It’s rare to go see a legacy artist being all gung-ho to hear the new stuff, and Bob Dylan has generally been aware of that.
Since starting the Never-Ending Tour in 1988, his tendency has been to insert three, maybe four tracks from his latest album into sets running between 17 and 19 songs.
There have been tours when hardcore fans, with dozens of shows logged, may have wanted to hear more from the better new albums, whether it was “Oh Mercy” or “Time Out of Mind.”
This time, Dylan seems to be more of a fan of his newest album, “Rough and Rowdy Ways.” It came out in June 2020, following three straight albums — numbering 52 songs — that found him dipping into the great American songbook, with uneven results.
Just when we thought maybe Dylan was finally washed as a songwriter, he surprised us with “Rough and Rowdy Ways,” a rollicking, blues-based album on which he seemed to be having as much fun as ever with the language.
The first taste of it, released two weeks after the pandemic shutdown, was the 17-minute “Murder Most Foul” — his longest song ever — using the Kennedy assassination as a springboard to celebrate how music can be a balm in the worst of times. It was met not only with critical accolades, but praise from such fellow songwriting legends as Nick Cave, Chrissie Hynde (who released a Dylan tribute album this year), Elvis Costello, David Byrne and Neil Young, who called it a “masterpiece.”
Since the launch of his tour on Nov. 2, “Murder Most Foul” has yet to crack one of the setlists, but he has been playing as many as eight of the 10 songs from “Rough and Rowdy Ways,” his 39th studio album (and, basically, his 32nd with predominantly new, original material).
As on recent tours, he has been spending most of the show on piano (he’s no Elton John), and even using a lyric sheet — as opposed to a teleprompter, like some contemporaries — to handle the extensive verbiage of the new album.
By all accounts, the pandemic shutdown has revived his vocals, which are being described as clear and decipherable. Author Adam Selzer wrote on BobLinks, the fan database for his shows, “I couldn’t believe how clear his voice was on [‘Most Likely You Go Your Way (and I'll Go Mine)]’ in particular — it sounded almost like it could have been a 1966 performance at times.”
Another fan wrote, “I can also say that he was probably in the best voice I’ve ever heard in [the] 38 shows” that he’d been to.
Some of the reviews have noted that Dylan has also been a little more chatty with the fans this time, sensing perhaps that, emerging from the pandemic, they could use some warmth from their ordinarily aloof host.
There’s been a shakeup in his band since he last toured before the pandemic. Guitarslinger Charlie Sexton, who has moved on to join Elvis Costello and the Imposters, is replaced by Doug Lancio, a Nashville player known for his work with John Hiatt, Nanci Griffin and Patty Griffith, among others. Charles Drayton, a former member of Divinyls, takes over for Matt Chamberlain on drums.
There have been a few miscues here and there during the early shows, but it is called Rough and Rowdy Ways, after all.
The bottom line is that, if you’re going to see Dylan this tour, be aware that you’re not getting the greatest-hits show that most artists of his generation provide — the Stones being a recent example. Dylan is in the business of challenging and confounding, and some things never change.
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