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Dedications for Scribe Weekly Radio
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Some people liken buying a ticket for a Dylan concert as akin to buying a lottery ticket. You might be onto a big winner but more than likely, you're going to be disappointed. Witness casual concert goers decrying the fact that 'the songs don't sound like the records' or 'he just can't sing' and you'd be surprised to find that, even at 61, Dylan can still fill the cavernous London Arena for two nights - even at the end of a rather extensive UK tour. But you shouldn't be. Dylan can truly be citd as Rock's most potent icon and looking around the venue last night, you'd be hard pushed to find any other performer, of any generation that could pull such an eclectic mix of audience. Dreaded skate-types mixed with obvious hippies, who had long sold their camper vans and bought a Jag or a Merc, but the crowd were all here to do one thing - see the man himself. And Dylan knows it, he opens with 'I am the Man, Thomas', an old bluegrass cover wherein Jesus Christ tries to convince his doubting apostle that he really is the risen Messiah - and the song couldn't be more apt. Since the dark days of the 1980's where Dylan's show would be, at best, a messy run through or, at worst, almost unlistenable, his shows are now tight, well rehearsed affairs. The band has been with him for the last few years now (although I believe the drummer is a bit of a new boy, stepping in for the injured regular stickmaster) and Bob seems quite happy to let them drive the show for him. In the past, Dylan has been guilty of starting up a song that was not on the set list, hadn't been rehearsed and consequently threw the performance into total disarray - not so here. Larry Campbell and Charlie Sexton, the two guitar players at times appeared to take on the roles of ringmasters. They started the songs and seemed to inspire Bob to attempt his own solo's during them - and they ain't half as bad as you might expect - before letting Larry take the reins, showing off his phenomenal muli-instrumental talents. The songs have more structure and, almost unbelievably, the pair can almost sing in perfect harmony with Bob! Ah yes....Bob's voice. Impossible to review a Dylan record or show without mention of the voice. Never possessed of a throat like Caruso, Dylan's voice has evolved into a harsh rasp over the years and, while his later works suit the new sound (witness 'Not Dark Yet on 'Time Out Of Mind'), some of his earlier songs do suffer. Or at least they would, if you realised that they were the early songs! One of the joys of a Dylan show is playing 'Name That Dylan Tune', so different are some of the arrangements. The 'heavy rock' workout that 'The Wicked Messenger' got had to be heard to be believed and 'A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall' was almost totally unrecognisable from it's recorded counterpart. Some people don't like his constant reworkings of his songs, but let's face it - they are his songs. And he can do with them as he pleases. 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' for example, incendiary tonight with it's stops and double stops as Bob spat the lyrics out in pitch and on time, has for years been a mediocre live experience, as different arrangements were tried and discarded. But the beauty of the constant change is that, eventually, he's ended up with an arrangement that actually improves upon the original recording. And why shouldn't they, in the words of Dylan himself, the recorded version was 'only the way the song happened to sound on that particular day.' To close then - a true genius seems to have finally found his perfect foils to allow his live shows to match his recorded achievements. But what's to say that he won't get bored with the band and ditch them before the next leg of the 'Never Ending Tour'.....? Impossible to say, but let's hope he never stops those reworkings. The last thing I want to see is a Bob Dylan who gives the audience exactly what they want. Sean G 10/10 Set List 1. I Am The Man, Thomas
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