It should be no surprise to hear Bob Dylan moved and in touch with the tones set out by Chuck Berry. Dylan is no stranger to covering work from the late, great guitarist, whose influence was no doubt felt as he charted course through an electric revolution. Nadine (Is It You) sees Dylan embark on yet another cover for the tremendous Rough and Rowdy Ways tour – thankfully recorded and brought to life in the masterful efforts of BennyBoy’s Nothing Lasts Forever compilation. With his hands already firm on covers of Johnny B. Goode as well as Around and Around, it is tremendous to hear a new piece of the Berry discography brought to the stage, adapted into this moody swing fever which has infected the latest works from Dylan.
A suitable image means everything to the man on the stage in Indianapolis. Audiences in The States were graced with cover after cover. Tremendous treats, no doubt – and the roaring success of this track comes from the slow build, and the impeccable guitar work. So natural a fit Nadine (Is It You) is for this setlist the crowd do not make so much as a murmur. They are in the presence of a definitive Dylan cover, a song which taps into the chesty heart of this vocal style Dylan has been sullied with in the second half of his career. With some sharp piano to elevate this one even further and a nice fixation on the acoustic work throughout, Nadine (Is It You) is given a swinging kick from one of the best in the business.
Outstanding percussion follows through too, and one key component to each of these covers, thankfully pieced together in Nothing Lasts Forever and not sprinkled across the internet elsewhere, is the steady focus on instrumental sections. Dylan is more than proud of the men he stands on stage with and rightly so, their experienced hands come good as they shift from deep cuts of Dylan’s own career, seamlessly making the change to the likes of Grateful Dead or Van Morrison tunes. Nadie (Is It You) may be the best of the bunch because of how natural it feels in the setlist – most of these covers do. But there is something to be said for the simplicity and the intoxicating build soon after which makes it feel an oh-so-natural part of the show.
Rising to the occasion of covering Berry is no small feat but Dylan has tried his hand a few times at the works of the Johnny B. Goode legend. These are not flippant covers which may work for other artists on the stage but genuine and heartfelt nods to those who inspired a creative draft in the past. Dylan lays down this cover as one of his finest and for those lucky ones in attendance, this cover appeared a couple of times. It is a track Dylan tried out once before, back in the late 1980s at a gig in St Louis, Missouri. It should not be a surprise to hear him try it once more in the same city, and soon he finds a rhythm for it, leading to this masterful third try at a Rough and Rowdy Ways gig in Indianapolis. One of the finest Dylan live performances out there, no question.
