A sadly misaligned album because of tragic world events, Love and Theft did not receive the outpouring of love it should have. Still, it is not the fault of anyone that it released on 9/11/2001. What preceded the release of Love and Theft was a growing hunger for Bob Dylan and his works. The Grammy-winning Time Out of Mind had planted Dylan firmly in contemporary, relevant music for the first time since he was locked in the studio for a charity single. Even that was overshadowed by George Michael. Dylan had learnt much from the Wham! frontman through the 1980s. Most important of all was learning not to repeat Empire Burlesque. Almost fifteen years later and Dylan had returned to what he does best. The mysterious figure on the front of Love and Theft is what people wanted, and it is what they got on the Sacramento 2002 bootleg.
Two excellent live debuts, four fantastic covers, and a litany of hits which Dylan would nail thanks to an impressive backing band. Charlie Sexton and Tony Garnier are the duo whose names you should get to know. Learn them, seek their work out. Either man on a Dylan bootleg is a sign of quality. Both are a near guarantee. It is for Sacramento 2002, anyway. Maggie’s Farm remains an indifferent part of the setlist. A song which Dylan wheels out occasionally but never sounds all too interested in. Not when compared to the likes of I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight or his startling cover of The Rolling Stones’ Brown Sugar. Sacramento 2002, the first night at the Memorial Auditorium, is worth hearing for the covers alone. Old Man from Neil Young, Mutineer by Warren Zevon and The End of Innocence by Don Henley and Bruce Hornsby feature throughout. Each is a classy moment from Dylan and the band, whose love for the song is heard as clearly as their infatuation for tracks like the show closer All Along the Watchtower.
Plenty to love about this set, which still finds space for some deeper cuts which are, in their own way, still hits. Tombstone Blues and I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight are neat additions though they do not scream all-time greats. They are not on the same level as It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) or Masters of War, both featured here and the latter as an outstanding acoustic version. The same too for Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door, a feature of a triple-song encore which is about as close to crowd-pleasing as Dylan gets on this set. For those listening decades later, the beauty of Sacramento 2002 comes from hearing the instrumental variation, the soft touch from Larry Campbell on a litany of stage tools. Keep an ear out for his pedal steel work, and the steady beat George Recile provides with his solid drumming work.
Those are the moments, the smaller pieces, which bring Sacramento 2002 together. Dylan is in solid form; the usually gravelly tone set in place but still enjoyable. It is not the gruff nature of his voice that is the problem for those sets which feel like a slump, but the conviction of his performance. Nothing to worry about here. Any artist who gets to fill a set with their hits and still make time for a nod to Neil Young is offering audiences more than they could have ever hoped for. That trio of encore songs, with Like a Rolling Stone to kick things off, is one of the best three-track encores you could ever hope for. It is a set which promises a quality end, starts off a tad shaky, and is made up of some of the most interesting moments from Dylan’s career on stage. Where else are you going to find him cover Old Man?
