Rarities are rather common, ironically, when it comes to Bob Dylan performances. That’s not because the veteran songwriter is performing these deep cuts time and again, but because keen fans and bootleggers are well positioned to capture his performances. It means one-off spectacles, songs which deserve a bigger spot in the set, are captured and catalogued. I’m Not Supposed to Care does just that, not just a collection of rarities like I and I and To Be Alone With You, but a wonderful highlights reel of one of Dylan’s very best tours. Time Out of Mind did more than rekindle audience expectations in Dylan, but improved his stock as an artist with a credible thread of contemporary work. It’s a hot streak still ongoing today, and you can hear the full effects of Grammy Award wins and looming Oscars success on I’m Not Supposed to Care. Frankly jubilant performances of some hidden gems like The Man in Me feature alongside the inevitabilities, the slick brilliance, of Love Sick.
You would be hard-pressed to find a better live version of To Be Alone With You, for instance., Magnificent instrumental work, a real thrill captured here, while the follow-up, a performance of The Man in Me, is a staggering experience for those New Morning fans. They’re out there, somewhere, laying in wait for the return of Day of the Locusts or Winterlude to the setlist. Wait a while longer with I’m Not Supposed to Care and you’ll experience two great covers, too, Gordon Lightfoot’s I’m Not Supposed to Care and Elizabeth Cotten’s Oh Babe, It Ain’t No Lie. They’re two magnificent cover workings, fitting nicely into that rock and roll spirit which would soften into an easy-listening flow on the tours to follow. But right here, Dylan and the band, particularly Larry Campbell and Bucky Baxter on guitar duties, are at their apex. This is the peak of this line-up.
I’m Not Supposed to Care is mesmerising from its first seconds, right up until the final moments of Blowin’ in the Wind. Between those two points are some of the very best occasions of Dylan on stage. I and I is nothing short of cool, while deeper cuts like Watching the River Flow are given a rock and roll spin which is a far cry from the studio version. This is the point of bootlegging these live shows, and also the major argument against those passive Dylan fans who don’t care for modern adaptations of his work. Just how one artist can write so much, and adapt it across genres with such consistency, is a marvel in of itself. You can hear that happen with Boots of Spanish Leather and Tears of Rage, songs which are so wholly different in the studio than they are on stage. Such is the point, the thrill, of these Dylan bootlegs.
A resounding success of a tour, compiled into the rarities that make the shows so special to listen to individually. Never Gonna Be the Same Again is a touching masterclass. Showcasing how the loud thrills can match up with the sentimental, slowed tempo, is utterly crucial for Dylan at this time in his career. It’s not all rock and roll, but most of it would rely on the thrills and spills of his electric guitar lead. Crucial to that are Tony Garnier and David Kemper on bass and drums, respectively. They’re as crucial to this sound as the intermittent wordplay changes Dylan forms. An occasional hurrying of the lyric, a little moment to linger on this line or that word. It all comes together tremendously for Dylan here on what is, by and large, one of his three greatest touring periods. Where it lingers in the mind compared to The Rolling Thunder Revue and Rough and Rowdy Ways, that’s impossible to decide on given how different they are, but this late-1990s rebirth is a must-listen experience.
