My Essential Albums: 'Tempest' by Bob Dylan

This album is very much under-appreciated and I want to share just why it has appeared on my list of my "essential" albums to listen to before you die. I want to (be not the first) to say that this album is seriously good if you love Bob Dylan, like I do. It is one of those albums you can seriously jam out to and has a brilliant set of songs to listen to. Each of the songs is different to the last and each of the sounds is different entirely, telling its own story.

Recorded in typical Dylan style between the January and March of 2012, this album serves to be a kind of "revisiting" album, where Bob Dylan takes it all back to the storytelling folk rock that once made him the "King of Folk." There are some incredible songs on this album and the fact they were all recorded in two months is just awe-inspiring. At his age, he still works so hard.

I know that a lot of people don't like this album because apparently they don't like his voice that much and. To those people, I say, what are you doing here? You know exactly what this post will be about ... You knew the risks when you got here, and there is nothing but love for this album coming. I'm not going to lie to you though—when I first heard this album, it was difficult to make out the stories of the songs, but I got there in the end! Here we are! The singing is phenomenal, like he has still got it at that age (71, I believe).

I won't be covering every single song, but I will do most of them I think—purely because my last one was pretty long and I feel something a little more straightforward would suit this album. I want you to know it was very hard to pick the songs I'm covering but I made it. I wanted to do them all, but I abstained. It was a difficult decision, so please appreciate it.

'Duquesne Whistle'

"Duquesne Whistle"is an awesome song to open any album with. Just by that introduction we know that this is Bob Dylan returning to good old folk rock, like he is the king of and he knows it. This song starts with a guitar strumming and that long ass introduction which sounds divine. I absolutely love the opening to this song because now you know you're in for some good music. Then, in comes the drums and the electric guitar. Bob Dylan sings on top and his voice is absolutely electrifying.

Bob Dylan's first verse opens with:

"Listen to that Duquesne whistle blowing

Blowing like it's gonna sweep my world away

I'm gonna stop at Carmangale and keep on going

That Duquesne train gon' rock me night and day..."

One of the best things about this song, like other Dylan songs, is that it has no chorus at all. Bob Dylan is harkening back to the days of Masters of War and Outlaw Blues when there wasn't a need for a chorus, but instead, there was a requirement to make verses that coherently told some sort of incredible story. "Duquesne Whistle"does just that.

"Duquesne Whistle"almost sounds incredibly happy, like there's some sort of celebratory aspect to it. I love it because of the lyrics, the vocals and the instrumentals that all fit together perfectly. Now let me share my favourite part of the song with you:

"I can hear a sweet voice steadily calling

Must be the mother of our Lord..."

This almost sounds apocalyptic, but it keeps with that rhythm of the song, it's a strange line yes, but it's brilliant the way it's been put together. I love the way he sings it as well, the gain of the crescendo is at its finest.

A lot of people may not like the song or the album, but I definitely think this song is a great opener to a brilliant record. We are in for an amazing time here on Tempest. All in all, "Duquesne Whistle"is a jazzy classic, with a swinging rock beat and a folk rock vibe to it—it's Bob Dylan doing what Bob Dylan does best ... everything.

'Soon After Midnight'

I don't really know whether this is a love song or an anti-love song at all. At first, it starts out as being a love song, then a story emerges and maybe, it isn't so at all. "Soon After Midnight"is a slow, subtle song that almost sounds like Frank Sinatra could've written and performed it. Bob Dylan's voice is steady and, matching with the music, subtle. It sounds so amazing on this song that it happens to be one of my personal favourite songs on the album. The song itself opens with the sound of a 1950s romance movie, well that's what I think anyway. The guitar is sublime and when the lyrics kick in—well it becomes even more amazing:

"I'm searching for phrases

To sing your praises

I need to tell someone

It's soon after midnight

And my day has just begun..."

I love the last line to this set because is sounds really jazzy and the way he holds the note "day" is beautiful. It fits the tone of the song perfectly.

The bridge of the song is fascinating to me. I don't know whether you can call it a bridge because, like "Duquesne Whistle"—this song has no chorus. But here's the bridge:

"They chirp and they chatter, what does it matter?

They lie and dine in their blood

Two timing Slim, who's every heard of him?

I'll drag his corpse through the mud..."

Yes, it gets a bit dark there, but it's still really evocative. I love this part because it almost changes key and sounds ever so slightly brighter—and that's opposed perfectly with the lyrics that seem to be a little bit darker than the rest of the song.

My personal favourite lines are the very last lines of the song, because it closes off the whole thing beautifully. It rounds off what the story is about and makes for amazing closure - the way it goes lower and slightly quieter is very satisfying indeed:

"It's now or never

More than ever

When I met you I didn't think you do

Its soon after midnight

And I don't want nobody but you..."

The way he sings that last line always puts shivers in me. The way the drums finish the song whilst he ends that last line makes the whole song round off in a wonderful way. It really does bring out the beauty of the vocals that Bob Dylan presents us with. The jazziness and the soulfulness of the whole thing is just incredible.

'Pay in Blood'

This is my favourite song from the whole album, I absolutely love it because it's Bob Dylan presenting us with a rock beat, with dark and pensive lyrics and one incredible soulful jazz voice (which leads us directly into his 2015 album, Shadows in the Night). This is Bob Dylan going back to the roots of various sounds presented in his earlier albums when he experimented with the extremities of the rock sound. The drums on this song are awesome and the way Bob Dylan's voice and lyrics fits with the overall atmosphere is brilliant. I urge you to listen to this song if you listen to any song on the album. "Pay in Blood"is not a good song; it's a great song.

The opening lyrics of the song set the atmosphere:

"Well I'm grinding my life out, steady and sure

Nothing more wretched than what I must endure

I'm drenched in the light that shines from the sun

I could stone you to death for the wrongs that you've done..."

I love the way he sings the words "steady and sure" because his voice is so powerful right there. It really sounds like he's giving us a rock song with his experiment of jazz/soul style vocals. He does the same thing when he sings "what I must endure" - his intonation is still there. It's the same kind of intonation he uses on Infidels and I really appreciate the fact he still has that vocal talent. It has always been such an awe-inspring sound to listen to.

The next part of the song, which is almost the chorus, goes:

"Sooner or later you make a mistake,

I'll put you in a chain that you never will break

Legs and arms and body and bone

I pay in blood, but not my own."

Again, the way he sings this part is incredible, especially the third line of that set. "Legs and arms and body and bone..." He uses, again, the soulful intonation of the experimental jazz-like style and makes you really want to listen closely to what he's doing with that voice.

Here's one of my favourite parts of the song:

"I'll give you justice, I'll fathom your purse

Show me your moral that you reversed

Hear me holler, hear me moan

I pay in blood but not my own."

Yes, again it's a near-chorus to the song. I love the way again, he sings the third line of the set. "Hear me holler, hear me moan" - using that intonation and making his voice ever so slightly louder, then bringing it back down again for "I pay in blood, but not my own". He shows his vocals from the late 70s-early 80s have literally stayed with him. He is still one of the world's greatest vocalists. This song will show you exactly that.

The last lines to the song are:

"This is how I spend my days

I came to bury, not to raise

I'll drink my fill and sleep alone

I play in blood, but not my own."

Bob Dylan's vocals on this part, the closing to the song, match perfectly with the emotion of the song. The third line of the set presents that same intonation but on the last line, he does something slightly different - taking the vocals lower ever so slightly. I have also always liked the first song to this set because he makes his voice so damn low; how do you even get that low? But it's still pure, unbridled power.

'Scarlet Town'

This song is a brilliantly dark number that is almost evocative of the older, Western-American songs. The song broods like Bob Dylan's voice on it, it is an awe-inspiring song to listen to and has a very pensive, almost attitude-problem. It matches up incredibly with the album's themes and has a way of moving you. Again, one of my favourite songs on this album—Bob Dylan shows off those amazing soulful vocals and gives us something to look forward to in terms of his wonderful storytelling atmosphere as he takes us on a tour of "Scarlet Town."

The song itself starts with a dark and brooding subtle beat and a descent of a piano. It presents itself as almost melancholy, but pensive at the same time and when the lyrics kick in, Bob Dylan sings with a tinge of disappointment in his voice, colouring the song with another dimension. Just look at the opening lyrics:

"In Scarlet Town, where I was born

There's ivy leaf and silver thorn

The streets have names that you can't pronounce

Gold is down to a quarter of an ounce..."

Bob Dylan's vocals at the start of the song are strong, but subtle. They're powerful and pensive. The third line fits perfectly with his voice and the atmosphere that's created and we get the first image of what "Scarlet Town" looks like through the way Bob Dylan lets out this verse, rather than just the lyrics themselves.

The way he sings this line presents the first piece of intonation he does in the song, going a little higher when he sings "under the hill," but also a little quieter:

"Scarlet Town is under the hill"

It's almost syllabic and Bob Dylan again, gives us a taste of that soul/jazz voice he will use over and over again in the album. This line is also a little slower than the rest in the verse because of the syllabic nature Bob Dylan sings it with.

The song then takes a turn and goes back to being darker and more brooding when we hear the line:

"In Scarlet Town, where I was born."

The descent of the vocals in this line is again, Bob Dylan tinging the atmosphere with some sort of ambiguity or disappointment in something. Something about this "Scarlet Town"is off and Bob Dylan's vocals show that—not the lyrics. The lyrics describe what's there, the vocals give us the emotions felt towards it.

One of my favourite verses to the song that Bob Dylan sings so well goes as this:

"In Scarlet Town, you fight your father's foes

Up on the hill, a chilly wind blows

You fight 'em on high and you fight 'em down in

You fight 'em with whiskey, morphine and gin."

The last line to this set is lower than the rest and makes for excellent atmosphere especially for the lines of this verse. The way he makes a very short stop after "whiskey" is brilliant for lowering the tone of the song slightly. It just makes the overall tone of the song just right as it slowly approaches the finish after three more verses.

All in all, I like this song for its atmosphere and its darkness. It's Bob Dylan's writing and singing coming together to make atmosphere and tone an integral part of listening to the track. If you just read the lyrics on here, you really won't get it—you need to listen to that song to hear what's going on.

'Early Roman Kings'

This is a brilliant song. "Early Roman Kings"starts off with this rock/soul sound. It begins with the descent of that guitar and then breaks into these incredible vocals—it's very swingy and has a great sound to it. A lot of people love this song because it is a brilliant addition to the album, especially after the pensive "Scarlet Town"and "Pay in Blood." This song seems almost happy and changes the tone ever-so-slightly of the overall album. It is such a well-designed song that I can hardly contain myself. The lyrics kick in as:

"All the early Roman kings in their sharkskin suits

Bow ties and buttons, high top boots

Drivin' the spikes in, blazin' the rails

Nailed in their coffins in top hats and tails."

This song, like others on the album, is very syllabic which makes the sound really jazzy and gives it an almost swinging momentum. This is Bob Dylan showing us he can merge genres together and they'll still sound amazing. The song almost has a chorus, again, like a lot of the songs on this album:

"Fly away, little bird

Fly away, flap your wings

Fly by night like the early Roman kings."

The song changes ever so slightly here and gets a little higher, Bob Dylan's vocals sing this with ease obviously. Then when he says "Early Roman kings" he prepares for that descent again which is reflected at the beginning of the song. It sounds incredible; it needs to be heard.

This is probably my favourite part of the whole song:

"I ain't dead yet,

My bell still rings

I keep my fingers crossed like them early Roman kings."

The way he holds the words "dead" and "bell," I have no idea whether he is trying to put emphasis on them or make up the syllables, but it sounds awesome and fits in with the climbing tune of those two lines perfectly. Again, the descent of "Early Roman kings" is heard and makes all the more difference because the climb of the first two lines is so prominent. He hits it low again when he sings "I keep my fingers crossed..." which means that he's already changed notes so much in those three lines. He proves his voice can still do it and it is so obvious he can, just by listening to this song.

'Tin Angel'

"Tin Angel"is a song of legend. It is a beautiful song with all the brilliance of a Russian Golden-Age Novel. The story, the vocals and the overall sound of this song is brilliant. It's probably my second favourite after "Pay in Blood" and makes for a great addition to the album regardless of how long the song actually is. It really draws you into the story and Bob Dylan's voice sounds dark and incredible, kind of like it does on Scarlet Town. It's a subtlety that moves through the song and each one of its scenes to present you with a tragedy.

The drums at the start of this song along with the guitar give the atmosphere for what is probably best described as a grand Greek Tragedy set in the old American West. It gives atmosphere and character to the song before the lyrics kick in, giving you time to process what kind of story you'll be getting today. The song opens:

"It was late last night when the boss came home

To a deserted mansion and a desolate throne

Servant said: "Boss, the lady's gone

She left this morning just 'fore dawn."

Now, we've got Bob Dylan's vocals giving us slightly quicker storytelling that the beat. Again though, it's syllabic and beautiful—it's dark and it's pensive. It has this urgency but it's also smooth and subtle. He's drawing you in and giving you something to wait for. The descent in his voice of that last line gives you the tension you're craving from the lyrics and overall, it works beautifully.

Now I'm going to show you some of my favourite parts to this song because there isn't only one. There are many:

"Saddle me up my buckskin mare

If you see me go by, put up a prayer"

I love the way this part of the song slows down a bit. Especially when he says "put up a prayer" after that very short pause in the middle of that line where the comma is. He holds "by" a little longer as well, making this section not as fast and having emphasis on the slightly religious and tragic themes just through the nature of voice and character.

Another set of lines that go a little slower in order to emphasise character emotion are:

"Heavy heart was racked with pain

Insomnia raging in his brain..."

I have to say that the last line of this is so syllabic and dark it bring the songs atmosphere to a really brooding and tense point. The vocals getting lower really do these lines justice and Bob Dylan sounds really good on this section, making the emotion known through voice instead of just words. The same is done with these lines:

"Oh, my dear, you must be blind

He's a gutless ape with a worthless mind"

Here we get more tension though, the lines become slightly lower and some of them change in smoothness and rawness. This is Bob Dylan's voice creating character, tension and atmosphere all at the same time through the way his voice alternates. One of my favourite verses though is this one:

"The gun went boom and the shot rang clear

First bullet grazed his ear

Second ball went right straight in

And he bent in the middle like a twisted pin."

The middle two lines are slower and give more time for the listener to process what's going on. And finally, the last line of this set really shows the pace at which someone has possibly just been shot and is now dying. This song is dark but this part changes in pace to show you exactly how much story is there to listen to. The very best part of the song is where it closes though, the last line being dragged on and held for a little longer makes the whole atmosphere seem endless. It's a perfect way the end the song, it's not rushed and actually, it slows down to present you with the true timelessness of this story:

"All three lovers together in a heap

Thrown into the grave, forever to sleep

Funeral torches blazed away

Through the towns and the villages all night and all day."

There's a small pause in the last line after "villages" and then the part where he sings "all night and all day" is possibly one of the greatest things about this album. He just, holds it. It is a timeless, never-ending story that can't be forgotten.

'Tempest'

This song is amazing and should be listened to a lot more than it is. The song "Tempest"covers the sinking of the Titanic and makes for an amazing story with the swaying sound in the background at the start of the song. Truthfully, whenever I listen to this album, I always have to listen to this particular song. I feel like it is a great Bob Dylan achievement and I would love more people to listen to it. The lyrics open as Bob Dylan sings in time to the rhythm, almost keeping that swaying feeling of a ship out at sea:

"The pale moon rose in it's glory out on the Western town

She told a sad, sad story of the great ship that went down."

He descends that voice at the end of the second line to show us that this is what the song is going to be about. It has an incredible feel to it overall and the atmosphere is ripe with tension already now that we know a ship has sunk and we've got this swaying of the vocals and instruments going on. Then, in a further verse, we get the literal swaying going on:

"The chandeliers were swaying from the balustrades above

The orchestra was playing songs of faded love."

He starts off fairly loud at the beginning of the first line and then carries on descending until the end of the second. This makes for a beautiful atmosphere that fits in with the drum beat in the background and the way the song is going to end with the deaths of so many people. Especially seeing that the final words on this line are "faded love," we have that tension rising even though the song itself, gets lower. Then, we get this repetition which tells us that this is, in fact, the end of the first part of the song and now, the song will change in its atmosphere ever so slightly without changing the music or vocals at all.

"The watchman, he lay dreaming as the ballroom dancers twirled

He dreamed the Titanic was sinking into the underworld."

The way he ends with that really low note on "underworld" is awesome and really needs to be appreciated and this is the end of the section and tells us that danger is imminent.

Then, we have the danger itself halfway through the section:

"The ship was going under, the universe had opened wide

The roll was called up yonder, the angels turned aside."

The fact that Bob Dylan sings "the ship was going under" quite loudly means that this obviously is an important point of the story. The ship is sinking, just like he sang in the very first verse to the song. The end of this verse is so much quieter than the opening to the verse because of the change in emotion. The first part is imminent danger and the last part is pure sadness. Bob Dylan creates both with his voice instead of his words.

The end of this section goes:

"The watchman lay there dreaming at forty five degrees

He dreamed that the Titanic was sinking, dropping to her knees."

This means that we've got the Titanic now physically sinking and Dylan's voice gets even lower on the last part to these lines, showing and reflecting the sadness of the entire section now that pretty much everyone is going to die.

One of the greatest things about the vocals of this song is this section here:

"The host was pouring brandy, he was going down slow

He stayed right to the end and he was the last to go."

The way Bob Dylan sings "going down slow" physically slows down the song, allowing the listener to experience exactly how long the host was sticking around for. This is an excellent achievement of vocals and characterisation, the storyline put forward in the way he sings something and not just what he sings.

This is my personal favourite part of this song though:

"In the dark illumination he remembered bygone years

He read the Book of Revelation and he filled his cup with tears."

This is where it becomes apparent that nobody is getting out alive. Also, the way Bob Dylan slows down slightly on "book of Revelation" is brilliant, making the last part of the second line even lower than everything else. It becomes a really sad state of affairs reflected by the way the song is sung as well as the lines themselves.

I absolutely love this song and no matter if it's very long, I would still enjoy it if you listened to it at least once.

Conclusion

I wanted to keep this one shorter, but I seem to have failed. But, at least I showed my love for this album. It is truly a work of pure art - a masterpiece and a great achievement of music and vocals. Tempest was the last of the original material released by Bob Dylan to the date of this article and as we wait and pray for more, we wonder about what Bob Dylan might be writing or singing at this moment in time.

I hope you enjoy this album as much as I do.