NP:Dylan vs. Pynchon

[kelber at mindspring.com]

"Either way, it's hard to hear Modern Times' music over the inevitable standing ovation and the thuds of middle-aged critics swooning in awe. When you do, you find something not unlike its predecessor, Love and Theft. It again eschews the straightforward rock approach and sonic embellishments that producer Daniel Lanois brought to 1997's Time Out of Mind in favour of muted rockabilly shuffles and polite, country-inflected pre-rock'n'roll pop. Here are the kind of jazzy songs that would count as mild-mannered crooning if they were performed by Bing Crosby, but which invariably take on a slightly unsettling air when subjected to Dylan's catarrhal death rattle."

http://arts.guardian.co.uk/filmandmusic/story/0,,1857199,00.html

This atypical review makes the point that Dylan enjoys a teflon coating.  The most average of tunes is greeted with ecstatic praise from the critics.  TRP doesn't have similar immunity from his critics.  One shudders to think how a Modern-Times caliber ATD will be greeted by the reviewers.

Laura