Dylan, Depression and Faith
And there’s another new book
The author of a new book exploring Bob Dylan’s faith, as revealed in many of his lyrics, claims that the famed performer had a previously undisclosed depression period after his divorce with his Gospel singer wife.
Dr. Adam Bradford, who is a family doctor and Biblical historian in the London area, said this revelation came to him after looking at the lyrics from Dylan’s 1997 album “Time Out of Mind.” The book, Out of the Dark Woods – Dylan, Depression and Faith, was released Tuesday.
Although he came just short of giving a clinical diagnosis of depression, Bradford told The Christian Post that his “medical finding” was the result of discovering that the album’s lyrics were “literally loaded with the strong language of depressive illness – symptoms of depression.”
Bradford said it was this depression that caused Dylan’s “creative lapse” between 1990 and 2001, in which the singer released only one album (“Time Out of Mind”) containing his own original material.
Well, it may well be that there’s lots that’s laudable in Dr. Bradford’s book regarding faith-related issues (he identifies himself as a “Jewish-Christian” and says that he sees the same kind of faith in Dylan’s work, which matches what many others perceive, including Yours Truly). [Read more →]
Tony Bennett isn’t very well known for whispering. He’s a big singer—not in the sense that he over sings, but he certainly is known for the power to belt it out above muscular backing bands, and through his career he’s done plenty of that, and to good effect. And even in the plethora of latter day albums he made with the Ralph Sharon Trio, there’s a sense of grandeur to the backing that belies the actual simplicity of piano, bass and drums, and Tony often sings on those albums as if in front of a big orchestra. And that’s something in itself. But for true flat-out intimacy, there’s nothing he’s ever done that exceeds the 
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