Dylan still going strong

Bob Dylan is not ready for retirement

By BBC News Online's Chris Charles

You can always count on Bob Dylan to help out when you are stuck for a word.

It is hard to explain why a 60-year-old legend is making his 43rd album when retirement is surely a more attractive option.

Then you hear Bye And Bye drifting out of the speakers and all becomes clear.

"I'm rollin' slow, I'm doin' all I know," croons Bob. And that is Love And Theft in a nutshell.

The original Rolling Stone may have gathered a little moss along the way, with ill health reducing the familiar whine to a smoky growl.

Plenty of life in the old dog yet

But the desire to make music is as strong as it has ever been - and he is loving every minute of it.

On 1997's Time Out Of Mind you heard a man staring death in the face, sharing his final thoughts with the world.

Four years on and he is eagerly re-living his youth - amazed to have made it to the 21st century, while steadfastly refusing to embrace its technological advances.

And who can blame him? One listen to Earthling - David Bowie's ill-conceived drum'n'bass experiment - is enough to convince any self-respecting veteran to stick to what he knows best.

No frills

The result is a blues-driven record which occasionally dips its toes into rockabilly (Tweedle Dee And Tweedle Dum), Ska (Honest With Me) and Country (High Water).

There are no frills here, just simple story telling narrated by the world's greatest living wordsmith. And like all good stories, the more you hear this, the better it gets.

While Love And Theft will never be mentioned in the same breath as, say, Blonde On Blonde or Highway 61 Revisited, it is comforting to know there is still plenty of life in the old dog yet.

Anyone who suggests otherwise would do well to take in Dylan's words of wisdom on Floater: "Old, young, age don't carry weight - it don't matter in the end."

Spoken like a true genius.

Love and Theft is on release by Columbia Records