Bob Dylan – Barcelona 1989 Review

Two years into the so-called Never Ending Tour and Bob Dylan was reigniting a love for his biggest hits. His very best songs are pulled onto the stage and ripped apart, instrumentally that is. He sounds relatively similar over the ongoing tour, it is the tone and genre which change most of all. A full video recording of the Barcelona 1989 performance has since been scrubbed, remastered, and uploaded. What a treat it is. It’s an insight into how Dylan conducts himself on stage, how his band adapt to the slight variations of the song from their studio style. A faster tempo and a playful guitar line are the key to an energetic performance of Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine). That’s just the start of an energised and delightfully free-sounding stage presence from Dylan. Nine songs in all, and a traditional thrown in for good measure.  

Such is the expected setlist of Dylan during this period. It works wonders for his audience. Barcelona 1989 is a somewhat rare experience. It’s Dylan detailing the hits of his discography while backed by an album of real quality in Oh Mercy. Though the release of his career-changing album would follow this performance, the impact of his studio work can certainly be felt on stage. His shifting feel for the world, his decision to adapt hits to the stage after a volatile and, frankly, poor period in the 1980s, makes all the difference here. Dylan has often framed his stage shows around finding new details in old songs. He does just that with performances of Absolutely Sweet Marie and Just Like a Woman. Boisterous is what these performances need to be. They’re a solid precursor to what Dylan would offer in the MTV Unplugged show.  

A blend of new instrumental values, the electric guitar-led purpose of his songs at this point is far removed from their folk origins, and a return to those tones with intermittent harmonica spots. That segue from song to song is a nice touch, keeping the momentum alive but also highlighting how those old songs can provide a bridge into one another. It’s heard best on Absolutely Sweet Marie to Just Like a Woman but under the cover of applause, the changes needed to prepare for Highway 61 Revisited are made. Excellent versions of classic songs are featured the whole way through. With Forever Young, I Shall Be Released, and Mr. Tambourine Man featuring also, it’s hard to think of a set more stuffed with Dylan’s biggest and best works. Performing those with a stellar, effective instrumental purpose is the inevitably charming part of this.  

His vocal work stands up, and the band around him for the Never Ending Tour is in excellent form. Barbara Allen is a solid traditional selection, breaking up a show which would otherwise be a tour through the hits of his early years. No songs from post-Blood on the Tracks is a bold choice for Dylan at this stage but his time after touring with Grateful Dead and the lead-up to his cover albums in the 1990s were certainly taking effect. There was a point where Dylan felt he could no longer create at a level which was convincing enough for himself or his audience, and it’s a shame to hear it. But it does mean he reverted back to playing out his biggest and best hits, and even if that means removing anything of risk, it does pay to hear a show like Barcelona 1989, where the biggest songs are played out well.