Sure, it's got its overly mauldin bits, and too much earnestness can weigh on a soul, but luckily, Bruce knows that, so he balances it with soul workouts like "Mary's Place." And, as always, what he's saying is more ambiguous than you might assume: why else would his "dream of life" image on the title track -- that catfish dancin' at the end of his line -- actually be an image of death?
This document HTMLized January 18, 2003
I was listening to Bob Dylan -- Live 1975