The Siobhan Miller Band: mixing and matching the folk tradition
Linda Thompson on Dylan: 'in the presence of greatness'

Dylan: the end of his rough and rowdy ways?

Andrew Curry writes: There are widespread reports that Dylan’s three performances at the Royal Albert Hall in London this month could  be his last ever, and at the age of 83 that might not be a complete surprise, despite his never-ending tour.

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For long-standing fans, these dates on the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, which has been running since 2021, seem to have represented something of a high. The music writer Richard Williams, who had written a scratchy review of Dylan’s earlier performance in Nottingham, had his opinion transformed at the Royal Albert Hall:

”The sound was perfect, the vocals were clear and perfectly balanced against the instruments, Dylan’s piano-playing was always relevant to the song, he made each note of every harmonica solo count, and in the moody lighting of those old tungsten lamps the musicians clustered around him as if they were playing together in someone’s front room.”

The long-time Dylan podcaster Laura Tenschert went to the second night with the musician Ren Harvieu, and recorded a slightly breathless instant reaction outside the Albert Hall. Harvieu has covered It Ain’t Me, Babe with Karen Elson, and was thrilled that the song was second up in the setlist. Sadly, there’s not a version of her cover online.

The set’s evolved a bit since 2021, although it seems to be the same length, running at just around 90 minutes. On youtube in 2021, ‘Georgia Sam’ assembled the then set from various bootleg recordings they had come across during the first run of shows. I’ve cued this up at I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight—and the sound’s a little dirty, as you’d expect from a bootleg.

All of which seems like a good excuse to remind Salut! Live readers that Dylan is actually our most covered artist on the site—with 23 articles—and that he is also the subject of a special 80th birthday feature, Dylan Neat or Dylan Beat which tested Dylan’s originals against various covers by folk artists.

As it happens, none of the songs in Dylan’s Rough and Rowdy set were covered in Dylan Neat. Instead, I’m going to pick out instead a Cover Story in which Salut! Live editor Colin Randall compared Dylan’s version of Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right with that of Joan Baez. Obviously the comparison is enriched by their 1960s relationship.

Here’s an extract from that:

“It is also reasonable to point out that Dylan is more of a writer than a singer but he has made his career in both elements of his artistic expression.

“His vocal imperfections matter little with the vast majority of his repertoire; I would listen all day long to his own interpretations of Positively 4th Street, Hard Rain's Gonna Fall and Mr Tambourine Man and not those of others.

“However, the supreme vocal command of Baez lifts her version of Don't Think Twice to heights she does not quite reach with, as examples, Hard Rain or It Ain't Me Babe.

“Often enough, she has probably been thinking of him when singing it. She certainly makes it seem heartfelt.

Salut! Live also ran a series of appreciations when Dylan hit 80: https://www.salutlive.com/dylan-at-80/

But I should finish this post with late Dylan, not early Dylan. As Richard Williams said in his review,

´“Nowadays he has a set-list that seldom varies, but last night there was an unusually strong sensation of being invited in to watch and hear decisions being made on the fly, in the moment...

Without his refusal to be consistent or predictable, he wouldn’t be what he is. But last night he drew us in, and I think most people there would have felt unusually close to him. If I really was seeing him for the last time, it ended with seeing him at his best.

Throughout the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour he has been closing with Every Grain of Sand (and not doing any encores). Here a version of that song, first recorded in 1980, taped in Germany last month, featuring the same band as at the Albert Hall. Jim Keltner—only a year younger than Dylan—is on drums.

 

'In the presence of gretaness.' Linda Thompson's verdict on the concert she attended: https://www.salutlive.com/2024/11/linda-thompson-on-dylan.htm

 

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