BOB DYLAN
Christmas in the Heart

Bob Dylan once said, “I consider myself a poet first and a musician second. I live like a poet and I’ll die like a poet.”

Dylan has indeed lived the life of a poet: one who once bravely challenged authority, led the forefront of an anti-war movement and gave listeners great philosophical insight, all with the stroke of a pen. Though Dylan’s music has constantly changed style, he has always held on to his flair of songwriting – that is, until he recorded a Christmas album.

Dylan’s lyrics were the prized source of his fame and basis for being called the voice of a generation. Though he regained critical acclaim in the 1970s with the folk revival “Blood on the Tracks,” Dylan’s songwriting skills peaked in the late ’60s.

Some musical legends die in martyrdom; others depart leaving a legacy. But Dylan’s death has been regretfully ambiguous. Did he die when he abandoned folk music, or was it his 1966 motorcycle crash that halted his surrealist rock ‘n’ roll phase?

Dylan’s new album, “Christmas in the Heart,” finally gives America a clear and conclusive answer to that question.

Simon Cowell would ridicule a singer with a voice like Dylan’s. His raspy mumbles are now audible only to diehard fans, and his bland renditions of Christmas carols such as “Here Comes Santa Claus,” “The First Noel” and “Little Drummer Boy” sound like a desperate attempt to appease a certain demographic.

Dylan underwent a sincere born-again Christian phase two decades ago, but this album mocks his previous pursuit of spirituality. Christmas is often criticized as an over-commercialized holiday, which appropriately reflects Dylan’s submission to a commercialized music industry.

VERDICT: When this album hits stores, the term “sell out” will have new meaning.

- Michael Prochaska

ALICE IN CHAINS
Black Gives Way to Blue

Most people know Alice in Chains as “one of those grunge bands from the early ’90s.” Like most of those bands, it faded into a drug-filled haze by the end of the century – but now, for better or worse, the band is back.

“Black Gives Way to Blue,” released on Sept. 29, is Alice in Chains’ first studio album in 14 years, and it holds a pretty stunning surprise: It doesn’t suck – that bad.

Anytime an old band puts out a new album, everyone has every right to be highly skeptical. What is the band going after? Is it just trying to recapture its old glory? Why hasn’t it just moved on already?

None of those questions will be definitively answered here, but guesses may be made.

First of all, the band has definitely changed since its original bout of stardom. Layne Staley, original vocalist and founding member, had essentially been off the map since 1996, culminating in a tragic heroin overdose in 2002.

Other members of the band got back together in 2005 to play some benefit shows as part of a reunion tour. They took on a new lead vocalist, William DuVall.

The group started recording “Black Gives Way to Blue” in 2008 at friend Dave Grohl’s studio. It adheres to a lot of the same basic ideas as their earlier stuff: big, heavy guitars, ominous melodies and head-banging rockage.

And if you like the old stuff, they still do it pretty well. Jerry Cantrell, guitar player and co-founder, handled the harmony vocals when Staley was still around – the other half of those oh-so-eerie harmonies Alice in Chains was famous for, so his voice is still familiar.

New singer DuVall has a pretty good voice, too, one that’s tempting to peg as a Staley impersonation, but maybe not quite.

There is something missing from it, though. It does seem like the band is still putting its best foot forward, like they really want to still be the ass-kicking, music revolutionaries that they once were.

When it comes down to it though, Alice in Chains doesn’t pack the same punch it used to. When the band first came out, it was shocking because they were doing it for the first time. Ever. Nobody had gotten famous playing its style of angry, angsty metal before. Nowadays, bands that are essentially Alice In Chains cover bands are a dime a dozen on radio.

Also, it is certainly true that a front-man isn’t everything, but losing Layne Staley has really hurt Alice in Chains. The band is still playing similar melodies and the vocal quality hasn’t shifted, but Staley was distinctively creepy and weird.

On songs such as “Rooster,” the lyrics were truly frightening and out there, fitting the music and making you feel something dark and real. The lyrics on “Black.” just seem like generic, dark metal lyrics.

VERDICT: If you’ve been waiting 14 years for Alice in Chains to put out another record of the same stuff they were playing when they disbanded, you won’t be the least bit disappointed. But if you’re after something fresh and new, something exciting like what Alice in Chains offered when it first came out, you might be.

- Chris Miller