Merle Haggard had more of an outlaw streak than Johnny Cash, the latter would play to prisoners while the former would mix among them. This history is not lost on Bob Dylan, who adapted Haggard’s Bad Actor to the stage of his recent Rough and Rowdy Ways tour. From the heart of Milan, Italy, comes a cover from Dylan which has never been heard before, and likely will never surface in his live shows again. Haggard is one of the greats, there is no question of that. Another slice of Nothing Lasts Forever, though other ports of listening to this crystal-clear cover of a fine Haggard song are available. Elongated words, a few smatterings of claps from a crowd who do not seem to be in touch with this cover, a perfect blend for those listening to bootlegs at home.
This feels in line with Shadows in the Night or Triplicate. Warbling tones but a strong core which hears Dylan carries through his unique vocal spectacle once more, retrofitting it into a song of old. Bad Actor is an intense one, a perfectly written piece and perhaps one of the best modern country songs. It has a nostalgia present to it even for those who did not live the glory days of when Haggard and Dylan were putting out their finest works. All we can do is listen in and back to those days, and with a piece like Bad Actor, the stirring feel in the pit of your stomach which comes through listening to tracks of your past becomes apparent. Dylan captures this emotive presence, the urgency to reconnect with the past through modern songs intensely well on this cover.
Maybe this is the cover which sparks a listen of I Am What I Am, the latter stage of releases Haggard had moved many, Dylan included. This is a cover where the initial rhythm and blues of the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour take a backseat to a confident-sounding Dylan. His momentous performance is backed by a focus on percussion in the breaks between lyrics, but the back-and-forth between Dylan booming to the forefront and the guitar work bouncing through is exceptional. A nice bit of piano work signals the end of the song, nothing more than slamming a few keys to announce it is time to clap. But what comes before it is some of the sharpest cover work Dylan may ever provide.
A damnable shame it will likely be the only time this Haggard cover makes its way into his work, live or otherwise. But here it is, and for those who can hear it, seek it out. Bad Actor settles as a marvellous experience, one where Dylan, who had already covered Footlights on this tour, settles the score on what could have been controversial remarks about Haggard a decade ago. Hurt from the 1960s still lingers on the mind but the hatchet is buried in the best way a musician can, by covering their work. Repetition is key to the survival of country as new voices guide old songs. But there is still a lingering, immaculate presence of a legend of the stage covering a firm favourite of the genre, particularly one as grand as Bad Actor.
Discover more from Cult Following
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
