The gravel-voiced poet and serial pigeonhole dodger Bob Dylan has just released a new track. For his legion of lifelong fans, it is momentous; it has been a long eight years of waiting, while the maestro himself has continued to strum his way across the world on a never-ending tour. In recognition, perhaps, of the wait, Dylan has given them their money’s worth. For not only is Murder Most Foul exquisite, it is also over sixteen minutes long.

On the surface, the song is about his ongoing fascination with the assassination of JFK. But with Dylan, things are rarely just surface. This circuitous song takes us round a broad church of cultural references, from Shakespeare to Moonlight Sonata to Nightmare on Elm Street. Ever imagined all that – plus, much more – packed into a dense quarter of an hour? Nor us. But then that is the Dylan genius.

And he can certainly still read a mood: there is hearty dose of apocalyptic dread in there too.



To mark this momentous new release, we travel back in time to revisit some of our all-time favourites – as well as the new track itself of course. From the fresh-faced folk singer to the old bluesman, we’ve always loved him. We always will.

Listen to the playlist on Spotify.

By Nancy Alsop
May 2020

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