A truly vintage time on stage can be found from 1994 to 2003. A near-decade of brilliant recordings, bolstered by two essential albums. Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft certainly affected Bob Dylan and his band more than first expected. Not even Modern Times or Shadows in the Night would bring on this sort of change, though the latter did hear a tonal shift. What Dylan gets right with Passariano 1996 is what he got right with the start of the Never Ending Tour. Collected, consistent overhauls of classic material, which would then be ripped apart through soft rock formations. Dylan was still playing guitar around this point, with a nice rhythm to Bucky Baxter’s pedal steel efforts. But don’t mistake this consistency for complacency. There are risks running through Passariano 1996 which, to those who have turned themselves into keen bootleg listeners, will be identifiable. Just because a performer is playing their hits does not guarantee a receptive crowd.
Polite noise from the crowd is what you can hear from the Passariano 1996 tape. Where Señor (Tales of Yankee Power) would be received with the same thunderous screams as winning the lottery or receiving a large tax rebate, here, it is quiet. That’s not an unresponsive audience, though it may sound like it. That’s an audience appreciating what they’re hearing. Not every show will feature a Street-Legal rip and You’re a Big Girl Now soon after. Pairings of popular albums and their deeper cuts are the way to go, and Dylan knows that. It’s what he did for a nine-year peak. Reflection is on the outskirts of these performances, though it never overwhelms the show. Dylan is not the sentimental type. Not on the surface, anyway. You’re a Big Girl Now is an excellent early spot, a bit of a risk placing it between All Along the Watchtower and Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine) given how heavy a hit both songs are, but it works.
What also works is the run of Mr. Tambourine Man, Masters of War, and Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right. Three absolute classics there, with a protest punch-out featured after one of Dylan’s defining songs. It’s moments like this which make it easier to appreciate the material which does not have that classic status to it. Jokerman is a real rarity but sounds sensational here, that laidback, soft rock sound beneffiting it. Dylan seeks out a new tone for these songs, and it hits on the surprise inclusion of Obviously Five Believers more than anywhere. His Blonde on Blonde track is not a definite for the set, not like Love Sick or Desolation Row now, but to hear it is a welcome surprise. A three-song encore is surplus to requirement, a welcome extra selection of all-time greats.
My Back Pages, Like a Rolling Stone, and Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 are nothing short of masterful here. A new vocal range for Dylan is what many transitioning from his 1960s albums to his 1990s vocal work will be stumped by. Stick with it. There are depths of emotional quality to these somewhat hoarse, but equally excitable tones. This is the tone Dylan would stick with for a decade of his touring days, and two of his greatest albums. Get used to it with a performance like Passariano 1996, where you can hear the nuances of these changes in full swing. Delicate, delightful work, but still with that daringness needed for live performance. A stripped-back Like a Rolling Stone is magnificent, and the brief cry from the crowd is enough to cement it as an intensely interesting rendition. Slowed stylings but still a staggering accomplishment, that’s what the Never Ending Tour offers all the time.
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