Way back in 1975, Bob Dylan made a comeback, a more electrified version of himself, inspired and ready to play a heap of smaller, intimate shows “for the people” across the States and in parts of Canada. He assembled a band made up of era-defining artists (ones he worked on the album Desire) like Joan Baez, Ronnie Hawkins, Roger McGuinn, Joni Mitchell, Scarlet Rivera, and Mick Ronson. He called it the Rolling Thunder Revue and it is debatably one of the best classic rock n’ roll tours ever conceived, as documented in the fantastic Martin Scorcese-directed Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story.
Back in 2019, the documentary came with a great live compilation album, but now we have two more live albums: the full concerts from Fort Worth, Texas and Fort Collins, Colorado. Both albums have 22 to 23 songs, featuring the electric, rockified versions of songs like “One More Cup of Coffee,” “Isis” (my personal favourite), “Mozambique,” “Shelter From The Storm,” and a fantastic version of “Stuck Inside a Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again.”
It’s interesting to hear these live albums side by side, because Dylan sings so differently in each performance. This was him, truly at his best, his most shamanistic. Still, these live albums really made me want to re-watch the Scorsese documentary again.
