Arena a sell-out for living legend

WHAT makes Bob Dylan, a man who has 43 albums behind him, continue touring 200 days of the year at the age of 60?

He certainly doesn't need the money. Clearly Dylan is still driven by the same fiery desire to communicate that inspired him to become the angry voice of his generation and one of the defining icons of the 1960s.

And for thousands of fans who gathered to hear that voice at the one-off sell-out gig at the MEN Arena last night, the passing of the years didn't matter one bit.

Many of them were no doubt in the crowd when Dylan played Manchester on his first British tour in the 60s.

Last night, he and his backing band rolled through songs from his latest album, Love And Theft. What mattered was that they were witnessing a living legend who still symbolised the spirit of an age and resolutely refused to quit. But Dylan's still-unmistakable voice is now so rasping that he can no longer manage the tender vocal inflections that once made songs like Don't Think Twice It's Alright and Like A Rolling Stone -- which he played last night -- so touching and poignant.

He has reworked classics like Visions of Johanna, Masters of War and Rainy Day Women almost beyond recognition, altering the arrangement, tempo, melody and emotion so that the integrity of those meticulously crafted songs is all but lost.

That said, Dylan remains an uncompromising enigma, impervious to fads and fashions, and his fierce integrity is the key to why he is still loved by so many.

As to why is he still standing in the spotlight on a never-ending tour before a sold-out crowd 40 years on -- last night in Manchester, the answer was blowing in the wind.

Jane Field