Bob Dylan – GE Smith Audition Tape Review

An incredible rendition of Dancing in the Dark, the Bruce Springsteen classic, is out there. Bob Dylan, who knew a generous 40% of the words to the Born in the U.S.A. hit, stumbles through in a fashion both embarrassing and charming. It’s not as if he threw the performance out there without practice. GE Smith Audition Tape is a valuable document which, for the deep cut and bootleg enthusiast, will add much-needed context to a fascinating Dylan performance from 1987. What appears on this bootleg compilation is a collection of preparations for a performance, nothing too much more than that. But the dedication to finding a fresh sound in these songs is what becomes the main reason for listening. Two renditions of Dancing in the Dark, where the overlap between Springsteen’s original style and the instrumental changes of Dylan’s band on stage at this point in his career, are fascinating.  

Because what features after the duo of Dancing in the Dark performances from Bruce Frederick and Joseph Springsteen is a collection of attempts from Dylan to connect with Blood on the Tracks and Desire. Why those two albums were on his mind during these sessions is unknowable. What we can hear, though, are marvellous renditions of You’re a Big Girl Now and Joey. In place of the lighter touch and higher vocal pitch of the studio versions is a rugged rock and roll which would serve Dylan across the 1980s. It would be better in the latter years than it would be in the middle of the decade, but the tides are beginning to turn around the time of the GE Smith Audition Tape. You’re a Big Girl Now begins a change in instrumental tone, though it highlights the vocal weakness of the times. The GE Smith Audition Tape is an acquired taste, to say the least.  

But for those who like this time on the road, for those few who were won over by Down in the Groove, these vocal choices and rock tones will be delightful. Dylan offers a wide range of cover efforts here with All I Really Want to Do and Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat adapted to a tone which simply does not fit. But Dylan makes the most of this stylistic change, even if his voice is not up to it. Most periods of Dylan’s vocal style can be defended but this is the trickiest of all. What you can hear in this raspy and breathless period is a genuine desire to find a new musical route through classic songs. But finding that and acting on the inspiration are separate, and this is the former. Hearing Dylan search for a new instrumental style is of interest, though don’t expect anything close to classic.  

Some golden moments can be found on the GE Smith Audition Tape that make it worth a listen, though. A cover of Johnny Cash’s Folsom Prison Blues is a wonderful moment, and there are plenty of Dead Man, Dead Man, and Joey renditions to satisfy dedicated listeners. These are mainly reliant on the instrumental skill of the artists backing Dylan. His vocal work, more because he is trying to find new meaning in decades-old songs, struggles. Revising his own words becomes a tricky moment for Dylan, who, at the same time as sounding rough around the edges, manages to offer some convincing and stylish work. It’s the difficult period before what would be his most successful period on stage. That’s a treat to listen to, but the context of how he got there is just as important.