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IF YOU’RE NOT familiar with D/C, the rule-of-thumb is simple. Wherever you see assessments of "Very Good", "Excellent" or "Superlative", you can’t go wrong; "Quite Good", "Fair" or "Poor", maybe you can.
AS WITH "DYLAN: CONTRABAND", these archived reviews are in chronological order with collections at the end. To check out your chosen CD, all you have to do is either click the link or scroll down to the appropriate year (or to the bottom for compilations).
ANY COMMENTS, congrats or criticisms, I’d love to hear from you. The address as always is cjtmidgley@gmail.com.
THE CDs REVIEWED in this Web Bonus Archive have been put under the same microscope as all two-hundred-and-eight discs reviewed in "DYLAN: CONTRABAND": same headings, detail, and independent conclusions. This page collects together all the CD reviews which once featured on the now-defunct Web Bonus page.
1964 (plus)
~ QUEST FOR NEWPORT ~
(No Label Designation) BD004
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD -
Europe
TOTAL PLAYING TIME -
72 mins 05 secs (14 tracks)
SOURCE -
Tracks 1,6,7,8: Newport Folk Festival, Freebody Park,
Newport, RI. 25th July 1965
Tracks 2,3,4,5: Newport Folk Festival, Freebody Park,
Newport, RI. 26th July 1964
Tracks 9-14: CBC-TV Studios, Toronto, Canada for the
‘Quest’ series of programmes*. 1st February 1964
*Dylan's show was entitled ‘The Times They Are A-Changin'’.
TRACK LISTING -
1. It's All Over Now Baby Blue
2. All I Really Want To Do
3. To Ramona
4. Mr Tambourine Man
5. Chimes Of Freedom
6. Maggie's Farm
7. Like A Rolling Stone
8. It Takes A Lot To Laugh
9. The Times They Are A-Changin'
10. Talkin' World War III Blues
11. The Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll
12. Girl From The North Country
13. A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall
14. Restless Farewell*
*lyrically complete, but faded abruptly at 5 minutes 01 second
TRACK LINKS - Fade
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Very Good
Tracks 6,8: Stereo soundboard feed - Superlative
Tracks 1,2,3,4,5,7: Stereo soundboard feed. Occasional
flashes of crackle on track 1 - Excellent
(All the above tracks have the quality, balance and feel of
unreleased official material)
Tracks 9-14: Mono broadcast feed. Good balance between
vocal/harp/guitar, but significant hiss throughout - Quite Good
PRESENTATION - Very Good
Standard jewel box with see-through disc tray. Folded
Insert; black and white mid-sixties shots on ‘pages 1-4’
(also on custom disc and under disc tray). Track/(basic)
location details printed over further mid-sixties photo on
back of box.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT -
The strangest thing about QUEST FOR NEWPORT is the
confusing sequence of the tracks. We open with It's All Over
Now Baby Blue (Newport '65). This is Bob's excellent
response to the adverse audience reaction he had caused
by ‘going electric’ a matter of minutes before. Now flip back
three-hundred-and-sixty-four days; tracks 2-5 are Dylan's
headlining set from Newport '64. Now fast-forward back to
where we began; the next three cuts are that infamous
‘electric’ set. Finally, flash back to the beginning of 1964
for the CBC-TV ‘Quest’ recordings. I'm not naïve, of course;
I do understand that, more often than not, producers have to
sell CDs on the strength of the opening tracks. This can
make for something of a problem if the earliest recordings
have the least-good quality sound. Nevertheless, from the
point of view of a nit-picking collector, QUEST FOR NEWPORT
would tell a much more interesting story if everything was in
chronological order. But maybe it's not such a hard nut to
crack; after all, the advantage of CDs is that they can be
programmed to play as we wish - so let's do that. The
‘Quest’ performances are urgent, but straightforward;
effective certainly, but slightly sterile without an audience.
Newport '64 gives us fine versions of Ramona and Tambourine
Man, and a quite chilling Chimes Of Freedom. Bob has to
take time out to think between verses, but this take has
a much more spontaneous and committed feel than the
official release on the ‘Another Side Of ...’ album. Then
we come to Newport '65. Probably for the first time, the
true impact and energy of Dylan's ‘electric revolution’
comes through in these pristine stereo tapes. The clarity
and instrument separation (particularly on Maggie's Farm
and It Takes A Lot To Laugh) is quite remarkable.
Finally, Bob tells the audience what QUEST FOR NEWPORT
told us at the start; It's All Over Now Baby Blue. All
programming quibbles aside, this is an excellent value
CD. It gives us new insights, and has a deserved place
on the library shelf.
STANDOUT TRACKS -
To Ramona (great version, despite nearly swallowing the
harp), Mr Tambourine Man, Chimes Of Freedom, Maggie's
Farm, It Takes A Lot To Laugh, Restless Farewell (a rare
performance indeed).
VALUE FOR MONEY - Excellent
**************************************************
1975
~ RENALDO & CLARA ~
Noriaa Records (No Number)
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD -
Europe
TOTAL PLAYING TIME -
72 mins 43 secs (20 tracks)
SOURCE -
Track 1: War Memorial Auditorium,
Plymouth, MA. 31st October 1975
Tracks 2,4,10,13,14,16: Montreal
Forum, Montreal, Canada. 4th December 1975
Track 3: Gordon Lightfoot's house,
Toronto, Canada. 30th November 1975
Track 5: Studio A, Studio Instrument
Rentals, NYC. 25th/26th October 1975
Track 6: Harvard Square Theatre,
Cambridge, MA. 20th November 1975
Tracks 7,9,11,15 (pt. 2): (Probably) Hotel room,
Niagara Falls, NY. 14th & 16th November 1975
Tracks 8,18: Boston Music Hall,
Boston, MA. 21st November 1975 (evening show)
Track 12: Hotel room, Quebec,
Canada. 28th November 1975
Track 15 (pt. 1): Palace Theatre,
Waterbury, CT. 11th November 1975
Track 17: Unknown
Tracks 19,20: Civic Center,
Providence, RI. 4th November 1975
TRACK LISTING -
1. When I Paint (sic)
2. Isis
3. (Ballad In Plain D* - Gordon Lightfoot)
4. A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall (sic)
5. People Get Ready*
6. It Ain't Me Babe
7. She Belongs To Me
8. It Takes A Lot To Laugh
9. If You See Her, Say Hello*
10. Romance In Durango
11. One Too Many Mornings
12. House Of The Rising Sun*
13. One More Cup Of Coffee
14. Sara*
15. The Water Is Wide*/Patty's Gone To Loredo (sic)
16. Never Let Me Go*
17. Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands*
18. Tangled Up In Blue
19. Just Like A Woman*
20. Knocking On Heaven's Door* (sic)
*incomplete or abbreviated performances
TRACK LINKS - Cut
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Very Good
Stereo soundtrack recordings - the stereo is
more plain on the formally-recorded concert
tracks. Low-level machine buzz throughout (not intrusive).
Tracks 1,2,4,6,10,13,14,16,19 - Excellent
Tracks 3,5,7,8,18 - Very Good
Tracks 9,15 (pt. 1),17,20 - Quite Good
Tracks 11,12,15 (pt. 2) - Fair
Notes:
(I) Top frequencies on Isis (track 2) muted
for the first 39 seconds.
(ii) Momentary loss of sound on Tangled Up
In Blue (track 18) at 1 minute 18 seconds.
(iii) Tracks 11,15 (pts. 1 & 2) & 17 are
overlaid by dialogue.
PRESENTATION - Poor
Laminated slip sleeve; full-colour presentation.
‘White-face make-up’ performance shot on
front; (slightly inaccurate) track info on the
reverse, with two ‘white-face’ photos and
one with Robbie Robertson from The Band's
‘Last Waltz’ concert (!?!) No location or any
other detail. Attractive though uninformative
disc with only grey/yellow/green concentric
circles and the legend ‘AR&CE’.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT -
It must be a producer's nightmare, trying to
create a half-decent CD from the ‘Renaldo
And Clara’ movie soundtrack. Let's face it,
the mighty Columbia could only pull together
four songs for their official promo release.
Well, RENALDO & CLARA (the bootleg) is
far more successful than that, but it is
hampered by the fact that many performances
are incomplete; sometimes we begin a couple
of lines into a verse, sometimes only two or
three verses are featured. Worse still, in
several places the music is simply buried
under dialogue. Like I said, it's not easy.
All-in-all however, I rather like this CD. Dylan
contributes (in varying degrees) to thirty
different songs throughout the four-hour film;
RENALDO & CLARA packages twenty of
these, and includes all the most important
and listenable cuts. The high-octane Revue
band is at its best in Isis, and is positively
unstoppable during Hard Rain. This really
is beautiful, inspired playing. The big let-down
for the disc as a whole however comes in its
presentation. All CDs should give at least
some basic source information (particularly
when packages are as complex as RENALDO
& CLARA). Here we aren't even told what
year it was recorded! And that's bad. Anyway,
‘WEB BONUS’ to the rescue; you've read
the review and now know what's on offer.
Whilst I don't see RENALDO & CLARA as
a priority buy, the recordings do stand up
well (even those which are incomplete).
You won't go far wrong; better still though,
try to get a copy of the four-hour video
and see everything in context.
STANDOUT TRACKS -
Isis, A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, It Ain't Me
Babe, She Belongs To Me (bluesy, played
over an intoning Allen Ginsberg. I've always
loved this one!).
VALUE FOR MONEY - Quite Good
**************************************************
1976
~ LIKE A ROLLING STONE ~
Angry Dino AD 1014
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD -
Europe
TOTAL PLAYING TIME -
75 mins 08 secs (16 tracks)
SOURCE -
Tracks 1-6: Hughes Stadium, Colorado State University,
Fort Collins, CO. 23rd May 1976
Tracks 7-16: Starlight Ballroom, Belleview Biltmore
Hotel, Clearwater, FLA. 22nd April 1976
(tracks 7-11: afternoon session / tracks 12-16: evening session)
TRACK LISTING -
1. A Hard Rain's Gonna Fall (sic)
2. Blowin' In The Wind (with Joan Baez)
3. Railroad Boy (with Joan Baez)
4. Deportees (with Joan Baez)
5. I Pity The Poor Immigrant (with Joan Baez)
6. Mozambique
7. Mister Tambourine Man (sic)
8. The Times They Are A-Changin'
9. I Dreamed I Saw St Augustine (with Joan Baez)
10. (Diamonds & Rust - Joan Baez)
11. When I Paint My Masterpiece (with Bobby Neuwirth)
12. Like A Rolling Stone
13. Isis
14. Just Like A Woman
15. Knockin' On Heaven's Door (with Roger McGuinn)
16. Lay Lady Lay
TRACK LINKS - Edited to appear continuous.
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Very Good
(Low-level machine buzz throughout - not intrusive.)
Tracks 1-4: Mono broadcast feed - Very Good
Tracks 5, 6 - Fair
Mono broadcast feed. Distortion, break-up,
and loss of top frequencies from
2 minutes 58 seconds into I Pity The Poor
Immigrant, lasting throughout Mozambique.
Tracks 7-16 - Very Good
Officially recorded mono soundtrack; some
low-level hiss. The surging effects on
Tambourine Man and Times are more the result
of Dylan's erratic technique than poor mic
placement or compression.
PRESENTATION - Quite Good
Standard jewel box; all-colour presentation.
Folded insert, printed one side only. Photo of
‘Copper Center City Hall’ on front, overprinted
with the disc title and sub-headed ‘The Hidden
TV-Shows’. ‘Camp-cookhouse’ scene on
‘page 4’. Hard-to-read but accurate track/
timing/location details on back of box. Red
disc with Bob Dylan, Like A Rolling Stone,
The Hidden TV-Shows, label name and number.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT -
Rolling Thunder is without doubt the most
closely-documented period in Bob's long career.
The Fall 1975 segment gave us Renaldo &
Clara (and Larry Sloman's classic ‘On The
Road With Bob Dylan’ book-of-the-tour);
winter/spring '76 produced ‘Hard Rain’ (the
TV show), ‘Hard Rain’ (the album), and an
unreleased NBC-TV special also referred to
as ‘Hard Rain’. So what are we getting on LIKE
A ROLLING STONE? Well, quite a lot; in fact,
almost all of the unreleased tracks from the official
TV show (only Knockin' On Heaven's Door is
missing), and everything from the original NBC
version except for Bob 'n' Joan's Blowin' In The
Wind. (Including these songs would mean
duplicating tracks, so I can (reluctantly) understand
the producer's logic in passing them by.) Fort
Collins Is all pretty ragged and rugged. Dylan
is very much in control, insisting on his slow
timing for A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall, and
oversinging Ms Baez whenever and wherever
the opportunity arises. Joan however comes
into her own at Clearwater with a truly excellent
Diamonds & Rust. Like A Rolling Stone (the
song) is something of a non-event; on the other
hand, I love this Isis. It must be said, though;
outside of Deportees and a remarkable Just Like
A Woman, these are not passionate recordings.
And it's a real pity about that sound break-up.
How can I put this? There are better Rolling
Thunder Revue CDs, but LIKE A ROLLING
STONE is well-filled, reasonably presented, and
fills in some very important gaps. So that makes
it a must-have; essential - in a restrained sort of way...
STANDOUT TRACKS -
Deportees, Joan's Diamonds & Rust, Isis, Just Like
A Woman.
VALUE FOR MONEY - Very Good
**************************************************
1978
~ OKAY I STILL GET STONED ~
Blue Eyes Records BER 008
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD -
Europe
TOTAL PLAYING TIME -
71 mins 24 secs (15 tracks)
SOURCE -
Festival Hall, Brisbane, Australia. 15th March 1978
TRACK LISTING -
1. Love Her With A Feeling
2. Mr Tambourine Man
3. I Threw It All Away
4. Shelter From The Storm
5. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
6. Girl From The North Country
7. Ballad Of A Thin Man
8. Maggie's Farm
9. To Ramona
10. Oh Sister
11. Simple Twist Of Fate
12. All Along The Watchtower
13. The Man In Me
14. All I Really Want To Do
15. It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
TRACK LINKS - Mostly continuous; cut to track 10.
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Quite Good
Originally, excellent soundboard recordings. However, the
slight ‘splashy’ sound on the high frequencies indicates
that two-track stereo has at some point been reduced to
mono, on a machine with misaligned heads. This has then
been dubbed back onto two-track. As a result, only hiss
appears on the left and right channels; Bob and the band
are squashed somewhere in the middle.
NOTE: THE REVIEW COPY HAD SIGNIFICANT PRESSING PROBLEMS.
I ran it on two separate machines. One rejected the disc
completely towards the end of track 9. The second machine
played OK until six minutes into track 14 when clicks,
jumping, and oscillation made the rest of the CD
unlistenable.
THERE ARE NO VISIBLE FLAWS ON THE DISC, SO THE MORAL HERE
IS ‘LISTEN BEFORE YOU BUY!’.
PRESENTATION - Quite Good
Standard jewel box; all-colour presentation. Folded insert;
close-up performance shot on front, further performance
pics across ‘pages 2, 3 & 4’. ‘Bob Dylan, Festival Hall,
Brisbane 1978’ under disc tray, additional close-up photo
on back of box together with track/location details.
Plain ‘metallic pink’ disc showing only label, number,
Okay I Still Get Stoned (Brisbane 1978), and ‘printed
in Israel 1998’.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT -
OKAY I STILL GET STONED is a fine sampler from the early
part of the 1978 World Tour (tracks 1-9 and 10-15 are
respectively from the first and second halves of the 15th
March Brisbane show). The deliveries are pacey, sound
balance is good, Ballad Of A Thin Man is hot, hot, hot (!),
and we are blessed with the usual stupendous '78 version
of Ramona. These are the good bits. The real disappointment
is the sound quality which simply doesn't live up to its
billing on the box (‘Soundboard Recordings in excellent
stereo’). Also, one bad pressing casts a shadow over the
rest and makes OKAY I STILL GET STONED a risky ‘blind buy’.
So where does all this leave us? Well, certainly OKISGS
gives us a flavour of those early shows; but if that's
what we want, we might be better off with the ‘Bob Dylan
At Budokan’ official set recorded two weeks earlier.
Bearing in mind the gambles associated with this particular
disc, I think that's the option I'd go for.
STANDOUT TRACKS -
Shelter From The Storm, Girl From The North Country,
Ballad Of A Thin Man, To Ramona.
VALUE FOR MONEY - Fair
**************************************************
1981
~ THE CHILD'S BALLOON ~
(No Label Designation) (No Number) (Set Of 2 Discs)
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD -
Europe
TOTAL PLAYING TIME -
103 mins 55 secs (26 tracks)
SOURCE -
Saenger Performing Arts Center, New Orleans, LA.
10th November 1981
TRACK LISTING -
Disc 1
1. Gotta Serve Somebody
2. I Believe In You
3. Like A Rolling Stone
4. I Want You
5. Man Gave Names To All The Animals
6. Maggie's Farm
7. Girl Of The North Country (sic)
8. Ballad Of A Thin Man
9. Heart Of Mine (i)
10. Simple Twist Of Fate
11. All Along The Watchtower
12. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
13. Forever Young
Disc 2
1. (Gamblin' Man - Clydie King, Regina Havis, & Madelyn Quebec)
2. The Times They Are A-Changin' (part only)
3. Watered Down Love
4. Shot Of Love
5. Masters Of War
6. Just Like A Woman
7. Thief On The Cross
8. Dead Man Dead Man (ii)
9. In The Garden
10. Blowin' In The Wind (iii)
11. It's Alright Ma
12. It Ain't Me Babe
13. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
Notes:
(i) officially released on ‘Biograph’
(ii) officially released on ‘Everything Is Broken’ single
(iii) first verse: Clydie King, Regina Havis, Madelyn Quebec.
Third verse shared with Dylan
TRACK LINKS - Fade
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Excellent
Stereo soundboard recordings. Low-level hiss; most
noticeable between tracks but not intrusive on the music.
The Times They Are A-Changin' (Disc 2 track 2) stops
abruptly after 2 minutes 55 seconds.
PRESENTATION - Fair
Laminated slip sleeve; full-colour presentation. Performance
photo on front, track/location details on the reverse. White
inner sleeves. Attractive though uninformative discs with
only coloured concentric circles and the words
‘BALLOON1’and ‘BALLOON2’ (Disc 1 - grey/green/black:
Disc 2 - blue/red/blue).
OVERALL ASSESSMENT -
Taken individually, there are some great performances on
THE CHILD'S BALLOON. Trouble is, I can't help feeling
that the CD as a whole is something of a missed opportunity.
This could be a truly ‘Great Live Recording’. The band
are magnificent. Arrangements are tight, powerful and
economical; the two-drummer set-up of Jim Keltner
and Bruce Gary works well (most notably on I Believe
In You and All Along The Watchtower) and Al Kooper's
keyboards have that ‘fresh-from-'65’ feel, particularly
on Rolling Stone. Stylistically, I Want You is as near
as Dylan has ever come to his ‘Blonde On Blonde’ original,
but this New Orleans take has more balls. The completely
re-worked versions of Maggie's Farm and Forever
Young are a treat and, throughout, Bob's vocals are
outstanding. So why isn't THE CHILD'S BALLOON
the greatest thing since sliced bread? Well, first thing
is, it's incomplete. (For the record, Hard Rain and
When You Gonna Wake Up were also played on the
night). Second - and far more important - the fading
between tracks destroys any impression of this being a
live set. We just don't hear the audience at all, and all
that comes through the speakers between songs is
hiss. Third, one-hundred-and-four minutes is pretty
ungenerous for a double-CD. OK, let's draw everything
together. THE CHILD'S BALLOON is well-recorded
and contains unquestionably fine performances
(a small rider to that - Bob's guitar goes wholly
out-of-tune after the first harp break in It Ain't Me
Babe [broken string?]. However, he presses on with
the disregard of the true professional). Production is
a bit sloppy, and in my view Disc 1 is better than
Disc 2. That said, if what you're looking for are
wonderful sample recordings from the late-'81 tour,
THE CHILD'S BALLOON is one for you.
STANDOUT TRACKS -
I Believe In You, I Want You, Maggie's Farm, Forever
Young, Thief On The Cross, In The Garden, It's Alright Ma.
VALUE FOR MONEY - Very Good
**************************************************
1987/1990
~ COMPLETE COLLECTION (TRAVELING WILBURYS) ~
Wilbury Record Co. TW 001/2 (Set Of 2 Discs)
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD -
Europe (CD-R format)
TOTAL PLAYING TIME -
143 mins 52 secs (41 tracks)
SOURCES -
‘WILBURY’ TRACKS:
Disc 1 tracks 1,10: Bob Dylan's Garage Studio,
Malibu, CA. April 1988
Disc 1 tracks 2-7,9: Dave Stewart's home studio,
Los Angeles, CA. 7th-16th May 1988
Disc 2 tracks 1,2,4,5,6,7,12-22: ‘Wilbury Mountain
Studio’, Bel Air, CA. April 1990
THE REST:
(Disc 1 track 14: Friar Park Studio, Henley-on-Thames,
England. January 1987)
(Disc 1 track 19, & Disc 2 track 9: The Complex &
The Record Plant, Los Angeles, CA. March/April 1990)
(Disc 1 tracks 8,11,12,13,15,16,17,18 & Disc 2 tracks
3,8,10,11: Unknown)
TRACK LISTING -
Disc 1
1. Handle With Care
2. Dirty World
3. Rattled
4. Last Night
5. Congratulations
6. Heading For The Light (i)
7. End Of The Line
8. (Every Little Thing - artist unknown)
9. End Of The Line
10. Handle With Care
11. (Walk A Way (sic) (ii) - Roy Orbison)
12. (Crying - Roy Orbison)
13. (Don't That Me Like A Stranger (sic) (iii) - Tom Petty)
14. (The Troubler (iv) - Duane Eddy)
15. (Heartbreak Radio - Roy Orbison)
16. (In Dreams (v) - Roy Orbison)
17. (You Got It (v) - Roy Orbison)
18. (Dream Baby (v) - Roy Orbison)
19. (Under The Red Sky (vi) - Bob Dylan)
Disc 2
1. New Blue Moon (i)
2. Nobody's Child (vii)
3. (Theme For Something Realy Important (sic) - Duane Eddy)
4. Runaway
5. Maximue (viii)
6. Like A Ship
7. Runaway (vii)
8. (I'm Gone - artist unknown)
9. (Bone In Time (sic) (vi) - Bob Dylan)
10. (Border Line - artist unknown)
11. (Silence [instrumental] - artist unknown)
12. She's My Baby
13. Inside Out
14. If You Belonged To Me
15. The Devils Been Busy (sic)
16. 7 Deadly Sins
17. Poor Horse (sic)
18. Where Were You Last Night
19. Cool Dry Place
20. New Blue Moon
21. You Took My Breath (sic)
22. Wilbury Twist
Notes:
(i) Backing tracks only
(ii) Correct title ‘Walk Away’
(iii) Correct title ‘Don't Treat Me Like A Stranger’
(iv) This is actually ‘The Trembler’ by Duane Eddy.
It far pre-dates the Traveling Wilburys and appeared
on Capitol's ‘Duane Eddy’ album in June 1987. The
tune was written by Duane Eddy on a theme by Ravi
Shankar (!) and featured Duane Eddy (lead guitar),
George Harrison (slide guitar), Jeff Lynne (keyboards,
synthesizer and bass), Jim Keltner (drums) and Jim
Horn (sax). No Dylan though...
(v) These are Roy Orbison's original hit versions
(vi) Officially-released tracks from ‘Under The Red Sky’
(vii) Traveling Wilburys official releases
(viii) Correct title ‘Maxine’
TRACK LINKS - Fade
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Quite Good
Studio recordings; all stereo except Disc 2 tracks 4 & 5.
Significant hiss on Disc 1 tracks 1-7; also varying
degrees of wow and flutter. Minor flutter on Disc 2
track 6. Low-level hiss and a pull towards the right-hand
channel on Disc 2 track 12.
‘WILBURY’ TRACKS (in summary - Quite Good)
Disc 1 tracks 1,2, & Disc 2 tracks 4,5,6,12: - Quite Good
Disc 1 tracks 3,4: - Fair
Disc 1 tracks 5,6,7: Poor
Disc 1 tracks 9,10, & Disc 2 track 7: - Superlative
Disc 2 tracks 1,2: - Excellent
Disc 2 tracks 13-22: - Very Good
THE REST (in summary - Excellent)
(Disc 1 tracks 8,11-17,19, & Disc 2 track 9: - Superlative)
(Disc 1 track 18, & Disc 2 tracks 3,8,10: - Excellent)
(Disc 2 track 11: - Very Good)
PRESENTATION - Poor
Slip sleeve; colour presentation. Black and white posed
shot of the five Wilburys on front; track listing with
sub-headings* on the reverse (*but see ‘Overall
Assessment). No location, timing or any other detail.
White inner sleeves; plain white discs showing only
‘Handle With Care’ and the disc numbers.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT -
This is one hell of a mixed bag. To begin with, don't take
too much notice of the sub-headings on the sleeve;
they're almost all wrong. Next, be aware that only
twenty-six of the forty-one tracks have anything to do
with the Wilbury recording sessions. The ‘R. Orbison
single tracks with T. Wilburys’ are nothing of the sort;
these are just stereo dubs of his original hit releases.
Duane Eddy? How did HE get on here, except that
he once laid down some tracks at George Harrison's
home studio in Henley-on-Thames. (Duane isn't
mentioned on the sleeve, by the way. I can only tell
you about The Trembler because I happen to be
familiar with some of his work.) And lifting tracks
straight from Dylan's own ‘Under The Red Sky’ is
scarcely playing fair with the punters, now is it?
So, back with The Wilburys; the ‘demo tracks for
their first album’ (Disc 1 tracks 1-7) add little to what
we already know from the officially released ‘Traveling
Wilburys Vol. 1’. The major difference lies in the
extensive use of a drum machine to set the timing;
plodding and slow, the machine is hardly competition
for the flair and flourish of ‘sixth Wilbury’ Jim Keltner.
I must say however, the ‘extended versions’ of End
Of The Line and Handle With Care (Disc 1 tracks
9 & 10) are of real interest. Here we have the full
recordings complete with flanging, alternative echoes
etc. The fun is in spotting how and where they have
been cut to produce the final masters. Lastly, we have
the ‘rough mix of "Volume 3" album’ (Disc 2 tracks
12-22). With Bob's vocals further upfront, these are
undoubtedly more meaty treatments than we are
used to on the released set. But for me, it's all a bit
late. The Wilburys only account for eighty-eight minutes
and forty-seven seconds of this double-CD; that's not a
lot of Bob. And sound quality is least reliable on their
tracks. The disc labels say ‘Handle With Care’. Yup...
STANDOUT TRACKS -
End Of The Line, Handle With Care (Disc 1 tracks 9,10),
Nobody's Child, Runaway (Disc 2 track 7), If You
Belonged To Me. Oh, and the unspeakably gorgeous
small-band re-working of Roy Orbison's Crying.
VALUE FOR MONEY - Poor
**************************************************
1988
~ MUDPLEX ~
(No Label Designation) (No Number) (Set Of 3 Discs)
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD -
Europe
TOTAL PLAYING TIME -
171 mins 51 secs (32 tracks)
SOURCE -
Disc 1, & Disc 2 tracks 1-4: Mud Island Amphitheatre,
Memphis, TN. 26th July 1988
Disc 2 tracks 5-10, & Disc 3: Starplex Amphitheatre,
Dallas, TX. 28th July 1988
TRACK LISTING -
Disc 1
1. Subterranean Homesick Blues
2. Absolutely Sweet Marie
3. Highway 61 Revisited
4. You're A Big Girl Now
5. Masters Of War
6. Stuck Inside Of Mobile
7. Boots Of Spanish Leather
8. Hard Rain
9. Barbara Allen
10. It Ain't Me Babe
11. I Shall Be Released
12. Silvio
Disc 2
1. In The Garden
2. Like A Rolling Stone
3. The Times They Are A-Changin'
4. Forever Young/Maggie's Farm
5. Subterranean Homesick Blues
6. My Back Pages
7. Highway 61 Revisited
8. Every Grain Of Sand
9. Masters Of War
10. Stiuck Nside Of Mobile (sic)
Disc 3
1. Love Minus Zero
2. Hard Rain
3. Barbara Allen*
4. It Ain't Me Babe
5. I Shall Be Released
6. Silvio
7. Like A Rolling Stone
8. To Ramona
9. Blowin' In The Wind
10. All Along The Watchtower
*lyrically complete, but cut abruptly at
5 minutes 04 seconds
TRACK LINKS - Mostly continuous.
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Quite Good
Disc 1, & Disc 2 tracks 1-4: High quality ‘audience’
stereo. Low-level hiss (not intrusive), and a slight
‘room-reverb’ effect - Very Good
Disc 2 tracks 5-10, & Disc 3: ‘Audience’ stereo;
recorded some distance from the stage. Variable
clarity during Subterranean Homesick Blues (Disc 2
track 5) due to movement of the mics. Heavy
‘room-reverb’ throughout - Fair
PRESENTATION - Fair
Laminated slip sleeve; full-colour presentation.
Concert head-shot on front, performance photo with
track/location details on the reverse. White
inner sleeves. Attractive though uninformative
discs with only coloured concentric circles and
the words ‘MUDROCK1’, ‘MUDROCK2’ and ‘MUPLEX’
(Disc 1: blue/orange/blue circles. Disc 2:
turquoise/orange/navy blue. Disc 3: pink/blue/royal blue).
OVERALL ASSESSMENT -
Let's start with the best: Mud Island. Power is
the watchword here - chugging, driving power.
The speed of most songs is down a couple of
beats-per-minute compared to late-'90s versions,
but nothing is ponderous, nothing drags, everything
just rocks. Bob is giving out oceans of emphasis
(particularly in You're A Big Girl Now, Barbara
Allen and Forever Young), and the audience fully
appreciates his efforts. As a standalone set,
Mud Island comes through as a nice (though not
essential) addition for the collection. The
problems arise in Dallas. Sound quality on the
Starplex tracks is muzzy, particularly after
the relative clarity of Memphis. Performances
are good (again, in some cases outstanding),
but not rewarding enough to justify the constant
battle against this wash of reverb. Really, the
whole Starplex show is something of a filler;
the meat of MUDPLEX is in the first disc-and-a-half.
Two full gigs sounds like a nice idea, but both
have to be good to warrant a three-CD investment;
here, we have some iffy sound and ten repeated
tunes. Value-wise, take a look at the ‘Blown Out
On The Trail’, ‘Lake Compounce Festival Park’
and ‘Stuck Inside Of New York’ CDs in D/C (pages
175, 183 and 185). All three come from the same
period and offer far more bang for the buck than
MUDPLEX. Sorry...
STANDOUT TRACKS -
You're A Big Girl Now, Masters Of War (the Disc 1
version; great performance despite Dylan being
off-mic at the start), Barbara Allen (Disc 1),
Like A Rolling Stone (Disc 2), Forever Young,
Maggie's Farm, To Ramona.
VALUE FOR MONEY - Fair
**************************************************
1996 (plus)
~ I’VE GOT A SONG TO SING ~
(No Label Designation) BD 96
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD –
Europe
TOTAL PLAYING TIME –
73 mins 53 secs (11 tracks)
SOURCE –
Track 1: Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany. 17th June 1996
Track 2: Simon Forum & Athletic Center, Drew University,
Madison, NJ. 13th April 1996
Track 3: The Fieldhouse, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA.
3rd May 1996
Track 4: Alte Oper, Frankfurt, Germany. 19th June 1996
Tracks 5,8: Hall Omnisports, Differdange, Luxembourg,
24th June 1996
Track 6: BSC Sports Arena, Buffalo State College,
Buffalo, NY. 11th May 1996
Track 7: Hutchins Concert Hall, Maine Center For The
Performing Arts, University Of Maine, Orono, ME. 23rd April 1996
Track 9: Rosengarten, Mozartsaalim, Mannheim, Germany.
2nd July 1996
Track 10: Neue Messehalle, Cottbus, Germany. 14th July 1996
Track 11: Espace Grammont, Montpellier, France. 27th July 1995
TRACK LISTING –
1. Shake Sugaree
2. This Wheel’s On Fire
3. Friend Of The Devil
4. Seven Days
5. Visions Of Johanna
6. Disease Of Conceit
7. Hattie Carroll (sic)
8. New Minglewood Blues
9. Pretty Peggy-O
10. Blowin’ In The Wind
11. Like A Rolling Stone (with The Rolling Stones)
TRACK LINKS - Mix of fade and smooth-edit cuts.
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY – Very Good
‘Audience’ digital stereo.
Generally, the disc is mastered a little low, but sound
levels from track to track can be inconsistent. As an
example, Hattie Carroll is excessively quiet. This is
followed by a high-powered New Minglewood Blues,
but the volume nose-dives again for Pretty Peggy-O.
Tracks 1,2,3,5,7,8,9,10* - Excellent
Tracks 4,6 – Very Good
Track 11: Jump at 1 minute 25 seconds. Overloaded
bass - Poor
*Track 10 has heavy emphasis on the right-hand channel.
Presentation – Very Good
Standard jewel box with see-through disc tray. Folded
all-colour insert. Performance photos on ‘pages 1 & 4’
(with Mick Jagger on ‘page 4’); ‘pages 2 & 3’ contain an
elongated caricature of Bob with a light bulb for a nose
and a harp where the mouth should be. Weird! Track /
timing / location details on back of box; further colour
cartoon under disc tray. Basic disc showing Bob Dylan,
I’ve Got A Song To Sing and the number.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT –
I’VE GOT A SONG TO SING isn’t one of the best boots
around, and to a nitpicker like me the disc’s sub-heading
(‘A Compilation Of Rare Performances In 1996’) is
misleading. I mean, Friend Of The Devil was played
twenty-one times in 1996; This Wheel’s On Fire had
sixteen outings, Seven Days thirteen etc. - hardly rare!
Things start positively enough with a rather fine rendition
of Elisabeth Cotton’s Shake Sugaree, but generally the
performances are undistinguished. This Wheel’s On Fire
features a nice harp solo, and Bob turns in a great vocal
on Seven Days; however, Visions Of Johanna and New
Minglewood Blues (real rarities, with only two performances
each during the year) both sound woefully under-rehearsed.
Finally, there’s an old show-biz adage that says ‘leave ’em
wanting more’. We can all see the sense in that, now can’t
we? ’Course we can; all of us, that is, except for the
producers of I’VE GOT A SONG TO SING. Bob’s guest spot
at the Stones’ 1995 gig in Montpellier is nothing short of
disastrous. Out of time, out of tune, and almost out of
earshot, this truly is one for the recycle bin. Summing
everything up then, a seventy-four minute CD in (mostly)
decent quality sound is not to be sneezed at. But we can
do better than I’VE GOT A SONG TO SING; and so can Bob.
STANDOUT TRACKS –
Shake Sugaree, Disease Of Conceit, Blowin’ In The Wind
(with an excellent guitar intro).
VALUE FOR MONEY – Quite Good
**************************************************
1996
~ YOUR VOICE WAS ALL THAT I HEARD VOL. 1 ~
(No Label Designation) ES 013 1/2 (Set Of 2 Discs)
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD -
Europe
TOTAL PLAYING TIME -
146 mins 10 secs (19 tracks)
SOURCE -
Disc 1, & Disc 2 tracks 1-5:
Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany. 17th June 1996
Disc 2 tracks 6-9:
Ostseehalle, Kiel, Germany. 25th July 1994
TRACK LISTING -
Disc 1
1. Drifter’s Escape
2. Shake Sugaree
3. All Along The Watchtower
4. Positively 4th Street
5. Watching The River Flow
6. Silvio
7 . Tangled Up In Blue
8. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
9. Friend Of The Devil
10. Seeing The Real You At Last
Disc 2
1. Queen Jane Approximately
2. Maggie’s Farm
3. Alabama Getaway
4. My Back Pages
5. Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 35
6. Man In The Long Black Coat
7. Maggie’s Farm
8. Ballad Of A Thin Man
9. Girl From The North Country
TRACK LINKS - Mostly continuous; occasional fade.
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Very Good
‘Audience’ digital stereo.
Disc 1, & Disc 2 tracks 1-5: Excellent basic recordings,
but a slightly wayward stereo. The audience in particular
sounds ‘strangled’, pointing to a misaligned playback
head somewhere in the mastering process - Very Good
Disc 2 tracks 6-9: Minor sound glitches 3 mins 08 secs
and 3 mins 51 secs into track 8 - Excellent
PRESENTATION - Quite Good
Slimline 2 CD jewel box with see-through disc tray.
Folded all-colour insert, printed one side only.
Performance shot on front, track / timing details and
‘Grammys’ photo on ‘page 4’. Track / location info with
further colour performance pic on back of box; black
and white performance photo under disc tray. Basic discs
showing only Bob Dylan, CD 1/2, Your Voice Was All
That I Heard Vol. 1, and the number ES 013.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT -
I suspect that the Tempodrom set on YOUR VOICE… VOL. 1
has been lifted from Soul, a superb-sounding CD reviewed
on page 331 of Ø "DYLAN: CONTRABAND" Ø. Trouble is,
YOUR VOICE… isn’t giving us the superlative sound quality
that was such a feature of the original. My impressions now
are much as they were then - that the performances are
competent but not scintillating; however, we do have a
particularly fine set of bonus tracks from Kiel to liven
things up. Apropos the title: sharp-eyed fans will have
spotted that ‘Your voice was all that I heard’ is a line
from the song One Of Us Must Know (Sooner Or Later).
‘But One Of Us Must Know doesn’t feature anywhere on
this double-CD’, I hear you say. No it doesn’t, but on
the original Soul set, one song (My Back Pages) is
misrepresented as - you’ve guessed it - One Of Us Must
Know. By such errors are CDs named…
STANDOUT TRACKS -
Shake Sugaree, Silvio, Maggie’s Farm (Disc 2 track 2),
My Back Pages, Girl From The North Country.
VALUE FOR MONEY - Quite Good
**************************************************
1997
~ PARTING THE RED SEA FROM JERUSALEM AND BACK ~
Zipperman 002 (Set Of 2 Discs)
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD -
Europe (CD-R format)
TOTAL PLAYING TIME -
101 mins 24 secs (16 tracks)
SOURCE -
El Rey Theatre, Los Angeles, CA. 20th December 1997
TRACK LISTING -
Disc 1
1. Maggie’s Farm
2. Tonight I’ll Be Staying Here With You
3. Cold Irons Bound
4. Under The Red Sky
5. Can’t Wait
6. Silvio
7. Cocaine Blues
8. John Brown
Disc 2
1. Tangled Up In Blue
2. I & I
3. I’ll Remember You
4. ‘Til I Fell In Love With You
5. Highway 61 Revisited
6. Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright
7. Love Sick
8. Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35
TRACK LINKS - Mostly continuous (occasional cut).
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Quite Good
‘Audience’ digital mono. Less crisp than we are entitled
to expect from digital recordings.
The volume is uneven during the first few bars of Maggie’s
Farm, and there's a sound glitch five seconds into Tonight
I’ll Be Staying Here With You. Sound glitches also occur
in the audience section between Highway 61 and Don’t
Think Twice, and during Love Sick. There is a surge in
volume in ‘Til I Fell In Love With You.
PRESENTATION - Quite Good
Slimline 2 CD jewel box with see-through disc tray.
All-colour folded insert; close-up facial shot on front,
‘Bob-with-Charlton-Heston’ across ‘pages 2 & 3’, plus
off-duty pic and disc-production credits on ‘page 4’.
‘Pope-gig’ performance photo under disc tray. Further
facial close-up on back of box, overlaid with track / location
detail and the ‘Zipper-Deke’ logo. Basic cream custom
discs, showing only Zipperman, Disc 1 & 2.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT -
I can’t say that this is my favourite bootleg of all time;
however, let’s start with the positives. This is the full El Rey
set from 20th December 1997, and the audience is justifiably
enthusiastic. These are good performances, but unfortunately,
our mic-person doesn’t have the best seat in the house.
Many songs come over emotionally flat. On top of that,
Bob’s voice isn’t always as prominent as it could be.
There are standout numbers - the ever-dependable Silvio
is followed by a nice slow Cocaine, and an even better
John Brown - but not everyone will stay around long enough
to sort out the wheat from the chaff. Oh, and one-hundred-
and-one minutes is not very long for a double-CD; I’d rather
have quality than quantity every time, but the fact remains
that many double sets offer upwards of three-quarters-of-an-hour
more playing time than PARTING THE RED SEA FROM JERUSALEM AND
BACK. Three words appeared on my pad after I & I - ‘frankly,
rather forgettable’. That just about sums up my feel for the
CD as a whole.
STANDOUT TRACKS -
Silvio, Cocaine Blues, John Brown, Love Sick.
VALUE FOR MONEY - Quite Good
**************************************************
1998
~ CENTER STAGE ~
(No Label Designation) ES 007
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD -
Europe
TOTAL PLAYING TIME -
72 mins 28 secs (12 tracks)
SOURCE -
Rock Im Park Festival, Frankenstadion, Nürnberg,
Germany. 31st May 1998
TRACK LISTING -
1. To Be Alone With You
2. Lay, Lady, Lay
3. Tough Mama
4. I'll Be Your Baby Tonight
5. Silvio
6. Friend Of The Devil
7. It's All Over Now, Baby Blue
8. Tangled Up In Blue
9. It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry
10. Highway 61 Revisited
11. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right (sic)
12. Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 35
TRACK LINKS - Continuous
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Quite Good
‘Audience’ digital stereo; noticeable left-channel
emphasis. Minor interference to the signal during
tracks 7, 8, 9, 11 & 12 (like rain falling on the mics,
except it isn't). Not too intrusive, but enough to bring
down the Overall Sound Quality one level.
PRESENTATION - Quite Good
Standard jewel box with see-through disc tray.
Folded all-colour insert, printed one side only.
Performance photos on ‘pages 1 & 4’; black and
white facial close-up under disc tray. Track/location
details and further performance shot on back of box.
Very basic disc with only Exclusive Series, Center
Stage, and the number ES 007.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT -
The word I've written down as a catch-all for CENTER
STAGE is ‘undistinguished’. Bob is turning in fine vocal
performances, but the overall feel of the gig is low-key
and uninspired. We do have a trustily reliable Silvio;
however, Friend Of The Devil is spoiled by (Larry
Campbell's?) harmony vocals - wholly inappropriate
and totally unsympathetic to Dylan's presentation. That
said, Friend Of The Devil does give us a really neat,
extended harp solo and is followed by a truly exquisite
Baby Blue. But it's all rather inconsistent; Bob 'n' Larry's
guitars are unusually confrontational during Tangled
Up In Blue, and overall the audience is fairly muted.
On the plus side, this is the complete Rock Im Park
performance on one full CD; it won't disappoint the
legions of completists. I have to say though; there
are better played, better recorded and better presented
discs from the European Tour of '98.
STANDOUT TRACKS -
Silvio, It's All Over Now Baby Blue, and It Takes A Lot To
Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry.
VALUE FOR MONEY - Quite Good
**************************************************
1998
~ JACK THE COWBOY WENT UP NORTH ~
Shadow Blaster SB01/02 (Set Of 2 Discs)
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD -
Europe
TOTAL PLAYING TIME -
119 mins 23 secs (20 tracks)
SOURCE -
Disc 1, & Disc 2 tracks 1-2: Newcastle Arena, Newcastle, England.
20th June 1998
Disc 2 tracks 3-8: Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England.
23rd June 1998
TRACK LISTING -
Disc 1
1. Gotta Serve Somebody
2. If Not For You
3. Cold Irons Bound
4. Simple Twist Of Fate
5. Silvio
6. To Ramona
7. Masters Of War
8. Love Minus Zero/No Limit
9. Tangled Up In Blue
10. Forever Young
11. Hard Rain (sic)
12. Highway 61 Revisited
Disc 2
1. Love Sick
2. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
3. If You See Her, Say Hello
4. Just Like A Woman
5. Mr Tambourine Man
6. Mama, You Been On My Mind
7. The Times They Are A?Changin'
8. Blowin' In The Wind
TRACK LINKS - Disc 1 - continuous; Disc 2 - mix of continuous,
fade and cut.
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Excellent
Disc 1, & Disc 2 tracks 1-2: ‘Audience’ digital stereo - Excellent
Disc 2 tracks 3-8: ‘Audience’ digital stereo. Fractionally more bass
emphasis, and maybe a little less definition - Excellent
PRESENTATION – Quite Good
Slimline 2 CD jewel box with single slip insert. Black and white
posed shot on front; sepia still from the movie ‘Pat Garrett &
Billy The Kid’ on the reverse, together with location/(basic) band
details. Further sepia ‘Billy The Kid’ still under disc tray, with
the ‘Jack The Cowboy’ quote from Tough Mama. Track/location detail
on back of box overlaying a black and white photo of Newcastle's
Tyne Bridge. Custom discs: Parts 1 & 2 respectively blue/silver
and green/silver, with facial close-ups from ‘Billy The Kid’, title
and label details.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT –
What a cruel man Bob Dylan is! Here, our bootleg producer has
lined up a great title for his Newcastle disc, and what does Dylan
do? Anything but Tough Mama! Typical! (For the benefit of foreign
readers I should say that Newcastle is as far north as you can
go in the United Kingdom without obtaining a license for your
haggis.) So, title aside, what's on offer? Well, I'd say this is a
solid rather than sparky performance. Gotta Serve Somebody is
slowish, but it does have a brooding power - like the war-machine
is getting into gear. Simple Twist Of Fate is delightfully sensitive,
and Bob's vocals on Ramona do full justice to this beautiful song
(it's a pity I can't say the same thing for his guitar solos). I love
the slightly anticipatory vocal timing throughout Forever Young
(no other artist would ever do that off-the-cuff), and the stately
Hard Rain features the audience on backup vocals plus some
unusual piano-style lines from Larry C's lead guitar. Sheffield
contributes a respectable ‘bonus’ batch (particularly The Times
They Are A-Changin' with its classy little harp solo to remind us
what we've been missing of late), but for me JACK's lasting
legacy will be that fine acoustic set from Newcastle (tracks 6-11
on Disc 1). It's a bit strange having Disc 2 clock in under
forty-six-and-a-half minutes. Nevertheless, quality wins over
quantity; JACK THE COWBOY WENT UP NORTH is a very good value CD.
STANDOUT TRACKS –
Simple Twist Of Fate, Masters Of War, Forever Young, Hard Rain,
Mama You Been On My Mind.
VALUE FOR MONEY – Very Good
**************************************************
1998
~ BETTE DAVIES STYLE ~
(No Label Designation) NECZIM001/2 (Set Of 2 Discs)
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD –
Europe
TOTAL PLAYING TIME –
146 mins 19 secs (23 tracks)
SOURCE -
Disc 1, & Disc 2 tracks 1-3: National Exhibition Centre,
Birmingham, England. 24th June 1998
Disc 2 tracks 4-12: Wembley Arena, London, England.
27th June 1998
TRACK LISTING –
Disc 1
1. Gotta Serve Somebody
2. Tonight I'll Be Staying Here With You
3. Cold Irons Bound
4. Born In Time
5. Silvio
6. Girl From The North Country
7. John Brown / Mama You've Been On My Mind (sic)
8. Desolation Row*
9. Tangled Up In Blue*
10. Knockin' On Heaven's Door
(with Van Morrison [vocal and harp])*
11. Highway 61 (sic)*
Disc 2
1. Love Sick
2. Rainy Day Women
3. Blowin' In The Wind
4. Gotta Serve Somebody
5. Man In A Long Black Coat (sic)
6. Cold Irons Bound
7. Make You Feel My Love
8. The Times They Are A-Changin'
9. Tomorrow Is A Long Time
10. Hard Rain
11. Forever Young
12. Till I Fell In Love With You
Note: “Mama…” has been combined with ”John Brown”
on Disc 1, track 7. The numbers of all the subsequent
tracks on Disc 1 (*) therefore differ from those shown on
the sleeve.
TRACK LINKS –
Disc 1 - continuous: Disc 2 - mostly continuous (fade into
track 4, neat cut to track 7).
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Excellent
Disc 1, & Disc 2 tracks 1-3: ‘Audience’ digital stereo.
Fine balance, and full-frequency from the sweetest
tingle on the cymbal to room-shaking sub-bass on
Cold Irons Bound – Excellent
Disc 2 tracks 4-12: ‘Audience’ digital stereo; fractionally
more bass emphasis - Excellent
PRESENTATION - Fair
Laminated slip sleeve; full-colour presentation.
Jeffrey Mayers' studio portrait of Dylan on front,
performance photo with track / location details on
the reverse. Black inner sleeves. Attractive though
uninformative discs, containing only coloured concentric
circles and the disc number (Disc 1 – green / mauve /
green circles: Disc 2 – green / grey / brown).
OVERALL ASSESSMENT -
BETTE DAVIES STYLE is a really carefully-produced CD;
but don't you think the powers-that-be should do the old
gal the honour of spelling her name right? Davis, Mr
Producer, not Davies. The first rule of journalism just
sailed out of the window! OK, to the disc; our surreptitious
engineer is nicely-placed amongst this enthusiastic
Birmingham crowd. I was in the second row this particular
night at the NEC, and I can tell you that the sound is
absolutely faithful to the performance (even to the slight
muddiness of Tony Garnier's bass, caused by the room
acoustics). Highlight of highlights must be John Brown.
This is a truly towering performance; intimate, like Bob
is just playing to a small club, but with the power to move
concrete and steel along with the twelve thousand souls
out there in the arena. The guy puts in so much more
than his audiences can absorb. Subtle lyric changes
appear in Gotta Serve Somebody and Tangled Up In Blue
(‘... drifted down to New Orleans, working night and day.
Got him a job on a fishing boat. His mind was slipping away’).
Lines like these are thrown away by Dylan, lost in the
blast of his concerts, but thank heaven they're preserved
clear as a bell on bootleg recordings. After roaring like a
juggernaut down Highway 61, the band deliver three
deserved encores then we're into the Wembley bonus
tracks. No let-downs here either - if I single out Tomorrow
Is A Long Time and Hard Rain for special mention, don't
let that detract from the rest. Everything is well-played
and beautifully recorded. I have three small criticisms;
on the production front it does seem rather pointless to
give us double-helpings of Gotta Serve Somebody and
Cold Irons Bound. Performance-wise, the harp doesn't
feature at all (except for Van Morrison's brief contribution);
and Bob's guitar is sadly out-of-tune on Forever Young.
But that's it. BETTE DAVIES STYLE is a great-value CD.
I don't know whether Miss Davis herself would have
enjoyed it. But I do know she'd have killed anyone who
spelled her name wrong.
STANDOUT TRACKS -
Cold Irons Bound (both takes), Born In Time, John Brown,
Desolation Row, Tangled Up In Blue, Highway 61, Love Sick,
Blowin' In The Wind, Make You Feel My Love, Tomorrow Is A
Long Time, Hard Rain (a vocal highlight of the whole set).
VALUE FOR MONEY - Excellent
**************************************************
COMPILATIONS
1988 - 1997
~ A HIGHWAY OF DIAMONDS VOL. 1
- THE NEVER ENDING TOUR ~
Westwood One Entertainment WWL013
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD -
USA
TOTAL PLAYING TIME -
70 mins 12 secs (12 tracks)
SOURCE - Various live performances
Tracks 1,2: Old Orchard Beach Ballpark,
Portland, ME. 3rd July 1988
Tracks 3,4: Howard C Baldwin Memorial Pavilion,
Rochester, MI. 6th July 1989
Track 5: Stadion FK Zemun, Belgrade,
Yugoslavia. 11th June 1991 (not 11th July as on box)
Track 6: Hippodrome Di Maia, Merano,
Italy. 7th July 1992 (not 17th July as on box)
Track 7: Vredenburg, Utrecht, Netherlands.
16th February 1993
Track 8: Brixton Academy, London, England.
29th March 1995
Track 9: Tempodrom, Berlin, Germany.
17th June 1996
Tracks 10,11: Slottsmollan, Malmö, Sweden.
25th July 1996
Track 12: Sports Center, University Of Hartford,
Hartford, CT. 19th April 1997
TRACK LISTING -
1. Frankie Lee And Judas Priest
2. Trail Of The Buffalo
3. And It Stoned Me
4. Tomorrow Is A Long Time
5. One More Cup Of Coffee
6. Pretty Peggy-O
7. The Man In Me
8. Dignity
9. Positively 4th Street
10. Don't Think Twice (sic)
11. Like A Rolling Stone
12. You Ain't Going Nowhere
TRACK LINKS - Fade
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Very Good
Tracks 1,2: High quality ‘audience’ stereo; room ambience
on Bob's voice. Tracks 3,4,5,6,7: High quality
‘audience’ stereo. Track 12: ‘Audience’ digital stereo;
signal heavily pulled towards the right-hand
channel - Very Good
Tracks 8,9,10,11: ‘Audience’ digital stereo - Excellent
Note: Mastering volume is slightly erratic. Pretty Peggy-O,
for example, is noticeably more quiet than the preceding
One More Cup Of Coffee.
PRESENTATION - Good
Standard jewel box with folded insert. Colour performance
shots on front, ‘page 4’, and on back of box; colour
portrait-style pic across ‘pages 2 & 3’. Track / timing/
(basic) source details on ‘page 4’ and on back of box.
Spartan white disc showing In Concert New Rock,
Show 97-13 and the label logo.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT -
The superb ‘Vol. 2 - TV Performances 93-97’ curiously
preceded A HIGHWAY OF DIAMONDS VOL. 1 - THE
NEVER ENDING TOUR; sadly, Vol. 1 is something of
a let-down. The cutting clarity that is such a feature of
good digital recording is completely missing from
tracks 8-12; compare Dignity and Positively 4th Street
with their alter egos on the ‘Bob's Full House’ and
‘Soul’ CDs to hear what I mean. These are the same
source recordings, but on AHOD1 they come at us
through a blanket. It would help if this was an NET
‘Best Of ...’ set, but it isn't. None of the performances
are particularly outstanding, and nothing is ultra-rare
(except perhaps Bob's reading of Van Morrison's And
It Stoned Me). So what is the real point of this CD?
Dunno, really. We do get a ringing version of Trail
Of The Buffalo and a deliciously nagging One More
Cup Of Coffee; on the other hand, Positively 4th Street
is turgid. The Never Ending Tour has given us many
better discs. All I say is, don't buy A HIGHWAY OF
DIAMONDS VOL. 1 on the back of the excellent Vol. 2;
they're not in the same league.
STANDOUT TRACKS -
One More Cup Of Coffee, The Man In Me, Like A Rolling Stone.
VALUE FOR MONEY - Fair
**************************************************
1969 - 1995
~ BE MY GUEST ~
Blue Eyes Records BER 005
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD –
Europe
TOTAL PLAYING TIME -
73 mins 39 secs (19 tracks)
SOURCE -
Various studio and live performance duets
Tracks 1,2: ‘Nashville Skyline’ session out-takes,
Columbia Studios, Nashville, TN.
17th-18th February 1969
Track 3: ‘New Morning’ session out-take,
Columbia Studios, NYC. 1st May 1970
Tracks 4,18: Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA.
21st November 1975 (evening show)
Track 5: Hughes Stadium, Colorado State University,
Fort Collins, CO. 23rd May 1976
Track 6: Palace Des Sports, Avignon, France.
25th July 1981
Track 7: Kennedy Center For Performing Arts,
Washington DC. 20th January 1986
Track 8: Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View, CA.
5th August 1986
Track 9: Forest National Stadium, Brussels, Belgium.
8th October 1987
Track 10: Hill Of The Muses, Athens, Greece.
27th June 1989
Track 11: Dundonald Ice Bowl, Belfast,
Northern Ireland. 6th February 1991
Track 12: Brian Wilson's Brains & Genius Studio,
Los Angeles, CA. December 1990 (not 1991 as on box)
Track 13: ‘Willie Nelson: The Big Six-O’ TV Special,
KRLU-TV Studios, Austin, TX. 28th April 1993
Tracks 14,15: Brixton Academy, London, England.
31st March 1995
Track 16: Rock 'n' Roll Hall Of Fame, Cleveland Stadium,
Cleveland, OH. 2nd September 1995
Track 17: The Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA.
17th December 1995
Track 19: Ardent Studios, Memphis, TN. 9th-11th May 1994
(not 1995 as on box)
TRACK LISTING -
1. One Too Many Mornings (with Johnny Cash)
2. Ring Of Fire (with Johnny Cash)
3. All I Have To Do Is Dream (with George Harrison
[but see Overall Assessment below])
4. Dark As A Dungeon (with Joan Baez)
5. Deportees (with Joan Baez)
6. Let's Begin (with Clydie King)
7. Blowin' In The Wind (with Stevie Wonder and Peter,
Paul & Mary)
8. I Forgot More Than You Ever Know (sic) (with Tom Petty)
9. Chimes Of Freedom (with Roger McGuinn)
10. One Irish Rover (with Van Morrison)
11. Tupelo Honey (with Van Morrison)
12. Spirit Of Rock And Roll (with Brian Wilson)
13. Poncho And Lefty (sic) (with Willie Nelson)
14. I Shall Be Released (with Elvis Costello,
Chrissie Hynde and Carole King)
15. Rainy Day Women (sic) (with Elvis Costello,
Chrissie Hynde and Carole King)
16. Forever Young (with Bruce Springsteen)
17. Dark Eyes (with Patti Smith)
18. When I Paint My Masterpiece (with Bobby Neuwirth)
19. Blue Eyed Jane (with Emmylou Harris)
TRACK LINKS - Fade
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY – Very Good
Tracks 1,2,3,6,8,12,14,15,16,19 - Excellent
Tracks 5,10,11,13,17,18 – Very Good
Tracks 4,7,9 – Quite Good
Notes:
(i) BE MY GUEST is a mix of studio out-takes
(tracks 1,2,3,12,19), broadcast feeds (tracks 5,7,10,13,16),
soundboard recordings (tracks 4,6,8,18) and ‘audience’
tapes of varying quality (tracks 9,11,14,15,17).
(ii) Tracks 1,2,6,7,9,13 all have low-level hiss.
Track 4 suffers from mild distortion (particularly on the
right-hand channel).
(iii) All are stereo, except tracks 1,2,4,5,7,8,10,13,18.
PRESENTATION – Quite Good
Standard jewel box with see-through disc tray.
Folded all-colour insert; Dylan/Baez performance
shot on front, photo-montage with track/(basic)
location/guest details across ‘pages 2 & 3’,
Dylan/Costello performance pic on ‘page 4’.
Black and white Dylan/McGuinn stage shot under
disc tray; wide-angle stage photo with Tom Petty
& The Heartbreakers on back of box. Basic disc,
with only a black and white abstract pattern,
title and disc number.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT –
BE MY GUEST has a lot of pluses. It's a full disc
at seventy-three-and-a-half minutes, nicely produced,
and sticks faithfully to its ‘duets’ theme. (Unless my
ears deceive me however, that's Al Kooper and not
George Harrison singing with Bob on All I Have To
Do Is Dream. George is in there on guitar, though.)
We have an excellent fun start with the Dylan/Cash
One Too Many Mornings, and a scattering of star
performances follow; Deportees, Pancho And Lefty,
Forever Young and Blue Eyed Jane being the most
notable. Problem is, most of the tracks have been
lifted from other CDs. Ordinarily I wouldn't mind, but
BE MY GUEST doesn't always give us the best versions
available; Pancho And Lefty, for example, is the hissy
mono take from ‘Lucky 13’, not the stereo jewel from
‘A Highway Of Diamonds Vol. 2 - TV Performances 93-97’.
I know it's a matter of taste, but I've never felt Bob's
duets with celebrity guests are the high points of his
shows. If you share my view, you may well think Blue
Eyes Records' decision to issue such a set is a little
ill-advised. On the other hand, if you love two, three
and four round a mic, you'll go for BE MY GUEST in
a big way. I don't; hence this poor failed attempt at sniffy
objectivity.
STANDOUT TRACKS –
One Too Many Mornings, Deportees, Pancho And Lefty,
Forever Young, Blue Eyed Jane.
VALUE FOR MONEY – Quite Good
**************************************************
1964 - 1998
~ LOST TRACK SEARCHER - HARD TO FIND VOLUME 5 ~
Country Bob Records (see ‘Presentation’ below) (No Number)
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD –
USA
TOTAL PLAYING TIME –
79 mins 47 secs (14 tracks)
SOURCE –
Various live performances and obscure official releases
Tracks 1,2: Ardent Studios, Memphis, TN.
9th-11th May 1994
Tracks 3,4: 40th Annual Grammy Awards,
Radio City Music Hall, NYC. 25th February 1998
Track 5: ‘Blood On The Tracks’ session out-take,
Columbia Studios, NYC. 16th-18th September 1974
Tracks 6,9: House Of Blues, Atlanta, GA. 3rd August 1996
Tracks 7,8: House Of Blues, Atlanta, GA. 4th August 1996
Tracks 10,11: El Ray Theatre, Los Angeles, CA.
19th December 1997
Track 12: Brixton Academy, London, England.
30th March 1995
Track 13: ‘Another Side Of...’ session out-take,
Columbia Studios, NYC. 9th June 1964
Track 14: ‘The Gershwin Gala’, Brooklyn Academy Of Music,
NYC. 11th March 1987 (not June as on box)
TRACK LISTING –
1. My Blue Eyed Jane
2. My Blue Eyed Jane (with Emmylou Harris)
3. Love Sick
4. Grammy Award Speech (with Daniel Lanois)
5. Shelter From The Storm
6. My Back Pages
7. Tombstone Blues
8. Ballad Of A Thin Man
9. Boots Of Spanish Leather
10. Knockin' On Heaven's Door (with Sheryl Crow)
11. Highway 61 Revisited (with Sheryl Crow)
12. I Shall Be Released (with Elvis Costello)
13. Mr Tambourine Man* (with Ramblin' Jack Elliott)
14. Soon
*MASTERED FROM AN ACETATE (TEST PRESSING)
TRACK LINKS – Fade
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Excellent
Stereo recordings, except for tracks 13,14.
Tracks 1,5,9: Official recordings. Track 12: ‘Audience’
digital stereo – Superlative
Tracks 3,4: Broadcast feed. Tracks 7,8: Official
recordings. Track 13: Studio out-take – Excellent
Track 2: Studio out-take. Track 6: Official recording.
Tracks 10,11: ‘Audience’ digital stereo - mastered a
little low – Very Good
Track 14: Broadcast feed - low-level hiss – Quite Good
PRESENTATION – Quite Good
Standard jewel box with see-through disc tray. Folded
all-colour insert, printed one side only. ‘Cowboy-Against-
The-Stars’ pic on front; performance close-up on ‘page 4’.
‘The Greatest Cowboy Of Them All’, Tashunka Witko
Records, and posed publicity shot on the back of the
box; also track listing and fairly accurate source details
(so far as they go). Attractive custom disc featuring a
wider-angle ‘Cowboy-Against-The-Stars’ image and the words
Lost Track Searcher.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT -
LOST TRACK SEARCHER - HARD TO FIND VOLUME 5 keeps up the
standard of the ‘Hard To Find’ series with another
good-quality but random collection of oddities. At almost
eighty minutes, this is a very full CD. Just to set the
record straight however, track 1 is not a session out-take
as the box would have us believe, but the officially-
released version of Blue Eyed Jane taken from the ‘Jimmie
Rodgers Tribute Album’. Three of the four inclusions from
the rare ‘Live, Atlanta '96’ US promo (tracks 7, 8 and 9
to be precise) are probably already in most people's
collections via the European ‘Not Dark Yet’ single. And
of course, the ‘Jerry Maguire’ Shelter From The Storm is
freely available on the official ‘Best Of Bob Dylan’ CD.
On the other hand, Love Sick is not a direct lift off the
Columbia single, but comes from the ‘Grammy Awards’
broadcast and includes a few words of introduction. I can't
say that many (any?) of the VOLUME 5 tracks are of historic
importance (except perhaps Love Sick and the Dylan/Elliott
prototype Tambourine Man), but the CD does have a nice feel
in spite of the presence of the appalling Soon. And Sheryl
Crow's raunchy vocal on Highway 61 certainly makes her one
of Bob's better celebrity guests. All in all then, a
worthwhile investment - that is, if you hit the stop button
before track 14.
STANDOUT TRACKS -
My Blue Eyed Jane (track 1), Love Sick, Shelter From
The Storm, Boots Of Spanish Leather, Highway 61
Revisited.
VALUE FOR MONEY – Very Good
**************************************************
1996 - 1998
~ MIND OUT OF TIME ~
Crystal Cat Records CC 4572527
(see ‘Presentation’ below)
PROBABLE ORIGIN OF CD -
Europe
TOTAL PLAYING TIME -
73 mins 33 secs (12 tracks)
SOURCE -
Track 1: 40th Annual Grammy Awards, Radio City
Music Hall, NYC. 25th February 1998
Track 2: (Probably) Jones Beach Amphitheatre,
Wantagh, Long Island, NY. 17th August 1997
(not February '98 as on box)
Tracks 3,4,11,12: El Ray Theatre, Los Angeles, CA.
16th-20th December 1997
Track 6: (Probably) Montage Mountain Performing
Arts Center, Scranton, PA. 12th August 1997
Tracks 5,8: House Of Blues, Centennial Park,
Atlanta, GA. 4th August 1996 (not August '97 as on box)
Track 7: House Of Blues, Centennial Park, Atlanta, GA.
3rd August 1996 (not August '97 as on box)
Tracks 9,10: The Theater At Madison Square Garden,
NYC. 16th January 1998 (not 16th January 1997 as on box)
TRACK LISTING -
1. Love Sick
2. Blind Willie McTell
3. Cold Irons Bound
4. Can't Wait
5. Ballad Of A Thin Man
6. Born In Time
7. Boots Of Spanish Leather
8. Tombstone Blues
9. Million Miles
10. Not Dark Yet
11. Roving Gambler
12. Cocaine Blues
TRACK LINKS - Fade
OVERALL SOUND QUALITY - Excellent
Tracks 1,6,7,11,12: Stereo official recordings - Superlative
Tracks 2,3,4,5,8: Stereo official recordings - Excellent
Tracks 9,10: Stereo soundboard recordings; noticeable
hiss - Quite Good
PRESENTATION - Poor
Standard jewel box with see-through disc tray.
Plum-coloured packaging parodies the official ‘Time
Out Of Mind’ presentation. Folded insert with black
and white photos on front and on ‘page 4’ track listing
and (inadequate / inaccurate) recording detail across
‘pages 2 & 3’. Identical information repeated on back
of box. Both box edges show a misprinted number
CC 4572572. Plain pink disc shows only Bob Dylan
and Mind Out Of Time.
OVERALL ASSESSMENT -
For the most part, MIND OUT OF TIME is a true
pirate; that is, a rehash of officially-released recordings.
All except tracks 9 and 10 are from the ‘Love Sick’
double-single and ‘Not Dark Yet’ releases. It's
probably unnecessary therefore to comment on
the performances; after all, so many of us already
have them in the CD rack. Just let's say that, by and
large, this is a classic set of fine recordings and
that the Standout Tracks below are my own personal
favourites. Two pertinent points: number one, don't
be confused by the CD's overall appearance -
remember THESE ARE NOT ‘TIME OUT OF MIND’
OUT-TAKES. And two; I doubt this is a genuine
Crystal Cat release - the presentation here is quirky
rather than classy. That said, the sound and
performance quality is generally excellent; if you
have none of these versions, MIND OUT OF TIME
is an unmissable set. The problem is of course,
dedicated fans buying bootlegs usually have all of
Bob's official releases; for us it's a rather pointless
piece of plastic full of unnecessary duplications.
Oh, that's cruel; whether you've got 'em or not,
MIND OUT OF TIME is still a fun CD to listen to.
STANDOUT TRACKS -
Love Sick, Blind Willie McTell, Can't Wait, Born In
Time, Boots Of Spanish Leather, Not Dark Yet,
Roving Gambler, Cocaine Blues.
VALUE FOR MONEY - Quite Good
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