Remember when Bob Dylan confounded fans by adapting Love Sick to a Victoria’s Secret commercial?
Dude is selling out, some said of the music icon. “WTF?” others wondered.
Now Dylan is thinking outside the box set with his first Christmas album, called Christmas in the Heart, due for an Oct. 13 release.
Music blogs have been writing about the recently leaked 30-second samples from the album, heard here on YouTube (47,000 views and counting). Finally, we can all revel in Here Comes Santa Claus sung by the raspy voice who declared everybody must get stoned in Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35.
Other tracks include Little Drummer Boy, O Come All Ye Faithful, Silver Bells, and O’ Little Town of Bethlehem.
Give a listen to the entire seven-minute clip if you can. It’s embarrassing stuff, even if you are in love with Dylan and/or Christmas carols. A commenter on Dylan fan site Expecting Rain wrote, “Utterly embarrassing. Please God no, make it stop.” Culture blog flavorwire blasted Dylan’s singing, saying that “his voice is more wheezy than raspy and it sounds like he’s knee-deep in the eggnog.”
Only redeeming factor? The energetic accordion on Must Be Santa. Everything else points to a sad turn for Dylan. Maybe he needs the money. Maybe the label was pressuring him for a 2009 release. Or maybe he just wants to punk his fans with an odd duck of an album.
It feels almost cruel to bash Christmas in the Heart, though. Dylan promised international royalties from the album would be donated to the World Food Program to feed hungry people around the world. But a music project should still be charitable and palatable, right?[rssbreak]
