Touring has become as important as studio work for Bob Dylan. His never-ending tour, that alleged deal with the Almighty to keep on performing, is a treat to hear. It remains strange to see there are so few live album releases. Only Hard Rain and Shadow Kingdom are worth hearing outside of The Bootleg Series. Why the archivists are scared to open the live album folder is beyond comprehension. They have, on occasion, for the likes of Live at Budokan and the Trouble No More bootleg, but there are decades of live albums presumably tucked away which people wish to hear. Bootleg veterans will know why. Never-Ending Memories Vol. 1, an unofficial addition to The Bootleg Series, does what many are hoping for. Incredible recordings of some deep cuts and all-time greats, ripped from the stage and compiled sensibly. Nobody knows whether we will receive a Never Ending Tour release from Dylan, but for now, Never-Ending Memories serves listeners well.
Shows as old as 1988 and as new as 2017 are featured on this decades-spanning compilation. The quality is phenomenal. Excellent sources for some of the wildest presentations Dylan offered. Those who are interested in hearing the impact Time Out of Mind had on Dylan during the mid-90s are well-served here. Opening song Maggie’s Farm has such a wonderful swing to it, an excitable energy which lasts across these compiled pieces. Real and sincere effort in bleeding these songs together to make it sound like a continuing live show is worth appreciating. A neat way of bringing the songs together, a manufactured segue through songs of similar strengths. Every song on Never-Ending Memories Vol. 1 highlights what Dylan fans love, and what passive listeners loathe. Dylan is keen to reinvent these songs, as often as he can, and without interest in the reception they receive. Most of the songs here are performed with steady attachment to the original, but enough flair to give the song a new focus.
Not every song is a boisterous, soft-rock blowout. Not at all. Señor (Tales of Yankee Power) is a delicate, string-laden delight from a 1999 performance, while Ballad of Hollis Brown is an acoustic-tinged powerhouse. Dylan would return to the earliest moments of his discography intermittently on the Never Ending Tour, and not just to appease attendees. There are wonderful new layers to hear from Dylan engaging with the likes of When I Paint My Masterpiece and Desolation Row, two songs which feature even on the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour. It’s what a new vocal inflexion and instrumental backing can offer the words of a classic, that is what Dylan seeks out. More often than not, it’s the purpose of Never-Ending Memories. Chatter preceding In the Garden about theme songs, of changing the minds of people picking his songs as anthems, is a nice touch. It adds a sense of purpose to the performance.
Later pieces like Make You Feel My Love and High Water (For Charley Patton) highlight the at-the-time contemporary hits. Scarlet Town does this too, a fiery performance from Buffalo in 2017. But it’s always worth taking a step into the oldest songs in Dylan’s discography, those pieces of work which still have cultural relevance. Hearing them expanded on is the thrill of live performance. Dylan does just that with the shows collected here, let alone the songs which comprise this unofficial Bootleg Series entry. As strong a quality as the official releases, but with the added advantage of pulling from a wider choice of soundboards, performances which are otherwise not set for release in official capacity. It’s a wonderful listen, a work which brings a real understanding to the purpose of live shows.
