Bob Dylan – Under the Radar Review 

That first year of Rough and Rowdy Ways performances from Bob Dylan is a gold mine for great material. You have Dylan touring his first original studio album in eight years, throwing in covers and classics from the past. Rough and Rowdy Ways lit a fire under Dylan that people will have last experienced with Love and Theft. That level of interest in his work, the variety which comes from the on-stage ensemble and instrumental style, it’s all there on Under the Radar. A solid bootleg of performances from the winter showcase of the 2021 Rough and Rowdy Ways tour. Well worth a listen, especially when Dylan opens with Watching the River Flow, which slips into the set as well as When I Paint My Masterpiece does. The latter may have maintained its spot as a frequent setlist addition, but that piano-driven adaptation of Watching the River Flow is a staggering example of Dylan at his live best.  

Under the Radar profiles Rough and Rowdy Ways in its early live experience, naturally. There’s an urgency to the performances featured on Under the Radar. Most Likely You Go Your Way (and I’ll Go Mine) has a beautiful moment where the instrumentals break, and it gives Dylan a spotlight on his vocals. A bold move for those who believe the man can no longer sing. A moment of beauty that highlights the forgiveness found at the core of the Blonde on Blonde classic for those who know Dylan’s gruffer tone has softened post-pandemic. A niche bit of knowledge to cling to for this performance, but worth remembering the more you listen to these Rough and Rowdy Ways bootlegs. Though it featured often, classics which contain such new and spirited performances for Dylan and the band are not the focus. Thankfully not. It would be a wasted tour had that been the case. What Dylan offers listeners here, or at least attendees who then bootlegged his work, is a sparse showcase of an album that already sounded relatively minimalist.  

I Contain Multitudes, for instance, what a beautiful rendition to feature after Most Likely You Go Your Way (and I’ll Go Mine). These early shows on the Rough and Rowdy Ways tour are unafraid to profile Dylan as a vocalist. Where later shows would pool instrumental resources, longer and longer in length and cooler in style, the songs featured on Under the Radar are as close as you’ll get to the studio version. No problem with that, either. The likes of False Prophet, Mother of Muses, and Key West (Philosopher Pirate) are highlights here. Instrumentally sound and significantly like the studio version but featuring just a few notes and flourishes that make all the difference. Solid renditions of exceptional material are what is on offer here, with a few moments to reflect on the past. It’s what Dylan does best on stage, crucially those moments where he brings in an old classic.  

A few grumbled performances, namely the first When I Paint My Masterpiece, do underscore the volatility of quality when it comes to Dylan as an ongoing performer, but that is the way the cards fall in that instance. Much to glean from it all the same, plenty to enjoy about the experience, even if it’s not prime time Dylan at work. They’re instances, not examples, of his work. Swaggering instrumental stylishness is on offer here. Whether Dylan once more details his greatest songs and contemporary charms with this piano-led style, who knows? Spring 2026 sounded a little different, and that’s the beauty of the ongoing adaptations Dylan has made to his sound. Long may that continue. For those interested in how Rough and Rowdy Ways ended that first year on the stage, this bootleg is a perfect example.