Bob Dylan – West L.A. Fadeaway Review

Filled with love and admiration for The Grateful Dead and their works, it is no surprise Bob Dylan used his recent tour to cover their best. Moved by the long-running band who wrapped up their touring days permanently just last year, Dylan takes to the stage with a charming performance of West L.A. Fadeaway. Nothing wakes you up quite like a hot shower, the sounds of Dylan and a man downstairs drilling a huge hole in your wall. The mould is gone, long live the mould. Long live The Grateful Dead, and Dylan too – whose pairing here is once more a divine treat for those in the right crowd of the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour. For those in Lyon on a fateful June 30 date, West L.A. Fadeaway was rattled out as a surprise extra. 

The desire for a chateau with twenty-one rooms provided on West L.A. Fadeaway lends itself nicely to the Lyon faithful. One of the final records from The Grateful Dead, In the Dark has more than a few deep cuts to it and the handful of salvageable tracks, West L.A. Fadeaway being one of them, are paid their dues here. What a track, and an incredible performance from Dylan here. The thud of percussion found here is a remarkable addition to this cover. Of all these BennyBoy pieces from the Nothing Lasts Forever collection, this is one of the clearest recordings. It sounds frankly professional. From all the small flourishes, a piano-bound Dylan chopping away along with some firm guitar work which gives it the Rough and Rowdy Ways edge, West L.A. Fadeaway is a natural addition to this tour. 

Living on the highway, those open road clamours and concessions are neatly wrapped around Dylan’s finger. Travel is part of touring of course, but the fatigue presented on West L.A. Fadeaway, at a time when Jerry Garcia and the like were fraying and even in the bubble of Bob Dylan, is fascinating. Their desire for the glamorous and laid-back mansions to kick back in is right there in the fabric of this track and Dylan brings it to life on stage with the usual ease. His formidable playing, and the longstanding and well-preserved layering of the string and percussion underneath, allow for the vocal clarity found on this track. In a time where Dylan can fall toward mutterings and grumblings, it is refreshing to hear such clarity on West L.A. Fadeaway.  

Another traipse through the backlog of the Grateful Dead for Dylan provides one of his sharpest and best-sounding live covers to date. Credit to those in Lyon for proudly presenting the microphone rather than hiding it away in shows where recordings were prohibited. What a rush it must be to record those and file them away, waiting patiently for the bootleggers to come knocking. Thankfully they did come knocking and for those easing themselves into the hidden avenues of real Dylan quality – Nothing Lasts Forever, particularly this cover of West L.A. Fadeaway, is an exceptional place to start. Beyond the reasonable qualities of a live show. A surprise piece and a thoroughly welcomed one.