Leave the audience room to sing, for one reason or another. It could have been a mistake for this broadcast of opening song A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall, but it provides a tell for how loved those classic tracks were. Bob Dylan taking to the stage should be no surprise and yet listeners are left stunned, time and again, but the talents of his presence and the booming feel he brings to most of his performances. Shelter from a Hard Rain is of outstanding quality. A crisp and refreshing sound from the days of the Rolling Thunder Revue, where fatigue was setting in fast and the breaks in concentration could be heard. Perhaps that is where the vocals drift to, but where Dylan sounds like he is going through the motions in portions of Shelter from a Hard Rain, it does piece together some exciting moments from a tour which would redefine his style.
Take note of Blowin’ in the Wind, at this point an inevitability of the set which here sounds like it has lost its spark, despite the massive overhaul given to its instrumental and vocal leads. Dylan feels the fatigue of the stage and as a result, the listener does too. It is no doubt exciting to hear the new tempo taken for this classic of his career but there are shinier moments of interest. Follow-up Railroad Boy has a back-and-forth between the acoustic guitars which depends on Joan Baez more than Dylan. It gives him a moment to relax into the new form of his stage presence, which was slipping through his fingers and not quite up to scratch. Or so it would seem, and then Dylan hits a long, high note out of the blue. The magic is still there, it never left him, but the interest in the tour was beginning to fade. Hard Rain, the live album recorded around this time, does well to explore this. Shelter from a Hard Rain is a strong and interesting continuation.
Pity the Poor Immigrant too benefits from Baez being involved and the rush of instrumental fury heard in later efforts like Shelter from the Storm or closer Idiot Wind are real joys to behold. There is a punchiness to Maggie’s Farm which makes it feel more like a brutal push than anything. But just wait for the right moment and Shelter from a Hard Rain hits into a perfect stride. The sun shining in through the window, a squirrel perched on top of the car and wagging its tail, it all leads to the calm needed for this listen. Something about the everyday is powerful and for Dylan it comes in the form of One Too Many Mornings, an utterly sublime song. A run of form like no other live performance is then experienced, kicking on further with Hurricane rip Mozambique.
Frankly incredible once the contemporary songs of the time are given a chance to shine. You can tell where the interest lies in these live performances for Dylan. Rekindling the partnership with Baez and in demonstrating the flow of his new sound. Shelter from a Hard Rain is just a moment in time, a nonspecific date on a tour which etched its way into public interpretations of the Dylan legacy. Whatever the occasion, Idiot Wind sounds as biting and brilliant as it was on its first release. Shelter from a Hard Rain hides an exceptional performance of it from Dylan. A set of songs which vary in interest, primarily because it is Dylan who wants the focus to be on contemporary material. Rightly so, and they are given the best showing here.
