Time Out of Mind 20th Anniversary ［2LP+7inch Single］＜完全生産限定盤＞

ボブ・ディランのアルバム『タイム・アウト・オブ・マインド』(1997年作品)。当時7 年振りの全曲新曲によるアルバムとして注目され、『オー・マーシー』同様、ダニエル・ラノワを再びプロデューサーに起用して生まれたこのアルバムは『血の轍』に勝るとも劣らない傑作として人気がある。11曲とも完成度の高い内容で、ディランの表現力もみごと。サウンドも緻密、かつ大胆。とくに16分におよぶ大作「ハイランズ」は圧巻。グラミー賞(最優秀アルバム賞)を受賞した。今作は発売から20周年となるアナログ盤。ボーナス7インチ・アナログ盤には「Love Sick」(アルバム収録音源と同じ)と「Cold Irons Bound」2004年のライヴ音源を収録。

Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.66) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's." Rolling Stone (10/2/97, pp.53-54) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...TIME's perspective is that of an outsider speaking to an absent confidant....a more fully realized version of OH MERCY....Dylan has made a coherent, sonically striking but equally subdued ensemble album..." Spin (9/99, p.134) - Ranked #29 in Spin Magazine's "90 Greatest Albums of the '90s." Spin (1/98, p.86) - Ranked #5 on Spin's list of the "Top 20 Albums Of The Year." Spin (12/97, p.154) - 9 (out of 10) - "...the whole shebang is pretty terrific, stuffed with the fun freedom of train-song rhythms; swampy, organ-studded soul; boyish ballads; and worn-out blues. Hearing them all, you get the sense of a loner's road trip....These are the thoughts of a pilgrim, and he's headed to the grave..." Entertainment Weekly (10/03/97, pp.80-82) - "...Dylan's songwriting is at once blissfully assured and gleefully uneven throughout....Dylan sounds lively, even playful--in no way is this album a downer. It sounds as if, at 56, he can't wait to be a full-fledged old codger..." - Rating: A+ Q (10/01, p.67) - Ranked #24 in Q's "Best 50 Albums of Q's Lifetime" Q (12/99, p.92) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s." Q (1/98, p.112) - Included in Q Magazine's "50 Best Albums of 1997." Village Voice (2/24/98) - Ranked #1 in the Village Voice's 1997 Pazz & Jop Critics' Poll. Mojo (Publisher) (p.67) - Ranked #4 in Mojo's "100 Modern Classics" -- "Quivering guitar tremolos and crepuscular keyboards frame a cavalcade of blues-inflected poignancy..." NME (Magazine) (9/27/97, p.55) - 8 (out of 10) - "...his most intriguing album for quite a few years....The songs slow-crawl with the finest licks money can buy..." Pitchfork (Website) - "[I]t is an essential post-modern reappraisal of them, an experimental consideration of what could become of the blues' sound and spirit and a mutual communion of articulate, exquisite despair."

After spending much of the '90s touring and simply not writing songs, Bob Dylan returned in 1997 with Time Out of Mind, his first collection of new material in seven years. Where Under the Red Sky, his last collection of original compositions, had a casual, tossed-off feel, Time Out of Mind is carefully considered, from the densely detailed songs to the dark, atmospheric production. Sonically, the album is reminiscent of Oh Mercy, the last album Dylan recorded with producer Daniel Lanois, but Time Out of Mind has a grittier foundation -- by and large, the songs are bitter and resigned, and Dylan gives them appropriately anguished performances. Lanois bathes them in hazy, ominous sounds, which may suit the spirit of the lyrics, but are often in opposition to Dylan's performances. Consequently, the album loses a little of its emotional impact, yet the songs themselves are uniformly powerful, adding up to Dylan's best overall collection in years. It's a better, more affecting record than Oh Mercy, not only because the songs have a stronger emotional pull, but because Lanois hasn't sanded away all the grit. As a result, the songs retain their power, leaving Time Out of Mind as one of the rare latter-day Dylan albums that meets his high standards. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine