Bob Dylan – Pennsylvania 2005 Review

Predictable is not a word you can use when listening to Bob Dylan live shows. That voice of the ‘60s counterculture, as he is introduced on this Pennsylvania 2005 bootleg, kept on changing. He would offer further examples of his ever-changing live shows with this pre-Modern Times setlist. A fourteen-song set that has Dylan transition further into a troubadour, ditching the guitar as his primary instrument. It changes not just the focus of each of his songs but the depths of his vocal work, the style and tempo of classic tracks. That’s the reason so many head into these bootlegs, and this show is a wild example of Dylan at his best. Brilliant songs from the last forty years brought up to speed with the piano-led charms of his at-the-time artistic rebirth. Almost a decade on from Time Out of Mind, and Dylan is still riding a high on this set. It makes all the difference for a setlist littered with surprises.  

Welcome changes to the standards are what Dylan offers. Tombstone Blues may be an inevitability of this period, a rarity in modern times, but the instrumental swing it is given allows it a little more breathing room than other versions could offer. It’s a difference maker which lingers on each song, including the shocking, brilliant inclusions of Lay Lady Lay and New Morning. Those masterpieces are tucked in neatly, inevitably sticking out in a set which also features heavy hitters like Visions of Johanna and Positively 4th Street. Those classics from the 1960s are not the focus, though. Dylan is more than capable of changing their meaning to suit the modern age. He does just that even now, on the Rough and Rowdy Ways shows. What keeps a listener returning to these shows is the impossibility of what Dylan will do next. It is never quite clear which direction he will take the show. That’s all part of his charm.  

What matters most is adapting the surprise of featuring Lay Lady Lay into a credible version. The Nashville Skyline classic is a beautiful piece of work, an aching best from Dylan. He brings out the best in it with this rendition. It’s about as close to the instrumental work as you can get to what featured on the studio version. One major change is the vocal style from Dylan, his staggered and gruff vocal tone adding that much-needed, lived-in style to his best songs. For some, it will be a bridge too far. For others, it’ll add a new layer to his work which, for dedicated fans, will offer a new read on old music. Pennsylvania 2005 benefits greatly from being a very clear cut of the soundboard. An excellent bootleg, for it feels like you’re sat in the theatre, watching the master at work.  

Songs like Tryin’ to Get to Heaven and Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum offer a modern touch from Dylan. He is no nostalgia act. Featuring his, at that time, two most recent works, is a welcome addition. It breaks up the classics well enough but also shines a light on his ongoing success as a writer. Pair those surprises with a crowd-pleasing encore, a double bill of The Times They Are A-Changin’ and All Along the Watchtower, and you have an exemplary moment from Dylan’s live arsenal. The bar may be high for Dylan shows but Pennsylvania 2005 is lifted from the latter days of an all-time great period for Dylan. He had a strong eight years on stage, and though these may be in the shadow of an excellent Time Out of Mind tour, he and the band hold their own here.