Madam, – Full marks to Tony Clayton-Lea for his honest assailment of the Bob Dylan concert in the O2 (Reviews, May 7th).
I am a lifelong Dylan fan and relished the thought of seeing the man himself once again. The band was excellent, although I will concur with the assessment of the “bar-band blues chugging” which sometimes had a tendency to blot out the almost obscure lyrics.
The plain fact is Dylan’s voice, such as it is, is gone. The wonderful back catalogue is best listened to in the comfort of one’s armchair where you can relish the wonderful lyrics in an audible fashion.
There were some good numbers on the night, particularly Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Againand All Along the Watchtower. The re-working of some songs to suit the raspy spoken delivery just did not work. In a dreadful parody of call-and-response blues delivery, the almost imperceptible Blowin' In the Windwas just dreadful.
In the studio Dylan can still deliver some brilliant albums, as witnessed by the latest two, which are as good as anything he has done in the last decade. But on the road it just is not working, sadly.
I also totally agree with the comments about the lack of interaction with the audience. Dylan was never one for banter, but even a hello to the audience would be appreciated.
The review was an excellent, honest account of the night – a style of review which we have come to expect from Mr Clayton-Lea. Such honesty is much appreciated in the wake of some of today’s banal trivia, which passes for review. Keep up the good work! – Yours, etc,