Compiling the rarities from decades on stage is no small feat. Yet those behind A Series of Resurrected Dreams, a Bob Dylan compilation which features some all-time great moments, find some sincerely brilliant moments. Fourteen songs from the stage, resurrected, as the title would suggest. With so many bootlegs to choose from, there are songs which will inevitably be lost in the shuffle. Forgotten about moments which are brought back from obscurity. The ecosystem of Dylan bootlegs is self-sustaining. When a bootlegger can make a best-of compilation of bootlegs, well, we are through the looking glass. It’s quite a treat for those unsure of which period they wish to listen to first off. A Series of Resurrected Dreams is a tray of offerings, the buffet table of live music featuring everything from the lobster quality of Series of Dreams to the lucky dip meat tray of Summer Days.
That opening song is outstanding. A percussion-heavy blast with some effective guitar solo work. Dylan was a solid vocalist around this time. The MTV Unplugged appearance caused such a rapid and sudden increase in quality. Those years leading up to Time Out of Mind are essential listening, and Series of Dreams highlights exactly why. Solid recordings from across the decades, and all in decent quality. That is rarer than it sounds, but the compilation makes sure to grab those moments and keep them readily available for listeners. A Love Sick performance from Bamberg in 2015 has a moodier instrumental, a darker tone brought on by the guitar work and cymbals. But what helps most of all is Dylan’s delivery. His gruff tone and the sickness of love adapts the Time Out of Mind hit brilliantly. Instrumental improvisation and a sweet guitar solo to cap the performance off is one of the finest moments from Dylan on stage.
Further into the compilation are some similarly excellent renditions of Cold Iron Bounds and Duquesne Whistle, songs which brought Dylan back into a contemporary light and kept him there. His blur of Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft is extraordinary, and those songs feature throughout A Series of Resurrected Dreams. There is space for the hits, of course, with a haunting Gates of Eden delivered in a whisper. Either that, or tinnitus and a washing machine in the other room have prevented the song from coming to life on previous listens. It is neither. The acoustic Gates of Eden from a show in Rockford, 1995 is delivered in near silence, and beautiful because of it. Listening to these live recordings is to hear how Dylan can reinvent his best works. Not every moment is a win, the relatively uneventful but nice-sounding Tryin’ to Get to Heaven, for instance, but there are moments which redefine Dylan as a live performer on A Series of Resurrected Dreams.
This is not a place to hear the hits but a compilation where priority is given to the lesser-known tracks. Those brilliant pieces like Pledging My Time and closer Spirit on the Water, which are of a great quality but are knocked down the setlist order for the sake of appeasing hit-loving fans. Cold Iron Bounds is a particular highlight for A Series of Resurrected Dreams, the feather in the cap of this already strong compilation. One of the best experiences is in connecting with songs which had no resonance before. Not because they were not quality or strong material, but because the studio version just did not quite connect. Hearing these revitalised live tracks is a great way to reintroduce yourself to some criminally underrated Dylan tracks.
