Maybe they could release San Diego '79 commercially with a warning label : "Caution -- contains adult content that some may find offensive." I would love that, because once people heard it, they wouldn't be offended.
I love this thread. Because for all this forum goes nuts as soon as politics gets mentioned in a Neil thread...and there are threats of shutting it down and banning posts ... seems like if Bob is on the table we can civilly dance around religion. This is the way it should be. For all artists. Art should be discussed in context. Ok...back to the music...looking forward to listening to the live show...
During the PMRC movement in the 1980s, Bob was asked if his albums should have a warning label. He replied that they should have an FB for "fire and brimstone". I think that to fully appreciate the 1979 Bob Dylan show, you do need to hear everything that was performed on the stage on a given night. I understand why they didn't issue a complete performance but I think it's our loss. By the same token, if they ever get around to issuing a huge Rolling Thunder box set, I think that it is hard to appreciate the RTR without hearing the entire show. In the case of Toronto 12/2/75, Bob first appeared on stage over ninety minutes into the performance. I doubt any of these recordings (of the Guam, Joni, Joan performances) will see an official release but as in the case of San Diego 1979, it's our loss.
I'm listening to a lossy copy and it's my first taster of this set... deluxe due to arrive tomorrow. Am loving the faster tempo Precious Angel (and it's tentative chorus).
That would be great thanks. The San Diego was a great performance as expected and sounded lovely to my ears. Someone on the shipping thread mentioned a disc fault but my copies seem fine. I have all the circulating tapes from 1979/80 (mostly on cassette) and a bunch of boot cds and dvds of Toronto and Saturday Night Live. These were in my opinion truly great shows and in the venues he played (see how near the crowd are at Toronto) must have been a wonderful uplifting musical experience. My favourite night/tape is still 16th November 1979 the last night at the Warfield but to have a whole Dylan part of the show (ok nearly the whole show) in such great sound is absolutely sweet Marie after all these years.
The amount of sermonising/talking varied. Some are funny like "Jackson Browne he's running on empty, Bruce he's born to run" is a favourite of mine. The new Clinton Heylin book Trouble in Mind has some raps (as we Bob fans used to call them) transcribed at the back. Some were a bit outlandish even in 1979. Some work well with the song/performance that follows. There non appearance in this box set and San Diego (and I have not got my tape out to check) is 1. expected, 2, a bit of a shame particularly the funny ones) and 3, really in my opinion matters not a jot. PS I love Bruce and Jackson. Wish I had sacds of the 1970s Jackson Browne albums.
From Dylan himself describing his Nov. 1978 encounter....“Jesus put his hand on me. It was a physical thing. I felt it. I felt it all over me. I felt my whole body tremble. The glory of the lord knocked me down and picked me up.” Bern
Bern, where did you find this quote, do you mind my asking? did he say anything else of interest there?
Here it is....I missed this as it was happening (was 20-22 during those years) and was travelling....finishing college. If I ever could talk to Dylan personally, this would be my topic. I only discovered it later on after hearing Lennon's Serve Yourself and how it was a swipe at Dylan. https://blog.oup.com/2017/01/bob-dylan-christianity/ Bern
Still waiting for FedEx to bring my set (hopefully) today. Looking forward to the SD concert, but I’m not surprised that the sermons were pared down or omitted. The giant big blue set had some editing done to the between-song chatter (proven, as a session excerpt in NDH differs from its presentation on big blue) and the Basement Tapes set had some false starts and chatter edited out. I would’ve liked to have the sermons included for historical reasons, but that’s why tape traders got motivated in the first place. The first time I heard Tempe ‘79, it was pretty freaky - the intensity and conviction in Dylan’s apocalyptic worldview was unexpected, at least for someone who wasn’t old enough to attend back in ‘79.
I happen to have that quote to hand. It's on page 491 of Behind The Shades (Kindle Edition) and on page 17 of Trouble In Mind. It was said in an interview with Australian journalist Karen Hughes, May 1980 To L.A. Times jouralist Robert Hilburn Bob said: 'There was a presence in the room that couldn't have been anyone but Jesus....I truly had a born again experience if you want to call it that' November 1980 That quote is also from page 17 Trouble In Mind
A question since my set hasn't been delivered yet: my understanding is that San Diego was recorded on cassette at the soundboard. Correct? Does that mean that no 1979 shows were recorded on multitrack? Or if they were, why was not a multitracked show chosen for full release? Thanks in advance for any clarification.
I think that everything was recorded on eight-track tapes and the reels were transferred to cassettes for reference and reels re-used. Naturally I could be wrong.
Tried to convince the missus that this wasn't really part of the box set, so I could have it before Christmas, but she wasn't listening......
Guarantee it will be released separately at some point. Has been the case with all the extra bonus discs over the last few years.
Unless you count lossy downloads (and I don’t), disc 3 of BS8 and the Isle of Wight gig on BS10 remain exclusive to those sets.
I wouldn’t call those “bonus” discs. They were included in the retail packaging available at all locations. I think I got a Brandeis disc along with the Witmark Demos. Was that ever released separately? I’d consider that a bonus disc like the current San Diego set.