Bob Dylan: "Trouble No More 1979 - 1981" - The Bootleg Series Vol. 13

Now we know why the sermons weren't included

 

They were "dropped" from the set.

 

Disc 3 notes:

-The soundchecks are nice curios and glad they're included. Also glad they don't lead off the overall set though as some suggested.

-Things start to heat up with STC studio outtakes. Take 1 of "Gotta Serve Somebody" is so infectious. Love the piano and Knopfler licks. Sounds a lot like Dire Straits.

-"When He Returns" Take 2 is jaw dropping. That's about all I can say.

-"Ain't No Man Righteous..." studio version is better than the live version, which is not the case with most songs from this era. Put me on the side of this should have been included on the album.

-Amazing they included "Ye Shall Be Changed" on the first Bootleg Series considering the other outtakes that were at their disposal.

-Glad we have "I Will Love Him" as it's rare and somewhat completes the Toronto stand. That said, it sounds kind of derivative to me, which is a descriptor I don't use much for Dylan. Pretty much a typical Gospel arrangement you might hear flipping through channels on a Sunday morning.

-I guess you could make the same argument for "City Of Gold" but it strikes a completely different chord with me for some reason. Passionate, catchy, and eery.

-"Pressing On" that closes disc 3 is full of conviction it's hard not to be moved. While listening I started to think how intense he was during this short period of time. What a crazy creative window of time filled with unique song style, passion, and lyricism (he's had several others too, I know). I love a lot of the stuff that comes after this, don't get me wrong, but I think intensity is at its highest level here.

 

My missing copy of the San Diego 79 CDs finally arrived today. Thank you Sandbag customer service.

 

Hey, whaddaya know! I have in my collection a backstage pass from the January 12, 1980 Portland OR show from whence came the take of Saved on disc 1. I have some other ticket stubs from 1978-81 Portland shows but none of those shows ended up on the box.

 

Random thoughts:

Do people prefer “Every Grain of Sand” in 4 (both demos and live BS13 version) or in 6 (the album Shot of Love)?

I would have liked one more disc of studio material. Would have told a more complete story, I think. I mean previously released archive material from the era, even (“Angelina” comes to mind, and the Bloomberg “Groom,” and the Biograph “Heart of Mine”), and also unreleased stuff like the alternate studio “Caribbean Wind” and more of the Shot of Love sessions.

The ‘78 percussionist really had guts to play triplets through the whole song on the “Slow Train” soundcheck against a whole band playing straight rhythms. I know they were just riffing, but that’s a risky move that pays off. Maybe someone (Bob?) told him to play something highly syncopated.

 

Another random thought: the two-disc set version of this is good, content-wise, but it’s missing SO much. An approach more like the 1-disc sampler, spread over 2 discs, would have made more sense.

 

I’m taking a very brief break from The Slow Train Fest to listen to this.

“I don’t like quiet
And I wish I were in love again.”



— David

 

The San Diego is O.K., because it's a complete concert, but the tracks in the standard edition are generally better performances and recordings. I don't know because they chose San Diego. Just a fine concert, but for that price they could include another couple of concerts.

 

Not including Angelina is a fault recognized by quite a few folks. A con noted among the many pros.

Were Caribbean Wind to not make the cut, however, I suspect reactions may have been a bit stronger.

 

To me, it feels like they picked one concert apiece from 1979, 1980, and 1981. 1979 drew the short straw for exclusion, for some straightforward reasons. But artistically the San Diego concert is every bit as important. It’s great, but it’s bound to be minor in comparison to Toronto.

 

I'm a little ambivalent about the choice of Earls Court--would have preferred a composite collection taken from a few days of the residency, a la Toronto. On some songs, Dylan seems like he is off his game, struggling to focus (jet-lagged?), while others (such as "Like a Rolling Stone" and "I Believe in You," "Watered Down Love") he is really on the ball.

"Man Gave Names to All the Animals (But I've Forgotten Them)" . . .

Maybe it was actually like that from night to night, some songs really on, some somewhat off, although my memories are of precise, nigh- perfectly executed renderings of songs on this tour.

Dylan and the Dead provided enough forgotten lyrics and slurring to last a lifetime of Dylan. I think I've become a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to lyrics, in particular.

I do think, however, I'll turn around on this--like I said, when the songs cook, they really cook . . . I'm also probably a bit over-invested in the Earls Court concert because I attended the final night.

 

Agree totally -- torches and pitchforks would be out if "Caribbean Wind" had been left off the set. It helps that the BS1-3 version of "Angelina" is so fantastic -- but of course that just makes me want more!

 

how about a bonus disc of just the sermons?

 

I am enjoying SD '79 and I am certainly glad that I have it but to my ears it does not offer much (in performance or sound quality) over A Better Contract or The Millard Santa Monica Tapes.

 

At the shows I have seen recently Bob would often nod/speak with the drummer. I am not sure Tony G is band leader now but I might be wrong. For 79/80/81 Tim Drummond was band leader and got double pay which hopefully made up for the poor song writings royalties from the song Saved.
I liked the 1978 band both early with Rob Stoner and later with Jerry Scheff but the 79 - 81 bands are in a different league in my opinion (I am not a musician and probably deaf as a post).

 

Well, we'll have to wait and hear what 16th November '79 sounds like on Youtube but I know the bootleg CD was mastered incorrectly and was approximately 20% too slow! I have a copy of that audience tape lying gathering dust in my old tape library (I haven't played it in 30 years) but I might just dust it off and give it spin.

 

I believe there may have been many reasons for Bob standing down this band. Howard Alk died (suicide I believe). The lease on Rundown (the place so much great music was created and put into shape for the road) ran out and having toured the USA and Europe in 1981 how would another tour have gone?

 

Actually although Bob has released lots of archival stuff I would bet there is loads more. Mr Springsteen, Led Zeppelin and a host of others may have lots of stuff in their vaults but they choose not to release it or when they do as in Springsteen's case they redo the vocals or add overdubs!

 

Tempe is a great great show and if Sony/Bob had any bottle they would put it out unedited. There is already a title "Rock n Roll All The Way Down To The Pit" for it. A damn rude audience and if I were Bob I would never have played the place again.

 

I hope so. The various sessions books and internet sites indicate a lot more material was recorded for Knocked and Loaded and Down in a Rut and I would love to hear some of it. Infidels/Empire Burlesque will also hopefully get a bootleg series.

 

Agree. Major song. Hopefully one day they will revamp Bootleg Series 1 to 3 sound wise and maybe add some more stuff. Perhaps a deluxe Shot of Love one day. There is still (I would guess) loads of stuff not yet issued from those sessions plus the bootleg/tapes we have.

 

As expected, here's 11-16-79 on its anniversary, with the 3 now-released cuts excised.



Doesn't run slow to my naked ears. I've heard but never owned the CD, as I already had the show from a tape source when it came along. But 20% too slow? A 5-year-old would be able to hear that from down the block, and say "Mommy that man sounds funny".

 

We just disagree.

I think of "Trouble in Mind" as a major work and a cornerstone of this period, even if it was relegated to a b-side. I find the sentiments in "Ain't No Man Righteous (No Not One)" much more likely to get under my skin than the sentiments of the other two songs under discussion. Not a bad big fan of the "You're all worthless and weak" mentality - sounds like a twisted frat boy. "Ye Shall Be Changed", to me, just jumps out of the speakers with its energy. I'll agree that it's subject matter is pretty far out, and it baffled me until I read the relevant parts of The Bible. But I like "out there" songs.

 

Yeah, I agree with you on Earl's Court - it is definitely the weak link in the set for me. The sound and performance quality of the gospel material is good, but doesn't quite live up to Toronto, and the secular material is a bit hit or miss. "Girl From The North Country" and "Blowin' In The Wind" are lovely, impassioned performances that work well with the new arrangements. The accusatory scorn of "Ballad Of A Thin Man" also holds up well in this context. However "Mr. Tambourine" sounds bored, listless and hollow - like the band is chugging along to a different song, and with "Forever Young" although the new arrangement might have worked (ala "Blowin In The Wind") something is off with the performance - the band and Dylan can never seem to find the right tempo or groove.

I also am not a fan of the songs "Lenny Bruce" (I appreciate the sentiment, not the execution, which is artless and bizzare), and "Watered Down Love", which at least has a nice performance - but that doesn't save it from being a weak song (again, I appreciate the sentiment here and it has a really catchy pop melody and arrangement - but the whole metaphor the song is built around sounds ridiculous when sung, especially the chorus).

Overall I'm glad we have Earl's Court, and I understand why they wanted to include a complete concert from '81 as an important part of the story. But outside of a handful of songs I think I'll be enjoying the other 8 discs much more frequently.