With apologies to whoever crafts Michele Bachmann's speeches, but Minnesota's grandest contribution to the arts still is Bob Dylan, and now the troubadour from Hibbing has released his, um, Christmas album. "Christmas in the Heart" arrived Wednesday, and the critics are alternately bewildered and bemused. The blog Brand X quotes Mojo magazine saying, "That Dylan's voice is shot (albeit poignantly so) isn't as glaring when he sings 'If You Ever Go To Houston'; it's when he attempts 'Winter Wonderland.' And throughout Christmas In The Heart Dylan makes Tom Waits sound like Antony Hegarty. Moreover, the mixture of kitsch and reverence is surreal, referencing both his jokey Theme Time Radio Hour persona and the Born-Again Bob's true believer trip, reinforced by graphics that include the Three Wise Men as well as Bettie Page in a scanty Santa get-up."
The PiPress' Ross Raihala offers his take in a front-page review: "With all the subtlety of a neighbor's snowblower at 5 a.m., Minnesota's famed rock 'n' roll poet barrels through 15 yuletide favorites in a manner that's both terrifying and hilarious."