Despite what you may have heard, Bob Dylan [ tickets ]'s latest album, "Modern Times" is no five-star masterpiece.

Half of this disc is damn good--a spiritual journey into the heart of blues, gospel and jazz, if you will. But "Modern Times" can also be dull, meandering and repetitive.

As with Dylan's previous release, "Love & Theft," "Modern Times" is produced by Dylan under his pseudonym Jack Frost. And, like "Love & Theft," one gets the impression that maybe the iconic singer songwriter should stick to what he does best. Compared to the haunting Daniel Lanois-produced--and Grammy-winning--"Time Out of Mind," "Modern Times" often lacks aural depth. Take "When the Deal Goes Down," a solid, lilting ballad reminiscent of "Disease of Conceit," from another Lanois-produced classic, "Oh Mercy." The latter song is tinged with reverb and a relaxed certainty that the newer track, while insightful and emotional, is missing. The same can be said for most of this straightforward, clean, uncluttered album.

Don't get me wrong: "Modern Times" has several amazing tracks, from opener "Thunder on the Mountain" to the eerie "Ain't Talkin'," and Dylan's stylish, competent band offers him the ability to charge into groove epics like the Muddy Waters take-off "Rollin' and Tumblin'" or thoughtful ballads like "Workingman's Blues #2." And, of course, there's that legendary lyricism. It's all over "Modern Times." The venom on the break-up tune "Someday Baby" recalls many classic Dylan moments: "Well, I don't want to brag, but I'm gonna ring your neck / When all else fails I'll make it a matter of self respect."

Often, though, even his brilliant words can't save some of these songs--and when Dylan resorts to his annoying, hyper-nasal whine, things get really drab, as evidenced by "Spirit on the Water," "Beyond the Horizon" and "The Levee's Gonna Break."

Then again, who else can pull off a sap line like "I'm flat-out spent / This woman been driving me crazy for years" and make it sound like the Gospel? Clearly, Dylan is a classic through and through. "Modern Times," sadly, is not.