Bob Dylan – Blowin’ in the Wind (Live at Canada Monreal) Review

One of the definitive songs of the never-ending Bob Dylan discography has to be Blowin’ in the Wind. He has performed it enough times and had it re-released in some form or another more than a dozen times. It defined a generation. We are on shaky ground when we consider Dylan as the voice of this or a defining star of that, but history does not lie. Nor does this performance of Blowin’ in the Wind, an essential piece ripped from a live performance in Monreal, Canada. No, not a typo of Montreal. Such is the closed-off mind across the waters, it had never occurred it was a city in Quebec. Dylan has been there for us, the less travel-savvy individuals whose escapades are defined by where the work is. So too is Dylan, and this performance of Blowin’ in the Wind is fantastic.  

A little extension to the acoustic work at the start of the track finds an essential, additional build to those heartbreaking, stern lyrics. This Canada Monreal performance is surprisingly crisp. The sound quality sets a high bar for these earlier demonstrations of Dylan’s power as not just a vocalist, but as an instrumentalist. One man and his guitar, the clarity and simplicity of this style of performance has its charms. For those who had the chance to hear Elvis Costello strip his songs back on a recent tour, paired with nothing more than a handful of guitars and long-standing collaborator Steve Neive, the lucid nature these songs can take on when barebones are fascinating. Dylan experiences the same joy, sixty years before that performance which has such an impact on the mind.  

Blowin’ in the Wind remains worryingly pertinent even today. It is a sign not just of unchanged narratives but also of strong writing, and how the very best will find themselves remembered for much more than decent wordplay. There is impact here from Dylan, it makes him like no other of the time. Voice of a Generation is, in hindsight, correct. A nasty set of words to call the man who does not see himself as such, but technically true with the context of Blowin’ in the Wind. There is no urgency in this performance. No rage. It can be heard in the lyrics and from the man performing it, those words do more than enough. Dylan has been exceptional at controlling his emotions in a performance, it is underlying, a constant drift in his lyrical strengths which survive regardless of style.  

Some pieces of work are timeless. Blowin’ in the Wind is. There is an unfortunate undercurrent to its relevance in the modern day but the method and message stay the same. Dylan is at his finest. A live performance not too far off the studio qualities and the urgency of his thoughts on war at the time. Some things never change. Blowin’ in the Wind is a quality piece of work and where it may sound close to the original release, this Canada, Monreal recording is a decent addition to the seemingly endless varieties of Dylan recordings of one of his best works.