Plan on seeing Bob Dylan in November (along with Mark Knopfler - double bill). What does he sound like live?

Much older than he used to.

Oh, my. Bob Dylan is a great songwriter. He is not a great singer.

I saw him about 15 years ago with Paul Simon. Between the mumbling and the tunelessness, I could not even tell what songs he was singing. Maybe your luck will be better; in any case, Knopfler should be great!

Hahaha, @janbb I’ve heard that before. Nikki saw him twice. First time, his singing was horrendous. Second time, he sounded great.

Hopefully, better than he does when recorded.

I think he is much better recorded!

I saw him about 6 months ago. He does not sound like he used to, but he’s been on the road for 50 years, so that’s really a weird thing to expect. His voice is rusty and it’s almost like a whisper. For me, who is a great Bob Dylan fan, it doesn’t really matter. Just going to a Bob Dylan concert is enough for me.
But do not expect to hear what the same voice as back in the 60’s, 70’s or 80’s. It’s not the same voice and the songs does not sound the same. If you’re going to a concert expecting his voice and the songs to be the same as maybe 30 years ago, you’ll be disappointed. If you’re going to a concert with openness, it’ll be a great concert.

I do think Bob Dylan was a great singer and the people who say he can’t(couldn’t) sing, well, they’re wrong.

Sounds as though he has bad nasal polyps.

A garbage disposal.

He sounded great at Western Springs, Auckland 1978…

@Adagio Wow, I envy you!

Dylan can’t carry a tune in a paper bag..but I grant him his song writing ability; should of been a poet as apposed to a singer.

@Roby It’s just not correct. If you know anything about music, you know that Dylan can carry a tune. It would have been a shame if he hadn’t been a singer.

Dylan is clearly an accomplished writer, and his early work shows lots of talent singing folk songs. But his limited vocal range and inconsistent stage performances are legendary. His albums can be great (“Blood on the Tracks”) but it’s hard for us lay folk to know how much studio/editing work it takes to produce that.

I’ve seen Dylan live three times and he is all over the map, depending especially on whether he’s sober. In his holy-roller mode or ballad mode he could put a pretty good tune together.
The last time I saw him was almost twenty years ago at Jones Beach and he was drunk. If it weren’t for his band propelling each song along he probably would have passed out.
The die-hard fans were gushing about “the interpretations!” of his old standards, but I call it mumbling and forgetting.

From his latest albums he seems to have sobered up and hi voice has ground down to a raspy whisper, but he at least seems to know all the words. He’s expressive, no doubt, and that’s the best part about Dylan when he’s “on”, but don’t expect virtuosity except of a very specific kind.

@dabbler Great analysis! I love the “Modern Times” album too; he just is so inconsistent.