Where The Bootleg Series may give listeners a glimpse into earlier moments in the Blood on the Tracks production, Less Blood, Less Tracks, looks ahead. Volume one of this unofficial compilation series pairs some later live recordings, around the time of Street-Legal’s creation, into a stunning compilation. Some are from the turn of the century, thirty years on from the fires which burned through Blood on the Tracks, while others are from the Rolling Thunder Revue. Whatever the case, this is a fantastic collection of live versions, pieced together with the tracklist in mind. There may be a massive whiplash from song to song, but that is the joy of listening to Dylan’s live work. He was never happy with a static song, and on they moved.
Tangled Up in Blue should be the first example of this – a frankly perfect rendition with electronic pangs and a stunning vocal performance. Jaw-dropping stuff. Hunt down Toronto 1978, and piece it together if you have to, it sounds like a show with thrilling promise, with hints of brass and bold vocal moments. Sincerely, one of the best interpretations of Tangled Up in Blue you can get your hands on. There is no other show in this hole-riddled memory where Dylan sounds as performative, as reactive, as this. Simple Twist of Fate is given a similar sort of treatment, and it would linger on the mind a little longer if it were not for a stunning You’re a Big Girl Now. Those moments of quiet, where the instrumentals can barely be heard and Dylan drifts off into the background, are sincerely blissful. Songs played as much as Tangled Up in Blue or Idiot Wind, be it in your headphones or on stage, require revitalisation. Just like the man who toils the day away with work, some break or difference in the day is necessary. Vital, even.
That is what Less Blood, Less Tracks presents. While the Idiot Wind rip from Sydney, 1992, may not be as infectiously energetic as the songs preceding it, the darker shift, the slower tempo, is a welcome change. Suitability is something Dylan has toyed with in his classics, and here the instrumental and vocal restraint makes the song that much better. Listening to Blood on the Tracks in any capacity is a fulfilling experience, one which even with the pangs of rage and fiery bitterness, has an overwhelming feeling. It feels like a recharge to spend time with such a great piece of work, and the live versions spread across this compilation are fresh punches from an album which held its steely nerve on stage across the decades.
Rehearsal sessions for You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go and Jack White-led vocals on Meet Me in the Morning are rarities which feel right at home in this compilation. Shelter from the Storm is an electrifying effort from Dylan and the band, while lesser-performed songs like Buckets of Rain, taken from its only appearance on the 1990 tour, are phenomenal efforts. Blood on the Tracks may truly stand as Dylan’s best effort, and the continued joys of the live experience are all a part of that. Bouncy instrumental work, a constant stream of effortless adaptations of one of his most heartbreaking, vicious albums through the decades. Less Blood, Less Tracks is of an essential quality – one which stands tall against the official bootlegs of the modern day.
