Bob Dylan – Wigwam Review

Whether it is the straight release or the stripped-back stunner on Another Self Portrait, Bob Dylan taps into something special with Wigwam. It was not like him to rely on humming or vocal filler yet here is a song almost entirely made up of it. Well, without the overdubs it is. Those “la-la vocals” as they were sometimes referred to are more than placeholders. It is an understanding of what a great artist can do with the absolute barebones. Instrumental work alone would have been enough but the risk taken with the filler here, forming it as part of the song and meaning behind it, is a fascinating experience. Dylan proves you do not need lyrics or anything of sense to feel for the heart or passion of a generation. Let us not overstate the impact of Wigwam, but it would be remiss not to note the covers that followed.  

How does an artist cover lyrics solely made up of pa, da, and fa? With great difficulty. But for Dylan, two versions of Wigwam are enough. Self Portrait reveals the heavier instrumentals but those who want a softer flourish can find themselves enchanted by the earlier version on The Bootleg Series Vol. 10. But the original release, the first to grace Self Portrait, is a Mariachi-like experience where the instrumentals boom along. Without the context of the album around it, this feels more like studio warm-up drills, a series of vocal and instrumental range tests which feature no more sense than Dylan in the mid-1980s. And yet it remains rather beautiful. There is something sincere and joyous about the back-and-forth between Dylan’s vocal interjections and the instrumental passion on display.  

Wigwam may be a light bit of fun but the difference between the two versions is crucial. Dylan was not present for the overdubs and while it is fine for his approval to fall onto the first-released piece, the lack of overdubs on The Bootleg Series recording removes the wall of sound touches, the loud and crashing sound Bob Johnston goes for is a wild contrast to the calmer waters of Another Self Portrait. Get rid of those overdubs and enjoy Wigwam for what it was intended to be. A sleek and slow understanding of the acoustic beauties, one of the last times Dylan would play around with the folk fundamentals without the extra flourishes of electric, before his lyrical decline in the years to come.  

Similar? Sure. But the stripped-back approach benefits Wigwam far more than the final release. Pair it with cover song Thirsty Boots and this single release, made more to shine a light on the alternate versions of Self Portrait more than anything, are a real joy. A strange time Self Portrait may be, the unreleased materials, the unfinished business left in that New York studio, are the better parts. Thirsty Boots is a powerful cover of Eric Andersen and it stands as one of the best Dylan covers. Plenty to be ripped from the stage, few from the studio. An easy-listening track of vocal warm-up material and a powerful cover which is as commendable as it is charming. One was a hit and the other is a B-Side cover, go figure. Wigwam should not work but it did and still does, the experience quite unlike anything in Dylan’s discography.