With Bob Dylan’s fall tour passing its fifth date, the fan reviews on Bill Pagel’s site have, to my mind, been unusually positive, and the mainstream media has also been getting in on the act. From the San Francisco Chronicle, there is a nice appreciation from Joel Selvin: “Dylan rollicks in joy and comfort on the road less traveled.

He sang “When the Deal Goes Down” and “Workingman’s Blues #2″ from the new album and gave a whole new treatment to the only song he played from his 2001 record, “Love and Theft,” “Summer Days,” as if he has already moved on from even his most recent past. Dylan is not going to let the dust settle on his music, and he remains the most exciting, daring and rewarding interpreter of his own songs, no small feat considering the breadth of artists who have covered him.

He played a lot of harmonica, drove most songs to a close with a couple of choruses on harp. He gave the soloists double choruses and took second instrumental breaks, clearly relishing the wide, swinging sound of the band and the spare, precise solo work. Bassist Tony Garnier played as much upright as electric. Steel guitarist and violinist Donnie Herron added to the group’s aggressive drive, playing more blues than country. The whole “Modern Times” band sound harked back to the tight, rocking ensembles led by one of Dylan’s early heroes, the late Doug Sahm.

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