Bob Dylan – To See Beauty Decay Review

Not every bootleg shines a light on the best moments of an artist. To See Beauty Decay hears Bob Dylan struggle to match the quality of sets from earlier in the year. His Summer 2006 tour is by no means dreadful, but considering what preceded it, it is an achingly lacklustre experience from the veteran songwriter. His performances are compiled with usual care, but this search for a new sound has Dylan struggling to bring about any instrumental worth. Drifting, understated guitar work, and a few moments of musical muddiness mean the focus is drawn to his vocal work. At this point in his career, there was much to be desired about his vocal attempts on stage, and the drop in quality is an unfortunate one. There is still reason to listen, though, as To See Beauty Decay picks through a series of underwhelming shows and finds the few golden moments.  

A slowed Maggie’s Farm opens the compilation and certainly sets the standard. Drifting, seemingly distracted vocal work from Dylan, who staggers the words of an all-time classic with no reason beyond exploring what that can do for the track. He has gotten far better at using those elongations in his work, but for whatever reason, it does not come together on many of the To See Beauty Decay songs. Down Along the Cove is a neat addition and certainly gives the instrumental works a little more of a kick, but it still feels well below standard. These feel more like half-hearted jams with an audience than a moment of inspired performance. Not every show is a winner, and not every tour either, by the sounds of it. The instrumental additions are far too light given the context of Dylan as a performer around this time. Modern Times is where is mind is on these performances, and it results in some distracted-sounding performances.  

Classics of Dylan’s live set like Love Sick and Like a Rolling Stone sound tame when compared to the performances which preceded 2006, and especially by those to follow. Dylan and his band would kick on extremely well in the years to come, though their dip in form here is an unnecessary drop. Those songs which would so often inspire an audience in modern times are, ironically, cast aside for the Modern Times album. Masters of War and Watching the River Flow still hold a relevancy and yet they fail to transfer the spirit of the modern world through timeless lyrics. That is down to the style of performance, a rare and lacklustre moment from Dylan in the untouchable, post-Time Out of Mind days. Beauty does, indeed, decay on this release.  

Some moments of interest can be found throughout this nearly three-hour compilation. There has to be if you are to spend three hours with live performances from a relatively underwhelming tour. For the same reasons as Maggie’s Farm sounding lacklustre, I Don’t Believe You sounds tremendous. Reliant on the fractured sound and the fragility of the vocal performance, Dylan brings out the best in lyrics which sound as hopeful as they are horrified by a future without the trust of another love. Brief sparks of what would evolve for Dylan and the band, but in this early form, the performances from the build-up towards Modern Times remain tame at the best of times. The hits carry this compilation, and even then, they sound well below par, especially when compared to how Dylan would reinvent them in the years to come. This is a compilation which showcases the difficulty of consistency.