His latest tour of 80 cities, across three continents, ended on November 21, and critics convey concern over Dylan's inability to perform.
The reviewer for the Los Angeles Times wrote: "It was hard to tell whether the guy with the gutter-nasal voice was actually Dylan or a monster with indigestion."
The reviewer for mLIVE - Michigan savaged the aging star: "The 71-year-old folk-rock legend is a cantankerous sort, croaking and bleating the lyrics with bizarre rhythmic affectations, never addressing the crowd, rendering staples of his catalog unrecognizable. If you’re lucky, you’ll understand every 16th word."
Other news sources were kinder, admitting to Dylan's limitations, yet confirming his continuing entertainment presence.
A reporter from AARP invited his Dylan-obsessed son to see the music legend at the second-to-last performance in Washington, D.C. His son refused: “I want to remember him like he was, not how he is now with his voice all old and scratchy.” But the son changed his mind.
The versions of Dylan's songs had been rearranged to mask his “vocal limitations.” Dylan rarely plays guitar now, due to arthritis, opting for the piano.
Still, the AARP reporter wrote: "we got a living, breathing, confounding artist who in many ways embodies the best of America — inventive, ever-changing, imperfect."
It seems that Dylan is vital to some fans, infuriates others, but is a far away from retirement and entering an assisted living or continuing care residence.