Bob Dylan – The Bootleg Series Vol. 16 1/2: Never Ending Memories Pt. 4 Review

Four discs into Never Ending Memories and the focus of these bootlegs becomes clear. Bob Dylan will likely remain the most-bootlegged artist of all time. Almost every show he has performed, every alternate take, instrumental riff, and word spoken has been documented and filed by eager fans. God’s work is what they’re doing, and it means accessing this material which can inspire or explain with subtler detail is available. The Bootleg Series Vol. 16: Never Ending Memories Pt. 4 is more material which riffs on the true deep cuts and a cultural cornerstone which would otherwise have been lost to history. Apart from album closer God Knows and I’ll Remember You, all of these performances are taken from the twenty-first century. A rather telling performance of Masters of War, a month after 9/11, for instance, is a clear nod to the times still changing around Dylan.  

Instrumental magnificence is par for the course with Dylan on stage, and there are only a few tours that fall short of that immensely high standard. Opening track Delia, a World Gone Wrong rarity, sounds tremendous. His voice is of that croaky style which does suit him post-Time Out of Mind, but the sparse sound comes as a surprise. Dylan, especially on the 2000 tour, was keen to showcase the easy-going rock and roll style with a few electric guitar triumphs. Delia exists as a contrast to that, a softer instrumental and emotionally moved vocal delivery. It’s a subtler style from Dylan, a brilliant contrast from the bootleggers here who back that softer rarity with Drifter’s Escape. As boisterous as it is thrilling, the change-up in tempo is one of the many curveballs Never Ending Memories Pt. 4 throws at listeners. Effort once more goes into making Never Ending Memories feel the part. This is not just a jumbled collection, but there is real effort in crossfading the songs, creating an atmosphere that feels like a live show.  

Bar the changing vocals and instrumentation, the effect is a subtle but surely beneficial detail. It adds that little extra layer in the transition from I’ll Remember You to If Dogs Run Free. Nearly fifteen years between the performances but you’d hardly know because of that fine-tuning. Crucial to the performances, be it a little laugh on Million Dollar Bash to the sincerity which flows through a more obvious occasion for Masters of War, is the emotional spirit found on stage, and thus in these recordings, is genuine. Instrumentally outstanding is what Never Ending Memories Pt. 4 is. There are moments of real bliss to be heard here, the guitar playing on I’ll Remember You has such a welcome sway to it while later songs in the album, like Saving Grace, are held together with a blues-like tinge. 

Those slower moments really bring the piece together with such a tenderness. An unexpected yet brilliant part of these bootleg recordings is hearing what was there at the time, but not extracted until decades later, when someone had the vision to pair these songs together. Never Ending Memories: Pt. 4 is a fantastic occasion, one which sheds some light on the usual hits of the Dylan live performance while also basking in the nuance and range of his decades on stage. Harmonica solos, which receive rapturous applause and a few instrumental highs throughout, are catalogued very well here. Dylan is at his best when surrounded by musicians confident enough to match his risk-taking form, and that’s what you can hear throughout this bootleg.