Another strong showing from the gargling septuagenarian storyteller.

The latest addition to the surprisingly vibrant canon comprising Dylan’s dotage, Tempest is a 10-song eye-opener.

But the epic title track – an almost funereally paced, wildly reinvented retelling of the Titanic disaster – is no typical example.

At nigh-on 14 minutes it packs in Cameron’s fictional Jack Dawson, murderous passengers and sinking-ship horror. A vivid picture; but the best of it could have been packed into half as much swaying country and slide guitar.

Dylan’s rasping vocals are revealing his age, too, particularly on foot-tapping opening gambit Duquesne Whistle where his voice scratches for the high note at the end of a line.

“I ain’t dead yet, my bell still rings,” he rattles more comfortably on Early Roman Kings, a fiery take on Muddy Waters’ Mannish Boy.

But despite low-power delivery he is lucid and his vignettes, lyricism and wit are still switchblade sharp.

Perfect, then, for the murder ballads, lechery, envy, retribution and obsession populating this LP. Overall, it has to be said: Weather the storm, it’s worth it.

4 stars