Aesthetics and instrumentals formed on the Love and Theft tour before The Tyrus Tapes is the tone taken by Bob Dylan. It’s an effective image which goes well beyond ample stock for bootleg tape covers. The Tyrus Tapes Vol. 1 is a masterclass in showing how Dylan was adapting his oldest songs to the modern times structure. Soft rock occasions, hammering away on a keyboard for the first time in his career. Consistently, that is. He has likely touched a key before these performances began, but it is here where you can hear Dylan drift from the guitar. What his reasons for that are, we can merely speculate. All we can do is accept the quality that comes from it. He has ample support around him to keep those instrumentals in check, be it the long-serving Tony Garnier or the likes of Bucky Baxter. Whoever it is on stage with him can carry the subtle improvisations which form this beat. Â
A rocking guitar line through opening song Tombstone Blues feels out of place given the sentiment of the song. But such is the point of Dylan on stage. His ever-present need to seek out a new detail, be it with a subtle piano stroke or, as is the case here, a volatile guitar solo which springs from out of nowhere and offers a Jimi Hendrix-like tone, is refreshing. The Tyrus Tapes Vol. 1 is a collection of non-essentials. Not the performances, which are thoroughly brilliant live show spectacles, but the songs themselves. Shooting Star, This Wheel’s on Fire and High Water (For Charley Patton) are prioritised over the hits Dylan played throughout this Never Ending Tour year. Highway 61 Revisited and Love Sick are featured too, but aside from those and a searing Tombstone Blues, there are no surefire hits. There’s no need for them. Señor (Tales of Yankee Power) and a selection of Love and Theft tracks are more than ample for this compilation. Â
It takes a great musician to make Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum enjoyable. It’s a fine song, but the frequency of its appearance in bootlegs and live shows is a bit heavy to handle. The Tyrus Tapes Vol. 1 pulls out a great version though, with some fantastic guitar playing. An ear for what makes a show unique is what the best bootleggers have. It’s on full show with The Tyrus Tapes Vol. 1, with some monumental renditions of Dignity, a scathing cultural commentary, and Moonlight, which makes a successful transition from stage to studio because of how raw the original sounds. Maintaining that sound decades later is all part of the charm, and these live shows are crucial to that. It elevates songs which are usually skippable, or at least not returned to unless for a full listen of Love and Theft. What The Tyrus Tapes Vol. 1 offers is a continuation of live thrills from Dylan during a golden period. Â
His Time Out of Mind touring days were very well regarded and his transition into the new century was equally strong. This is an eight-year period of strong work from Dylan. It’s the final years of a soft rock sound, before he started relying so clearly on a baby grand piano and softer tones for his music. But each phase has ample material. You could listen to nothing but these live recordings from the post-Love and Theft, pre-Modern Times days and not run out of quality material. Roaring, rocking performances of some of Dylan’s best works. Not the all-time greats, not those ever-present classics which fans are clamouring for, but a strong collection of songs which are not given their fair share of time in the spotlight. That is what these unofficial bootleg tapes are for, and The Tyrus Tapes are a fantastic rip of strong quality performances.
