What drove Bob Dylan to write 'Time Out of Mind'?
Dylan the songwriter was back - but was everything okay?
In 1997, Bob Dylan returned. We’d been wondering if he was done - after all, he was 56 - 56! - years old. He’d released the underwhelming ‘Under the Red Sky’, and then a couple of albums covering folk songs; interesting, but what we really wanted to hear was Dylan the songwriter.
With the arrival of ‘Time Out of Mind’, the songwriter is exactly what we got. He was - and is - far from done, although his introspective mood, seemingly contemplating his own mortality, suggested he’d been wondering if there was much further to go on the Dylan journey.
‘Time Out of Mind’ was packaged like an old release, with even the label looking like a Columbia release from the 1950’s. Was this, in reality, an old album, found in an archive somewhere?
It couldn’t be, because the production is both too audiophile and too dense to be a product of the past; not least Dylan’s vocals on the opening ‘Love Sick’. Then again, listen to the 2022 remix, which strips out the Daniel Lanois production for a more intimate sound, much more in keeping with how these songs must have sounded in the recording studio.
I’m not a Dylanologist.1 Others will have deeper insights into Dylan’s literary and musical intentions when he wrote and recorded ‘Time Out of Mind’. He was seriously ill around this time, but he’d written and recorded these songs before his illness. Did he feel illness coming (not necessarily feeling ill, more a subconscious recognition something wasn’t right?), or are the two events not connected? We do know he wanted to make an album that sounded like a 1950s blues record, so perhaps the lyrics were in keeping with that style and mood, nothing more, nothing less.
So I’m an ‘ordinary’ listener, as are most people; not casual - music is far too important for that - but, at least when it comes to Dylan, no expert in the way Dylan can attract obsessives.2
‘Time Out of Mind’ does indeed sound sparse, bluesy, and authentic, with nothing too flashy; the playing is in service of the song. The record settles into a groove and holds us there; Dylan’s singing is rough around the edges (naturally) yet brings out the melodies and allows us, listening, to hear every word and slowly begin to think about what he’s saying.
For me, there are three songs carrying the essence of ‘Time Out of Mind’:
‘Not Dark Yet’ … but it’s getting there
I picture an old man reviewing his life, lacking energy, dispirited as his dreams move beyond reach. “I can’t even remember what it is I came here to get away from.” Life is still to be lived but his predominant thoughts are in preparation for the day when the dark has completely banished the light. And in the dark, there is … beauty. The melody, the hypnotically repeating pedal steel figure, and the way the band expertly weaves into and around the melody are just gorgeous.
‘Tryin’ to Get to Heaven’ … before they close the door
“When you think you’ve lost everything and find out you can always lose a little more.” Gosh, this is even bleaker than I recall from first listening all those years ago. Even a one (or two?)-note harmonica solo carries an implication of it being difficult to summon the spirit to do much more.
‘Cold Irons Bound’
“There’s too many people, too many to recall / I thought some of ‘em were friends of mine, I was wrong about ‘em all”. He’s let down; let down by people, let down by love. Here, the music is more muscular, making this sound as if there’s defiance to come but he’s not ready yet.
Listen to the whole album though. Even the 16-minute ‘Highlands’ draws us in. Dylan was asked if there was a shorter version, to which he replied “This is the short version”.
It’s also worth exploring ‘Fragments - Time Out of Mind Sessions (1996-97) The Bootleg Series Vol. 17’ for the full story. Notably, Dylan recorded the wonderful ‘Mississippi’ in these sessions but it didn’t make the album. It fits the theme: “Well, my ship’s been split to splinters, and it’s sinking fast / I’m drowning in the poison, I got no future, got no past.” Dylan’s got form here, of course: the wonderful ‘Blind Willie McTell’ was left off ‘Infidels’.
And my connection to ‘Time Out of Mind’? I bought the album on release and immediately loved it. He gigged at Wembley Arena and, as I’d always wanted to see Dylan live, here was my chance. Dylan didn’t speak (much? Or, more likely, at all) between songs, of course, and it was hard to tell if he was as enthusiastic about the show as the audience was. But, as he left the stage right at the end, I could see him pause in the wings and look back at us, still applauding wildly. He seemed humble, grateful, and certain the show had gone well. It was a triumph.
I was training teachers at the time and, coincidentally, one of my students and her boyfriend were also at the gig. Despite the thousands of people milling about, our paths crossed and we had a brief conversation before beginning the battle for a tube train.
The final day of the course was also my final day at the college before moving on to teach at pastures new. My Dylan co-conspirators were kind enough to give me a bootleg of the gig, on a good old-fashioned cassette tape.
I’ve continued to defend Dylan (not that he particularly needs it), especially his … er … distinctive singing voice, ever since. Who needs bland conformity anyway?
It’s not dark yet. Is it getting there?
National Album Day
I selected ‘Time Out of Mind’ to write about this week because, here in the UK, Saturday was designated ‘National Album Day’.3 This year’s theme was the 1990s, with a list of featured albums on their website including ‘Time Out of Mind’. Dylan’s album may have been released in the 1990s, but a less 1990s album would be hard to find.
Coming up on ‘LP’
As with many of the artists I chose to write about, I’ll return to Dylan, as I’ll return to Pink Floyd, The Who, Genesis, and others. I’ll sometimes write about less well-known artists and albums.
And, I’ll be returning to Peter Gabriel - my first ‘long read’, on the album ‘i/o’ (that we now know will be released in December - 2023, for clarity!) is in the works, and will be posted very soon.
Finally
Thank you! Substack sent me this special graphic last week to mark the 100th subscriber to ‘LP’. If you know of anyone who may want to read this and help me grow further, I’d love you to share this publication.
Back on Friday with the next ‘Gems’ playlist.
Ian
I’m not an anything-ologist these days.
As these posts grow in number, you may begin to get clues about my musical obsessions - answers on a postcard, or at least in the comments.
A few years ago, BBC Radio 2 marked National Album Day by playing only album tracks for that day. Great, I thought, a chance to hear all sorts of music that’s not normally played on the radio. What a great way to celebrate the album. Except … mostly, all they did was play the album version of well-known singles. In most cases, the album version of the tracks they selected was pretty much the same, just a minute or so longer. What a missed opportunity. Are they still celebrating that way?
Thanks for this! Rather embarrassingly, I’ve never listened to much of Bob Dylan’s work. In fact, I’ve only ever owned two of his albums. The first was the 1967 greatest hits collection and the other was 1983’s Infidels. I absolutely loved that album, and Jokerman remains one of my favorite songs of all time.
I’m listening to Time Out Of Mind now, enjoying it, and wondering why I never listened to much of his music. Exploring such a prolific artist’s back catalog can be a little intimidating. Any suggestions on where to go next?
Thank you Robert. I’d heard good things about the Substack platform and it’s a lovely place to write.