Voices in the Night: Live, 2007 - 2010

Billy - Live - Stockholm - March 22, 2009
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues - Live - Bergamo - June 16, 2008
Friend Of The Devil - Live - Morrison - July 19, 2007
Stuck Inside Of Mobile - Live - New York City - November 18, 2009
Moonlight - Live - Atlantic City - June 22, 2007
Love Minus Zero/No Limit - Live - Warsaw - June 7, 2008
The Times We've Known - Live - Paris - April 8, 2009
Shelter From The Storm - Live - Tokyo - March 23, 2010
Tough Mama - Live - Amsterdam - April 11, 2009
Million Miles - Live - Calgary - October 27, 2008
What Good Am I - Live - Linz - June 12, 2010
It's All Good - Live - Chicago - October 31, 2009
Ain't Talkin' - Live - Birmingham - April 17, 2007

Bonus Tracks
Handy Dandy - Live - Vigo - June 27, 2008
I Believe In You - Live - Ottawa - November 16, 2008
Like A Rolling Stone - Live - Oneonta - November 19, 2008
Tangled Up In Blue - Live - Rothbury - July 5, 2009
Po' Boy - Live - Rothbury - July 5, 2009
Ain’t Talkin’ - Live - Pawtucket - July 21, 2009
Gonna Change My Way Of Thinking - Live - Boston - November 15, 2009

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Having discovered the organ setting on his keyboard in 2006, Bob Dylan saw fit to experiment with that sound on the road over the next five years (he’d discontinue it in 2012, as documented on the Thousand Highways' Ivory). The results were sometimes decried by longtime fans, but - as with any era of the artist’s career - there are more than a few highlights from this period. The best are compiled here for your enjoyment.

Debuted nearly 40 years after it was originally recorded for the Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid soundtrack in 1972, “Billy” starts the set with a bang. Spring 2009 was a pretty good time for Dylan overall, as it also produced two other rare tracks on this album: a rewritten “Tough Mama” from Amsterdam and the second of only two outings for Charles Aznavour’s wistful “The Times We’ve Known.”

Jam-heavy renditions of “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues,” “Love Minus Zero/No Limit,” and “Million Miles” date from the preceding year. I’m particularly fond of the strange, poppy approach to vocals employed on the first two of these, while the third offers the opportunity for Dylan to lean into his harmonica playing. These years are pretty great for the harmonica overall, actually, perhaps because switching to organ allowed the singer to focus on keyboard chords rather than melodic lines. He also began employing a harmonica microphone setup around this time that produced a sound reminiscent of the harp solo in 1980’s studio recording of “What Can I Do For You.”

Speaking of rhetorical questions, “What Good Am I” reappeared in 2010 for the first time in over a decade and the results are transcendent. Dylan would happily return to the song a few years later, making it a standard on his 2013 and 2014 tours in a more or less identical arrangement inspired by Tom Jones’ cover. “Shelter from the Storm,” never missing for long, also popped up during 2010. The singer repeats a verse, but I couldn’t help leaving it in; the song’s raggedness is part of its charm, after all.

Grateful Dead cover “Friend of the Devil” is another comparative rarity from the era, as it hadn’t been performed at a Bob Dylan show since 2002 and wouldn’t reappear until 2022. This version is my favorite by the singer, much of it down to the laid-back approach by his band and a committed vocal performance. “It’s All Good” fares similarly well in the first of its three total airings, celebrating the return of blues guitarist Charlie Sexton after seven years away. “Moonlight” is less successful vocally, but provides a strong foundation for Stu Kimball and Denny Freeman to trade beautiful jazz riffs. Finally, “Ain’t Talkin’” is probably the best-sung track in the set - full of menace and drawn out lines that build on the previous year’s album take.

I’ve also included a selection of bonus tracks drawn primarily from the now-discontinued predecessor to this compilation, Pool of Tears: Live, 2006 - 2009. They include a couple soundboard recordings from Rothbury and a violin-driven version of “Ain’t Talkin’” from 2009, the only live “Handy Dandy” that Bob Dylan’s ever performed, and “Gonna Change My Way of Thinking,” which was cut from this album when I found “Billy” to be a better (if less traditional) opener.

Until next time, keep yourself healthy and listen to some good tunes!

Cheers,
CS