Bob Dylan – Roll on Bob Review

Piecing together the best bits of seven years of live shows, which oversaw the release of three albums, is no small feat. Yet it sounds extremely impressive on unofficial Bob Dylan bootleg, Roll on Bob. A sweet seven years, providing a neat entry into a post-Tempest, pre-Rough and Rowdy Ways chapter. Dylan’s voice during this period may receive a bit too much flak, but it provides the main reason to listen through Roll on Bob. His gruff tone, the interjections and throaty highs of this vocal range, are enjoyable. There is a new layer to Dylan here which was swapped out when he returned to the stage with fresh, original material with Rough and Rowdy Ways. Academy Award-winning songs, cover songs, and contemporary material are what form Roll on Bob, an exceptional compilation of, truly, Dylan’s very best moments from this tour. Little to promote and yet more to say with new definitions of his classics.  

Bootleg opener Things Have Changed from a performance in Detroit is a fantastic place to start. Dylan sounds as clear as can be when performing the Wonder Boys track, and it lays the groundwork for this compilation brilliantly. Where some listening in to those Outlaw Music Festival and Rough and Rowdy Ways setlist changes may be used to the instrumental, rhythm and blues style, there are some nice surprises to be heard on Roll on Bob. Forgetful Heart is a magnificent Together Through Life inclusion, which gets better the older Dylan gets. The contempt and rage, soft-spoken as it may be on stage, are still relevant and roaring through. From the sombre to the suggestive on Pay in Blood, another at-the-time contemporary lift from Tempest, with a punchy acoustic guitar featured. This is as close to the sound of Rough and Rowdy Ways as Dylan gets on this compilation, peculiar since it is one of the earliest recordings featured. Cool-sounding adaptations to the stage, that is what Dylan provides on all these performances.  

Like a genuine Dylan setlist in modern times, Roll on Bob is almost bereft of hits. Highway 61 Revisited makes an appearance but the focus is on the contemporary moments, the likes of Scarlet Town and Early Roman Kings. A few Time Out of Mind pieces appear too, the ever-perfect Not Dark Yet and Love Sick feature alongside a rare performance of Roll on John from Tempest. These songs provide a broader look at modern-day Dylan, who the man would be if he were not defined by Blood on the Tracks and a decade of folk and rock essentials. Shadows in the Night features too, with I’m a Fool to Want You offering Dylan a chance to pose as a crooner. He takes to the opportunity well enough, the gliding tones, the haunted structure of love lost in the twilight years, it has a real meaning for those who are gritting their teeth, trying to find one.  

Those later songs are part projection of a listener and their life, part Dylan providing an interesting new hook to the classic genres, not so much forgotten to time but rejected in modern music circles. Even then, is there a need for it in modern times? Does Dylan care? Considering the lacklustre reception given to this Masters of War, a magnificent performance to an indifferent crowd, perhaps the right course of action is what Dylan is often criticised for. Play as you like, perform what you want, as long as it is with honesty. Roll on Bob compiles honest performances from one of the very best in class. Exceptional instrumental depths, a still-strong vocal range, all of it comes together brilliantly on this compilation. Everything you could want from Dylan, live on stage, except perhaps for Idiot Wind. Hold out hope.