There is a moment just after Colombia recording artist Bob Dylan is introduced on this 1999 European Tour performance that has the mind drift back to his 1960s folk appeal. Some tender acoustic guitar work, a raucous crowd, and a performance of Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right is a triple bill of real beauty. An unofficial bootleg compiling efforts on stage from the 1999 tour is a treat. No way around it, a genuinely wonderful two-and-a-half hours. Ripping live performances from Málaga, Valencia and Zurich, this triple pack offers the very best of Dylan on the European circuit. A post-Time Out of Mind Grammy win tour, where confidence in his abilities was no doubt at an all-time high for the decade. Gone were the worries of the Oh Mercy hang-ups, the fear he could no longer write had long been replaced by a return to his classic tracks.
Bar a performance of Not Dark Yet, most of the 1999 European Tour dates collected here are performances of those 1960s and 1970s classics. Masters of War and Desolation Row from Zurich and Málaga respectively is a wonderful pairing. Key to this bootleg is appreciating the value of one performance bleeding into another, and the crisp sound quality for these performances is a relief. My Back Pages sounds reflective in its heartbreak, as do the likes of Just Like a Woman and I Want You. Such is the case for many legendary songwriters returning to their discography, the dusty annals of a different time recontextualised for the benefit of contemporary audiences. Those desires to continually change the instrumental tempo, the very fabric of those notes and even the lyrical direction, is a chance to sever a connection with the past and reform it as a contemporary tone. It works time and again for Dylan here, who adapts the likes of Highway 61 Revisited and Tangled Up in Blue with such vigour.
Lose yourself in the live joys. The 1999 European Tour is filled with great moments and truly extraordinary performances which revel in the cool, stripped-back sound. It makes for a much better listening experience than the roaring electrics of the late 1980s. Efforts like Forever Young and It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue have a finality to them – thirty years on and still playing the latter track is a testament to Dylan’s abilities on stage. One of the best compilations of live work out there for Dylan fans. The 1999 European Tour is, without doubt, a fine collection. Hearing the new tones in Dylan’s voice, those flickers of rage and reflection is a real treat. Two-and-a-half hours of proving this, of observing the cultural changes and how they affect the best of his discography.
Not every artist can pull their oldest works to a spot of relevancy once more, yet Dylan does it with such style. Tremendous instrumental work is the best route for overhauling those sounds and the band backing Dylan here is in constant, near-perfect form. Persuasive guitar work, fundamentally strong percussion and the steady foundation made here allow Dylan to take those subtle risks with materials old and new. Where 1999 European Tour may be a compilation of his classics, there are still a few surprises within, the Time Out of Mind tracks featured throughout are an honest and welcome experience which provides ballast to those old-school riffs. Dylan has walked a fine line between nostalgia bait and revolutionary takes on his old tunes – and what occurs throughout this compilation is nothing short of magic.
