Bob Dylan – Roadhouse Hymns: Unreleased Live Recordings, 1996 Review

Smooth waters lay ahead for Bob Dylan as he rattled the stage with experimental powers in 1996. He was just a few months shy of Time Out of Mind and a complete revival in interest and career choices when these songs were laid down on stages worldwide. There is a final swing to the sound established in the mid-1990s. It was bolstered by an MTV Unplugged appearance, but little love came for Good as I Been to You or World Gone Wrong. It would seem Under the Red Sky was of more interest to Dylan and so too the band. But these tracks from the unofficial bootleg Roadhouse Hymns: Unreleased Live Recordings, 1996, are just the classics expected of Dylan at the time. It is what audiences wanted. Almost thirty years on from its release, it is what listeners need too. It is a fascinating exploration of his hits before new, contemporary breaches were made. 

Classy work from the first track Drifter’s Escape is a nice level of quality for Roadhouse Hymns. There is an expectation of quality if these are just the hits from a career that, at the time, was well into its third decade. Such is the assurance of harsher-sounding guitar work paired with a returning harmonica swing. Even Dylan’s vocal presence is in fine form for this first song, a booming bit of lived-in work from John Wesley Harding. Smooth work on Shake Sugaree gives Dylan a chance to express his love for the Brenda Evans and Elizabeth Cotten classic with a neat rendition of the folk classic which keeps its soulful tone intact, overhauled by a reliance on electric tone. Thumping, rockabilly works on Watching the River Flow give it an upbeat swing, a charming move in the right direction.  

Roadhouse Hymns will do little to extract you from the torture of life but does well to compartmentalise a period for Dylan where there was safety in slight experimentation. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine) is a straight-shooting number which is gifted a few flutters of neat guitar work. One of those performances where a reliance on identifying the track through the instrumental range rather than Dylan’s vocals is needed. Not necessarily a bad notion to have for a live set as it keeps the crowd guessing, but Dylan himself is displaced in songs which still define his career. The same instrumental leading propensity can be heard in the likes of Visions of Johanna. It is this groove and grind which makes for an exciting period in Dylan’s live showcases though, this constant attempt to guess which track is coming and the whoops which follow a correct guess are dynamite.  

Instrumental joys are quick to expose themselves through this collection. Roadhouse Hymns serves as a neat and compact collection of live performances. No hints are given to Time Out of Mind and the monumental shift in tone it would offer Dylan and his listeners but there are more than enough consistencies whirring throughout this one to engage with. A nine-minute The Times They Are A-Changin’ is as gruff as expected from the vocal range in store for this, but the legendary track is pulled apart, stripped down and rebuilt through some wonderful, freeform-like instrumentals. A patch of wonder comes through and in turn, provides a longing classic of the stage. An unofficial recording as good as the official album releases. Dylan remains unbeatable on the stage and Roadhouse Hymns proves it.  

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