 Dylan 's voice also received critical attention . New York Times critic Robert Shelton described his early vocal style as " a rusty voice suggesting Guthrie 's old performances , etched in gravel like Dave Van Ronk 's . " David Bowie , in his tribute , " Song for Bob Dylan " , described Dylan 's singing as " a voice like sand and glue " . His voice continued to develop as he began to work with rock 'n'roll backing bands ; critic Michael Gray described the sound of Dylan 's vocal work on " Like a Rolling Stone " as " at once young and <unk> cynical " . As Dylan 's voice aged during the 1980s , for some critics , it became more expressive . Christophe <unk> writes in the journal Oral Tradition , " Dylan 's more recent broken voice enables him to present a world view at the sonic surface of the songs — this voice carries us across the landscape of a broken , fallen world . The anatomy of a broken world in " Everything is Broken " ( on the album Oh Mercy ) is but an example of how the thematic concern with all things broken is grounded in a concrete sonic reality . " 
