And this is the latest stage of the ongoing hoax, if you want to call it a hoax.

This is one of our most gifted tricksters playing another riff. That's what Dylan's always done. Have you ever known him to do the expected thing? No. He's playing with our senses again.

Even at his worst (and this sounds like a low) he's never failed to entertain. While we're watching the parking meters, he's off to the next U-turn, always staying ahead of everybody's expectations.

That's what has made him great. With every album and every tour he's gone off in a different direction, antagonizing fans who expected him to stay in the same mold. His life, the same—always leaving for the next station, with Sad-Eyed Ladies weeping in his wake. He's always keeping a few too many balls in the air at once to quite follow with the naked eye.

I say this as someone who's been astonished and nourished by his music and his mind since my 20s when he came on the scene: this is another one of his changes. Enjoy it. But don't believe it too much. Because he'll be saying something totally different next time.

Best to all, Bob