Bob Dylan – St Paul 2001 Review

Dedicated bootleggers and passive fans would be hard-pressed to find a better year for Bob Dylan shows than this. In the twenty-first century, that is. Nothing compares to the Rolling Thunder Revue or those pre-Time Out of Mind dates in 1996. A two-hour show with mostly the hits in store for an audience is what you can expect from this show. Just a month on from the release of Love and Theft and already those songs feel like classics. From High Water (for Charley Patton) to Mama, You Been on My Mind is as natural a transition as those inevitable All Along the Watchtower and Love Sick additions. It’s a strong set of hits and contemporary material, the latter left off the setlist a little more than expected. St. Paul 2001 is well worth a listen, not just because of the strong instrumental style, but because of the rarities found within. Nobody will ever know what possessed Dylan to perform If Dogs Run Free that night. 

But we can at least hear the song sandwiched between Mama You Been on My Mind and Masters of War. It’s a fascinating choice, but it suits the tone of the show. Acoustic-driven, soft-rock adaptations where the best of Dylan’s discography is given a sweet and careful adaptation to new sounds. Mr. Tambourine Man is a brilliant second song to feature. It follows on well from the upbeat cover of Waiting for the Light to Shine, maintaining that acoustic-led style but also featuring a clear vocal performance. Those who mock Dylan for being unintelligible on the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour would do well to pop St. Paul 2001 on. It’s a somewhat controversial performance style. It works better for those who are well-versed in the material and willing to follow on that instrumental overhaul once more. There’s a fine line that some are not willing to cross, and that is balanced best by this performance. 

St. Paul 2001 is not just a straight adaptation of early folk songs and electrified hits to a soft-rock style. Tempo changes on A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall and a rare outing of Positively 4th Street give this show a best-of feeling. There’s a softening of the folk core these songs were built on. Partly in service of Love and Theft, partly because a new instrumental tone brings out a fresh layer to the songs. Forever Young is given a new context when the performer is decades older than when they wrote it. Everything is Broken is as fractured as ever, the world around us getting worse as the years continue on. Inevitabilities like the passage of time are mused on well by Dylan during this set. It’s not weighted towards it, but it’s hard to hear anything but those protest pieces again when Masters of War and Blowin’ in the Wind are added to the set.  

Beyond it being a response to the times, it’s a chance to hear Dylan adapt some of his greatest works to the stage with a clarity now lost. Expressive, incredible vocal work pairs with a fine line-up of musicians. Tony Garnier is the ever-present link between the early days of the Never Ending Tour and now. He’s a rare musician, and his continued presence in the line-up across many different instrumental variations is proof of his integral status in these songs. That strength as an instrumentalist only adds to the magnificent range now shown on stage across those decades of Dylan’s touring days. St. Paul 2001 is a notable experience, not least for the New Morning deep cuts and cover songs within. It’s a chance to hear Dylan with contemporary material in his set, while also finding time to reimagine his greatest hits.