Bob Dylan – Unplugged at Supper Club Vol. 2 Review

Whatever reason Bob Dylan had for pulling these performances from release, he was wrong to do so. He is a man of many mistakes – we all are – but Dylan’s mistake is drifting. Of not being sure of a release which was bound to do more for him than the official releases of the time. Such is the raw beauty and intensity of Unplugged at Supper Club. Volume two is as grand an experience as the first volume, where a matinee and evening show are pieced together, profiling Dylan as a songwriter wanting to get back to his roots. He does so by floating back into the early years of what made him such a formidable force. Plucking away at influences from corner performances and café appearances, covering the traditionals which still make for powerful listens, but also bringing his greatest hits to the stage. Unplugged at Supper Club Vol. 2 is, simply put, staggering.  

An exceptional transition in and out of covers to classics is what guides Unplugged at Supper Club Vol. 2. Somewhere in this decade was a return to form for Dylan and while it may be wishful thinking to suggest his career comeback and the complexity which guided his best works returned on the stage here, it is not the case. He returns to the promising well of quality songs because it is a way to steady himself, to give himself a break during a period where he thought his best works were behind him. A few misplaced or elongated words flutter through the likes of One More Cup of Coffee but the warmth of this performance, well-placed on a cold November afternoon, still rings through. Even with those moments of classic momentum, there is a fundamentally changed instrumental style to Unplugged at Supper Club Vol. 2. It makes the likes of Queen Jane Approximately an inspired new segment despite the familiarity many in the crowd appear to have with it.  

Both performances of Queen Jane Approximately hold the intimacy and brilliance of Dylan in this period, a time of regained confidence for the wandering musician now backed by some intense and creative instrumental slices. I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight, too, serves its purpose as a fundamentally changed performance, a chance for Dylan to tap into some new insight for a song which has followed him for decades. These gigs are more about reconnecting with the classics, in finding a new tone for songs which would soon be formidable parts of his live set. Flutters of his now modern sound on the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour can be spotted in Disease of Conceit, those quickened vocal stretches and the punchy guitar filtering through. Stick around through all these impressive changes over two hours’ worth of material for second set closer I Shall Be Released. 

As fitting an end as could be expected for these shows, which go a long way in reviving the interest Dylan had for his stage presence and his lyrical spirit. He may have cancelled the release of these performances and the more you listen, the more his reasons for doing so reveal themselves. He sounds great, though patchy in spots as he battles the brilliance of these instrumental features. Unplugged at Supper Club Vol. 2 is a masterful performance not because of the immediate impact but because of what it kindles, how it puts Dylan back on the right track. A few years later, an MTV Unplugged performance would hammer home the need to play up those classics but to find a new, modern route through them. Unplugged at Supper Club is certainly an important set of gigs, lost in the mix of so many more important moments.