It's fascinating to see the most public face of this legendary private figure. What we hear in this collection is not just the evolution of his music (including many rarities), but the persona(e) that he has crafted for audiences over the years. As much of a self-conscious chameleon as David Bowie, each year in Dylan's four-decade career has usually heralded some kind of stylistic shift.
After
the upbeat religious revival of the album opener, "Somebody Touched Me" (from
2000), the disc jumps back to the early 60s, where he’s singing traditional folk
tunes in his native Minnesota (dig the guitar on "Wade in the Water,” 61), and
later around Greenwich Village (the understated "Handsome Molly,” 62). He then
caught the ear of Columbia Records, and although we miss his wonderful April 63 Carnegie
Hall show, the story picks up with the self-assured "To Ramona” (65), later
heard in Don't Look Back. Wisely skipping the infamous Newport 65 show, Live continues on to his 1966 tour with the Band, and from then on, all his shows would invariably be rock concerts. From the English 66 tour, there's the cocky, confident "I Don't Believe You." After a motorcycle accident sidelined him that same year, Dylan’s live appearances were rare: a fun, drunken version of Woody Guthrie’s “Grand Coulee Dam” at the 68 memorial show covers that period. Finally ready to hit the road with the Band in 74, his mannered, over-projected delivery on "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" sounds like he's playing to the arena crowds. The subsequent, freewheeling Rolling Thunder tour produced music that wasn't as tight (a messy "It Ain't Me Babe,"'75), though not without its moments (the crunching guitars of "Shelter From the Storm," 76). The rollicking and selfless performance of "Dead Man Dead Man" (81) manages to display his old conviction sans the ego. Skipping over most of the late 80s (and unfortunately, his tours with Neil Young and Tom Petty), we get one of his religious standards (87s "Slow Train”) with the Grateful Dead (better heard in the original version with Mark Knopfler). Leapfrog another seven years and he's doing MTV Unplugged (94) with a voice that's clearly strained. Still, "Dignity" has a rolling, easy feel that's upbeat and fun. |
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