Recent Music: Brian and Bob

I saw Brian Wilson play live in Chicago last week.  Brian is an unparalleled genius in the recording studio, but he is a little out of his element on stage.  His manner was somewhat awkward and at times he appeared lost.  But his top notch band would quickly get him back on track.  The audience didn’t mind either  — if Brian was struggling a bit or his voice gave a little, they would rise to their feet, and that seemed to inject him with energy.

All in all the show was terrific.  The first half was a selection of Beach Boys’ classics, and by ‘classic’ I mean some of the half dozen or so greatest pop songs ever written.  It was a thrill to hear them performed live.  For the second half Brian performed his new album in its entirety.  Brian’s vocal performance was much stronger on these numbers.  Brian played a short encore of hits, and closed with a beautiful stripped down version of ‘Love & Mercy’ from his first solo album.

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The latest volume of Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series is outstanding.  The two discs contain unreleased tracks and live performances from 1989 to 2006.  The alternate versions of some of the tracks are a revelation.   The subdued performance of ‘Mississippi’ has more emotional punch than the version that appeared on Love & Theft (2006).  The live performances in the collection are surprisingly good — Bob is very energetic and uncharacteristically articulate.  (I’ve seen Dylan twice recently — once was mediocre and once was just plain awful.)

The Bootleg Series releases are essential for any Dylan fan .  There isn’t a bad one in the bunch.