One of the greatest-ever songs and now a rarity of the stage. That is not because Bob Dylan has fallen out of favour with the song or does not want to put on a memorable show, but because he believes, and has proven, that he can do so without Mr. Tambourine Man. With the song performed for the first time in fifteen years, it is worth revisiting the last time it was played. A performance in Carcassonne back in 2010 feels like an unlikely spot to retire the song for over a decade, yet it happened. A completely changed acoustic introduction and a rougher voice, the times have changed and so too has the instrumentation for the track. Dylan reaches the end of the road for a song which will define him for years to come. Mr. Tambourine Man in the Occitania region is a full-circle moment for Dylan.
Not because of the location but because of the style he features on this performance. It is about as straight-shooting as the studio version, with few rushes or slowed vocal choices. He adapts the song from studio to stage with very few, if any, changes to the lyrical purpose or vocal quality. Mr. Tambourine Man is naturally slowed by a voice in its twilight years but the softer rhythm and blues-like adaptation, which has become a Dylan staple during the Rough and Rowdy Ways show fits this Bringing it All Back Home classic very well. A beautiful rendition of the song, one which would have marked a fitting farewell to the track, should Dylan have never played it again. He is one of the few artists with enough huge hits in his discography to make a show of a so-called final song performance. It suggests it is a conscious decision to never play the song again, and that is unlikely, but to send a song off with the grace heard here, is what many artists can only dream will happen.
A softer version of the song is what listeners will find here. Astonishing all the same as Dylan finds his way back to the heart of the original. The more we listen and learn the more we wish to apply this reason or that message to a song. Mr. Tambourine Man is still the intensely moving suggestion of pursuing what is right, no matter the obstacle. Fatigue, death, defy it all and push for that freedom, the subconscious liberation which Dylan was laying down on track after track through the 1960s. He rekindles that passion here, and with a new instrumental arrangement backing his voice in those moments which he cannot quite haul over the line anymore, this version becomes a definitive one.
For those wanting to reconnect with Mr. Tambourine Man on a fundamental level, for those who want a fresh awakening of what they loved about the song, take a listen to this. It strips the track to its essential notes, removes all those rocking adaptations which featured throughout a glib pivot to rock and roll in the 1980s. There are certainly better versions of Mr. Tambourine Man out there, more exciting occasions where the instrumental rise is of interest. But this is a fundamental experience, a barebones, quality piece of Dylan’s discography brought to the stage for what appeared to be one last time. The Outlaw Music Festival has revived it, though who knows whether that, too, will be the final appearance of one of Dylan’s very best songs.
