A year on from the first Rough and Rowdy Ways tour and it seemed as though Bob Dylan had found a groove which would take him through the rest of his career. Veteran bootleg listeners may find more than a few overlaps in the instrumental spirit of Here to Bring Vengeance and the pre-Covid touring days. Easy-going rock and roll with a baby grand piano to tie it all together. The crucial difference for this bootleg, naturally, is the contemporary material. Dylan had little to give audiences in the way of fresh work between Tempest and Rough and Rowdy Ways. It’s not because those cover albums are no good, far from it, but because they were hardly going to replace a hit or innovative new take on his own work. Here to Bring Vengeance, a disc of the magnificent compilation album, How Can I Redeem the Time?, is a showcase of how Dylan adapts songs from both Rough and Rowdy Ways and his deeper discography to the stage.
Here to Bring Vengeance is filled with thrills and a few vocal changes which don’t quite land. But such is the risk run by Dylan and the band as they seek new instrumental variations to the likes of Watching the River Flow and Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine). Upbeat thrills and that piano focus are less refined here but are certainly featured. These tones would improve on future tours but it’s a treat to head back into Here to Bring Vengeance and hear Dylan laugh his way through Watching the River Flow, or to know the band are given that little bit of extra improvisational freedom. It makes all the difference for the contemporary tracks to, of which there’s a great chunk here. From I Contain Multitudes to Crossing the Rubicon, there’s a showcase of fantastic instrumental changes on songs which are still fresh in the mind. No song is sacred when Dylan is on stage. Some may find this attitude doesn’t benefit the song, but others will find the instrumental risk and vocal tempo changes are the purpose of these songs.
Those in the latter camp will love, then, the performances of To Be Alone With You and Gotta Serve Somebody. Dylan has kept the Rough and Rowdy Ways setlist relatively tight, switching in and out very few songs. But those changes he does make around the core setlist of contemporary tracks is well worth a listen. Future tours would hear All Along the Watchtower and It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue, adapted to this new instrumental structure wonderfully. The guitar lead on Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine) featured here is nothing short of brilliant. Melancholy Mood from Fallen Angels feels like a rarity, too, and it suits the sound Dylan is aiming for. It’s not as smoky lounge-sounding as the studio version; Dylan instead heads for that sweet spot between easy listening and jazz-like improvisation.
Little details and peculiarities from Dylan are what makes his live work so special. Here to Bring Vengeance is filled with thrills for those who want different versions of his best work. What Dylan can bring out of a decades-old song with a new instrumental purpose is staggering. He gets more from returning to these songs with a fresh tone than most will on their original works. Here to Bring Vengeance is one of the many Rough and Rowdy Ways tour bootlegs around, but it does a fantastic job in compiling the very best of Dylan on stage from 2022. Quite the niche, but a welcome listen. Mother of Muses from Phoenix is a particular highlight. You’d be hard-pressed to find a clearer, cooler version of the song from that year of the tour.
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