The Bob Dylan rumor mill has been in overdrive the past few months about recording sessions for a new album, but now more firsthand details and trusted sources have surfaced with evidence that we can start looking forward to LP35, Tempest, from the master songwriter.
The most solid leak so far arrived courtesy of Los Lobos’ David Hildago: “It was a great experience,” he said of a January session with Dylan at Jackson Browne’s Santa Monica studio. “And different. Each one has been different, all completely different approaches. It’s an amazing thing, how he keeps creativity. I don’t see how he does it.” By “each one,” he’s referring to work on Dylan’s pair of 2009 records, Together Through Life and Christmas in the Heart. Hidalgo added that though he was recruited initially as a guitarist and accordion player, Dylan was drawn to his sound on the Tres, a Cuban 6-string instrument, for the latest batch of tracks.
What’s more, word comes from multiple reports that a 14-minute tune about the Titanic is among the 10-track, 68-minute record. While that detail seems to add up consistently, it remains in pseudo-rumor phase, per reliable fan publication Isis Magazine. (Here’s hoping it makes the cut, though, as another epic-length Dylan song of the “Joey” variety being added to the oeuvre would be an exciting development around here.) In keeping with the release schedule of his past few efforts, which all dropped between August and September, Dylan’s next full-length is said to be due in early fall.