If you are of an older persuasion you will remember Jimmy Durante. A little less old Louis Armstrong. And if you haven’t been living under a rock for the last 50 years – you can recall Bob Dylan.
What these three gentlemen have in common is a very gravel laden voice at the end of their fantastic musical careers. That distinctive gravel is just a small part of the overall charm of these three.
Dylan the only living of the three is just releasing his 35th studio album – Tempest. Well over 50 per cent of the world’s population is under 35 year old!
But then nearly a billion of earth’s inhabitants are past 60. There are surely precious few of those folks that have not heard a Bob Dylan song or two.
About Dylan’s new album which I am already into my third play – fantastic! Dylan is without a doubt the finest lyricist that has graced the world – Shakespeare with a beat.
There is a toe tapping cadence to his recent efforts – a beat you can sway and dance to – but this album will stand out as one of his best lyrical offerings. The words will long be quoted when the music and the musician have gone away.
At 71 Dylan is fired up to fight on with little sign he’ll be resigning his post as the poet laureate of rock n’ roll anytime soon. Stay Tuned!