Artist:     Charlie Ballantine

Album:     Life Is Brief

Label:     Green Mind Records

Release Date:     04.13.2018

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If life is brief, as the title at hand reminds us, one wonders how much of it to spend revisiting established territory. True, great songs have no expiration dates. The more iconic the source, though—especially one as legendary as Bob Dylan—the bigger the risk of getting lost among the hordes of players who’ve gone over the same ground already.

Thankfully, Charlie Ballantine wouldn’t merely do the obvious. Life Is Brief comes from a deep love for the songs, no ego or desire to ride others’ coattails. Notice that the subtitle says Music Of rather than Songs Of. Here he removes most of the lyrics, usually the prime feature of Dylan’s writing, and looks for shades in the melodies themselves. That’s not a bad way to find a new angle on old subject.

A lush “The Times They Are A-Changin’“ establishes the approach to start: Ballantine’s backwards-toned slide guitar serves as lead voice while the familiar verses sandwich a dreamy improv passage in between. Almost each song is similarly treated as a malleable thing to be reworked. Listeners will sometimes hear the words in their heads anyway, but these arrangements change things up admirably. The basic accompaniment (drums and upright bass) is spiced up with a few dashes of organ, saxophone and a rare couple vocals in appropriate spots.

It also helps that Ballantine largely stays away from Dylan’s most overexposed tunes. Slow echoing chords and resonant bass give “The Death of Emmett Till” a dark haunting vibe without needing to spell out the actual tragic story. A couple other social/political-themed pieces likewise remain palpably emotional (and dismayingly relevant); with the likes of “Shelter from the Storm” and a lovely “She Belongs to Me,” simple love and sunshine are the order of the day instead.

Things actually get a bit jarring in the spots where someone does step up to the mike. Brandon Whyde brings some natural grit to the mid-set “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” (almost a little too much, perhaps). He sounds even better on the cathartic closer—“I Shall Be Released,” what else?—where he backs up Mina Keohane’s lovely lead, and the band coasts to an uplifting close buoyed by Ballantine’s fiancé Amanda Gardier on tenor sax. It’s a perfect capper to an enjoyable affair—familiar source material or not, Ballantine’s excellent string-slinging and this inviting album deserve not to be overlooked.

—Geno Thackara