Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson – I Can’t Read Your Mind Review 

Bringing together two all-time greats in the studio or on stage is often a treat. But few can say they have such a wonderful overlap and familiarity with one another as Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. From decades on the road together to a King of the Hill joke, the working relationship between the pair is longstanding, yet understated. They got back together for I Can’t Read Your Mind, a song which features on Nelson’s latest album, Dream Chaser. We can assume the pair wrote this while touring on the Outlaw Music Festival tour, though we cannot confirm that. It’s nice to think though, that somewhere on the roads of North America, Dylan and Nelson rattled this out before the Mr. Tambourine Man hitmaker went back to hammering away at his piano. If you hadn’t been made aware of Dylan receiving a writing credit on this track, you would be hard-pressed to note it as one of his works.  

But that’s the point of a strong collaboration, really. I Can’t Read Your Mind works as a Nelson number, but it’s a little nod of approval for those who then realise he co-wrote it with Dylan. It detracts nothing, adds little, but is a chance to hear two greats hard at work. With or without Dylan, this is a standout performance from Nelson. Delicate country swagger is what Nelson does best, and with a strong writing partner behind him, it’s hard not to love I Can’t Read Your Mind. There’s plenty to enjoy with this one, between the frankness of the title and the attempted understanding at the core of the lyrics. Mind-reading is not an option; that truth must be spoken into an obvious, understandable spot. That much is not always possible, and the pair lament such a problem on this track. Once you hear Dylan wrote the song, there’s a chance to hear what instrumental impression that leaves Nelson with.  

He may not have had the Desolation Row hitmaker in the studio but there’s a line or two in here which lend themselves to the slowed, blues-y rock tone Dylan now delivers his best songs with. Too small a handwriting to make out what a former flame would want, a tremendous and wandering acoustic flourish, but with that baritone flavour, Nelson is so excellent in providing. A few moments where the instrumentals challenge that and try to break out on their own, but this veteran of the studio reels them back in and keeps them in place. Nelson is at his tender best across this album but I Can’t Read Your Mind is the standout. It’s not so much that it’s vastly superior to the rest of the songs on the album, but it’s the one that’s worth heading back to.  

Touching work from a veteran pair of musicians. That’s not a free ticket to quality but it does help that the pair has worked together in the past, be it collaborating on stage or appearing on the same bill. Decades of overlap and a mutual appreciation for one another’s work goes a long way here, and you can hear as much on I Can’t Read Your Mind. How much of this is Dylan, and how much of it is Nelson, is anyone’s guess. The point of it all is that they’re both working away on a strong song for Nelson’s latest album. Dream Chaser has a sentimental streak to it that’s kept alive by I Can’t Read Your Mind, a delicate offering from the pairing which never feels the need to take itself too seriously.