CRITIC'S CHOICE
BLUES-POP
Long before "change" became the buzzword of President Obama's campaign last year, Bob Dylan famously sang that "The Times They Are A-Changin'." Right on cue, he bookends that 1964 classic with "I Feel a Change Comin' On," a soulful, still-cool-after-all-these-years stroll that provides the highlight of his vibrant new album. Dylan keeps the swagger up on "Beyond Here Lies Nothin'," a Tex-Mex-flavored tune employing Los Lobos' David Hidalgo, the disc's featured accordion player. He shifts into a zydeco groove on the shimmying closer, "It's All Good." But it's the blues he's feeling—musically and lyrically—on songs such as "Life Is Hard," an aching-all-over ballad.
