Bob Dylan – Through the Decades Review

Rare it may be to find a YouTube playlist on the Bob Dylan channel worth your time; it is not impossible. Through the Decades is the future of official compilations. It is not enough to serve up a cold platter of hits from across the years. Listeners need a reason to return to these songs beyond it being a favourite. That is what Through the Decades manages to avoid, with a very nice purpose and limitation to the songs featured within. These are live performances, some more obviously ripped than others, from Dylan across his career. Some tremendously rare oddities are featured on the latter half of Through the Decades, which is primarily a rip of copyright-inclusive music. You may have heard all these songs before, but the effort that has gone into Through the Decades is more than most of the compilations on the Dylan YouTube channel.  

Perhaps then we are awed by the low-hanging fruit of quality rather than anything on the compilation. Frequenters of the channel will know Fixin’ to Die and The Death of Emmett Till note for note by now, but there are some quality recordings found after those early radio appearances. Once the more obvious hits come into play, the compilation takes on a new form. It lives up to its name, a rarity for efforts hindered by a need to stick to copyrighted materials. Bootleggers have the freedom to record and pull from whichever source they can get their hands on, meaning these official releases will always be a step behind. But Through the Decades does as advertised and takes listeners on a very solid trip through the decades. Are there better shows out there? Greater examples of Dylan as a constantly evolving live artist? Definitely. But those soundboards are not as easily accessed by the public as, say, a YouTube compilation.  

A rare performance of Bob Dylan’s Dream can be found in this set, as can some marvellous workings of Boots of Spanish Leather and Shelter from the Storm. As is the case for many of these compiled efforts, much of the tracklist is made up of leftover radio performances. But there are a few tracks which circumvent the early years inevitabilities. One Too Many Mornings from Hard Rain features, as does Idiot Wind. An incredible live album, and at least it gets a look-in here. It does appear to be a rip of officially released live albums, but even then, there is enough to make a greatest hits collection of just live shows from Dylan. People have tried and succeeded in the past, and this official companion piece to those limited, but often brilliant live albums, is welcome.  

Through the Decades is an enjoyable set. It shines a light on some very flat sets, though. All Along the Watchtower is a rendition resting on the more extreme ends of Dylan as a croaking, gruff-sounding performer. Rocked-out instrumentals are what keep it alive, though. Some fantastic playing from the band backing him there, as is the case for Jokerman and Don’t Think Twice (It’s All Right). An eight-minute long It Ain’t Me, Babe, as well as some oddities at the end of this compilation, are what make it worth a listen. Elvis Bickel and Fraud Rugster chatter is relabelled here, suggesting Dylan is personifying the radio hosts and interviewers, rather than merely speaking to them. It is a harmless flub, but for those who can piece all these moments together and identify the source, it proves invaluable.