Opinion dylan is still surprising audiences at the age of 73
“I am the man, Thomas, I am the man. Look at these nail scars here in my hand.”
These lines from an old gospel-bluegrass song were the first I ever heard Bob Dylan sing in concert.
It was September 2000 and some friends, who were much more familiar with his music than I, had persuaded me to see the legendary songwriter in action in Dublin’s Point Theatre.
It’s fair to say I went in with low expectations. I knew no more than perhaps four or five of Dylan’s best-known songs, all of which were written long before I was born. I had heard that his voice was shot, that his songs were often unrecognisable, and that he didn’t care very much about his audience.
Attending the gig would simply tick a box – one that read 'I have seen a music legend in concert’ – and that would be that. Or so I thought.
He opened with the aforementioned song based on the Bible story of doubting Thomas having his mind changed, and over two magical hours Dylan converted me into a true believer in his music.
The indecipherable and grumpy singer I had expected made no appearance on the night.
Instead there was a tuned-in, lively, good-humoured, and commanding performer who weaved in and out of various genres such as folk, rock, bluegrass and blues. His voice was worn and battle-hardened but that seemed to fit the songs.
It remains the best concert I have ever attended, and I left it knowing that, as a songwriter and artist, Dylan was the man. He still is.
Almost 15 years since that gig, and half a century since he alienated folk purists by 'going electric’, the Minnesota native remains compelling and unpredictable.
Earlier this month he released his 36th studio album, 'Shadows in the Night’, which consists solely of cover versions of songs that were recorded by Frank Sinatra.
Dylan’s decision to record this kind of material was regarded as surprising, to put it mildly. One interviewer asked him if it was a “risky” move.
“Risky? Like walking across a field laced with land mines? Or working in a poison gas factory? There’s nothing risky about making records,” was his reply.
The album itself is a low-key gem. With melancholic arrangements, Dylan strips the old songs to their core and makes them sound new and relevant. The fact that the 73-year-old is still on the road, making distinctive and critically-acclaimed records, is remarkable.
On February 6, he was honoured by the charity MusiCares at a concert in LA where Neil Young, Bruce Springsteen, Sheryl Crow, Alanis Morissette, Jack White and many others performed versions of his most famous songs.
Dylan ended the night by delivering a speech that lasted over 30 minutes. The fact that he spoke in public at such length was unusual and suggests he might have an eye on the legacy he wishes to leave behind on the day - as he put it - when there are “no more days”.
In the speech he thanked some of the people who made his career possible and delivered fascinating insights into the songwriting process.
The speech was often quite amusing. Discussing critics who said he “mangled melodies” and rendered his songs unrecognisable, Dylan told the following story.
“I was at a boxing match a few years ago seeing Floyd Mayweather fight a Puerto Rican guy. And the Puerto Rican national anthem, somebody sang it and it was beautiful. It was heartfelt and it was moving.
“After that it was time for our national anthem. And a very popular soul-singing sister was chosen to sing. She sang every note that exists, and some that don’t exist.
“Talk about mangling a melody. You take a one-syllable word and make it last for 15 minutes? She was doing vocal gymnastics like she was a trapeze act. But to me it was not funny.”
He also quoted the great soul singer Sam Cooke who said “voices ought not to be measured by how pretty they are. Instead they matter only if they convince you that they are telling the truth.”
As a songwriter, I don’t think Dylan will ever have an equal. His body of work is so expansive and varied that you could listen to it for days and still stumble upon something that sounds different from anything which came before it.
Often, when somebody passes away, we hear the words “we will not see his/her like again.” Dylan is one of a select few legendary figures (Muhammad Ali comes to mind as another) of whom that is certainly true.
He was introduced at the event in LA by former US President Jimmy Carter.
“There’s no doubt,” Carter said of Dylan, “that his words of peace and human rights are much more incisive and much more powerful and much more permanent than any president of the United States.”
Not a bad tribute.