Blues numbers from the big and bold Muddy Waters are always an evening treat. Ripped from a recent Bob Dylan live performance, this cover of Forty Days and Forty Nights is delightful. Deep within these covers are reminiscent feelings of love for the days when Dylan sat in his studio, working away under the Jack Frost moniker and flicking through the Great American Songbook. He did so on Triplicate and in this found an angle for not just Rough and Rowdy Ways but a way to implement those songs he still seems fond of. This slow drive and moody blues aesthetic is tailor-made for the recent appearances Dylan and the extended band have made on the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour. A BennyBoy masterclass once more, the reworkings through this Nothing Lasts Forever package are tremendous.
So too are the swing and deep whoops of midtempo irregularities. Hopes of a returning lover, the isolation of the night and the fear they may be gone for good are captured well by a warbling Dylan who displays – as expected – a strong understanding of this Waters original. The hollering crowd must know they have experienced quite the surprise from the man whose rigid displays on stage are coupled with an expectation of love and respect for a new creative horizon. Rough and Rowdy Ways is not a chance for Dylan to head back out and play the hits – far from it. These rare moments of cover quality are a neat flourish to an otherwise unchanged setlist, yet each additional piece, be it from Muddy Waters’ discography or the late works of Leonard Cohen, holds a place.
The late, great Waters’ popularisation of Forty Days and Forty Nights is tremendous, he as well as Dylan capture the wisdom of songwriter Bernard Roth. Long forgotten are the writers but a quick search brings a spotlight onto the man behind it all. He pulls the strings but Waters is the gift which brings it to the charts. Dylan brings his turn of Forty Days and Forty Nights to a Chicago crowd at the Cadillac Palace and the close sense of encore it brings is a stellar conclusion to a night filled with those same exceptional songs from Rough and Rowdy Ways. This piece from the Waters backlog would not feel out of place on Dylan’s latest studio record – no wonder it feels so well-placed here.
Exceptional as expected yet the standard set by this out-there cover is one-of-a-kind. Dylan takes great care to present the everlasting impression Waters left on this Roth-written song. It is a piece which romanticises heartbreak in the most endearing of ways – the sun shining yet the rain falling flat and deep in the mind. It is an interplay such as this, played well and effective as expected, which brings out the best in those old hands and minds. Essential heartbreak within and Dylan is damned if he does not bring out the best in this one. Thankfully, for those listening at home and the lucky thousands hearing this live in person, he does bring out the best. He always does in these moments of seemingly sharp and sudden adaptations.
