Two More 2008 Highlights for the Road

Best Album I Wanted To Hate Thanks to Rolling Stone's Endless Praise

Bob Dylan, Bootleg Series Vol. 8: Telltale Signs

I'm a Dylan junkie, but a wise listener treads cautiously with his modern work. Modern Times disappointed me, yet everyone quickly labeled it a classic.

To my ears, he had not hit classic status since Time Out of Mind. Time for me to revise that statement.

Tell Tale Signs accomplishes two goals - it rejuvenates the Bootleg Series, dormant since 2005, while showing that even in his twilight, Dylan abandons amazing, revelatory music on the cutting-room floor.

Songs drenched in Daniel Lanois-swampiness on Oh Mercy become more fully realized with just a piano and that ragged voice. Time Out of Mind leftovers like Red River Shore and March' to the City are both epic and intimate.

Dylan's music hadn't drawn this reaction from me since I first heard the Bootleg Series boxed set comprising the first three volumes.

The two versions of Missippi wipe out any record of the Love & Theft version. Same goes for Dignity, a vanilla rarity made dynamic on two starkly different takes.

Tell Tale Signs resurrects gems from the instantly forgotten North Country , Gods and Generals and Lucky You soundtracks.

This collection almost leaves me hoping it's the end of Dylan's new music. What a better career capstone than a triumphant set recalling his earliest folk forays and almost every stage between?

Best Long Overdue Record From A Rock Scion

thenewno2, You Are Here

After seeing Dhani Harrison hold his own with Clapton and company during the Concert for George, I've been waiting for any signs of more music.

Finally, he deliver the bold You Are Here, his collaboration with Oliver Hecks.

At first glance, he's woven traces of his father's style into the 21st century electronica and patches of prog rock. This moody, minimal record echoes his father's work without mimicking his sound.

As George's virtual twin - really, he's identical to his father- Dhani correctly embraces his heritage while adding his own wrinkles to the mix.

As with She & Him, Harrison has put out a promising debut.

Dhani leaves us with a gentle record with a healthy dose of seething anger beneath the surface.

Let's hope his output proves more prodigious than his late father's. Brainwashed took more than a decade to complete, and the younger Harrison played a major role in its posthumous release.