Bob Dylan – As Good as New Review

Touring around the release of Modern Times offers Bob Dylan fans the first real chance to hear the veteran performer add notable contemporary material to his set. Let’s be clear, though. Love and Theft is the better album, but overshadowed and thus losing its momentum because of tragic world events which occurred that same day. Nobody can fault the album, but the steam was certainly let out rather fast because of historic happenings. Modern Times performed just as well but didn’t feel as strong, for one reason or another. What it does mean though is there’s some contemporary material to work with on As Good as New, a compilation piece of Dylan’s 2006 tour. The fall dates are a rewarding listen, and not just because the recording quality is stellar. A set of impressive performances where the dwindling effects of the rock and roll style from 1995 to 2003 was coming to a close, where Dylan was more involved in the overall sound and style, rather than just guitar.  

Those instrumental changes are a big difference, naturally. Dylan has trialled and changed many of his all-time best songs over the years, and As Good as New is no exception to this rule. An almost unrecognisable version of Nettie Moore is outstanding. Slowed, subtle, and a perfect example of how Dylan can conjure new meaning through shifting the interpretation of the song. It sounds almost sinister, unnerving even, until Dylan breaches the atmosphere with a take on a song which, at the time of this performance, was not even a year old. Keep with that thematic style, the softer instrumentals and the staggered vocals, and that’s what Highway 61 Revisited sounds like. It’s a nice pairing, and the notes suggest Nettie Moore is performed just a day before Highway 61 Revisited. That pairing though highlights just how considered these different versions of songs old and new are.  

Elongations of these songs are common when Dylan is searching for that big rock ending, a way of closing out the tracks here, which is surprisingly effective. Highway 61 Revisited certainly benefits from that. Powerful guitar work on Tangled Up in Blue is a real thrill, too, hammering a whole new meaning into the song with just one instrument is quite an impressive moment. Elsewhere are the deeper cuts which nobody could have expected from Dylan on this tour, for songs like Lenny Bruce and Joey, which feature here, are hardly relevant to Modern Times. They don’t need to be, that’s the crucial part of this tour. It’s the best part of the tours to follow, too, a sentiment which has continued onto the Rough and Rowdy Ways portion of Dylan’s career. Revisiting the rarities and finding new meaning in them through fresh stage compositions, that’s the thrill.  

The experience doesn’t always work, but what works is the logic behind the instrumental adaptations for each song. Dylan’s vocals are the crucial consistency across these shows. Gruffer vocals than the original songs, naturally, but that new sound suits him and the context of the song. Decades have passed since these songs were recorded and finding a new way of performing them is inevitable, and As Good as New is a cause for celebration in that manner. There’s plenty here to enjoy, from the new arrangements which keep Desolation Row familiar but thrilling as a fresh experience, to the contemporary pieces like Things Have Changed and Love Sick, both of which sound outstanding. As Good as New profiles a boom of interest in Dylan because of his at-the-time new album, but the compilation never lets up with the classics. Neither does Dylan.