Audio Example 12.8:

"Hard Rain," live (1991, Offenbach)

Dylan becomes more and more vocally exploratory in these years. In this performance, note how he dips into his lower range for the beginning of several lines (“Saw a highway of diamonds . . .”; “Saw a black branch . . .”; etc.). Much of his vocal invention occurs high in his register; this is a striking exception. (Though not isolated. Compare the 2011 Bethel Woods "Desolation Row" in audio example 5.6, with its bass melody suggestive of Italian comic opera.)