Bob Dylan and The Clash – London Calling Review

Do not get your hopes up. Bob Dylan is not a touring member of The Clash, nor has he reprised the band for a series of shows in the UK. It did come close, though, with the Mr. Tambourine Man mastermind offering up a verse of the classic track, London Calling. Pair it with the rest of The Clash classic, as one user has with this mashup, and Dylan does, indeed, “go punk”. A performance from Dylan in the legendary Brixton Academy houses that sole verse, which has since been paired with the rest of London Calling. It remains an unlikely crossover if you listen to Dylan in passing; the folk troubadour sounds worlds away from the rock and roll attitude of The Clash. But give a listen to later works from Dylan, especially around the early 2000s, and reinvention was a nightly occurrence.  

Quite the surprise it still is, though, to hear Dylan cover London Calling. Over that recognisable guitar intro is a stunned crowd, no doubt revelling in the atmosphere of the capital city. While the Brixton Academy is not the best of venues (it never has and never will be), it does play a fitting host to this cover from Dylan. It acts as a segue more than a song, but what an incredible offering it is. Be it because of the mashup or the momentum of the night, Dylan sounds as though he is thoroughly enjoying the chance to play a song which goes against the grain of what he would usually play. Just a minute is what you get, but pair it with the rest of the song and the atmosphere is gone. Dylan certainly offers a similar style to the original London Calling, but the brilliance of this cover comes not just from the unexpected variety but from the lack of studio polish, the crackling quality.  

That cannot be repeated by mashing the two moments together. Slice off The Clash towards the end, and this becomes a magnificent, brief performance from Dylan. He has made covers a staple of his setlist and will, on occasion, offer a fitting cover depending on the venue or season. Johnny Cash, Grateful Dead, and Warren Zevon are frequent pieces of his live sets, but The Clash is a leftfield choice. Even for the man who reinvented himself in the 1970s as a hardened rocker with the Rolling Thunder Revue, and would try and fail to repeat such a tone in the mid-1980s, it serves as a surprise. Any great live show can offer an unexpected moment, and Dylan does it more than most. Even on his rigid Rough and Rowdy Ways setlist, there is room for the occasional thrill which challenges the steadiness of the set.  

But cast your mind back to 2005 when Dylan had nothing to promote and yet a hunger for being on stage. It led to moments such as this. A vibrant performance off the back of Love and Theft, an album which followed on redefining Dylan, a mood which began with Time Out of Mind. Having the Blowin’ in the Wind songwriter cover London Calling feels like a disastrous match on paper. For those who have heard the rock and roll capabilities of Dylan, this brief segment of a Brixton Academy performance is monumental. A legendary performance which feels fresh still, and even at just a minute long, is well worth hearing.