Conor Oberst - Salutations album review: Ruminations on a reboot

About six months ago, Conor Oberst released his seventh solo album. Ruminations is so titled because it was written following a period of exhaustion in the Omaha musician's life. It was recorded over two days with bare acoustic instrumentation – a reflection of the Nebraska winter as much as the song content.

Oberst now releases a "band" version that, in its own way, is as much new as complementary music. What matters most is that, even with weightier backing, the lyrics – a flurry of Bob Dylan primetime swagger meets a wave of Neil Young laidback indolence – remain prickly and potent.

Enhanced by a terrific bunch of contributors (including The Felice Brothers, drummer Jim Keltner, and vocalists M Ward, Gillian Welch and Jonathan Wilson), Salutations is that rare remake/remodel that works on every level. conoroberst.com