Bob Dylan Review: Rough, Rowdy and as relevant as ever

Dylan comes on stage and doesn't speak. The audience are reverentially quiet, too. The Royal Albert Hall has turned into a cathedral, and we are here to worship the high priest of rock: Bob Dylan.

Luckily for us, half of the set that Dylan plays comes from his 'Rough and Rowdy Ways' album, which I feel is his best album for decades. The LP (his 39th studio release) suits his rough, deep and talking voice that is now a substitute for his previous whining tone - endearing as that was. Because the album is so recent, it means that Dylan has not had the chance to get too bored of the songs on it, so he has not mangled and 'destroyed' them in the way some claim he has done so with the classic songs from his repertoire that he plays on tour.

Some classics like 'All Along the Watchtower', which opens this set, and 'It Ain’t Me Babe', which follows soon after, seem to have been reinvigorated by Dylan's tinkering. But 'Desolation Row' - one of his greatest songs - is virtually wrecked by giving it a fast rock tempo treatment. The beauty of that song – as in all of Dylan's classic '60s songs - is in the way that the music matches the intensity and picturesque imagery of the lyrics. Sadly, when Dylan sings it now, there is none of that. Nevertheless, when this version of the song comes to an end, there is thunderous, non-stop applause for minutes. But you can't help feeling that the applause is for a song that Dylan sang way back in the past, and which connected with so many people, not the song he is singing now.

The best songs from 'Rough and Rowdy Ways' that he plays are 'I Contain Multitudes', and 'Goodbye Jimmy Reed'. However, despite his Frankenstein creations of his older classics, we have to admire the fact that Dylan is still so creative and rebellious, and that is why he re-works these songs the way he does.

The 'Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour' began three years ago in Milwaukee and has seen him perform over 230 shows. Each of those concerts has seen Dylan give us nine out of the 10 songs on that 2020 album.

Compare him with an act like The Rolling Stones; for all their rebelliousness, when they perform, their songs are copycat versions of their hits. They stick to a money-making formula with little innovation. You certainly cannot say that about Dylan.

Personally, I admire his courage and his creativity and think that they are his songs, and he can do what he likes with them. Dylan never wants to stand still or live in the past as the creation of his Songwriter Fellowship proves.

The other interesting thing about his show is that there are no gimmicks. No bright, flashy lights, no pyrotechnics and no undulating male and female dancers, which is sadly what today's breed of pop and rock superstars find necessary to inflict us with. Although I think the addition of some emotional female backing singers would have brought light to Dylan's shade.

Dylan appears on stage hat-less with his brillo pad hair shimmering under the soft moody lights starts most of his songs standing and singing into the microphone and then shuffles over to the grand piano, which he stands playing most of the night.

Though the atmosphere in the Royal Albert Hall is cathedral-like, on stage it's like a smoky blues club. There is little lighting, and the band and Dylan are bound in a tight circle. Unlike Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger - who throws himself around the stage - Dylan only shuffles a little bit when he moves onto the piano, which is the instrument he plays all night.

The musicianship from his band is superb, especially his two guitarists Doug Lancio and Bob Britt and drummer Jim Keltner. Dylan's piano playing is, in turns, sorrowful, passionate and pounding. And let's not forget his harmonica playing that hasn't been tampered with. When he blows and sucks it is just like being transported back to the 1960s.

Of course, I wouldn't dream of telling Dylan what songs he should be playing, but really, he should have played 'Murder Most Foul' which, in my opinion, is the best song on 'Rough and Rowdy Ways'. It harks back to the social commentaries that his songs were infused with back in the day.

As the set progresses highlights included 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue' - from his 1965 album 'Bringing It All Back Home' - 'I've Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You' and 'Goodbye Jimmy Reed' and Dylan departs the stage after performing 'Every Grain of Sand' from his 1981 album 'Shot of Love'.

That song is infused with meaning because often the last track that Dylan puts on his albums are a harbinger of things to come. It is magical, spiritual song, questioning the meaning of life and is full of biblical references.

The concert started at 8pm and is all over by 9.45pm. The ecstatic crowd howls for more, but it's in vain - Dylan doesn't do encores.

After the stunning show a goodly majority of Dylan fans - some of whom were reduced to tears by his performance - decamped to the delightful pub The Queens Arms nearby, where they mulled over Dylan's performance. Strangers became instant friends because of their shared passion for the man's music. Many have been to see Dylan at almost every show of this tour, and when questioned about their favourite album tell me it is 1966's seminal LP 'Blonde on Blonde', often regarded as the best record of all time.

I chat with some fellow fans about Dylan's first ever concert at the Royal Albert Hall, which took place way back in May 1965. I was lucky enough to be there and I am sure a number of people in the audience at the 'Rough and Rowdy Ways' show were there that night too. On that special night Dylan delivered a magnificent all-acoustic set and talked and joked with the audience. It was one of the best of the many Dylan concerts I have attended and, for me, one of the greatest concerts of all time.

Two songs Dylan played at that 1965 gig, 'It Ain’t Me Babe' and 'It's All Over Now, Baby Blue', are also part of the setlist for the 'Rough and Rowdy Ways World Wide Tour'. What that tells us I’m not sure, but I am sure all those Dylanologists out there will proffer answers.

The times have certainly changed for Dylan over the last 50-odd years, though one thing remains constant - he is still the greatest songwriter the world has ever seen.

It is certain that a number of people went to these concerts because they feel they could be Dylan's last in the UK.

I am not so sure.

After all, his great friend Willie Nelson is still playing live at the age of 91. I don't want to be macabre, but I can't help feeling Dylan will die on stage.

Let us hope this 'Never Ending Tour' - despite what title it may now go under - never ends.

Bob Dylan - November 13, 2024 - Royal Albert Hall setlist:

All Along the Watchtower

It Ain't Me, Babe

I Contain Multitudes

False Prophet

When I Paint My Masterpiece

Black Rider

My Own Version of You

To Be Alone With You

Crossing the Rubicon

Desolation Row