Style: alt-Western Americana comparable to Son Volt, Josh Ritter and, yes, dad Bob
Top tracks: "Nothing But the Whole Wide World," "Everybody's Hurting," "Standing Eight Count"
For his second solo project, the former Wallflowers frontman enlists producer T-Bone Burnett, who introduces a backing blanket of pedal-steel, fiddles and horns that wraps Dylan's smoky vocals like wind dancing across prairie grass. The pairing paints rural soundscapes that conjure sun-scorched barnwood, rusted machinery, and human resignation flint-faced to a sweeping horizon. It's a rich patchwork for Dylan's poetic storytelling, and he deals with epic themes: women, country, and God's place in these earth-stained tales of humanity's struggles. Hope glimmers, but is it merely a mirage on cracked asphalt? It's worth this exceptional audio journey to find out.
Each had unique translation philosophies, diction preferences, and intended audiences in mind, frameworks that informed how they approached their all-consuming work.