Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 4, 1994 TAG: 9411040073
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 9 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Here is a man who has cemented his place in music and pop culture, primarily because he is a master of words and songwriting. Yet, in his present-day form, Dylan seems much less interested in the words that made his reputation than he is in kicking out the jams.
Wednesday night at the Roanoke Civic Center auditorium, Dylan came to rock - and rock hard.
Maybe, at 53, the master rock wordsmith has another reputation he wants to earn. As Dylan: aging groove-meister.
Certainly, Wednesday in front of an audience of 1,683, he took a step toward earning that title, at least in this corner of the world. The two-hour show he brought here was short on words, long on jamming and loud in volume.
Probably no other song better illustrated this effort than "Tangled Up In Blue." On record, it is a mid-tempo song with a sparse, mostly acoustic arrangement where Dylan's lyrics and phrasing and disjointed storytelling are the focus.
Wednesday, he turned the song upside down. He rushed through the lyrics without any of the pauses or nuances that make the original so effective. It was like, ``OK, let's hurry up and get through these words, so we can jam.'' What then ensued was hard-driving, angry and featured some tenacious guitar solos by Dylan.
Even through a few acoustic numbers, Dylan seemed more eager to indulge in some fancy guitar picking with his band than he was to stand at the microphone.
Of course, with all of this, there is another theory: that Dylan realizes that he just plain can't sing anymore, so he'd better make up for it somehow. OK, that's a cheap shot, as true as it may be. But somebody had to say it.
Dylan defenders will argue that his voice is distinctive, which is true. It was, uh, very distinctive Wednesday; like he had a mouthful of hot potatoes. He was about as good as you expect nowadays.
Of his better-known songs, Dylan included "All Along the Watchtower," "Mr. Tambourine Man, "Maggie's Farm" and "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright." He closed with "It Ain't Me, Babe." There was no opening act.
Throughout, Dylan appeared relatively engaged with the audience, even allowing about a dozen or so teens to dance on stage during the show's final songs. It was a spirited idea.
And much like Dylan himself, the dancers seemed to care little about what came out of his mouth. They were just having fun grooving.
by CNB