Neil Young at Hyde Park
Neil Young and Bob Dylan at Hyde Park, 12th July 2019
With both Neil Young and Bob Dylan at Hyde Park on the same day, co-headlining tours rarely come much bigger. Originally billed as part of Barclaycard presents British Summer Time at Hyde Park, Neil Young managed to have the main sponsorship pulled due to them being a “fossil fuel funding entity”.
Such is the power of two of music’s oldest men in rock. In fact, good ole Bob and Uncle Neil can pretty much do as they please, which they most certainly did at Hyde Park. Albeit with one being more of a success than the other.
Neil Young and the Promise of the Real – Hyde Park
Neil Young at Hyde Park
Having already caught the wonderful Cat Power and Laura Marling, it was time for the first of the two big names. After all Neil Young at Hyde Park was half the reason why we were all here. Unlike the other half, Neil Young and Promise of the Real played what was ultimately a fairly crowd-pleasing set.
This was Neil Young at his best, a man that is always evolving yet delivers every time, even when playing it fairly safe with the setlist. At the age of 73, Neil has always kept himself relevant, recently through 2 albums recorded with his current touring band, Promise of the Real. Incidentally, a group that features the son of Neil’s good friend, country star Willie Nelson.
Opening up with “Mansion on the Hill” Neil Young took us through the likes of “Words” and an acoustic “Heart of Gold”. While there was little time for between-song banter, Neil’s trusty electric guitar, affectionately named Old black certainly did more than enough talking. Ending the main set with a particularly heavy “Love and only Love” followed by a never-ending “Rockin’ in the Free World”.
While Neil Young and Bob Dylan at Hyde Park may not have seen the pair on stage together, Neil did still return for his own obligatory encore. “Like a Hurricane” sounding perfect and even with the weaker tune of “Piece of Crap” Neil Young was certainly worth every penny.
Neil Young and Bob Dylan at Hyde Park
Bob Dylan at Hyde Park
As for Bob Dylan live, you never know what you’re going to get. Well known for being grumpy and awkward, there’s still no getting away from Bob’s legendary status. While some may still be clinging on to the hope of seeing a 1960’s protest singer version of Dylan, these days it’s never going to happen.
Nor should this matter, as like Neil Young, Dylan has constantly changed his musical persona. At times defying the critics, others giving them a reason to be disappointed. Although, it was soon obvious we were going to get the latter when it came to Bob Dylan at Hyde Park.
Personally, I’ve no issue with Dylan re-arranging songs every time he plays them. After all, he’s pushing 80 years old and his voice naturally sounds nothing like it once did. Plus why shouldn’t he mix it up every so often? Well, unfortunately maybe it’s time to say enough is enough.
Bob Dylan at Hyde Park
Visually Dylan seemed to insist the big screens showed nothing other than a close up of his own face behind the piano. Maybe so we could see him give a wry smile, in fact, I’ve never seen Bob Dylan look so happy. However musically, he somehow made every tune sound the same, the whole set was flat and uninspiring. The biggest cheer coming when he half-heartedly played a few notes on the harmonica.
Yes, Bob Dylan was on stage for quite some time, but most of it was spent trying to work out what he was actually singing. Even tracks from stronger latter-day albums “Love and Theft” (2001) and “Tempest” (2012) that are more suited to a modern bluesy Bob sounded undistinguishable.
The only song to resemble the original structure, albeit this time with a full band, was pretty much “Girl from the North Country” taken from “The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan“. So why the audience thought they’d be able to sing along to “Like a Rolling Stone”, I can only imagine was to drown out poor old Bob altogether.
Ending with “It Takes a Lot to Laugh, it Takes a Train to Cry”, it was as if Bob Dylan at Hyde Park was trying to make a point. Only this time around, we weren’t laughing Bob, in fact, it may finally be time to hang up your hat and call it a day.
