Bob Dylan – Dallas, Texas Review

On the road with post-Modern Times performances from Bob Dylan is a unique experience. He has no genre to follow, no album to plug, just a chance to hear the hits played out in the run-up to Beyond Here Lies Nothing. He was between albums, and the 2009 project to come would be sorely underrated. Part of the problem may be the omission of any contemporary material. It marks an inspired opening for Dallas, Texas, a set which throws few surprises beyond being reliant on Modern Times material. The albums before that, those releases which put Dylan back in the spotlight, are almost entirely absent. Either the audience had tired of those songs, or Dylan had. Either way, his twenty-first-century hits, beyond two from Love and Theft, are nowhere to be found. Dylan plays the hits, something audiences would kill for now.  

But he has already done that, and still does it too. Omit Early Roman Kings and the cover songs from his Outlaw Music Festival tour, and you have a setlist as strong as the one heard on Dallas, Texas. Early set pieces like opening track Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35, Lay, Lady, Lay, and Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues are marvellous, particularly the latter. It sounds like a new connection has been made. That is because of the wonderful instrumental overhaul and the consistency which comes in rattling out the hits. No covers, no contemporary material, just a sincere development of some of the very best in Dylan’s discography. Dylan’s ever-changing vocal range is on display here, too, backed well by the Modern Times material like The Levee’s Gonna Break. At the time, not a hit, but a certainly welcome setlist inclusion now. Trust in the quality of Modern Times, with the five songs featured here adapted well to the rest of the hits. Nothing feels out of place, and it marks a break, but a very subtle one, for Dylan from his hits. 

At least, what listeners can perceive as the hits. All Along the Watchtower is preceded by Thunder on the Mountain, while When the Deal Goes Down is used as a precursor to Highway 61 Revisited. Those Modern Times songs more than hold their own, with The Levee’s Gonna Break the first true highlight in the early part of the show. That gruff vocal styling from Dylan at this stage in his career, on the right night, adds a new layer to his classics. Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again sounds unique when the lyrics are staggered, almost breathless in their delivery. A borderline howl at one point in the song. Those are the details which make digging deep into these soundboard recordings and bootlegs worth the time.  

One of those performances from Dylan, which sounds like any other, but he raised the bar for his gigs around this time. No interaction with the crowd, no breaks between to chat about the songs he is about to perform, just a clean cut of some of his very best, sprinkling Modern Times throughout. It’s a great starting point for those who want to hear a clearer line of how Dylan’s vocal work has evolved. More instrumental changes can be found within, too, which is always a delight to hear. This period of softer touches, the elongations which come thanks to Tony Garnier and Stu Kimball are noticeable. Nothing to hammer the eardrums or make you want the volume lowered, but enough variety and intensity to back songs still crying out for stage adaptations.