Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Upon hearing Dylan for the first time, Sam Cooke, owner of an inarguably great singing voice, opined that the world of pop music had been changed forever. He went on to say that before Dylan, good singing meant having a beautiful voice. After Dylan, great singing meant believing what the singer sang was the truth. In his 8th decade, there can be no argument that Dylan has a beautiful voice - he does not. But when he goes after a song or set of songs as he does here, it also must be argued that he (still) gets to the heart of the matter as well as anybody. This album is not perfect, nor does it come anywhere close to any of the Dylan albums that represent him at his zenith, but that is hardly the point. This album absolutely crushes most, if not all, of the many aging artists' standards albums that are sappy, pre-packaged and essentially mailed in. (I'm looking at you, Mr. Stewart.) If you need a song to pull you in, try "That Lucky Ole Sun." Dylan pulls every bit of the sadness and resentment out of the song in a version that is challenged only by the Johnny Cash version on American, performed not coincidentally when Cash was a similar age. In sum, an album that goes beyond technical virtuousity and straight to the soul. Four stars.