Bob Dylan [ tickets ] recently sat down with music journalist Bill Flanagan to discuss his new album, "Together Through Life," which will be released April 28. During the conversation, published at Dylan's official website, the legendary performer told Flanagan that the new album evolved from his interaction with French director Olivier Dahan, who approached Dylan about writing some music for a film.

Dylan said Dahan initially asked him to write a ballad for the main character to sing towards the end of the movie. However, not all of the songs were written for the film. "We started off with 'Life is Hard,' Dylan said. "And then the record sort of took its own direction."

As for the sound of the new disc, Flanagan said that a lot of the album "feels" like a Chess record from the fifties. "Well, some of the things do have that feel," Dylan responded. "It's mostly in the way the instruments were played. ... I like the mood of those records--the intensity."

Dylan said he thinks the old albums released by Chess--and Sun Records--capture his favorite sound. "The whole vibration feels like it could be coming from inside your mind," he said. "It's alive. It's right there. Kind of sticks in your head like a toothache."

In other news, Dylan's spring tour of Europe kicks off Sunday (3/22) at the Berns Club in Stockholm. This summer, he will perform at the Rothbury festival in Michigan.