Bob Dylan – That Old Black Magic Review

A cover is a cover but what Bob Dylan brings to That Old Black Magic is wonderful. Rough and Rowdy Ways benefits greatly from the inclusion of this Johnny Mercer piece. He and Harold Arlen had an obvious hit on their hands and eighty years on from its release it still lingers as an all-time great. From Fallen Angels to now it marks a continual experience for Dylan audience members. Take a listen to almost any Rough and Rowdy Ways tour and there it is, consistent a force as ever. It was dropped in place of Big River from Johnny Cash but for those attending gigs over the first two years of this long-running tour schedule there it was, That Old Black Magic. It was an essential of Frank Sinatra and Louis Prima. All the greats had their say on That Old Black Magic and a Dylan cover is the standout variation. 

Version to version brings around a great joy and tribute to the glory days which made their way through the cover efforts Dylan offered as his studio work increased. Fallen Angels benefitted greatly from this release, a wonderful tribute to the greats who formed the early days of his career. Part of those projects was in getting Dylan comfortable with the production side of recording, but another strong aspect found him covering the tracks of his youth. With a big, swing time effort found on the Fallen Angels recording, Dylan finds himself enchanted by the magic he sings of. A spin of romance and a flutter of black magic being the romanticism of the time – there is something truly earnest and honest about its tone, the tongue-in-cheek daringness to see love as a dark art.  

Clear recordings from Olso, 2022 hear a slight variation to his vocal work but nothing overtly different to the Fallen Angels tempo or style. Therein lies the great joy. Mercer provides Dylan a real classic and a later gig cover which is used as a stopgap between his originals and the desire to give the audience something they may recognise better. It is not that Rough and Rowdy Ways lacks the recognisable pang, most audiences had two years with the 2020 release before hearing it live, but it does give them a flicker of aged material which holds its own almost a century on. What a wonder it is, and it is up to the likes of Dylan to keep it alive. This is a necessary service which he continues with his live appearances. 

But a desire to bring more to the stage has heard the song drift out of the setlist in the hopes of injecting more variety, different covers and tributes to artists no longer with us. That Old Black Magic served as a template for where the likes of The Grateful Dead, Cash and Howlin’ Wolf would be covered. They were heartfelt endeavours for the long-running Rough and Rowdy Ways tour and what a time they were. Essential listens, every cover, and thankfully the best of the bunch – That Old Black Magic – was drafted in the studio long before Dylan turned his hand back to originals. A double bass powerhouse of a track and what a wonderful venture it remains. Dylan makes the song his own, as he so often did with these cover inclusions.  

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