reach the right notes, and he sometimes seems so intent on singing the actual melody, he can't quite invest the proper amount of emotion in the songs - but this album is warm and sincere. It makes me smile. The retro sound makes me remember what Christmas used to feel like when I was a kid, and gives me hope that someday Christmas will feel like that again. My favorite tracks: "Must Be Santa" (Bob's actually having fun!), "Christmas Blues", "Little Drummer Boy" and "Christmas Island". Those who don't get Dylan, especially latter-day Dylan, will hate this album or write if off as a joke, and that's fine with me. Dylan always has been an acquired taste. As for me, I'm loving this album. Thank you, Bob, for this early Christmas gift.