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| Cat Power Photo by Mario Sorrenti |
CAT POWER SINGS DYLAN The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert
Her Majesty's Theatre March 10 Adelaide Festival 2025
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
I am instantly set aback. Cat
Power the octane charged interpreter of Bob Dylan’s songs enters in a green
suit with white boots and blonde hair. It is not the image one might expect of
a performer of Dylan’s classic songs from the 1966 Royal Albert Hall
Performance. Nor is it the photo in the Adelaide Festival Program. With a
single gesture it was clear who was in command as she beckoned the lights down
and stood ready to sing lit by the back lighting that enveloped her in the folk
singer’s haze. From the start it was clear that we were about to hear Cat Power’s
rendition of Dylan in her powerhouse style.
For almost two hours Power sings
the songs for Bob Dylan’s Live Royal Albert Hall concert of 1966 which was
actually recorded ten days earlier on May 17 at the Manchester Free Trades
Hall. It is only when she launches into one song after another with minimal
commentary that it is obvious that the audience is in for a special tribute to
Dylan, stamped with her own full throttles vocal rendition. In acknowledgement
of the world tour concert, Power’s first half is accompanied by a blues
guitarist and a harmonica player. It is rooted in the folk and blues tradition
of Dylan’s Minnesota upbringing and the influence of idol Woody Guthrie. Opening
the concert with Dylan’s ironic She
Belongs To Me and closing with the crowd favourite a mesmerising Mr Tambourine Man Power, backed by the
guitar and the melancholic sounds of the harmonica reaches deep into the soul
to find her voice soaring with longing and regret (It’s All Over Now Baby Blue) or veiled sarcasm and suppressed anger
in Just Like A Woman.
As the resounding applause
subsides after Mr. Tambourine Man to
close the first half the band enters for the second half. The evocative sounds
of the acoustic accompaniment of the first half of folk rock songs gives way to
the pumped energy of revolutionary electric rock with opened up piano, drums
and percussion and electric guitar. Power opens with an anecdote of her
experience with cigarettes and liquor and four debilitating bouts of covid.
There is nothing in her voice to suggest any damage. She opens with Tell Me Momma , a plea to help a
desperate woman on the edge. The shock of the shift from acoustic to electric
is instantaneous as the band lunches into the song and Power gives it open throat
velocity. With songs like Baby Let Me
Follow You Down, Leopard Skin Pill
Box Hat and Ballad of a Thin Man Power
stamps her personality and phenomenal voice with her own distinct arrangements.
She never veers away from the essence of Dylan’s music and lyrics, but stays
true to Dylan’s commentary on relationships and society. Audiences have the
rare opportunity to see live an interpreter of Dylan’s genius who reveres the
man and his music and has the gift of casting fresh light upon Dylan’s songs
The outrage that accompanied the sudden shift from acoustic to electric in Dylan’s 1966 world tour is passe to a modern audience, which allows Power to revel in the shock of the new. My only reservation was the delivery of the lyrics. Dylan is a poet of his generation and his lyrics continue to resonate with meaning. He is the Shakespeare of his song. His lyrics are rich in irony, ambiguity and antithesis, allowing an insight into our humanity. Unfortunately, many of the lyrics were lost. Perhaps it was my hearing, perhaps the sound mix or perhaps the loss of the lyrics in the sheer forcefulness of Power’s voice. As others had difficulty, I assumed that it was one of the latter two. Whatever the case, I returned to google the lyrics again and found that they were crucial to an understanding and appreciation of Dylan’s poetic genius.They needed to be heard. Power’s unique talent and emotive vocal interpretation pays tribute to a singer/songwriter whose songs changed music forever. Power too, like the 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert, has changed the way we appreciate, not only the songs but also Dylan the man. It was Power and Dylan who shared the evening’s standing ovation.
(Cat Power) Charlyn | Marshall | Lead vocal |
Henry | Munson | guitar / backing vox |
Jordan | Summers | organ / wurlitzer |
Adeline | Jasso | guitar |
Matthew | Schuessler | Bass |
Christopher | Joyner | Piano |
Daniel | Potruch | Drummer |