The ties between The Grateful Dead and Bob Dylan are decades old. It should be no surprise to those lucky few who attended seven shows where the legendary Like a Rolling Stone singer rattled out Truckin’. His last performance came at Proctor’s Theatre in New York, just a few months after The Grateful Dead, or what remains of them, embarked on their final tour. It feels sombre to remember The Dead rather than experience them – though Dylan offers a catalyst of a performance to remember them by. Trust in BennyBoy, then, and this Nothing Lasts Forever package continues to grow with great wonder. Ripped from an Indianapolis performance from the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, the ties between two great musical forces are perked up once more.
No surprise to those in attendance or listening in at home, this is a masterclass of a cover. Dylan is in fine fettle for this tour and the wilder percussion of Truckin’, and the whoops and hollers from the crowd, make this an essential live rip. Turn it up loud. A cliche, of course, but a necessary one here. One of the few songs from any artist which warrants dicing with tinnitus. Startlingly good work here. Dylan spent so long in the studio covering the Great American Songbook, but his best efforts are always on the stage. He can swing with the best of them, Frank Sinatra be damned, but the covers he gives to those he has worked with are always revolutionary. The thump and bright feel of this one, the energy and joy heard in this vocal performance, is delightful.
Naturally, a reflective element shines through too – the wild trip of being a touring musician for so long and seeing The Grateful Dead shift in shape and lose core members – that finite living is not lost on Dylan. He gives it his all here, a little flicker of The Dead lives on through him, of course it does. His intimate gatherings and performances with the band may have led to a lacklustre live recording in the 1980s but this piece from 2023 is a stunning tribute to the band which seemingly carried Dylan through a dark period of his career. Here he lays down the beat and law of a great song, one which brings a sense of dusting yourself off and carrying on regardless, picking yourself up after being knocked down by the bowling ball of life.
Out of all these BennyBoy recordings from the delectable Nothing Lasts Forever, this is likely the best. Make no mistake, Truckin’ is a song for the ages and in the hands of one of the all-time greats it is unstoppable. Revel in the experience, a one-of-a-kind performance. Well, seven of a kind, just this one is likely the best of the bunch. Dylan pays tribute to his fallen musical comrades and does so with the same power and effect he nearly always brings to the stage. Somewhat of a shame he never managed to bring this sort of form to the Dylan and The Dead showcase, but the times have changed, and a renewed, re-energised Dylan is in fine form for the foreseeable.
