Bob Dylan whips up tempest in return to 1966 London venue

He kicked off with Oscar-winning Things Have Changed, following it with She Belongs to Me. PHOTO: FILE

LONDON: Bob Dylan played London’s Albert Hall this week for the first time since his fabled and tumultuous concerts there in 1966. His vitality and mystique are intact five decades on since he revolutionised popular music.

This time round there were no boos and catcalls prompted by his use of electric instruments, just ovations as he led his crack band through a set that drew heavily from his latest albumTempest but also reached back into earlier stages of his career.

True to form, Dylan said not a word to the audience, letting the music speak for itself.

He kicked off on Wednesday night with the Oscar-winning Things Have Changed following it with She Belongs to Me — the only song which had also featured in the 1966 shows.

An early highlight was What Good Am I from 1989’s Oh Mercy. He also offered up gentle, almost jazzy versions of Tangled Up in Blue and Simple Twist of Fate from Blood on the Tracks.

Fire and brimstone

But there was still plenty of fire and brimstone in the 72-year-old — “I’ll pay in blood, but not my own,” he snarled in Pay in Blood, a track from Tempest.

Further evidence he was not going soft was a bitter Love Sick from Time Out of Mind, the 1997 album which ushered in a new creative era for Dylan which shows no sign of stopping.

Dressed in a gambler’s coat and mariachi pants, Dylan either sat at a grand piano centre stage or sang at the microphone. His hands do not allow him to play much guitar these days.

But he treated the audience to plenty of his trademark wheezing harmonica. That his voice is a raspy croak is not news but it still sounded strong, and he looked spritely, his curly head of hair also a survivor from the ‘60s.

His three shows at the Albert Hall this week are part of the so-called Never-Ending Tour which sees him playing about 100 shows around the globe every year, re-shaping his classics in new versions which have both delighted and perplexed fans.

It was the first time Dylan had played the cavernous Victorian venue since the controversial shows 47 years ago which became the stuff of legend.

For those gigs he brought an electric group which later became known as The Band — but his then-new direction was greeted with anger by many fans who worshipped him as a politically engaged folk troubadour.

In a famous confrontation, a fan shouted out Judas to which Dylan replied “I don’t believe you,” and instructed the band to “play f***ing loud”.

The concert, heckler included, was released in 1998 as The ‘Royal Albert Hall’ Concert — though in fact it was from the Free Trade Hall in Manchester.

It might have been fitting if for his return Dylan had played Like a Rolling Stone, a 1966 show-stopper, but the Minnesota-born singer didn’t get where he is by doing the obvious.

As an encore, he played a roaring All Along the Watchtower followed by a R’n’B version of the peace anthem Blowin’ in the Wind before he disappeared into the night