“My powers of expression, thoughts so sublime, that never do you justice with reason or rhyme,” smoothly rasps Bob Dylan in the song “Mississippi” from his latest album of unreleased and alternate tracks. Tell Tale Signs is a collection that encompasses Dylan’s music from 1989-2006. This album is very bluesy and very soulful and is full of his expression and thoughts that leave faithful listeners pleading for more.

The two-disc set offers plenty of gems. It starts off with “Mississippi, Version One.” It has a very bluesy vibe combined with a heartfelt and loving tone that intertwine together with American loss. Disc One features “Red River Shore,” which is a country-blues tune enthralled with elusive love and mortality. The instrumentation behind Dylan pushes him further and further as the song moves on while more instruments come out of the woodwork as the harmonica closes. Disc One ends with “High Water,” featuring a darker, deeper voiced Dylan throwing out hot guitar riffs that leave the skin trembling. Also of note on Disc One is the jazzy North Country song “Tell Ol’ Bill” because of the superb music.

Disc Two features some of the strongest and best melodies of the collection. “32-20 Blues” contains good classic blues sounds. “The Girl on the Greenbriar Shore” is live and is Dylan folk as it could be. “Cocaine Blues” has a slide guitar rift that just floats away. It can be taken as a heartbreaker, but the way Dylan delivers this song can definitely be taken as subtle humor. The lyrics here are great because of their multidimensions composed in between a “wow factor” mid section. “Ain’t Talkin” has Dylan giving an honest opinion of how he sees people in this life, as shown by his words “In a human heart an evil spirit can dwell.” Disc Two closes with “Cross the Green Mountain” from Gods and Generals. This piece is a spectacular marathon (over eight minutes long) and possibly has the best message. It is a heart wrenching Civil War song about the world, humanity, and the death of a soldier,
accompanied by plenty of bass.

Tell Tale Signs isn’t perfect. The second version of “Mississippi” is really missing something – with a very uninterested sounding Dylan. “Ring them Bells” and “Can’t Wait” are extremely slow tracks. Aside from these malign minor details, Signs is an engaging epic from one of the greatest rock artists ever. Truth and love emulate from this album as it is less about politics than about focusing on mortality, harsh reality, and missed love. There is plenty for all with country, folk,
rock, and blues mixed in. Yet another Dylan masterpiece, as sung in “Tell Ol’ Bill”: “How could it be any other way?”

If possible check out Bob Dylan playing at Northrop on November 4. It will be his first time playing at the campus in close to 50 years. Be there as his home state gives the legend some love in this historic event.