Those performances following the reintroduction of Bob Dylan to popular music are marvellous. Nothing short of sensational work from a tight touring unit basking in contemporary glory. Time Out of Mind offered Dylan the chance to reinvent his stage presence yet again, and he took to it well. His Grammy Award-winning album is just the start, with an Academy Award in the post for Things Have Changed, a performance of which features on In Concert: 1999 to 2000. A carefully pieced together compilation of Dylan on stage at the turn of the century, five years on from a shift in interest which has remained. A near-thirty song selection of deep cuts, covers, and classics reimagined in the context of slowed, acoustic-featuring tours. It’s an incredible listen. Almost three hours of work from Dylan and his band, and a focus right away on the surprises of these touring days.
Both a cover of Cocaine and an early years track, Song for Woody, open what becomes an essential bootleg. Those acoustic-led moments are nothing short of magnificent. To hear Dylan dig deep into his discography, as well as those artists he admires, is a delight. He would do this more on the post-Time Out of Mind tour than anywhere else. What In Concert: 1999 to 2000 has is not just quality renditions of truly rare moments but a collection of outstanding quality recordings. The hunt for crisp sounds from the stage stops here. You would struggle to find better rips than these, and what a treat it is to hear them all compiled in one spot. Solid enough to burn onto a CD or play out while you go about your day. It’s long enough to fill a few hours. Usually, bootlegs offer a moment or two of inspiring work, a piece that you can chip off the project. But In Concert: 1999 to 2000 is wall-to-wall quality.
Light and drifting qualities offer entertaining reinterpretations of those classic tracks. The Times They Are A-Changin’ and Desolation Row are delightful. Boots of Spanish Leather and Mr. Tambourine Man from the first disc, too, offer essential reimaginings of songs which Dylan has quietly retired from his setlist. Only on rare occasions do some of these songs now appear. Others, like All Along the Watchtower and Love Sick, are frequent on the Rough and Rowdy Ways and Outlaw Music Festival setlists. The difference is the line-up. On these late ‘90s and early ‘00s performances, Dylan arguably has his best collection of instrumentalists. It’s the slight acoustic reinvention and steady percussion which make this selection of songs essential listening. Things had changed, as Dylan notes on his Wonder Boys song, but not enough to alienate returning fans.
It’s a fine line to walk, and that’s successfully done by Dylan here. Vocal work which sticks surprisingly close to the original, and a collaboration with Elvis Costello to round out the compilation. He and the Pump It Up hitmaker offer a brilliant overlap on I Shall Be Released. There are songs here which are better heard on stage than on the album. The Costello-featuring Greatest Hits Vol. II cover is an example of that, as are the likes of Not Dark Yet and Every Grain of Sand. Efforts from Dylan, which did not come through all that great in a studio mix, are tested on stage once more, and the result is magnificent. For those wanting an overview of the post-Time Out of Mind days from Dylan, this is an essential listen. Some of his most nuanced and interesting takes on songs from across his discography. This would rarely happen again.
