Of course, of all people, Bob Dylan probably doesn’t need anything else said about him. There’s possibly been too much said already, and that may have even been true over 50 years ago when the folk singer turned attitudinal rocker and inscrutable trickster would short-circuit interviews and press conferences by questioning the premise of the whole interrogative charade.
Dylan, now a winner of the Nobel Prize for literature, continues to confound. He mangles his own melodies, alters the essential time-feel of his songs and generally undermines the myth-making apparatus that has followed him throughout his career. And yet every pivot, zigzag and backflip only makes him more interesting.
His late-’70s Christian phase was the subject of a special edition of the long-running “bootleg series” that plunders the outtakes, alternate versions and of the singer’s considerable vaults. And now a new boxed set (just in time for the holidays!) explores the sessions for Dylan’s landmark “Blood on the Tracks” album.
There have, over the past couple years, also been records of songs associated with Frank Sinatra, a record of Christmas songs, and other fan-challenging endeavors. But Dylan’s diehard loyalists are a special breed, willing to argue the merits of “Desire” vs. “Planet Waves” vs. “Good As I Been To You” while others look on in confusion. It’s certain that Dylan will play some songs you know at his Connecticut show, whether you recognize them is the question.
Bob Dylan performs at the Palace Theater, 100 East Main St., Waterbury, on Nov. 20 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $72.50 to $142.50. 203-346-2000, palacetheaterct.org