Bob Dylan's 'Love & Theft' at 20: How the Never Ending Tour Band Shaped His Most Playful Album
Bob Dylan's 'Love & Theft,' released on September 11, 2001, represented a departure from the more serious tone of 'Time Out of Mind' (1997). The album was crafted at Clinton Recording Studios in New York, with Dylan taking on the alias Jack Frost as producer. It features his band from the Never Ending Tour, including Tony Garnier, David Kemper, Charlie Sexton, and Larry Campbell. At the age of 60 in 2001, Dylan was in the thirteenth year of his tour, having performed over 230 shows since Sexton joined in 1999. The album’s title nods to Eric Lott's book and celebrates American music from the 1920s to the 1950s, with standout tracks like 'Mississippi,' 'Bye and Bye,' and 'High Water (For Charley Patton).' 'Love & Theft' is regarded as Dylan's most enjoyable album, contrasting sharply with its predecessor.
Key facts
- 'Love & Theft' was released on September 11, 2001.
- The album was recorded at Clinton Recording Studios in New York, produced by Bob Dylan under the pseudonym Jack Frost.
- The backing band consisted of Tony Garnier (bass), David Kemper (drums), Charlie Sexton and Larry Campbell (guitars).
- By 2001, Dylan turned 60 and the Never Ending Tour was in its thirteenth year; the band had played over 230 concerts since Sexton joined in 1999.
- The album title was borrowed from Eric Lott's book 'Love & Theft: Blackface Minstrelsy and the American Working Class'.
- 'Mississippi' was rescued from the discarded sessions of 'Time Out of Mind'.
- 'Bye and Bye', 'Floater (Too Much to Ask)', and 'Moonlight' form a jazz-chord trilogy that anticipated Dylan's later albums 'Shadows in the Night' (2015), 'Fallen Angels' (2016), and 'Triplicate' (2017).
- 'Honest With Me' has been performed nearly 800 times on the Never Ending Tour, surpassing 'It's Alright Ma', 'The Times They Are A-Changin'', and 'Desolation Row'.
- 'Sugar Baby' closes the album, with a melody taken from Gene Austin's 'The Lonesome Road'.
- Only four other Dylan albums—his mid-1960s electric trilogy and 'The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'—have more songs in the Never Ending Tour repertoire.
Entities
Artists
- Bob Dylan
- Daniel Lanois
- Clark Gable
- Robert Johnson
- Hank Williams
- Charley Patton
- Frank Sinatra
- Carter Family
- Sam Phillips
- Muddy Waters
- Cole Porter
- Eric Lott
- Tony Garnier
- David Kemper
- Charlie Sexton
- Larry Campbell
- Robbie Robertson
- Levon Helm
- Richard Manuel
- Elvis Presley
- Brian Setzer
- Billie Holiday
- Gene Austin
- The Beatles
- The Who
- Stray Cats
- Brian Setzer Orchestra
- The Band
- Coen Brothers
Institutions
- Clinton Recording Studios
- Revista cultural el Hype
Locations
- New York
- United States
- Minnesota
- Appalachia
- Delta
Sources
- El Hype —