Bob Dylan / 13:55
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, organ; Charlie Sexton: guitar; Stu Kimball: guitar; David Hidalgo: accordion; Donnie Herron: steel guitar (?); Tony Garnier: upright bass; George G. Receli: drums, maracas / Recording Studio: Groove Masters, Santa Monica, California: January–March 2012 / Producer: Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Scott Litt
“Tempest” is based on the Titanic disaster and, more specifically, on accounts of the event in the Carter Family’s song “The Titanic.” Dylan: “I liked that melody—I liked it a lot. ‘Maybe I’m gonna appropriate this melody.’ But where would I go with it?”169 The epic fourteen-minute track describes in forty-five verses the tragedy of the night of April 14, 1912. Events described by the songwriter conform to reality, although the first verse was inspired by the James Cameron film Titanic (1997), telling the story of the love between Jack Dawson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Rose DeWitt Bukater (Kate Winslet). As in “Tin Angel,” the songwriter emphasizes his vocal over the musical treatment, with rare exceptions. There is less a feeling of a repeating loop, even if there is almost no variation throughout the song. The drama of this tale is not supported by a musical progression. Instead, a feeling of monotony emerges from the whole arrangement.