There was no celebration recognizing the fiftieth anniversary of Bob Dylan’s recording career in 2013, perhaps because The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration, released in a deluxe edition of DVD/Blu-ray & CD, simply couldn’t be surpassed. The stunning visuals and audio clarity of the recording match an redoubtable array of artists spanning ages and genres, all of which is impressive in itself, but even more so considering that, sans this package’s forty minutes of extra video footage (and two extra audio tracks), hearing such a wide selection of songs becomes awe-inspiring with the realization one man wrote them all.
Pre-performance footage including snippets of interviews with artists including members of Pearl Jam and Lou Reed offers a keen perspective beyond the usual homage to the subject of the show. Eddie Vedder wisely observes the best tribute is playing Dylan’s songs, while the former lynchpin of the Velvet Underground muses on just some of the musicians in the house band for the event which including members of Booker T & the MG’s as well as Dylan’s own old crony Al Kooper.
Apart from two extra CD cuts, such content is the only bonus feature per se, but The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration doesn’t really need anything further because the performances do speak for themselves, even if, as with Stevie Wonder’s pontificating take on “Blowin’ In the Wind,” some tend to be ponderous rather than uplifting. But then that’s in keeping with the songs themselves, which in the case of that anthem (to name just one), Dylan was wise enough to move beyond rather than merely replicate. The former Motown prodigy is no more or less rabble-rousing than John Mellencamp playing “Like A Rolling Stone,” but when the latter claps at song’s finish, it’s clearly for the composition and the composer.
The broad roster of participants leads directly to an expanse of song choices that moves far afield from the obvious. Reed tenders “Foot of Pride,” an outtake from Infidels, George Harrison reveals his whimsical side with one of Blonde on Blonde‘s lesser gems, “Absolutely Sweet Marie” and Ronnie Wood picks “Seven Days” which the latter-day Rolling Stone actually recorded for his solo album Gimme Some Neck. In each case, those artists’ performances display their debt to Dylan, by revealing how his influence aided in each of them finding their respective individual voices.
A full complement of musicians accompany those names, and while it’s not immediately apparent how tight is the band, their unity becomes more impressive as the show proceeds. Led by guitarist G.E. Smith, the man who fulfilled a similar role for Dylan when the latter began his ‘Never-ending Tour,’ the band sounds continuously sympathetic, and not just in contrast to those sequences such as Vedder and Mike McReady for “Masters of War,” accompanied only by Smith on mandolin or Tracy Chapman’s solo rendition of “The Times They Are A Changin’.” The shifting arrangements reaffirm not only how skillfully Bob Dylan has written in a variety of styles over the years, but how this concert, here running over four hours, included, by and large, all those tunes of his a devoted fan or the casual listener would want to hear.
Some selections may be more obvious than others, such as former leader of the Byrds Roger McGuinn with “Mr. Tambourine Man” or Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash’s “It Ain’t Me Babe.” But hearing Tom Petty and The Heartbreakers demonstrate their own internal camaraderie on the lighthearted “Rainy Day Woman #’s 12 & 35,” then render “License to Kill” in an appropriately somber tone reminds how they honed their collective virtues as a band touring with Dylan.
Within the expressions of grand homage such as this, there’s often the danger artists will call more attention to themselves than the subject at hand, but both Neil Young and Eric Clapton avoid that pitfall. Each man personally impassioned by what they chose as the former tears it up vocally on “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues” and is no less fervent instrumentally on “All Along the Watchtower (simultaneously offering his affection for Jimi Hendrix and igniting his future with The MG’s). For his part, Slowhand delivers eloquent emotionalism in the form of “Love Minus Zero/No Limit” and “Don’t Think Twice It’s All right,” both of which he might’ve done well to make part of his repertoire over the years.
Those stars take pure pleasure in their performances comparable to that which Johnny Winter exudes in his abandoned romp through “Highway 61 Revisited,” a reminder that it’s readily possible to fully enjoy Bob Dylan at face value, sans deep meaning. While The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration doesn’t really lend itself to being background sound, there’s added value in the CDs in this new package. Listening to the music without being inexorably drawn to watch and hear Richie Havens sing his stark solo version of “Just Like A Woman” or the latter-day Band (sans Robbie Robertson) lineup’s affectionate run-through of “When I Paint My Masterpiece” is an opportunity to relish the experience in a markedly different way, apart from the marketing aspect of the configuration of this ‘Deluxe Edition.’
In his accompanying essay Bill Flanagan skillfully balances a fine line, drawing effectively on twenty-years of hindsight to accurately weigh not just the profound influence of Bob Dylan on musicians and culture at large, but also the gracious means by which the man himself takes part in these proceedings: “It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)” may be a sure-fire crowd-pleaser, but there’s no denying he renders it with panache. Stirring as it may be to see the stage (over) populated for “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” after McGuinn, Clapton, Harrison and Young take turns on “My Back Pages,” it’s no more so than Dylan himself singing and playing “Girl From the North Country.” The beauty of this presentation, as originally conceived and now presented in this multi-disc set, is worth absorbing it from the start to get to that quietly moving finish.
