Bob Dylan Hard at Work on 35th Album

March 13, 2012 4:49 PM

Getty Images/Dave Hogan

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[photogallerylink id=36269 align=left]Following a duo of releases in 2009, Bob Dylan is recording a new album at Jackson Browne‘s L.A. studio, according to Los Lobos member and Dylan collaborator David Hidalgo.

In an interview with The Aspen Times, Hidalgo spilled the news on Dylan’s recent sessions and praised the creative process of the 70-year-old folk-rock hero, whose new LP will be his 35th.

“It was a great experience,” said Hidalgo, who also worked on two past Dylan efforts. “And different. Each one has been different, all completely different approaches. It’s an amazing thing, how he keeps creativity. I don’t see how he does it.”

While Hidalgo played guitar and accordion on Together Through Life and a bevy of instruments on Dylan’s Christmas album (both from 2009), he says he infused a bit of his signature flavor into Dylan’s latest recording sessions – thanks to the tres, a guitar with Latin American roots. ”He’d say, ‘Wow, what’s that?’” Hidalgo said of Dylan’s appreciation of the tres. “He liked the sound. So we’d get it in there.”

A source at Columbia, Dylan’s longtime label, told CBS Radio, ”We look forward to hearing new Bob Dylan music whenever it is ready.”

Though Dylan has not released a new record in nearly three years, his classics recently faced reinterpretation through Amnesty International’s Chimes of Freedom tribute. Released Jan. 24, the four-disc compilation features artists both classic (Sting, Elvis Costello, Joe Perry, Patti Smith, Jackson Browne) and decidedly modern (Ke$ha, Maroon 5, Miley Cyrus) covering their Dylan favorites.

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