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 But there he was on Wednesday night, skipping over his own
formidable songbook in favor of lovelorn 1950's ballads made
famous by the Chairman of the Board.
It could have been excruciating. But it was wonderful.
Backed by his crack band, Dylan stood in the spotlight to sing
"What'll I Do", "The Night we Called it a Day", "I'm a Fool to
Want You" and other standards featured on his latest album,
"Shadows in the Night".
A year ago, fans had greeted the news that Dylan was planning an
album of songs made famous by Sinatra with some trepidation.
Dylan himself explained when it was released in May that he was
not recording a Sinatra tribute.
"I don't see myself as covering these songs in any way. They've
been covered enough. Buried, as a matter a fact. What me and my
band are basically doing is uncovering them. Lifting them out of
the grave and bringing them into the light of day," he said at
the time.
"Shadows in the Night" has been a critical and commercial
success, only adding to Dylan's enigma at the age of 74.
The Western Swing style of the band, anchored by bassist Tony
Garnier and featuring ace guitarist Charlie Sexton, helped the
ballads, shorn of elaborate string arrangements, to flow easily
into Dylan's own songs such as "Duquesne Whistle" and "Spirit on
the Water".
It had the feel of a Mid-Western country dance somewhere in time
rather than a Manhattan night club.
Sinatra recorded most of the songs while he was pining for Ava
Gardner, who had dumped him for a Spanish bullfighter.
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Dylan of course does not have the voice of Frank Sinatra. But then
Sinatra never wrote a song like "Tangled Up in Blue", a Great
American novel in verse. Dylan treated the audience to a
free-wheeling version before heading off for the intermission.
As it happened, Dylan's voice, often derided as a croaky rasp, was
strong and even tender on the ballads. Dressed in a gambler's suit,
wide-brimmed hat and cowboy boots, he did not play guitar at all but
stood at the microphone, like an old song and dance man,
occasionally breaking into a little jig.
The lyrics to "Why Try To Change Me Now", by Cy Coleman and Joseph
McCarthy and featured on Sinatra's 1959 album "No One Cares", took
on a whole other resonance in Dylan's hands and could almost have
been written for the man himself.
Dylan opened the show with "Things have Changed", a reminder that
his own songs have won Oscar awards. Much of the rest of the set
came from his previous album, "Tempest", and he evoked some brooding
menace on "Pay in Blood and "Scarlet Town" before closing with
Joseph Kosma's 1945 torch song "Autumn Leaves".
Some fans may come to Dylan concerts hoping to hear a run-through of
his greatest hits. But it would be unwise to expect that at this
stage of the game.
As an encore, he played a stately, countryfied version of "Blowin'
in the Wind", with himself on grand piano. But it was the least of
the delights of this latest edition of the Never-Ending Tour.
(Editing by Louise Ireland)
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