Bob Dylan – Someone’s Got it in For Me Review

Someone did have it in for Bob Dylan around the turn of the 1990s. Himself, most likely. After Oh Mercy marked a return to form compared to the 1980s slump and drivel put out by Dylan, a time for change was on the cards. Back on the circuit he went, touring away as he carved out some lacklustre pieces like Under the Red Sky. But it was an era which birthed The Bootleg Series and soon saw Dylan catapulted into the Academy Awards winners pool with Time Out of Mind and Wonder Boys not far away. Someone’s Got It in For Me, the bootleg brilliance from BennyBoy charting the 1992 tour, is a key indication of where Dylan finds himself as a performer and as a person. Change was on the horizon, but at the time, it felt like a war between listener and musician.  

Sweet covers and the return of classic tracks mark a neat blur of consistent form for Dylan on this tour. He meets the mark on Jimi Hendrix cover Dolly Dagger and marks a real surprise with the Paul Metsers cover, Farewell to the Gold. These early moments in the Someone’s Got It in For Me are biting, courageous and wild moments which go against the sound Dylan had carved out over the last decade. His spirituality and focus are far removed from these swinging and grand covers, welcome releases hoovered up for this compilation. Folk fundamentals soon shine and Dylan finds himself rolling in the rich spots of Ballad of Hollis Brown and Shelter from the Storm. Keep an ear out for Female Rambling Sailor too, a rarity for Dylan but a monumental piece which was scattered through the Australian leg of this tour.  

Sadly, it was never brought up again, though it served as an incredible piece of traditional cover. Firm favourites pour through this one – Idiot Wind and its stripped-back occasion in San Jose and an upbeat Mr. Tambourine Man in Perth in particular. Both appear to be recognitions of the glory days though Dylan seems somewhat unsure of himself in playing them. Not of his abilities, just on whether he should bother rattling them out once more. Instead, he moves to the traditional numbers which would inspire World Gone Wrong, an album sadly snubbed for the live tours of the 1990s. Golden Variety and Delia both mark a neat love of the traditional songbook, building nicely to Blowin’ in the Wind.  

Give Someone’s Got It in For Me closer Cat’s in the Well a listen and hear the highs and lows of Dylan in just four short minutes. His weedy voice begins to flicker and by the end of this he has come to terms with it, and so too has his audience. It is not the reason why he shies away from the classics – plenty of offerings from his hit-laden days are found on this tour, but there is an insistence on the oddities. It will no doubt warm to those veteran Dylan fans hoping to hear the likes of Man in the Long Black Coat and All Along the Watchtower grinding through the change of style and pace. It works well, a tremendous offering which gives Dylan the punchy resolve needed to mount the impressive return to form featured here.