Jakob Dylan: chip off the old block

It is almost eery listening to Jakob Dylan, as I have been on the PBS "Live from the Artists's Den" program. I heard him once before, perhaps a year or two ago, and had a similar feeling. The timbre of the voice, the semi-hoarse quality, even the feel of several of the songs, brings back memories of Bob from a partially misspent youth.

I don't think Jakob's songs have the depth of his father's, but then, whose do? (Or was it listening to the Blonde on Blonde album at a YAF getaway, with a whole room full of self-styled young conservatives, including a couple who still have some prominence, stoned out of their minds that made Bob Dylan's seldom obvious and sometimes quite mysterious songs seem so profound? No, I listened many times under many circumstances and the poetry was there.

I wish the young Dylan a great career. And maybe if I listen to his songs repeatedly (there's a certain darkness suggesting an acquaintance with grief and ambiguity) I'll come to appreciate them the more.