Ever-changing the form of Bob Dylan’s voice and work may be, Good As I Been To You is the mumblecore blues the man should never have attempted. What a strange state of affairs this piece of American folk blues is. Impressive as an instrumental setpiece, Good as I Been to You is a middling piece that has all the highs and lows of a mid-career piece. Not a bad thing, though. Dylan pushes through with some intricate moments, intimate details that showcase his playing style and abilities as one of the best. Good as I Been to You is a quiet legacy settler, and as good as he has been to his audiences, this is another continuation, a further push toward a new sound that audiences didn’t know they needed.
Opening track Frankie & Albert is the definitive cleanser. It is a love or hate track, one that can sway from side to side in the near-four minutes it plays out for. Incredible picking and strumming is on hand. Sparse and mellow these moments may be, they are also the most intricate Dylan has been in his career at this for some time. His inconsistencies are cast aside, in its place a dark horse of an album that hides away the likes of Jim Jones and Canadee-I-O. Sincerity booms through these tracks, pieces that feel reliant on the commonplace talents of a great artist that has not had the chance to express simplicity after spending so long chasing genre trends.
There is a New Morning feeling to these pieces here. One man and his guitar, a harmonica strapped around his neck. Good as I Been to You paints a country and folk picture that just wasn’t relevant at the time. Dylan here finally realises he does not need the relevancy to make good music. Sittin’ on Top of the World is a keen note of that legacy, and how whatever he releases from now to the end, he will still have a resounding wave of support. Traditional covers are beautiful when showcased right, and Good as I Been to You is as good as it gets for quality, acoustic covers. Pairing up Hard Times and Step It Up and Go provides some greater clarity into the traditional tracks Dylan covers. These are the songs that mean the most to him at this present time, his early 1990s period off to a roaring start.
It would more or less stay that way. Burning through a rise and rise in quality, Good as I Been to You is the quiet-yet-assured return of a musician beginning to find his footing. You’re Gonna Quit Me and Diamond Joe are a wonderful addition to the latter stages of a criminally overlooked album. Good as I Been to You is as tender as folk covers get, and there is a contemporary air not just to their outings but to the vocal charms Dylan brings to this. They are difficult to ease into, but once there and settled in, it is hard to let go of them. Quality begins at the turn of the 90s for Dylan, who pushes forth with a collection of lovely traditionals.
