Bob Dylan fans are celebrating the anniversary of Tempest, which released on this day in 2012.
The album has been cited as one of Dylan‘s “darkest albums” to date by listeners. Some went as far as to suggest it’s Dylan’s very best album, while others said the release had “no business” being as good as it is. Dylan still features songs from Tempest in his live shows, with Early Roman Kings a favourite in his setlist. Fans celebrating the anniversary of the album shared their thoughts on it to the r/BobDylan subreddit. While many agreed it was a strong offering from the songwriter, who would make it his last release of original material until 2020’s Rough and Rowdy Ways, others believe the album is a “weird” addition to his discography.
One fan wrote: “Happy 13th birthday, Tempest! You say I’m a gambler, you say I’m a pimp, but I ain’t neither one!” Another added: “I still unashamedly love the title track. A forty-five-verse song with no chorus has no business being that good.” A third shared: “Long and Wasted Years is my favourite track on this album.”
Others believe the likes of Roll on John and Pay in Blood are standout moments from the album. Another user suggested Long and Wasted Years is an “all-time great track” from the veteran performer.
One fan wrote: “One of his darkest albums, lyrically.” Another added: “In my opinion, his best album. I’ll catch shit for that probably, but I believe it. Truly an eleven-song murderer’s row. Narrow Way and Pay in Blood stand out.”
Tempest appears to be a firm favourite of Dylan’s, too, with merch spotted earlier this year advertising a “tour that never happened”. Dylan fans who headed to the merch stall may have spotted a t-shirt with a list of tour dates promoting the album, Tempest. This tour never happened.
A post to the r/BobDylan subreddit saw fans try and figure out if the Tempest Tour 2012 ever happened. One fan asked: “Did the Tempest 2012 shirt debacle ever get solved? I remember last summer when the Tempest 2012 tour shirt hit the merch stand during the Outlaw Fest I think?
“The amazing thing about it was the false dates on the back. I remember there was initial confusion but I never heard anything about it after. Well, I finally got around to reading my Rolling Stone Bob Dylan album guide magazine and found this excerpt. So my guess is that he’s just fucking with us.”
An article quote attached claims Dylan had wanted to “release a live album but with all the dates and cities listed incorrectly to mess with the heads of Dylanologists.” It appears he came close to the plan on his Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, with the Tempest Tour 2012 printed on the t-shirts never actually occurring.
One user explained: “It’s definitely Bob fucking around. The crucial detail is this. There was no Tempest Tour in 2012. In other words, that’s not a reproduction/reimagining of an old t-shirt, with a few fake dates added on for fun, it’s a new shirt created to commemorate something that never happened.
