Bob Dylan – New York State of Mind Review

Out of all the covers Bob Dylan provided on the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour, this slice of Billy Joel is perhaps the most surprising. New York State of Mind is a hell of a song, though to hear it performed by Dylan is a real shock to the system. Well, part of it. What comes clearer here is not the song itself but the implication and interest Dylan has in turning the works of others into his form. You can hear it in just forty seconds of this, a short and superb example of why these bootleggers and hidden recordings matter. Dylan takes himself back to New York City, a place which appears to bring out the best in Dylan. 

Clips of the man himself at work give way to a lighter, talkative musician with the youth still shining in his eyes. One clip from a Rough and Rowdy Ways performance in 2021 sheds light on the bright stars of the city before Dylan rambles on about his love for Sylvester Stallone’s feature, Last Blood. From what can be gathered from this New York State of Mind cover, to open his show in New York on November 16, 2023, it is more of the same charming tones from Dylan and a slice of cover work which is in step with the rest of the theme he displays. New York State of Mind, the title of which can be heard among the whoops and cheers, is a neat addition. That is all which remains of the cover, though. A reason for its absence? Who knows. Technology is faulty.  

And as much as it is wonderful to hear all these covers from the man himself, the request for phones to be put away during these performances adds to the intrigue, delight and mystery of his work. New York State of Mind is just a catalyst for the intention of the artist. For it to never see the light of day is the reason he puts on so many shows – the influence of the piece and the presentation of it unique to that night and that night alone. Long live those who risked it and recorded it, for the benefit of those who do not and will not live in New York. But there must be credit paid to Dylan and those who wish to bar recordings of their performances, for it is a display of confidence in their materials and thanks to those who do still attend.  

Still, ever the influential man and ever the hypocrite, here we are listening in to the forty or so seconds left over from a recording gone vaguely wrong. Everything else survived yet not this cover. Perhaps it is a sign from a higher place that we do not need to hear every live version and demo tape of Visions of Johanna, but we may be better for it at the end of it all. We are better for it when we listen to Dylan – and this is not the first nor the last time we will lose a recording from a great artist. So be it. The original is still there, we are spoilt for choice elsewhere. What remains is solid, as expected, but the allure of listening to everything we can with the time we have lingers on and is defined by pieces like New York State of Mind.  

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