A bootleg of The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest has all the hallmarks of a classic performance. An awful cover art, a Tom Petty feature, and a reserved audience worried about how their claps would affect the man on stage. Bob Dylan bootlegs remain a fascinating experience. Each one offers either an offending, scrappy piece from the stage or a quality which borders on the quality of official releases. The John Wesley Harding rip is a lovely offering from the stage. A performance in Switzerland may not stick out in the mind for those in attendance, or those who have encountered this gig before, but this version of The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest is worth listening to time and again. A clear-sounding Dylan sings of the moral failings which define the song, the message at the core of this story unchanged, despite the major overhaul of sound Dylan had observed in the 1980s.
The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest remains a song inspired by childbirth and its effect on Dylan. His family-centric way of living at the time of writing has him seek out justice for the unjust, those rebels who would roam free on songs before and after the birth of his oldest child. Where Jakob Dylan may not feature as an individual influence on the song, his birth and the slower pace of family life, compared to the constant days on tour as seen now, are clear. The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest is made all the stronger by its links with a moral duty, a sense of worth which relays a growing fear of living unjustly. Much of this feeling, this power of the word, can be heard in this live performance. Neither scratchy nor sounding off with poor quality tapes, this performance is a great moment from Dylan in a period where he relied more on collaboration with big names than at any other time.
This was not through a desire to remain relevant but because of a lack of confidence in his material. Down in the Groove did little to engage fans, more than the dire preceding album, Knocked Out Loaded, did, anyway. With Petty, Dylan, and Mike Campbell offering a three-layer guitar offering of a song which sought the Gordon Lightfoot effect, the everyday discoveries and the moral quandary at the core of those actions, The Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest comes to life with such a wonderful arrangement. Foolish pride and hiding from the future are heard, the little joys of big band-like instrumentals are clear to hear. Such are the joys of stage performance, and there is plenty to love about the little differences the band creates here.
Soulful is the word for it. Dylan reconnecting with songs of old is no surprise; he does it far more than those who attend the Rough and Rowdy Ways show, leaving early because Mr. Tambourine Man is absent, would have you believe. This 1987-dated performance is of an enjoyable vintage. A sign Dylan could still turn it up on stage, even if he was stagnating in the studio, chasing the wrong production style or the lacklustre sounds of the new century. Thoroughly enjoyable live work from Dylan here, who proves he still has a flourish to those lighter moments, even if they are dealing with death and the moral barbarism which inspired him following a motorcycle accident. Decades later and the song still holds conscience, still pushes for clarity in unclear times. That is the everlasting strength of this one.
