Bob Dylan – Killing Floor Review

One of the all-time greats of Chicago blues has his words and work pulled onto the stage by Bob Dylan, and not for the first time. Dylan is no stranger to Howlin’ Wolf and the impact the Killing Floor writer had on the long-term trajectory of an artist now halfway through six decades of a strong career. He pays tribute to the great blues guitarist with this cover of Killing Floor, ripped right from the heart of Chicago for a stop off on the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour. A fitting and sentiment-fuelled cover that adapts the original rhythm, the guitar focus, and the deep percussion of this recording is perfect. Get your grubby paws on this one as quick as you can – it may be the finest work Dylan has put into a cover in some time.  

Wherever this was recorded, the seat is spectacular. This recording hears Dylan and the band stick to a fair amount of the instrumentals laid out on the original release. Howlin’ Wolf marked a wonderful, intense occasion with Killing Floor, the mistake of not quitting some unnamed person. Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin covered this classic, and rightly so. Killing Floor may sound upbeat on its original recording, but the fear of spousal troubles is right at its core, the desire to escape to some distant country where a person can become an elusive stranger thrives in the face of danger and guilt. Howlin’ Wolf gets sot the core of this best of all, a wonderful piece based more on the instrumental guidance and sudden piano pushes than the powerful voice it is wrapped around.  

Dylan takes a similar tone. His performance here is backed by the same beautiful instrumentals Howlin’ Wolf provided. A credit to the backing players here, who so frequently maintain and excel under the rhythm and blues swing Dylan now hosts in his live performances. He has finally found a sound which suits his voice, and ultimately it leads to some exceptional adaptations of classic material. Heavy thumps of percussion pave the way to some glorious cover work, the thump and clatter heard in this recording pairs nicely with the light piano, drifting in and out of focus as Dylan talks of moving down to Mexico. In touch with the topics of the original, Dylan still dishes out a unique, swinging cover. 

These sudden covers from a tour like no other are a real treat not for how much range they show Dylan has but because they get new ears onto old classics. Naturally, it comes down to whichever piece Dylan finds fun to perform, but ultimately the real joy is in the range he can throw down in this new style of his live presence. It feels more assured, as though there is a proper image of his range on stage and the tone he now takes. Those days covering traditionals were all a lead-up to this, a troubadour with a slick hand behind the piano instead of a man edging worryingly close to a legendary hitmaker brought out as a freak of interest. Rough and Rowdy Ways has re-energised a career reliant on classics, and with it brings out new love for the songs Dylan has been influenced by.