Bob Dylan continues his second ... or third ... or fourth wind, following the Grammy Award-winning "Time Out of Mind" of 1997. His new single, "Things Have Changed," is as powerful as Dylan's songwriting has been in ages -- and this includes "Time Out of Mind." It recalls the genius of "Tweeter and the Monkey Man" from his first Traveling Wilbury's effort in 1988. "Things Have Changed" is an acoustic-driven rocker that is pushed home by a pounding drum beat unheard of in anything Dylan has ever put to tape. It just may be the strongest song Dylan has recorded since the mid-1970s.

Meanwhile, one of many stellar classics from the Neil Young archives, "Old Man," as well as Leonard Cohen's surreal "Waiting for the Miracle" and plenty of soul masterpieces, make this perhaps the finest soundtrack anyone can own. For once, one can listen to the songs on this album and actually have a sense of what the film is about.

That is a rare achievement these days. Wonder Boys is a top-notch purchase.

- Rambles, written
by Gianmarc Manzione