Bob Dylan

Bob Dylan/The Band. Before the Flood, Asylum Records AB 201 .

If you've been out of the country for a while or in suspended animation, you might not know that Bob Dylan let the public have a look at him this past winter. And if you weren't one of the tens of thousands with the cash to witness the Minnesota Mohammed, Asylum Records would like you to scrape up what you've got and buy the four-sided evidence they've assembled.

Basically, the record pretty much approximates what happened at the concerts. Dylan did a set with the Band, the Band followed with their familiar standards and Dylan finished with an acoustic set, alone with his harmonica and guitar. As was the case with the concert, the solo performance of the Band was much like watching scenes from Mary Poppins during a showing of Citizen Kane. But when Dylan returned those in attendance literally couldn't get enough.

Though everybody and his sister knew the songs and nearly all the lyrics, Dylan's vigorous and willing attempt to communicate brought a newness and a strength to the music. He seemed to want to be there as much as those who came to see him. The album does as much.

The thing that proves the mettle of Dylan's music is its lastingness. This latest concert, though stocked with songs that dealt with the immediacies of over ten years ago, smacked of no nostalgia. Listen again to "It's All Right Ma (I'm only Bleeding)" where Dylan prophetically foresees our current domestic idiocy: "But even the President of the United States must sometimes have to stand naked." Dylan indeed has a voice that still needs to be heard.

As regards the record itself, it is technically every bit as good as the sound Dylan achieves live. The Band was dealt the short end of the stick by being billed with the most popular solo attraction in the country. They are, alone, a tight group of instrumentalists whose sound does not rely on the marvels of studio electronics. Their accompaniment of Dylan was a forceful bit of ensemble work. They know his music as well as anybody and their contribution was forceful and informed with a great feeling for his music.

All in all, whether you were fortunate enough to see the concert or not, the album is not a mere rehashing of old material. Dylan's approach is fresh and will be appreciated by those either familiar or unfamiliar with his past work.

--David Weiss