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Sydney: 24th February 1986
It is a great pleasure to hear this sonically perfect recording.
A good deal of this show has surfaced in broadcast quality via
the Hard To Handle and Westwood One Radio Show but here we have the complete, unabridged
show. It is easy to forget
how these shows were – a pretty interesting mix of old, new, borrowed
and blue with a never less-than-perfect Tom Petty & The
Heartbreakers doing the backing band duties.
This is an early show before Dylan hit America and cloned himself
as the Rock’n’Roll hero, not quite burnt out Hearts of Fire but at
times not far off. No, this show is vibrant and energetic, powerful,
sometimes raw and rarely subtle. Dylan is extremely chatty throughout occasionally giving a
bit of background information about the songs.
It is a genuine thrill to hear again gems like Lucky Old Sun, Across the Borderline and I & I to mention a few. OK
so there is often what amounts to a caterwauling female chorus line but
it does not always detract. Strange
how most versions are short and sharp.
Very little gets drawn out beyond a reasonable length and thus
the listener gets a feeling of constant forward movement If there is one aspect of the last couple of years’ shows
that would benefit from change it is the extreme length of some songs.
Not everything has to be short but most songs have a
“natural” length beyond which the band is simply repeating itself.
Anyway listen out for a nicely controlled 4th
Street, a truly cacaphonic Clean
Cut Kid (awful) and a very assured, fast It’s
Alright, Ma. There
is a shouted Just Like A Woman
followed by a raucous I’m Movin’
On and a great Lenny Bruce. Also impressive is a very high energy When The Night Comes Falling From The Sky.
All but a couple of shows are now in from 2001 so let’s get started:
Anzio: 24th July
At last, the complete show is now here but don’t get too excited.
Often Dylan’s vocals are little more than spoken (Tell Me That IT Isn’t True, Love Minus Zero/No Limit) and the
concert is a little lacklustre. Worth
hearing Absolutely Sweet Marie and
a new driving, dirty, bluesy arrangement of God
Knows.
Santa Barbara:
14th October
Unfortunately, there is nothing to write home about here either.
This is compounded by some overrecording on a couple of songs.
Perhaps the standout cut is To
Be Alone With You.
La Crosse:
29th
October
Spoilt somewhat by being recorded at very low volume this show has a
solid heart of very good performances. You Ain’t Goin’
Nowhere, High Water and It
Ain’t Me, Babe occupy the podium and are joined later by a great Sugar Baby.. Shooting Star makes
a welcome return but, in truth, it is poorly sung and laboured.
Green Bay:
30th
October
Nice show this one. Watch
out for a spot-on It’s Alright,
Ma and a great Cry Awhile.
This time out Moonlight
is simply OK. Listen to
a superb backing for 4th
Time Around, even if the vocal is uncertain.
Finally If Dogs Run Free
just sits so well amongst the Love
& Theft songs and
it’s getting better and better.
Madison:
31st October
A generally worthwhile show, more highs than lows.
There is a powerful Hard Rain followed immediately by an excellent This World Can’t Stand Long.
A dull Just Like A Woman
lowers the levels (why can’t he do this song justice anymore?) before
things rev up again with a funky Lonesome
Day Blues. Holis Brown is very
dramatic and there is an absolutely on-the-button go at Visions Of Johanna. Sandwiched
in between these two is a delicate One
Too Many Mornings which a far too long at nearly 8 minutes.
Also of note is Honest With Me. Unfortunately
Dylan spends a full 8 minutes (count ‘em) on the awful Rainy Day Women.
Terre Haute:
2nd November
This show is a bit of a mixed bag. It is great to hear Rank
Strangers in a new arrangement to accommodate a call-and-response
chorus. Floater is pretty good and Tears
Of Rage is very stately. Dylan
adds a harp solo to Tangled Up In
Blue but it wers thin its welcome after running for 11 minutes.
Grand Rapids:
6th November
Another pretty good show from the start.
Nice to hear one of the Love & Theft highlights, Po’
Boy done wonderful justice and even John
Brown is less dull than many other attempts. Unfortunately the potential highlight Every Grain Of Sand has a tuneless vocal – the song is simply
murdered.
Toronto:
8th November
Fairly ordinary show with a noisy audience.
The undoubted high spot is, aptly, High
Water, all brooding and doom-laden.
Just Like A Woman features
a lengthy harp solo but one is completely distracted by some guy in the
audience bellowing out the words all the way through the song!
Detroit:
9th November
Another show with a great central heart.
Starting with Tweedle Dee (lovely
guitar work) we are treated to a good Every
Grain Of Sand, a well-sung Floater
and an excellent High Water once
more. Later on, Summer Days works well and Cold
Irons Bound features some blistering guitar work.
Columbus:
10th November
Next night, same again. A
menacing It’s Alright Ma ups the ante and then we get a great quartet of Tweedle
Dee, 4th Street, Floater and High
Water. Mississippi
is spoilt a bit by Dylan’s very rough voice and the final sections of
the show follow through their predictable patterns.
State College: 11th November
This is a great show. For
almost the entire main show, it is excellent all the way.
There is a very evident care about the vocal efforts tonight –
just listen to Flaoter or Visions of Johanna for proof. It’s
Alright, Ma is truly gripping.
The only distraction comes in the form of some woeful guitar
picking by Dylan.
Syracuse:
13th November
Not the best of recordings so judgements on this concert may be
prejudiced on that account. It’s
a pity that the rare Where
Teardrops Fall is not better performed (but it’s not).
At least Boots Of Spanish
Leather is very tender.
Washington: 15th November
A semi roller-coaster of a show, a few highs and a few lows.
Amongst the better performances are Hard
Rain (lengthy but powerful), Floater
and Tangled Up In Blue.
John Brown is a
definite dip, it is so dreary.
Philadelphia:
17th November
Not bad, not bad at all. Early
on we are treated to a very long version of It
Ain’t Me, Babe which features a decent harp solo.
Tonight I’ll Be Staying
Here With You is somewhat ragged but Lonesome
Day Blues is pretty solid stuff.
Listen out for some guy screaming out “Hurricane!
Ya never play Hurricane” as Dylan ploughs on at that point with
Summer Days.
New York City:
19th November
Strangely enough for a show in his spiritual home city Dylan appears
not to be up for this concert.
Words like flat, dull and ponderous cross my mind even though he does redeem things with some
good harp work and a trilogy of good efforts from his most recent album
(Lonesome Day Blues, Sugar baby,
Honest With Me).
Uncasville:
20th November
Was looking forward to I
Threw It All Away but Dylan manages to ruin it with unsympathetic
phrasing and a raggy voice. Visions
is once again excellent, very slow, very deliberate, 10 minutes and Honest
With Me is coruscating.
Manchester:
21st November
Not much to say about this one.
A pot-pourri of the ordinary and the better-than-ordinary.
Very disappointing to hear a flat and ordinary Mississippi
although things immediately pick up after that with the lively Cold
Irons Bound.
Portland:
23rd November
Watch out for a most splendid Not
Dark Yet, the point at which the concert takes off.
Lonesome Day Blues is
nice’n’sleazy whilst the audience make whooping dog noises as Dylan
plays If Dogs Run Free.
Humour is not dead (it just left the building).
Boston:
24th November
Last show of the year but not very spectacular or distinctive.
Don’t look for highlights here but you will get a competent
concert.
So, as we said earlier, only a couple of shows to go to round off
quite an eventful touring year.
Restless Farewell for now.
Mike and John
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