Gonna Change My Way of Thinking: How the year 2009 paved the way for 'The Set'

"Gonna change my way of thinking

Make myself a different set of rules"

The last decade has seen a lot of changes to the live Bob Dylan experience. In 2013, having spent most of the preceding 25 years playing setlists that varied considerably from one show to the next, Dylan began playing the same songs each night – a format that fans came to know as ‘The Set’. Over the course of 2014 and 2015, Dylan began including Great American Songbook standards in his show, to the point where through 2016 and 2017 they accounted for a good third of the performance. Recently, I tried to pinpoint what had prompted these changes. Was there a certain point that all of this could be traced back to? The answer: the year 2009... 

Before delving into that year, it should be noted that the years 2006-2009 are generally not remembered fondly by fans, for several reasons. One was Dylan's voice, which had deteriorated to an alarming degree that left him with almost no range, combined with a perplexing collection of vocal mannerisms that had emerged over the years and now compounded upon one another to distressing effect. Other issues included Dylan's lack of engagement with the crowd - Bob spent most of the show hunched over a keyboard at the side of the stage, facing away from the audience - and a lack of chemistry between Dylan and his band, who were described in 2007 by Shawn Badgley of The Austin Chronicle as being "so careful not to cross him as to resemble battered children tiptoeing around their napping drunk of a father". 

Now, I wasn't there to see any of these shows in person - maybe if I had I might have enjoyed them? - but, based on recordings, Mr Badgley's comments seem unfortunately accurate. There must have been a point where Dylan decided that things needed to change.

In 2009, several important Bob Dylan-related things happened. In April, Dylan released an album, Together Through Life, which he had recorded the previous December whilst working on the soundtrack for the film My Own Love Song. At the centre of the record was the track ‘Forgetful Heart’, a song that only fully revealed itself once it was dramatically reworked on stage that summer. Where Dylan’s live shows at this point had gained a reputation for being overly loud and blues-based, the live version of ‘Forgetful Heart’ was the exact opposite: a quiet, vaguely menacing torch song that was usually met with an awed hush from the crowd. In hindsight, this version of the song, which was performed by Bob from centre stage on harmonica only, could be seen as a precursor to the much quieter, less rock orientated presentation that Dylan would favour from 2013 onwards.

Another significant development occurred in October, with the return to Dylan’s band, after seven years away, of guitarist Charlie Sexton. In his previous stint in the band between 1999 and 2002, Charlie had emerged as one of a small group of musicians who have been able to read Dylan on an almost telepathic level. I’ve often suspected that Dylan needs someone to compete with onstage – someone with enough stage presence that Dylan is forced to up his game in order to keep the audience’s attention focused on himself. This role having been vacant for some time, the return of Charlie appeared to have an immediate revitalising effect on Dylan.

The third very important event of 2009 arrived at the very end of the year in the form of Christmas in the Heart, Bob Dylan’s first ever Christmas album. Far from being some kind of elaborate practical joke, the album turned out to be a sincere collection of holiday-themed pop standards, carols and hymns. While his voice was still extremely weathered, Dylan was clearly giving it everything he had, sticking faithfully to the melodies and belting out the lyrics with real feeling – a sharp contrast to his live performances from earlier in the year. Not only did this album serve as a sharp reminder of Dylan’s interpretive skill, but also his deep love of the music of the ‘30s, ‘40’s and ‘50s: many of these tracks had been recorded by the likes of Bing Crosby, Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin.

What do you get when you combine Bob Dylan, old standards, Charlie Sexton, and a quieter performance style that allows Bob to reclaim the full expressiveness of his voice? You get Dylan’s live performances from 2013 to 2019, which I suspect will come to be regarded as a remarkable late-career purple patch. Hopefully, Bob will soon have the opportunity to continue this run of good form into the 2020s. 

Here's the first song Bob played at Charlie Sexton's first show back in the band (a very appropriate choice, in hindsight):