The tills they are a-ringin' as Bob Dylan works on his Christmas album

 

Bob Dylan: Bringing it all back home

He was once famed for his protest songs, such as The Times They Are a-Changin'.
But Bob Dylan is a little more conventional these days.
The 68-year-old singer is said to be planning to bring out a Christmas album.
According to sources close to Dylan, he is planning his own versions of classics such as Here Comes Santa Claus and O Little Town Of Bethlehem and has already recorded them.
'It may sound bizarre but I don't think Dylan cares much about what his detractors might say,' said biographer Scott Marshall.
Wags have suggested a reworking of some of his most popular hits that would certainly bring some festive cheer.
There’s Sleigh Lady Sleigh, Snowin’ In The Wind, Girl From The North Pole Country and, of course, A Hard Reindeer’s A-Gonna Fall.
Uncut magazine came up an album’s worth of puns, including Eggnog Noggin’ On Heaven’s Door, Decorations Row, Gravy Let Me Swallow You Down and The Chimes They Are A Changing.
But Dylan doesn’t appear to be in on the joke.
Rumours about the album first emerged on Isis magazine website, which is devoted to Dylan.
Now one of his musical sidekicks has confirmed the songs were recorded during a session in May at singer Jackson Browne’s studio in Santa Monica, California.
David Hidalgo, of the group Los Lobos, is said to have been in on the sessions.

Dylan, who was born Robert Zimmerman, was originally of the Jewish faith and was a Born Again Christian from 1979-1981, releasing several religious-themed albums including the gospel-style Slow Train Coming and Saved.
And it’s not his first stab at the Christmas market. In 2006, he recited ’Twas The Night Before Christmas on his satellite radio show.
Dylan will join a showbusiness tradition of Jewish artists who release Christmas-themed albums, including Neil Diamond and Phil Spector.
Irving Berlin, who wrote the yuletide classic White Christmas was also Jewish.
Dylan’s most recent record Together Through Life was released in April and topped the charts in Britain and the U.S. It has sold more than 300,000 copies.
He is currently touring the United States as part of his so-called Never Ending Tour.