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Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
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Track Listings
| 1. Beyond Here Lies Nothin' |
| 2. Life Is Hard |
| 3. My Wife's Home Town |
| 4. If You Ever Go To Houston |
| 5. Forgetful Heart |
| 6. Jolene |
| 7. This Dream Of You |
| 8. Shake Shake Mama |
| 9. I Feel A Change Comin' On |
| 10. It's All Good |
Editorial Reviews
2009 release from the Rock legend. Together Through Life was recorded late last year and features 10 new songs including 'Life Is Hard', 'Beyond Here Lies Nothin'' and 'It's All Good.' This album is the 46th release from Dylan, and follows 2006's platinum-selling album Modern Times, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Top 200 and reached the top of the charts in seven additional countries and the Top 5 in 22 countries around the world. Bob Dylan's three previous studio albums have been universally hailed as among the best of his storied career, achieving new levels of commercial success and critical acclaim for the artist.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
108 of 114 people found the following review helpful
By Elliot Knapp
Format:Audio CD
He's pushing 70 and has artistically and financially earned a peaceful retirement several times over, but Bob Dylan has found it in his heart to generously present us with another album of new material. What's more, in my opinion it's even stronger than 2006's Modern Times.
Whereas Modern Times found Dylan mining similar subjects and moods to those explored in Love and Theft and Time Out of Mind, Together Through Life distinguishes itself by consisting pretty much entirely of love songs. It's still Dylan, though, so these aren't sappy or hackneyed--the words are full of wry frustration, sensuality, compelling nostalgia, and some of the purest heartfelt devotion the man has ever committed to tape. The album's opener and de facto 'single,' "Beyond Here Lies Nothing," kicks things off in a relatively heavy fashion, as pounding toms and dirty guitar licks frame Dylan's shadowy descriptions of consuming love. It's immediately evident that Dylan the producer isn't sticking with the same old formula--he's increased his acoustic instrumentation, including mandolins, violins, banjos, and especially an accordion, and to great and organic effect. The accordion's cheerful, liquid, flitting timbres really complement the laid-back nature of this set of songs, and it strongly recalls Dylan's days with The Band (which never hurts, so far as I'm concerned).
Anyone who's still contending that Dylan's voice is shot needs only to listen to the down-tempo, mandolin-drenched "Life Is Hard," one of Dylan's most successful torch songs, to hear how much heartbreaking emotion he's still capable of wringing out of his own words, even cooing wordlessly toward the song's end. Likewise, "I Feel a Change Comin' On" serves up Dylan's most heartfelt expressions of tenderness since Time Out of Mind's "Make You Feel My Love." Worry not, though--Dylan's nostalgia is leavened by his characteristic wit and inimitable strangeness. "My Wife's Home Town," with its "I just wanna say that hell's my wife's home town" refrain, contains plenty of tongue-in-cheek mock self-pity and Dylan's chuckling at the end of the track is worth the album's price alone. The album's closer, "It' All Good" takes some extremely effective ironic liberties with the titular saying, and the bluesy "Jolene" follows suit, surprisingly containing one of the best guitar hooks in his recent history. Dylan's fascinatingly surreal blending of American culture, mood and geography also pops up numerous times, especially on the downtrodden "If You Ever Go To Houston," and we get to see more than a few mysterious characters as the album unwinds. Finally, "Shake Shake Mama" has one of Dylan's most addictive vocal melodies backed with some gnarly guitar bends--I can imagine that this song will be a total crusher live.
Throughout, Dylan's production remains top-notch. The sound is warm and organic; on Modern Times I felt that the sound lacked a certain grit or oomph to back the harder-edged tunes with the energy they deserved, but here Jack Frost (aka Bob) has hit a sweet spot that better matches the mood of the material, letting the accordion swirl and the electric guitars growl dirtily. It sounds even better if you crank it up a few notches--a hallmark of good mastering. While a couple of songs tread sonically very close to earlier territory ("This Dream of You" almost sounds like an outtake from Desire, and "Forgetful Heart" would fit inconspicuously on Time Out of Mind), the strength of the songwriting here and the love song concept makes Together Through Life an eminently satisfying listening experience that sounds fresh even alongside his most recent work. Overall, while Modern Times had a couple tracks that didn't really click for me, I can't spy a weak song in this set.
As far as the bonus material goes in this "deluxe" version, it's about the same as earlier deluxe editions--nothing essential or earth shattering, but certainly of interest to fans and collectors. The second disc is a Bob Dylan Theme Time Radio Hour (a program that's really worth checking out for the great music and Dylan's entertaining commentary), and the third is an interview outtake from No Direction Home. Unless you're a really big fan, you're probably ok with the standard version, although the deluxe one isn't much more expensive. As far as I'm concerned, Dylan has produced so much great material in his career that he really doesn't owe us anything new. But if he wants to keep putting out albums this great, who am I to say no? Here's hoping the next one is just as good.
Whereas Modern Times found Dylan mining similar subjects and moods to those explored in Love and Theft and Time Out of Mind, Together Through Life distinguishes itself by consisting pretty much entirely of love songs. It's still Dylan, though, so these aren't sappy or hackneyed--the words are full of wry frustration, sensuality, compelling nostalgia, and some of the purest heartfelt devotion the man has ever committed to tape. The album's opener and de facto 'single,' "Beyond Here Lies Nothing," kicks things off in a relatively heavy fashion, as pounding toms and dirty guitar licks frame Dylan's shadowy descriptions of consuming love. It's immediately evident that Dylan the producer isn't sticking with the same old formula--he's increased his acoustic instrumentation, including mandolins, violins, banjos, and especially an accordion, and to great and organic effect. The accordion's cheerful, liquid, flitting timbres really complement the laid-back nature of this set of songs, and it strongly recalls Dylan's days with The Band (which never hurts, so far as I'm concerned).
Anyone who's still contending that Dylan's voice is shot needs only to listen to the down-tempo, mandolin-drenched "Life Is Hard," one of Dylan's most successful torch songs, to hear how much heartbreaking emotion he's still capable of wringing out of his own words, even cooing wordlessly toward the song's end. Likewise, "I Feel a Change Comin' On" serves up Dylan's most heartfelt expressions of tenderness since Time Out of Mind's "Make You Feel My Love." Worry not, though--Dylan's nostalgia is leavened by his characteristic wit and inimitable strangeness. "My Wife's Home Town," with its "I just wanna say that hell's my wife's home town" refrain, contains plenty of tongue-in-cheek mock self-pity and Dylan's chuckling at the end of the track is worth the album's price alone. The album's closer, "It' All Good" takes some extremely effective ironic liberties with the titular saying, and the bluesy "Jolene" follows suit, surprisingly containing one of the best guitar hooks in his recent history. Dylan's fascinatingly surreal blending of American culture, mood and geography also pops up numerous times, especially on the downtrodden "If You Ever Go To Houston," and we get to see more than a few mysterious characters as the album unwinds. Finally, "Shake Shake Mama" has one of Dylan's most addictive vocal melodies backed with some gnarly guitar bends--I can imagine that this song will be a total crusher live.
Throughout, Dylan's production remains top-notch. The sound is warm and organic; on Modern Times I felt that the sound lacked a certain grit or oomph to back the harder-edged tunes with the energy they deserved, but here Jack Frost (aka Bob) has hit a sweet spot that better matches the mood of the material, letting the accordion swirl and the electric guitars growl dirtily. It sounds even better if you crank it up a few notches--a hallmark of good mastering. While a couple of songs tread sonically very close to earlier territory ("This Dream of You" almost sounds like an outtake from Desire, and "Forgetful Heart" would fit inconspicuously on Time Out of Mind), the strength of the songwriting here and the love song concept makes Together Through Life an eminently satisfying listening experience that sounds fresh even alongside his most recent work. Overall, while Modern Times had a couple tracks that didn't really click for me, I can't spy a weak song in this set.
As far as the bonus material goes in this "deluxe" version, it's about the same as earlier deluxe editions--nothing essential or earth shattering, but certainly of interest to fans and collectors. The second disc is a Bob Dylan Theme Time Radio Hour (a program that's really worth checking out for the great music and Dylan's entertaining commentary), and the third is an interview outtake from No Direction Home. Unless you're a really big fan, you're probably ok with the standard version, although the deluxe one isn't much more expensive. As far as I'm concerned, Dylan has produced so much great material in his career that he really doesn't owe us anything new. But if he wants to keep putting out albums this great, who am I to say no? Here's hoping the next one is just as good.
60 of 67 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Journalists are fond of calling the last 3 Dylan albums a "trilogy". At the very least, Together Through Life should lay such notions to rest. By now, Dylan fans should have come to understand their avatar's impulsive & elusive nature. Something as premeditated & pretentious as a "trilogy" is not in the cards. So let's leave that at the door.
No, this isn't another "masterpiece". It casts any such expectations aside like a snake shedding its skin. Dylan mythologists will salivate & proclaim it genius & discerning critics might dismiss it in light of the acclaim Modern Times recieved. But without a doubt, Together is just as inspired as anything he's cut since 1997's Time Out of Mind.
A few things set Together apart. David Hidalgo's accordion lends a definite Tex Mex quality to the proceedings. Where Dylan's previous offerings seemed steeped in the mythology of the Old South, Together gives you the impression of being set in an endless string of Texas boarder towns.
Overall, the production is grittier & more intimate to the point of being nearly claustrophobic. Listen to it through ear phones & you're likely to come away with a different experience than on the stereo.
Another thing that characterizes Together is its obsessive focus on a single theme. These are all love songs. From the romantic abandon of Beyond Here Lies Nothing to the sarcastic resignation of It's All Good, herein lies a long, winding road from infatuation to betrayal, to bitterness to restless farewell.
Highlights include Beyond Here & It's All Good which bookend the album. Both are rollicking & upbeat while still holding on to a brooding intensity. Other standouts are the wistful Dream Of You and My Wife's Home Town which somehow manages to switch hats between humor & anguish. Listen closely & you can hear Dylan chuckle mid song.
Most notable is Life Is Hard. The fragility in Dylan's delivery is for lack of a better word, moving. When he rises from his signature rusty growl to wary heights of his upper register it's enough to put a lump in your throat. As for the likes of Shake Shake Mama, it might come off as filler, till the line, "I get the blues for you baby when I look up at the sun".
Together Through This Life may not be as sprawling & epic compared to what came before. Nor will it have the same milestone impact of Time Out Of Mind. But for this fan, "it's all good" even if it's not proclaimed a masterpiece. At the very least its a solid effort, proving he's still in the saddle & not quite ready to let go of the reigns. I do have the sense however, that on down the line, Together might just prove to be a unique gem in Dylan's formidable 46 album catalogue.
No, this isn't another "masterpiece". It casts any such expectations aside like a snake shedding its skin. Dylan mythologists will salivate & proclaim it genius & discerning critics might dismiss it in light of the acclaim Modern Times recieved. But without a doubt, Together is just as inspired as anything he's cut since 1997's Time Out of Mind.
A few things set Together apart. David Hidalgo's accordion lends a definite Tex Mex quality to the proceedings. Where Dylan's previous offerings seemed steeped in the mythology of the Old South, Together gives you the impression of being set in an endless string of Texas boarder towns.
Overall, the production is grittier & more intimate to the point of being nearly claustrophobic. Listen to it through ear phones & you're likely to come away with a different experience than on the stereo.
Another thing that characterizes Together is its obsessive focus on a single theme. These are all love songs. From the romantic abandon of Beyond Here Lies Nothing to the sarcastic resignation of It's All Good, herein lies a long, winding road from infatuation to betrayal, to bitterness to restless farewell.
Highlights include Beyond Here & It's All Good which bookend the album. Both are rollicking & upbeat while still holding on to a brooding intensity. Other standouts are the wistful Dream Of You and My Wife's Home Town which somehow manages to switch hats between humor & anguish. Listen closely & you can hear Dylan chuckle mid song.
Most notable is Life Is Hard. The fragility in Dylan's delivery is for lack of a better word, moving. When he rises from his signature rusty growl to wary heights of his upper register it's enough to put a lump in your throat. As for the likes of Shake Shake Mama, it might come off as filler, till the line, "I get the blues for you baby when I look up at the sun".
Together Through This Life may not be as sprawling & epic compared to what came before. Nor will it have the same milestone impact of Time Out Of Mind. But for this fan, "it's all good" even if it's not proclaimed a masterpiece. At the very least its a solid effort, proving he's still in the saddle & not quite ready to let go of the reigns. I do have the sense however, that on down the line, Together might just prove to be a unique gem in Dylan's formidable 46 album catalogue.
79 of 90 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Sixty-eight years and 33 albums in and Bob Dylan seems bigger than ever.
Dylan's 33rd studio album comes packaged with a CD of tracks from his delightful radio show, "Theme Time Radio Hour" -- an appropriate union given that his latest has a similar old-time feel and would fit in perfectly the next time he turns DJ.
The CD has reignited interest in Dylan as a relevant artist of our times, as opposed to a legendary antiquity.
"Together Through Life" is characterised by a loose swing and prominent accordion. He has assemble here his warmest, most unforced, set of songs in recent memory.
The album is a beautifully played collection of antique, urban blues pop.The ghosts of the great Chicago bluesmen haunt these song structures.
The results have been compared to the vintage Chicago blues sound of Chess Records.
A warm, wheezy accordion (played by David Hidalgo of Los Lobos) lends a borderline Tex Mex flavour.
At least half of the songs are wry, even slightly comic tales of ordinary American lives of desire, heartbreak and remorse.
For sure,the lyrics, co-written with poet Robert Hunter, a "non-performing" member of The Grateful Dead, won't intrigue the academics but the head-nodding grooves of "It's All Good" and "If You Ever Go to Houston" will appeal to more basic instincts.
The single song, "Life is Hard", written and recorded for Olivier Dahan's forthcoming film, "My Own Love Song" (it's about a road trip to Memphis undertaken by a wheelchair-bound singer and her best buddy) "proves an incongruent trigger for such a bluesy album, its lap steel and mandolin carrying one of Dylan's most uncomfortably pitched croons". -Independent
"There is nothing as epic or as playful as "Highlands" or as plaintive as "Nettie Moore", nothing with the weight or depth of those late Dylan songs that possess the resonance of the great blues and folk ballads he loves. By the end, you may feel that you are listening more to that strange whispery croak of a voice than to the words themselves". - Sean O'Hagan
Dylan sounds gruffer and less nasal than on his last one, Modern Times, approaching Tom Waits territory on "My Wife's Home Town".
Yet the album shocases Bob Dylan in fairly relaxed, spontaneous mood, content to grab such grooves and sentiments as flit momentarily across his radar. So while it may not contain too many landmark tracks, it's one of the most naturally enjoyable albums we may hear all year.
Album's highlights: "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'", "It's All Good", "I Feel a Change Comin' On", "Forgetful Heart", "My Wife's Home Town"
Dylan's 33rd studio album comes packaged with a CD of tracks from his delightful radio show, "Theme Time Radio Hour" -- an appropriate union given that his latest has a similar old-time feel and would fit in perfectly the next time he turns DJ.
The CD has reignited interest in Dylan as a relevant artist of our times, as opposed to a legendary antiquity.
"Together Through Life" is characterised by a loose swing and prominent accordion. He has assemble here his warmest, most unforced, set of songs in recent memory.
The album is a beautifully played collection of antique, urban blues pop.The ghosts of the great Chicago bluesmen haunt these song structures.
The results have been compared to the vintage Chicago blues sound of Chess Records.
A warm, wheezy accordion (played by David Hidalgo of Los Lobos) lends a borderline Tex Mex flavour.
At least half of the songs are wry, even slightly comic tales of ordinary American lives of desire, heartbreak and remorse.
For sure,the lyrics, co-written with poet Robert Hunter, a "non-performing" member of The Grateful Dead, won't intrigue the academics but the head-nodding grooves of "It's All Good" and "If You Ever Go to Houston" will appeal to more basic instincts.
The single song, "Life is Hard", written and recorded for Olivier Dahan's forthcoming film, "My Own Love Song" (it's about a road trip to Memphis undertaken by a wheelchair-bound singer and her best buddy) "proves an incongruent trigger for such a bluesy album, its lap steel and mandolin carrying one of Dylan's most uncomfortably pitched croons". -Independent
"There is nothing as epic or as playful as "Highlands" or as plaintive as "Nettie Moore", nothing with the weight or depth of those late Dylan songs that possess the resonance of the great blues and folk ballads he loves. By the end, you may feel that you are listening more to that strange whispery croak of a voice than to the words themselves". - Sean O'Hagan
Dylan sounds gruffer and less nasal than on his last one, Modern Times, approaching Tom Waits territory on "My Wife's Home Town".
Yet the album shocases Bob Dylan in fairly relaxed, spontaneous mood, content to grab such grooves and sentiments as flit momentarily across his radar. So while it may not contain too many landmark tracks, it's one of the most naturally enjoyable albums we may hear all year.
Album's highlights: "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'", "It's All Good", "I Feel a Change Comin' On", "Forgetful Heart", "My Wife's Home Town"
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
big hit
This was a holiday gift for my step-father last year who is a HUGE Dylan fan. He thought it was awesome. A must have for any Bob Dylan fan
Published 4 months ago by Nlove737
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's Bobby
Can't find fault with anything he has done in the recording studio. His live performances, on the other hand, haven't been up to snuff lately.
Published 5 months ago by Benowen
2.0 out of 5 stars
Dylan doesn't deliver
--Sad. The legacy/legend is really tarnished by this cd that probably should not have been released. Yes. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Will Lowe
5.0 out of 5 stars
Underrated and fun....
I recently re-ran this CD in preparation for Tempest....I appreciate it now a lot more than when it first came out. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Tom Andrews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing 50 years with Bob's Music!
This album is perfect proof of how an artist like Bob gets even better with age and time. It's hard to believe it's even possible for an artist like him to do that, but every... Read more
Published 8 months ago by B. Brave
4.0 out of 5 stars
Now we know this wasn't the final album...
When someone becomes a living legend one can't help wonder whether people rave about their new releases because of association with that legend or because the music really warrants... Read more
Published 9 months ago by ewomack
2.0 out of 5 stars
Four Stars for the Album, and a Big Fat Zero for the Delivery
This is a great album, but it arrived in the mail with a jewel case that looked like it had been stomped on. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Tyler Proctor
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Modest Gem
This album is a good but not great album in the Dylan pantheon. A few of the songs are real gems, my favorites being Beyond Here Lies Nothin', If You Ever Go to Houston (any song... Read more
Published 15 months ago by Robert Abell
4.0 out of 5 stars
Music for the Great 21st Century Depression
Bob Dylan / Together Through Life (Deluxe edition 2 CDs & 1 DVD):
Album CD: This is a very good album. Read more
Album CD: This is a very good album. Read more
Published 16 months ago by J. Bynum
5.0 out of 5 stars
a masterpiece you can dance to?
This is one of Bob Dylan's greatest musical outings. His efforts in the last few years that have been proclaimed as classics are fine works. Read more
Published 18 months ago by John F. Crawford
Listmania!
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