"People think they know, but they're all wrong."

And there you have it: Eight words that sum up Bob Dylan's entire career. Or at least, we think they do. But we're probably all wrong.

That, of course, has always been the genius of Dylan -- his ability to hide in plain sight. To remain inscrutable while explaining himself. To tell us lies that reveal the truth. To be timeless while grounded in the here and now. To simplify the complex and complicate the simple. In short: To confuse the hell out of us.

Well, after nearly 68 years and 33 studio albums, the master still hasn't lost his touch. Together Through Life, like the last trio of releases in his remarkable late-career resurgence, is another layered work of genius that seems straightforward, but inexorably draws you deeper into its web with every listen.

At first blush, it's a blues album about love -- love lost and regained, lamented and celebrated -- with songs that echo the classic sound of Chess Records during the '50s glory days of Muddy Waters. The more you come back, though, the more you realize romance and the blues are just Dylan's jumping-off points. These 10 cuts -- penned with Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter, bashed out with loose immediacy by Dylan's touring band along with VIPs like Heartbreakers guitarist Mike Campbell and Los Lobos' David Hidalgo, and underproduced by Dylan's alter-ego Jack Frost -- are works of life and death, tragedy and triumph, dreams and reality. Along with the blues, they encompass a wealth of styles -- Tex-Mex, Cajun, country, Americana and more -- and a sound that is simultaneously nostalgic and bizarrely fresh. Tossed off and laissez-faire as it all seems, you can't shake the feeling that none of it is incidental, accidental or insignificant.

And ultimately, what you take from these songs depends on what you're after. If you just want to dig some blues and see where Dylan's at these days, no problem. If you want to try to decipher the latest musings of contemporary music's most elusive troubadour, good luck. And if you want to complain that his voice sounds like a frog after a tracheotomy and that his songwriting is only a shadow of its former magnificence, well, that's your right.

As long as you know you're wrong.

Beyond Here Lies Nothin' 3:51

Over a slinky samba-style groove that sounds like Tom Waits covering Otis Rush, Dylan voices the simplest of sentiments -- love is all there is.

Life is Hard 3:40

A pretty, old-timey ballad graced with fluttery mandolin, brushed drums and a weepy slide guitar, this was reportedly the first track written for the disc.

My Wife's Home Town 4:15

Dylan borrows Willie Dixon's I Just Wanna Make Love to You for this smirking, slow-burning blues ode to a woman who's -- spoiler alert -- literally from Hell.

If You Ever Go to Houston 5:50

Hidalgo's accordion, set to a lazily strolling Tex-Mex R&B gait, grounds this dark tale of a lovelorn gunslinger in its lyrical setting. If Doug Sahm were around, he'd nail it.

Forgetful Heart 3:43

With a plinky banjo set against a swampy fuzztone guitar, this dreamy number walks a line between the backporch and the juke joint.

Jolene 3:50

Bob nicks a title from Dolly and sets it to a slow-rolling blues shuffle topped with a catchy whistling melody and a hilarious chorus: "Baby I am the king, and you is the queen."

This Dream of You 6:00

Dylan's only solo composition on the album is this brokenhearted accordion ballad that sounds like Marty Robbins covering Roy Orbison's Blue Bayou in Rosa's Cantina.

Shake Shake Mama 3:37

"Shake shake mama like a ship going out to sea," leers Bob in this raucous, smouldering blues grinder. His wheezing, ravaged vocals have seldom sounded so perfect.

I Feel a Change Comin' On 5:25

Another pretty number -- midway between country and soul -- with swelling organ and chiming guitars. Dylan namechecks Billy Joe Shaver and James Joyce, while nodding to Hank Williams.

It's All Good 5:31

As a swampy Cajun groove simmers, Dylan catalogs a litany of miseries from lying politicians to unfaithful wives, then vows he "wouldn't change it, even if I could." All good, indeed.