Two bits of MOJO-exclusive Bob Dylan material? Aren’t those who shop for magazines in for a treat? Who would have thought CDs were still bundled in with magazines, anyway? There is something of a divide between the nostalgia to practicality of CDs. They do not have the charm or the value of records, or at least the experience of placing a CD in the tray is very different to the care and consideration of listening to a record. One is an activity, the other is an action. But still, this CD, pairing well with a nice spread on Dylan, The Band and an upcoming recordings release, The 1974 Live Recordings, is a nice taster test. Something There is About You serves as a palette cleanser for the upcoming release of hundreds of songs.
Wrap your head around that for a moment. Hundreds of recordings are set to drop. Nothing more will be done with them. There they are, to be used and listened to at any moment. It serves to wonder how much is being held back, and what is being kept in the vault for the future. We cannot be greedy and yet hundreds of tracks feel like all too little given the scope, scale and power of this tour. Something There is About You is just one of many examples, officially or unofficially released, of the power between The Band and Dylan. What a collaborative effort it was, and the spoils are truly shared on this MOJO Magazine CD. One of the few Planet Waves songs to maintain its spot fairly consistently through the tour. Considering the other was Forever Young, the bar is exceptionally high.
Much like The Times They Are A-Changin’ from the same compilation CD, a focus can be heard in the manipulation of studio sound from Dylan and The Band. New ways through a song played consistently are explored and while they are not all winners, this version of Something There is About You has a true charm to it. A great release for the artists at the heart of it, who can stand proud of the work they provided with this track. Booming work from The Band is all the difference here, and a bolder vocal swing from Dylan makes for a wonderful listen. It is not a new confidence kicking through but one of many examples where the group makes it clear they are still up to scratch.
Dylan’s return to the stage after an eight-year absence overhauled the trajectory he found himself on pre-elusive period, and yet the essential scope of his work at the time can still be heard. Those harmonica flourishes at the midpoint of this piece overtake what The Band can offer, perfect as they are. Something There is About You ditches the expected venom of its lyrics and becomes a source of good. A thankful piece which mentions those oft-forgotten places where those who mean so much to us now rest and wait. But there is no guilt or preference to look back at the lighter days heard on this one, and instead, a booming, contemporary relief bounces through Something There is About You. There is a thankless task being performed by The Band and Dylan here, but they all sound marvellous, exonerated of whatever creative malaise had captured the latter in 1966.
Great choice. What a classic.