Bob Dylan is still “Bringing it all Back Home”

Bob Dylan never asked to be anointed the spokesman of a generation. However, during the early ’60s, his songs inspired a lot of us and earned him the title. When he moved on from “folk” music to rock n’ roll, bringing poetry to rock music’s power, he left a lot of folks in the dust. He won a new generation to the best rock n roll on the planet (for those who forgot or didn’t know-Dylan had a rock n roll band in high school-rock has always informed his music). By the time he turned 26, he had made what are now classic “folk” albums, and in my opinion, two of the greatest rock albums of all-time (“Highway 61 Revisited” and “Blonde on Blonde”).

He set new standards for American popular music. But even though Bob Dylan is my favorite songwriter and singer, and has been since I was 16, the purpose of this blog is not worshipping Bob Dylan. Instead, this blog, like one I wrote about Clint Eastwood, is about fluid intelligence, and specifically, Dylan’s work from age 62 in 2003, when he became eligible for a reverse mortgage, to the present. I consider Dylan a prime example of how fluid intelligence doesn’t necessarily dissipate or disappear when a person grows old.

Although his songwriting and singing are very different from when he was younger, Bob Dylan is still bringing it all back home at age 79: another example that fluid intelligence may change how or what an artist creates, but the artist still creates. Dylan no longer fires off lyrics that challenge our values, and he no longer sings and plays rock and roll as if there were no tomorrow. His songs are different; it seems that he’s applying the art and craft he’s developed over the past 60 years to his newer work.

Here’s what he’s done since age 62:

• He oversaw the release of literally hundreds of unreleased recordings as part of what’s known as the Bootleg Series.
• He released four albums of original material, including his latest, “Rough and Rowdy Ways,” which was released in June, just after his 79th birthday.
• He won two Grammy awards for his 2006 album “Modern Times” (Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album and Best Solo Rock Performance for “Someday Baby,” one of the album’s songs)
• And just to keep us on our toes, he released three albums of pop standards, two of which garnered Grammy nominations for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album in 2016 and 2017 (and I’m guessing Frank Sinatra, who was not a fan, is spinning in his grave).
• His 2004 memoir, Chronicles Volume 1, won the Quill Award in 2005 for best biography/memoir (I read it, more like I devoured it).
• And by the way, he was awarded the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize for Literature. That was a stunner, even for me, the mega-fan. It was for his body of work.
• The above is not bad for someone, given his age, whose creativity was supposed to diminish.

I’ve been listening to his post-62 albums as I write this. I’m still stuck on his ’60’s rock n’ roll- I regularly listen to Highway 61 Revisited, Bringing It All Back Home and Blonde on Blonde- they’re part of my go-to music when I exercise. To be honest, I hadn’t listened to his new stuff a whole lot but as I work my way through the first three of his post-age 62 albums (“Modern Times,” 2006; “Together Through Life,” 2010; and “Tempest,” 2012) I can’t believe I haven’t listened more often. Although they’re not life-changing for me the way his early work was, I don’t think my life needs or can accommodate a lot of changes these days. I love this music. I plan to spend a lot of time with “Rough and Rowdy Ways.” And by the way, all of these albums were well received by the critics. As noted above, “Modern Times” won two Grammys: “Together Through Life” and “Tempest” also received critical praise, but best for last: “Rough and Rowdy Ways,” Dylan’s first set of original songs in 8 years, is getting rave reviews, both from the critics and from me.

One aspect of creativity is the possibility of an artist doing the unexpected. And in 2016, Bob Dylan threw us an epic curveball. Starting that year, and each of the ensuing two years, he recorded three albums of Frank Sinatra-Tony Bennett-Patti Page style pop standards. Who wudda thunk it? It shocked me, and I listened, and I tried to like it, but I’ve never been a fan of this kind of music, no matter who’s singing. What I do find interesting, however, is some of the original songs on the recent albums are stylistically similar to the music on the standards albums. It’s where his musical journey is taking him at this stage in his life.

Bob Dylan, at 79, has made an album that the critics love. He still writes exceptional songs. They’re just different than they were.

To put this in “scientific” terms: his fluid intelligence is still in full force and effect. Rather than being independent of his crystallized intelligence, as it likely was when he was a young man, it rests on the foundation created by his years of practicing his craft: songwriting. And he practices it better than anyone in the history of American popular music.

 

– Edward from McMinnville, Oregon, a FAR customer who is finding purpose in this new stage of his life.

 

 

 

 

 

Edward

Edward writes for FAR and is also a customer.  He is 73-year-old, born and raised in and around New York City. After college and a little graduate school, he took Horace Greeley’s advice and went west.  Edward lived in several cities throughout California and currently resides in Oregon.  He practiced law for a few years as part of a law collective doing what they called “people’s law,” but spent most of his career working as an internal organizer for the unions.

 

When Edward’s career ended with the unions, he was determined to become an advocate for older adults.  He enrolled at Portland Community College studying Gerontology.  He learned a lot about aging and how it applied to his own life experiences and my own aging process. Much of Edward’s writing is related to what he learned in his Gerontology studies.

 

* The opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions or views of the Finance of America Reverse (FAR) LLC

This article is intended for general informational and educational purposes only, and should not be construed as financial or tax advice. For more information about whether a reverse mortgage may be right for you, you should consult an independent financial advisor. For tax advice, please consult a tax professional.