Bob Dylan – Shining at The Beacon Review

Shine he does at this legendary venue. Bob Dylan gives listeners surprise after surprise on this bootlegged recording. Shining at the Beacon is a refreshing blur of classics and deep cuts, with a few wilder covers thrown in towards the end. This is the everyman Dylan experience, the gig which keeps on giving. Shot of Love sleeper hits waiting to be rediscovered by audiences, decades on from this performance, are paired with those ever-present classics at a time when Dylan was preparing to release Oh Mercy. What could have been a comeback album proved to be a radar blip, a nod to where Dylan was, and how close he would get to a listener’s heart just a few years later with his MTV Unplugged performances. A few Oh Mercy songs make it through this performance, and they are real highlights of this swaggering, rock-reliant set. A beautiful, intense showcase of Dylan at a rock and roll peak.  

His stagnating tones heard in earlier years come from the blowout of a lack of strong studio material and a reliance on collaboration. Those tours with Tom Petty and Grateful Dead may be strong for bootlegs, but the official recordings, particularly the latter crossover on Dylan and the Dead, are nothing short of miserable. Shining at The Beacon outshines those limited live albums by a long shot. These performances feel as though there is consequence to the wordplay, effective, well-thought suggestions in the lyrical scope. Opening numbers Seeing the Real You At Last and What Good Am I? are not the predictable run of hitmakers but some roaring guitar work is delightful. The latter song in particular holds within it a staggering guitar solo. Focus is very much on the instrumental sections and, judging by the cheering from the crowd, rightfully so. Those contemporary materials, the likes of Shot of Love’s Dead Man Dead Man, for instance, are carried by the conviction displayed in these instrumental thrills.  

That is what Dylan must rely on in these performances, and he learns as much on Shining at the Beacon. Critical appeal for his studio work had soured, and the constant touring is where he comes to life. It is almost an act of defiance against the earlier recordings, a constant desire to innovate and add the modern flourishes to his earliest hits. An early surprise with the inclusion of Ballad of Hollis Brown relies on the smoky drawl, the urgency of the instrumental work, is a thrill. Pair it with an equally uproarious Rank Strangers to Me and the set begins to take shape. Hits like Girl from the North Country, Mr. Tambourine Man, and Like a Rolling Stone fit the feeling of these cymbal-tapping, guitar-rocking early moments, too. Dylan finds a new route through old material, as he so often does, and it makes for an inspired, roaring performance full of thrills.  

Shining at The Beacon is a two-hour masterclass. Some of the most fun you can have with a bootleg recording. Take hold of those extra performances, too. Dylan covering the Rubber Soul classic is as thrilling as it gets. A boisterous performance where the band kicks into life once more, the groovy, croakier tones of Dylan fitting the song nicely. It adds a rugged edge to a song which, at its core, is a song about finding your place in the world. A nice comparison to Dylan made there, not as clear to the songwriter at the time but certainly telling of what he would try in the years after this performance. Shining at the Beacon hears Dylan get comfortable with his instrumental stylings, accept the form of his earlier works, and kick on with a roaring energy. It is a welcome step-up in quality from the usual rocking ways, and remains one of the best bootlegs available.