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Bob Dylan review – melancholy, reflective, but still utterly unpredictable
He may be well into his ninth decade but his seasoned sidemen are still racing to keep up with mercurial twists on new and old songs
These are musicians for whom the term seasoned professional was invented – longstanding crack sessioneers, men whose collective CV encompasses everyone from Paul Simon to Steely Dan to sundry former Beatles – and yet you somehow get the impression that even they aren’t quite certain exactly what’s going to happen next. As they hawkishly follow his unpredictable vocal phrasing and a piano style that’s simultaneously florid and ragged – Art Tatum by way of Les Dawson – he’s still capable of wrongfooting them: there are moments when you could swear the band start building to a climax or slowing to a conclusion, only to discover their leader has other ideas. It’s dominated by the quietest songs from Rough and Rowdy Ways – Mother of Muses, Key West (Philosopher Pirate) – alongside a version of It’s All Over Now Baby Blue rendered as a fragile, fractured piano ballad.
Or read this on The Guardian
