A forty-five-song strong compilation of recordings from the late 1970s is a big deal. For Bob Dylan listeners who have worn the grooves of Desire and Street-Legal, The Rundown Rehearsals is essential. A gold mine of in-studio performances from Dylan, who revisits the classics which cemented his name as one of the all-time greats. Warmups, repeated tracks, and all performed with the growth Dylan made between Blood on the Tracks and Desire. Those heartbreaks were not just contained to the staggering two albums to release around the time of Dylan’s return to form, they spilt out into sessions which took place in the late 1970s. Here you can hear the continuation of those career-best Rolling Thunder Revue performances, but also the cultural and personal shift Dylan was making at the time. The Rundown Rehearsals are a significant cultural document. They chart a change in the rhythm for Dylan.
He would rarely, if ever, return to the sound of his 1960s studio output. Adapting the songs is half the challenge. Getting an audience to appreciate them is the trickier part. But their interaction, their feelings for the song, do not matter here. It’s arguable that they don’t matter for the live shows either. The Rundown Rehearsals are four hours of experimental moments. Nothing out there from Dylan, he is not bringing cowbells into play or deconstructing his songs too harshly, but he is looking at them in a new light. He is moved by a greater power and would share as much of his religious materials. It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue features some saxophone for the first time. You can hear Dylan shift these songs towards an instrumental jam. His interest was now in the motions he could make through the guitar and holy-sounding keyboards. It works to a degree, but it does leave the songs sounding a tad hammy.
Maggie’s Farm is a brutal listen still. Those saxophones, the rock and roll-inspired guitar, and the tempo changes trying and failing to improve on the Hard Rain version are a tad grating. But the song has never fared all that well in these rocked-out settings. But it is followed by a beautiful Ballad of a Thin Man version, and the rest of the compilation features suitable adaptations of Dylan’s best works. Many of the songs here, but particularly It Ain’t Me, Babe, Love Her With a Feeling, and I Shall Be Released have a far more mellow sound. They still hit with the fiery, high expectation of Dylan as a performer, but the softer instrumental flourishes are a nice change of pace for those used to the rocked-out Rolling Thunder Revue. It is also a sweet counter to the rudimentary-sounding 1980s shows, particularly the mid-80s.
Those rock fundamentals have never quite worked for Dylan when he is going through the motions. When he lost his way years after The Rundown Rehearsals, the best thing he could have done was return to this softer sound. It takes only a listen to those last five songs, the stretch from Simple Twist of Fate to Forever Young, for this sound to truly take hold. Some all-time great moments from Dylan in the rehearsal rooms here, toying with a sound which would certainly influence the direction of his studio work. He sounds obsessed almost with how the keyboards and brass can overhaul his songs. A very Budokan sound here, and as controversial as that performance remains, it is an excellent extension of the sound found on The Rundown Rehearsals.
