Musical icon Bob Dylan is releasing his 35th studio album, Tempest, on Sept. 11. Columbia Records announced an international lineup of events allowing fans around the world to experience the anticipated album before its release. The opening track from Tempest, “Duquesne Whistle” will premiere on NPR Online (NPR.org/music) on Monday, August 27. The Los Angeles Times recently described the song as “the folky sound of old-time country blues guitar licks quietly unfurling before the full band explodes into a driving big-beat rhythm as rollicking as the train ride the song explores.” The video for “Duquesne Whistle” will have its world premiere two days later on the website of The Guardian (guardiannews.com) at 9 a.m. GMT (4 a.m. EDT). Nash Edgerton, who also directed the clip for “Beyond Here Lies Nothing” from Dylan’s 2009 release, Together Through Life directed the video. Dylan enthusiasts are encouraged to visit listentobobdylan.com on Friday, August 31, where they will find a map of locations in the U.S. and Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden and the United Kingdom to hear selected tracks from Tempest streamed to their mobile devices. The songs will be randomly streamed only when users are within the Tempest-tagged geographic areas by using the free web-based Sound Graffiti app that they can access directly through listentobobdylan.com. Fans who stream the song will have the opportunity to pre-order Tempest from iTunes while they listen. Dedicated Bob Dylan Tempest “pop-up” stores will open for a seven day period in New York City, Los Angeles and London starting On Monday, September 10. Fans will be able to purchase the new album, as well as other Bob Dylan releases and exclusive merchandise commemorating the events, including a limited quantity of CDs hand-signed by Bob Dylan. The stores will be open from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Monday, September 10 and will remain open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. through Sunday, September 16. Stores will be located at the following U.S. locations: 819 Washington Street, New York, NY 10014 and 7763 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90046.
On Monday, Sept. 10, a Bob Dylan Tempest store will also open in London and remain open through Monday, September 17 at the 47 Beak Street, London, W1F 9SE and the renowned Dussmann store in Berlin will also be dedicated to Tempest and feature promotions and other special activities beginning September 7. Detailed reviews of the album won’t be published until next week, but early notices hailed Tempest as one of Dylan’s finest works. Neil McCormick of The Telegraph wrote, “It is fantastic to be able to report that popular music’s greatest troubadour is still as brilliant and bewildering as ever. This is an album I can’t wait to hear again, the sound of a great artist approaching the twilight of his career with fearless creativity.” Robert Hilburn, author and pop music critic wrote, “Dylan set the bar high for himself with the series of rich, engaging albums that began with Time Out of Mind, and he clears the hurdle again gloriously with Tempest. A stunning work.” Michael Simmons of Mojo Online wrote, “Tempest is astonishing.”
Bob Dylan received of the Presidential Medal of Freedom earlier this year and was awarded a special Pulitzer Prize in 2008 for “his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power.” Dylan received the French Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres in 1990, Sweden’s Polar Music Award in 2000 and numerous other honors.
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