Bob Dylan is as infuriating as he is incredible. Loosely collected extra pieces, those deep cuts whose genius we would never have heard if it were not for those dedicated bootleggers, are frequent. Watching the River Flow: Non-Album Tracks is an incredible compilation based on one of the many extra pieces which found their way out of the studio doors and made a crashing, incredible impact. Wishes of being back in New York City after uprooting himself and heading into public obscurity opening Watching the River Flow with the song of the same name. Do not read into watching that river flow all too much, there is no time, anyway. Dylan takes a placid journey through his life in the background, sifting through the joys of quiet. Those acoustics and 1971 recordings form the base of this exceptional bootleg and shine a light on a much-needed serenity for Dylan.
Playing around with the times ahead was no surprise. Hurricane was just five years removed and would launch Desire into fiery, fiddle-led action. With his roots in folk acoustics made good on with opener George Jackson, these rare cuts which never made it to album releases of the times are cobbled together well, as strong here in the dying years of a protest songwriter as they would be elsewhere. Such is the joy of a keen ear for the Dylan faithful – a chance to hear songs recontextualised with the help of other, similarly toned tracks. These are the B-Sides and brilliant bits of forgotten material which even dedicated listeners would struggle to track down. Opening and closing with George Jackson is an ambitious experience, one which details the value and difference of big band, community feeling and isolated tragedy on the acoustic compilation ender.
Everything from Down in the Flood rips to live renditions of When I Paint My Masterpiece present not a fully materialised sense of Dylan’s next steps but the vignettes which formed his distaste for the spotlight. He would return to what he did best but this avenue of sophisticated, caricature-like writing is, at times, a stroke of genius. Piecing together covers and underrated gems of his discography is a great way to get to grips with a man who found himself a step out of time. Working on a Guru hints at it best of all, the messiah-like image some have of the man, applauding every blow of a harmonica pursed to the lips of a legend, is a rejection of the very praise he receives still. No wonder he bowed out of public life for a while.
Watching the River Flow: Non-Album Tracks is an excellent compilation of those B-Sides and rarities which make the most of a reserved Dylan freed of electric. Predominantly acoustic numbers which rarely stray into his fundamental electric style. These are songs which still prevail as slippery and difficult to grasp. Spanish is the Loving Tongue is a strong torchbearer for what these songs are. Nearly there pieces which, for one reason or another, were not quite ready for release and were later forgotten as Dylan drifted to new projects. There is a sense of passion to them all, a sincerity within them that hears those musicians hard at work in getting it across the finish line, but it was not to be. They sound stronger together on Watching the River Flow: Non-Album Tracks than they do alone.
