Bob Dylan keeps old classics fresh and edgy with reinterpretation of hits on 'Never Ending Tour'

From New York Daily News

** Two Stars

Bob Dylan keeps old classics fresh and edgy with reinterpretation of hits on 'Never Ending Tour'

JIM FARBER

Tuesday, November 23rd 2010, 4:00 AM

Seeing Bob Dylan play live these days is like watching an outlaw hide in plain sight.

He's a virtual fixture on the concert scene, turning up every year as part of his "Never Ending Tour." Yet, onstage he seems mainly remote - mumbling little, if anything, to the crowd and offering no gestures that can be easily read. Likewise, he's genial enough to play lots of hits everyone knows. But he delivers them in versions that can bear as much resemblance to the originals as an aging Hollywood wife's worked-over face does to her natural one.

Dylan proved mainly true to form Monday night as he kicked off a three-night stand at the 2,900-capacity midtown club, Terminal 5. He didn't speak a word until he introduced his band at the end, and, for much of the one hour and fifty minute show, he remained at the side of the stage, plunking the keyboards. As usual, Dylan, 69, reinterpreted much of his material wildly enough to engage listeners in the world's trickiest game of "Name That Tune."

"Tangled Up in Blue" became as much a soliloquy as a song, one matched to a staggered new rhythm. "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues" received a punched-up melody, elaborated by a guitar solo from lead player Charlie Sexton you could almost call suave. The band's run at "Desolation Row" sounded nearly sprightly, adding a new strangeness while giving a fresh inflection to its old sarcasm. Dylan opened the night with something of a wild card, the rarely played "Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking" from "Slow Train Coming." Its lyrical vow of constant reinvention could serve as the icon's most enduring mantra. He added an equally graceful, and new arrangement to "Shooting Star," from his most under-rated work, 1989's "Oh Mercy."

Of course, Dylan's vocals remain freakish wonders. He's so hoarse these days, he makes Tom Waits sound like Julie Andrews. And his phrasing just keeps getting more fitful and bizarre. Then again, those things also give him an on-going edge.

Though much of the show Dylan stressed coiled blues, including, archetypically, "Highway 61 Revisited." Here and elsewhere Dylan played more organ solos than he has on recent tours. He also went back to guitar for about a quarter of the show, a change from recent stints where he left the six-strings entirely to others.

Dylan's latest band has a flinty, easy-going charm, highlighted by Sexton's jagged leads. But it lacks the fire and thrills of his groups from the '90s, featuring the lightning-fingered Larry Campbell. "Cold Irons Bound" arose as one of the few numbers last night to bring out genuine intensity in the band. While Dylan's demeanor added to the distance, it had its own mystery. Lit in jaundiced yellow, Dylan appeared like a character out of his own David Lynch movie. If the particular performance he gave proved far from one of his recent best, at least it served to remind us that any Dylan experience has a singular allure.

jfarber@nydailynews.com

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/entertainment/music/2010/11/23/2010-11-23_bob...

No depth to the Farber review whatsoever. This reviewer has obviously read other reviews online and cobbled his review together from that. - The Windy Kid

Larry Campbell was an atrocious guitar player for Dylan - a hyped up version of G.E. Smith. I think Dylan took a liking to him for some reason but obviously at a certain point couldn't stand it anymore. - Stan

When Larry Campbell was in Bob's group he stomped all over everybody including the drummer. Farber has no idea of the path that Dylan's music has taken. - Plain Jane

Farber's review is mainstream conservative never ending tour blab. Whenever you see the term "never ending tour" applied to Bob's shows you can be sure the reviewer has no stomach for it and must be on the job too long. He should stick to Beyonce, Eminem. U2 and Tom Waits. - Little Anthony

Farber is the Mister Jones that Bob sings about. Isn't that clear by now? - Reggie