A Fistful of Tapes

by The Two Riders

Phew! Nearly didn’t make it this month. Well I hope that you are reading this otherwise we really didn’t make it. It seems to get worse. So little time so much to do. Don’t fear the reaper. It’s not yet time. But time has told me that I won’t know when it is time so seize the time you have. And get that bloody article done. 

Thought we’d take the opportunity to catch up on a batch of shows to round off last year’s touring activity. 

Nice sound, sharp start, gets meaner through Cry Awhile and unfolds into that lovely melodic arrangement of Boots of Spanish Leather. Make You Feel My Love is powerful and an unusually good Every Grain Of Sand features a long and lingering piano solo. 

Marred by a poorish sound, it is still possible to appreciate the great vocal on To Be Alone With You and the excellent Things Have Changed. 

Another great vocal effort on To Be Alone With You followed by a very lovely Baby Blue. Desolation Row is simply excellent, resonating with the power of the old days and the wisdom of the now. Listen out too for an extremely light and airy Moonlight. 

Great sound and another great start with To Be Alone With You. We’ll have to watch it – this opening is really catching on. Nice to hear the piano-laden Tom Thumb’s Blues and in particular the well played Shooting Star. Here the theory of less-is-more would really work with this song. Dylan tends to overdue it a bit on stage. 

Another dollop of a mighty good show in mighty good sound.  Dylan switches mood at will tonight as he runs through the consecutive batch of Boots(light, delicate, fragile), Cry Awhile( very moody), Tom Thumb(rhythmic, infectious), It’s Alright Ma(impassioned) and To Ramona(glorious). If that wasn’t enough he also throws in a splendid Queen Jane. 

Pity to spoil the run but the sound here is no better than average. However hidden in there is nothing short of a storming It’s Alright Ma. Unfortunately deflation sets in straight away as we are served up a version of My Back Pages which replaces the uncertain cadences of the original with a dull, plodding rendition.

Another mixed blessing tonight. Certainly it is worth hearing It’s Alright Ma (once again) and a terrifically atmospheric Cold Irons Bound. Also a superb stab at Man In The Long Black Coat. Unfortunately the anticipated treat of Dignity is not followed through – too discordant.

Strange to relate but Maggie’s Farm really works well in the opening position as it rocks like mad. Nothing too dramatic about the rest of the show apart from perhaps the ever-reliable It’s Alright Ma, Things Have Changed and Boots. 

Some nice tunes tonight. Starts off well with the vibrant piano of To Be Alone With You. Then later ups the ante as he pulls out the stops on Desolation Row immediately followed by a superb It’s Alright Ma. Tonight even Most Likely… works well as does the anthem Every Grain of Sand. 

Takes a while to warm up tonight but by song four which is Tom Thumb’s Blues, he is hitting mid-season form. Things really do come alight with Things Have Changed and Highway 61. 

All round OK stuff but no standouts. 

Undoubtedly the most impressive performance for a few shows is the smooth-as-silk version of Tryin’ To Get To Heaven. This brings vigour to an otherwise safe and solid outing. 

Nice sound for a controlled performance. No throwaways tonight but do listen for It Ain’t Me, Babe in which Dylan weighs every word as if they were gold. 

This show features a lovely sound together with lots of strong playing. From the cracking intro of To Be Alone With You (yet again) through to a lengthy Most Likely..the first half of the show is super. 

Apart form Love Minus Zero which seems to have adopted a weird tune all of it’s own bearing little resemblance to the recorded work, all is pretty much of a muchness.

Some spot-on performances this evening.  After a simmering start things pick up with a well-articulated Cry Awhile and a super confident Don’t Think Twice. Also Can’t wait is top-notch as is Tweedle Dee.

Restless Farewell for now.

Mike and John