Bought this last week and it's still not out of my stereo. I absolutely LOVE this live album. It, of course, has our old friends Mick Taylor on guitar and Ian McLagan on piano....but the arrangements of the songs are pretty great. My favorites are "Highway 61 Revisted" and "Tombstone Blues"--the latter gets multiple plays in a row.

Anyone else think highly of this one? Not sure where it falls amongst Dylan fans....but coming from a rock and roll background first...I easily gravitated to this CD. I wonder if Dylan accommadated for Taylor and Ian by making the songs more straightforward and rock-oriented.

From Wikipedia:

In his review for Rolling Stone Magazine, Loder writes, "Although cynics may find that Dylan's trademark wheeze is verging on self-parody by this point, his singing is truly spirited throughout. The band he assembled for the tour generally serves him well, if without inspiration...Dylanologists will savor the heavily revised, third-person lyrics for 'Tangled Up in Blue' (although they scuttle the original song's compelling intimacy), and some fans may get a giggle out of the rhythm riff – lifted from Ray Charles' 'I Believe to My Soul' – that graces 'Ballad of a Thin Man.' But 'Highway 61 Revisited' and 'Tombstone Blues' suffer from formless arrangements, and the band simply can't replicate the reggae groove called for on 'I and I'...If [Dylan's] rag-and-roll approach to rock is dated, that's essentially a cosmetic problem. One continues to hope that he'll someday assemble a full-time band he really believes in...a band that will enable him to reassert his brilliance in the modern rock marketplace."

Surprised by his comments in bold.

Tombstone Blues from Real Live

Incredible underrated Live-album. In fact,the only live-album I don't like too much with brother Bob is 'Before the Flood'.

2 1 2 0

Agree completely Comeon! Great classic live disc. My fav is the heavy version of Masters of War. Taylor just rips it up!!! I and I is amazing as well. Really focused and tight band, that seems to have really worked hard rehearsing before the tour. Interesting takes on several of the songs, and you really can tell the band is stoked to be backing Dylan. I know, from reading several interviews, that Taylor really looks back on his time with Dylan as an incredible opportunity. He seems in awe of Dylan's writing.
I hope that the Bootleg series will release a double disc from this tour, like they did for the Rolling Thunder Review (which is my all time fav Dylan live period). Interesting how he uses to of the 70's biggest guitarists to back him, Ronson and Taylor, mans got great taste in guitarists!!

Love it also, especially for MT. His playing on 'I and I' is the highlight for me, and the Chuck Berry styled Highway 61 is phenomenal. Also like the different lyrics on Tangled up in Blue.

My favorite Dylan live album though has got to be Live at Budokan. Just dug that out of my dad's record collection recently, put the speakers way up, and the album just ROCKS from cover to cover. Great interpretations of his own songs. "Its Alright Ma" from that will blow you away. check it out

Great! I put this album in my stereo some 4 days ago, after not listening to it for more than a year i think.

It's just great. Favourites Highway 61 and Tombstone Blues...I and I is also something special.

To me it's the second best live Dylan's album after Rolling Thunder Revue.

I think it will remain in my stereo for some days again!!

as with every dylan album, the outtakes are....faboulos

A killer album that I only own BECAUSE of MT's involvement! Fantastic stuff on here, as noted by everyone else!!

I like Dylan,a lot, but I have only some of his works. I admit that when I bought this one, it was only because of MT's involvement. Loved it at first listening. Was quite surprised to learn that it doesn't have a good rep among Dylan's fans. To my ears, its the best live record I've heard from Bob.

Guess MT's presence somehow affects my opinion ...


C

bland, by the numbers stuff. one of dylan's worst tours. mt plays fine throughout, of course, but even he can't rescue bob from himself....

1st tour I saw Bob on and I only went (with a Dylan nut) because MT was playing. Loved every minute and this album is a momento of a great tour IMHO.

sc uk

It has some smoking versions and some pedestrian ones as well, and like any live album it's way too short. The entire shows that year were really long.

Sadly, unlike many Bob tours, there aren't very many good sounding boots of the whole shows. If there were, this Stones/Bob fan would play it to death.

I think the fact is the band was way underrehearsed, not well rehearsed. I enjoy it though, especially when Taylor rips it up, which he does in a lot of places.

There ARE some good boots of this tour, Shane castle in Ireland being one I can remember off the top of my head.

barcelona is probably the best sounding boot from the tour. rome soundboard would be perfect but for one notable issue: the virtual absence of MT in the mix.

Great to see some here enjoy it as much as I do!

Hopefully we get the FULL show or something else complete from the tour through Bob's Bootleg Series. The version of "Tombstone Blues" to me sounds like the Stones playing it ala 1978. Fast, punky and ballsy.

Wonderful album. The interplay between McLagan and Taylor on Maggie's Farm is great to hear. Etc etc Too bad some of the other highlights (All Along the Watchtower, Simple Twist of Fate & Why Do I Have to Choose, which were well done on this tour) were left out. Perhaps some day Dylan and Taylor will share a performance of Blind Willie McTell on stage.

A fantastic album!

I saw this tour at Newcastle and London and I thought it was one of Dylan's best ever.

Such a pity that they didn't make it a double album and include the guest appearnces at the London show, where Van Morrison's It's All Over Now, Baby Blue was truly outstanding.

I love MT's solo on 'License to Kill' A textbook example of how to build and craft a melodic solo. And it and all his solos would vary from night to night. Oh, Tod what do you think of the Vienna show from that tour?

Quote
ChrisM
I love MT's solo on 'License to Kill' A textbook example of how to build and craft a melodic solo. And it and all his solos would vary from night to night. Oh, Tod what do you think of the Vienna show from that tour?

i agree about License to Kill - one of my all-time fave MT solos...

not sure if I have vienna? hmmmm....maybe Erik should weigh in on this - he knows more about what i have and what i like than i do sometimes! haha...

the tour was okay at the time, but in hindsight, especially in light of the magnificence of much of the NET, this tour sounds rote and pedestrian...dylan really struggled finding an identity through most of the 80's....

I was at 2 of the 3 shows used for this album (Newcastle and Slane) and while its an OK album, it doesnt do those shows justice.

Use My Imagination from Hamburg 1984 is stunning, and no Bob on stage, so Taylor really lets loose. I laugh every time I listen, because Taylor is so brilliant on the solo. It just keeps going and going and going . . . .

He's playing the Strat for this song.

so much talk about mick t. dylan did´nt like these lenghty solos, so they did split

Quote
bluesinc.
so much talk about mick t. dylan did´nt like these lenghty solos, so they did split

Split?

Dylan didnt tour for two years after that, when he was backed by Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers.

I hardly think his reasons for taking a break from the road and then using different musicians were down to Mick Taylor playing long solos (which he didnt do, anyway)

The MEZ enjoys it quite a bit, but I Love most of his catalogue, save for Knocked Out & Loaded. Empire Burlesque has some great potential songs ruined by 80's synth & Drum Machines. Real Live rips, but as Gazza states, does not do justice to the real shows of the tour, as with most live albums! MEZ

Quote
bluesinc.
so much talk about mick t. dylan did´nt like these lenghty solos, so they did split

They "split" because it was a "Europe only" tour. As for follow up, Dylan later complained to Richards and Woods that Taylor didn't return his calls.

This album is very good !
It remains me , the first time i've seen Bob DYLAN Live in Paris in 1984 at Parc de Sceaux.
There was also SANTANA

Great memories

HMN

I got it when it first came out and really like it too. I also have a couple fo boots from the time MT was playing with Dylan. One is the Sweetheart Sessions, the other I can't recall. I'd have to dig around to find it but they are both excellent- different versions of the released songs plus some taht didn't make it.

I really like the MT stuff with Dylan.

don't give me that ole one two, one two three four

The Paris show is a fantastic performance. You are very lucky to have attended.
It's All Over Now, Baby Blue is fantastic from this show.

As I recall there are 2 recording from Paris '84.

The bootleg "Les Temps Changent" is an EQ'ed version of one of the two audience tapes. It's super hot, and a bit clipped.

Great album from an MT perspective. From a Dylan perspective? Not so much.

Ross

Theres an audience recording (maybe two as you say, I dont know) of the entire Paris show (a great gig, with Bob & Hugues Aufray doing a great English/French duet of The Times They Are A Changin/Les Temps Changent) and a 70 minute soundboard with just over half the show (about 13 songs).

Great show, although I agree with whats said above about Barcelona being the best of the tour. Some of the first few shows on the tour (which had 27 concerts) were a bit rough and ready but the last couple of weeks of it were superb.

Quote
Gazza
Theres an audience recording (maybe two as you say, I dont know) of the entire Paris show (a great gig, with Bob & Hugues Aufray doing a great English/French duet of The Times They Are A Changin/Les Temps Changent) and a 70 minute soundboard with just over half the show (about 13 songs).

Great show, although I agree with whats said above about Barcelona being the best of the tour. Some of the first few shows on the tour (which had 27 concerts) were a bit rough and ready but the last couple of weeks of it were superb.

True, Hugues AUFRAY who was scared before the show,did it well with Bob.
I also remember how fascinated was the crowd, when Bob in front of 80000 or 100000 people, played some songs alone with his harp and guitar.
It's one of the few guy who can do that !
The Mick T performance was very good and i own "Les temps changent", but what's the name of the soundboard, didn't heard about it????

Thanks in advance

HMN



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-10-23 18:57 by Honestman.